SEPTEMBER 7 • 2023 | 49

A

n Oscar-winning director — 
with an Israeli background and 
a strong link to Michigan — 
has directed the movie Golda, which is 
being released around the country. 
Guy Nattiv, who married and often 
works with Jaime Ray Newman from 
Michigan, is the director holding and 
sharing a 2019 Oscar for the work done 
on Skin, which took honors for the Best 
Live Action Short. 
Nattiv is only the second Israeli to 
earn an Academy Award. He and his 
wife are raising two young children in 
California as they expand their careers.
As director of Golda, Nattiv worked 
with Helen Mirren in the title role. Her 
portrayal, covering a short period of 
time, communicates how Golda Meir 
headed her country in winning the 
Yom Kippur War in 1973 while she also 
fought a private battle against illness. 
“Golda Meir was a true hero,” Nattiv 
said about the subject of the movie, a 
woman who has been the only woman 
ever to lead Israel as prime minister. 
“My Israeli heritage makes me more 
sensitive to this movie, and I would like 
my children to know everything you see 
in the movie and more. 
“I think it’s important for the 
world to know Golda Meir was an 
extraordinary woman.”
The film was made in London 
because it was produced by a British 
company. It took 37 days of shooting 
and a half year of preparations to bring 
the film together and ready it to be 
shown in theaters.
Nattiv worked with the writer 
Nicholas Martin (Florence Foster Jenkins) 
to make the film more about the 
actions of the woman and less about the 
incidents of war. 
Liev Schreiber played Henry 
Kissinger, and Jaime Ray Newman 
portrayed Kissinger’s secretary. 
Newman, who attended Hillel Day 
School and speaks Hebrew, began 
her acting career in Michigan and 
appeared with the since discontinued 
Jewish Ensemble Theatre before going 
on to more stage, television and film 
placements.

Attendance at Cranbrook and 
Interlochen Arts Academy preceded a 
Northwestern University degree and the 
expansion of her career. 
Newman’s work, apart from projects 
with her husband, spans various 
media. Her film roles included Valley 
of the Gods and Midnight Climax. She 
has been featured in such TV series 
as The Punisher, Bates Motel, Eastwick 
and Midnight, Texas. Stage assignments 
have included parts in The Gift and 
Turnaround.
“We want to make art that stirs 
thought and debate,” Newman said 
about working with her husband when 
she was interviewed about the Oscar 
in 2019 by the Detroit Jewish News. “We 
want it to stir something.”
In America, Nattiv and Newman run 
New Native Pictures, which prioritizes 
films that deal with risk-taking and 
content that is socially relevant. In 
Israel, Nattiv wrote and directed three 
films — The Flood in 2012, Magic Men in 
2014 and Strangers in 2008. 
“My wife is amazing,” Nattiv said. 
“She’s my producer-partner and also a 
great actress.” 
Nattiv recently finished production 
of Tatami, defined as a political sports 
thriller he co-directed with Cannes Best 
Actress winner Zar-Amir Ebrahimi 
(Holy Spider). It marks the first film 
collaboration between an Israeli and an 
Iranian in directing.
As Nattiv was working on Golda, he 
did not bring in any of the antisemitic 

feelings that now are being reported in 
wider ways, saying, “I don’t think the 
film is connected to antisemitism at all. 
This is a story about a woman who is 
head of state.”
Because Nattiv and Newman have 
family and friends in Michigan, they 
enjoy coming back to the state with 
their children. 
“We love coming to Michigan to visit, 
especially Hillel Day School that we 
love so much,” Nattiv said. “My wife 
grew up at Hillel Day School, and we 
speak Hebrew with our kids, ages 4 and 
5.”
Among the favorite local spots Nattiv 
has come to enjoy are the Franklin 
Cider Mill and Buddy’s Pizza. 
Nattiv won’t discuss the new project 
he has begun working on, but he 
sounds enthusiastic about it.
“I’m always working on a new 
project, but it’s a secret,” he said. “I 
will surprise you next year with it. I’m 
making a film with my wife. (In the 
meantime) it’s very important for the 
Jewish community to watch this movie 
Golda.” 

Guy Nattiv

Jaime Ray 
Newman

VAGUEONTHEHOW

Details
Watch for showings of Golda 
at local theaters. It is being 
featured at the Maple Theater in 
Bloomfield Hills. Call (248) 855-
9091 for details on showings. 

