Who We Are – Rebuilding The Menorah

Royi Akavia is an artist and animator from Israel living in Japan.

Royi’s art has been displayed in galleries throughout the world and is part of the permanent collection of the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Norton Museum in Palm Beach Florida.

Akavia was appointed official artist for Western Unions ambitious Y2K painting project and was one of eight artists commissioned to paint an 8′ x 4′canvas featured at Woodstock ’99.

He performed art direction and set design for several projects for MTV Europe. He was set designer for the MTV Movie Awards nomination in Miami Beach, Florida.

In 2005 Royi founded “Little Director”, an animation company enabling children to bring their drawings to life. Little Director has been featured on PBS TV and received awards from the Miami Public School System and the City of Miami Beach. Royi contributes his experience in early childhood education to the “Move to Learn Apps” management team with Columbia University in New York.

Roberto Mitrotti is an artist, and filmmaker working at the confluence of film, art and fashion.

He had one-man shows in New York, Los Angeles, Zurich, Turin and Florence and has shown in over 50 Museum worldwide. In 1998 he exhibited along with David Hockney and Robert Rauschenberg in “Pools ” in Moscow, the first exhibition of American artists in Russia since the Revolution.

Was consultant to Director Michael Mann in the creation of the “Look” for Universal Television “Miami Vice”.

Founded RPM Media to produce TV programs seen in over 20 countries. Co-wrote the Twentieth Century Fox comedy “The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud” with Carol Kane, Bud Cort, and Klaus Kinsky. Directed the PBS doc “Sylvia’s Path” produced by Bill Cosby. Produced and hosted the series “The Compulsive Traveler” on CBS TV from 2002 to 2007.

In 2015 he wrote and directed “Stealing Chanel”, a romantic comedy starring Lydia Hearst, which won Best Director and Best Actress at the Manhattan Film Festival in 2015 and is in worldwide distribution with A&E Television.

The value of this project lies the fact that a Gentile and a Jew, together, have metaphorically reconstructed a religious symbol that transcends both religion and culture. Subordinating the ego to the advantage of common purpose might be one of the most needed messages of this Century.

Aytun Altindal Writer-Historian