DONYONI

From "pizza face" to "Don Yoni", a Bolivian Jewish family living in the United States recounts the sacrifices and contradictions inherent in raising a son with tuberous sclerosis, a rare condition from which only his raw, uncanny works of art can provide solace.

  • Gisela Savdie
    Director
    MANICURA
  • Gisela Savdie
    Writer
    MANICURA
  • Ika Santamaría
    Producer
    MANICURA, Los Nombres de las Flores
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    23 minutes 4 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 3, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    16,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Miami Jewish Film Festival
    Miami
    United States
    January 18, 2022
    Premier
Director Biography - Gisela Savdie

Gisela Savdie is a Colombian writer and artist based out of Miami. For twelve years she has been writing for El Heraldo in Barranquilla, Colombia, and for Letra Urbana in Miami. Prior to her career as an artist and film critics, Savdie was a renown dental surgeon, authoring several textbooks on the subject. For this she was recognized as an Alien of Extraordinary Abilities, which earned her US Citizenship in 2007. She then refocused her attention in her long-time passion for art and film, publishing Labradores de Sueños, a photography and poetry book about the Carnival in Colombia and producing and directing her short film MANICURA. She is a member of the Florida Film Critics Circle, a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic, and a board member of Miami Beach Film society.

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Director Statement

I interviewed Don Yoni in 2017 for an article about the liberating effects of art in a person with a disability. It turned out to be a story about bullying, and discrimination. Thinking about the importance of sharing this testimony with other people in similar situations, I decided to do the documentary.