Documentary: IVRY WHO? by Gäi Tordjman

Title: Ivry Who?

Runtime: 113 minutes

Year & country of production: France 2025

Director: Gaï Tordjman

Producers: Serge Lalou, Perrine Feminier

Co-producers: Gaï Tordjman, Bernhard Von Hülsen, Maria Willer

A short synopsis:

Paris, 2016. At two in the morning, a young filmmaker in crisis meets his 93-year-old neighbor, the legendary, mercurial violinist Ivry Gitlis.

Their unexpected bond ignites a five-year odyssey into the soul of a forgotten genius, to help understand why and how one of the greatest musicians of all time was kept partially hidden from the public eye.

The investigation leads to the discovery of the only surviving copy of what is believed to be one of the greatest violin performances ever, thought to have been destroyed 43 years ago, and to the final comeback of an extraordinary man who never never succeeded in being anything but himself.

Ivry Who ? is the intimate and exhilarating chronicle of friendship, genius, glory, decay, and the heavy price of freedom. Entirely on one’s own terms…

The film features many of Ivry’s old friends, foes, lovers, and peers, such as Zubin Mehta, Itzhak Perlman, Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Itamar Golan, and others. 

The documentary also includes footage filmed at Cremona Musica 2017, when Ivry Gitlis received the Cremona Musica Award.