Producing
Fivel produced a film about the Nakba called Lyd, now making its way around festivals and theaters. It won the International Film Critics Award in Amman, Jordan. Previously, he produced Island Soldier, a film about Micronesian citizens who served in the US military but returned home to no VA benefits, doctors, or mental health support. Island Soldier had the backing of PBS-affiliate Pacific Islanders in Communications. It premiered at Full Frame 2017, had its international premiere at HotDocs 2017 and aired on World Channel. He was the Associate Producer of Kelly Anderson’s film, My Brooklyn, which aired in 2014 on the PBS series America ReFramed.
Currently, Fivel is producing and directing The People’s Bubbie, a film about an elder queer, anti-Zionist activist named Shatzi Weisberger who became an icon of Jewish Voice for Peace in her late 80s. In 2022, he had the pleasure of getting to know Shatzi in the month before she died. He fell in love with Shatzi because she felt like a family member he never had - an ancestor who embraced the struggle for justice, aiming to stop genocide. Her chosen family cared for her in ways we all deserve, in life, in death, and in memory.
( in production)
Meet Shatzi Weisberger, the radical lesbian Jewish grandma who inspired thousands on social media as “The People’s Bubbie.” In her 90’s, Shatzi found unexpected love and community among queer activists in Jewish Voice for Peace who cherished her as the activist grandma that they never had. After her death, her community is mobilizing millions to challenge America’s unwavering support for Israel and to end the genocide in Palestine.
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The People’s Bubbie
Lyd
(2023)
“Lyd” is a hybrid film directed by Rami Younis and Sarah Ema Friedland that uses present day documentary, archival footage, and animated speculative fiction to tell a story of the city that once connected Palestine to the world – what it once was, what it is now, and what it could have become. It is proudly banned in Israel.
"Political imagination is an act of resistance and our best, maybe our only hope for a better future... this is the message of ‘Lyd.’” - Libby Lenkinski, founder and president of ALBI
“Lyd” is available to stream online at Ovid.tv
Island Soldier
(2017)
“Island Soldier” tells the story of Micronesian soldiers fighting for their piece of the "American Dream" and the future of a small island nation.
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is an independent nation of 100,000 citizens, and a protectorate of the US. Since 9/11 they have lost fives times more soldiers, per capita, than any U.S. state. In this tightly knit island community, the price for military service in a foreign nation’s wars cuts deep.
Directed by Nathan Fitch, edited by Bryan Chang, a Meerkat Media co-production. Funded by Pacific Islanders in Communications.
Screened at Hot Docs, Full Frame, Doc NYC, and broadcast on America reFramed/World Channel.
My Brooklyn
(2014)
As small businesses are replaced by high rise luxury housing and chain retail in director Kelly Anderson's Brooklyn neighborhood, she uncovers the web of global corporations, politicians and secretive public-private partnerships that drive development, and explores her own role in gentrification.
Aired on America reFramed. Distributed by New Day Films cooperative and available to stream on Kanopy.
Holy Land
(2014)
A documentary about a dramatic year in the West Bank, offering a comprehensive look at politics and society in the most contested place on earth by director Peter Cohn.
Screened at Hot Docs, Full Frame, Doc NYC, and broadcast on America reFramed/World Channel.
Available to stream on Kanopy and Amazon Prime Video