Yuri George Sivo - Biography


		Yuri Sivo began his media work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he produced and directed three weekly shows for the MIT - Harvard Cable Network. He was a graduate student at the UCLA School of Film & Television where one of his shorts, “There is a Fire in the Country,” won the Silver Plaque at the Chicago Film Festival. He then directed music videos for Warner Brothers, MCA, and Motown. Among the artists he worked with were Modern English, John Mellenkamp, and Del Shannon for Michael Mann’s TV series, “Crime Story.” He wrote, produced and directed a half hour sci-fi film, “Vanity Kills,” which showed at film festivals. This led him to direct the independent feature film, “Mortal Sins,” starring Brian Benben, Anthony LaPaglia and Deborah Farentino, released by Skouras Entertainment.

		Yuri has been a director and cinematographer on many national commercials for clients such as Energizer, Asics and Stolichnaya. He directed episodes of the USA Network series, “Swamp Thing,” and “Inside Out” for Propaganda Films. He has directed dozens of network promos for CBS, UPN and NBC. His launch for Paramount Television’s “Hard Copy” won a Clio award, advertising’s highest honor.

		In 2002, Yuri created the pilot for a scripted reality-comedy show, “Cookin’ In Brooklyn,” for The Discovery Network. For two seasons, he co-wrote, directed and produced all twenty episodes. He also filmed a documentary, “Cochise County” about the volatile Arizona-Mexico border commissioned by HBO America Undercover.

		As a writer, Yuri wrote the screenplay, “Wild Honey,” which was a finalist in the 2001 Cinestory Screenwriting Competition sponsored by the University of Chicago. The script was also selected for the Independent Feature Project's No Borders showcase. Yuri and Pulitzer Prize nominated playwright, Jon Marans, have collaborated on the screenplays, “The Virgins,” “The Boytoy” and “Molotov Cocktail.”

		Yuri optioned Roy Rowan’s book, “Chasing the Dragon: A Journalist’s Account of the 1949 Chinese Revolution” and developed a pitch with Jon Marans. They attracted Tribeca Productions, sold the project to Universal Studios and subsequently wrote the screenplay. Yuri will serve as Executive Producer along with Jane Rosenthal and Robert DeNiro for a 2011 release.

		Agent: Brad Rosenfeld, Preferred Artists, 818.990.0305 Manager: Dannie Festa 310.315.0569