SHORT BIO
Guy Lifshitz is a Tel Aviv based filmmaker and creator who started out in social media, where his videos often went viral and built him a reputation for sharp, playful storytelling. He later became the creative director for Hapoel TelAviv Basketball Club and today works on the creative team behind Big Brother Israel. Alongside that, Lifshitz directs music clips and develops indie films that reflect his voice as a filmmaker: edgy, funny, and dark, engaging directly with the political heat in Israel and offering a clear anti-war perspective. His latest short, C.Y.A., has taken that voice to festivals around the world.
1. Was there a particular event or time that you recognized that filmmaking is your way of telling stories?
I grew up in a creative home, and I always knew I wanted to study film. I remember my first university assignment where I worked like crazy for weeks. I had no idea what I was doing, but none of it felt like work; I was so enthralled. I remember driving back from the editor with the cut, I on the highway at 4 a.m., with four hours left until the deadline. I was exhausted and happy, and that’s when it hit me: this is what I want to do every day for the rest of my life.
2. Do you think it is essential to go to a film institute in order to become a successful filmmaker?
I don’t think it’s essential, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. I believe you should go to places that fill you with inspiration. Some people get inspired by a lecture, others by a YouTube video. Theory can only take you so far, though, at the end of the day, you’ll have to take that inspiration and turn it into creation.
3. Is it harder to get started or to keep going? What was the particular thing that you had to conquer to do either?
Falling in love with a new idea is the fun part. The real fight is staying with it long after the excitement fades. Coming back to the same scene, the same line, moving forward only to circle back again, rewriting it over and over. For me, it’s like training a muscle: you repeat the same boring moves day after day, not seeing much change, and then one day open the script and boom! you see progress.
4. What was the most important lesson you had to learn that has had a positive effect on your film? How did that lesson happen?
This film was born out of chaos, a project more ambitious than its budget, produced entirely on my own, and a terrible war happening while I was making a film about it. I learned that the world never gives you perfect conditions to create. Chaos isn’t a reason to stop, for me it’s usually the reason a film exists, embrace it.
5. What were the production realities from casting through editing that you had to accommodate? How did you navigate those compromises or surprises and still end up with a cohesive film?
One of the biggest production realities we faced was the budget, or more accurately, the lack of it. We had to be extremely efficient. People are always shocked when I tell them the entire film was shot in under three days. My team and I learned to maximize every minute, we even shot scenes while moving between locations. And because of those limitations, we ended up with shots and ideas I never would’ve thought of otherwise.
6. What was the hardest artistic choice you made in the making of a film, at any stage in production?
I went on a shoot for a short film I directed called Gaza–Tel Aviv. In the middle of the shoot, Iran attacked Israel and a lockdown was announced. It was a frightening experience, but unfortunately, that’s our reality. The crew evacuated and got home safe, but the shoot was over, and we couldn’t re-shoot. I’m very proud of this project because I reinvented it in post and ended up with some really interesting results.
7. You are a collaborator. How have you discovered members of your team and how do you keep the relationship with them strong?
I had the privilege of working with a group united by their belief in my script. My DP, Yotam, for example put in from his own money because he felt the film had to be shot on a specific camera. It means a lot when people show that kind of dedication. I showed my gratitude on set, shoutout to my producer, Zohar, who handled all the small things that make people feel appreciated: good food, a good place to stay, and a real sense of respect on set. I’m endlessly thankful for every member of the crew, and they all know it and feel it. A big shoutout to Mika, Yaron, Ido, Funk Gu, Katorza, Ohav, Fish and Kisaf.
8. What do audiences want? And is it the filmmaker’s role to worry about that?
I started in social media, making short films, and they blew up fast. I always posted my work online because I wanted the widest audience possible. I never cared about the gatekeeping around what “screen” a film should be watched on. Even then, I wasn’t trying to please anyone; I just followed whatever felt urgent. People seem to respond to that. Part of C.Y.A.’s success comes from people wanting to understand how Israelis experience the war, the same way I’d be interested in seeing an anti-war Russian film right now. So, I stick to what feels real to me, which always has been what’s relevant right now.
9. What role have film festivals played in your life so far? Why are they necessary? How do you get the most out of them?
This is my first short to go out globally, and I’ve been lucky to screen it at some great festivals like this one, where I’ve been honored to have won Best Film and Best Screenplay for November. For me, festivals are a window into other filmmakers’ worlds, and a chance to connect with people whose work inspires me.
10. Do you believe that a filmmaker should be original and fresh or he/she should stick to classic but safe cinema style?
I’ve never been interested in reinventing the wheel, it sounds exhausting. What does interest me is taking what’s already out there and nudging it in my direction. “Fresh” only exists in comparison to something else. You can’t really make something completely new, and that’s what makes the process exciting, you get to reshape what’s already in the world. Only when you drop the fear of not being “innovative” or “original” and just create in a way that feels true to you, the work suddenly becomes both.
