Diva Communications

Debra Gonsher Vinik started Diva Communications in 1985 after stints at Bravo, CBS and Twentieth Century Fox. The company initially made production deals with Orion Pictures and Fox Hills Video, and produced a series of home video offerings which included How to Read a Woman Like a Book, How to Become the Love of His Life, Bizarre Sports Incredible Feats, and Get Rich Quick By Beating the Odds.

In 1995, the company merged with David Vinik's Davideo Productions. Diva's first film production after the merger was Embracing Judaism: Reaching In, Reaching Out, Reaching Up. It resulted in the book Embracing Judaism: Narratives of Personal Faith published by Jason Aronson.[3] Since then the company has written, created, filmed and edited 19 documentaries, all of which have aired on major television outlets and screened in film festivals worldwide. These films address such subjects as community and inclusion for persons with disabilities, hunger in America, intimate partner violence, healthcare and immigration and refugees.[4]

Diva Communications won an Emmy Award for Beauty of Their Dreams., which aired on ABC affiliated stations in April through July 2016, and focused on the role of people of faith advocating for girls' education worldwide.

The company's most recent documentary is Brightness of Noon: The Intersect of Faith, Immigration and Refugees - Part 1 which chronicles people of various faiths defending the rights of undocumented immigrants, asylees and refugees. The film premiered on ABC affiliated stations in February 2018 and ran through April. It focused on the works of faith leaders such as the Rev. John Fife, who helped create the Sanctuary Movement in the '80s; Rabbi Marisa James of New York City's Beit Simchat Torah, whose congregation has accompanied immigrants to court hearings; and the Rev. Jim Rigby whose Austin Sanctuary Network has provided shelter and protection to undocumented immigrants facing deportation.

Diva Communications also produces video content for web and mobile apps. In 2010, the company began creating the short videos Morning Thoughts and Evening Meditations for the Odyssey Networks' mobile app Call on Faith. Call on Faith was a library of short inspirational videos which is no longer operational.[5]

Diva co-produced a short video series called the Wisdom of the Holidays [6] alongside author and radio host Rabbi Irwin Kula of CLAL. They later completed a sequel, Wisdom of the Prayers.[7]

Diva also curates the Mincha Moment website, a series of original web videos devoted to gratitude. In 2013 the Mincha Moment entitled Grateful For The Partial, featuring Rabbi Irwin Kula, was nominated for an Emmy Award.[8] Dr. Gonsher Vinik was subsequently invited to contribute an article called “Practicing Gratitude” of WELCA's Bold Cafe. Debra Gonsher Vinik was asked to speak at WELCA's triennial in 2014 for about her documentary I Believe You; Faith's Response to Intimate Partner Violence at WELCA'S triennial in 2014, and joined their 2017 triennial to screen and to speak about Beauty of Their Dreams.

As Diva's work is primarily interfaith, in addition to WELCA, it has fostered relationships with faiths across the spectrum including Conservative and Reform Judaism, Roman Catholic, United Methodist, Muslim, Presbyterian, and Baha'i, among others.

Diva Communications is currently in post-production on Brightness of Noon: The Intersect of Faith, Immigration and Refugees - Part 2, which examines the role of faith groups in aiding refugee settlement and advocating on asylees' behalf. That film is scheduled to air on ABC affiliated stations in February 2019.

Films produced by Diva Communications have aired on television networks such as PBS, NBC and ABC.[9]

Diva's films have won five local Emmy awards and eleven nominations.[12] Diva's film The Beauty of Their Dreams won the 2017 NY Emmy. In February, 2012, Diva's film I Believe You was nominated for two Emmys, one for Best Religious Programming and one for Best Editing.[13] In February 2013, their short web video, Grateful For The Partial, was nominated for a New York Emmy for Best Religion News/Feature.[14] In 2014, their documentary Divine Prescription won an Emmy award.[15]

Diva won the 2010 DeRose-Hinkhouse Award for Best in Broadcasting for the documentary, A Place for All: Faith and Community for Persons with Disabilities.[16] The film tells the stories of disabled individuals working to make their faith communities more inclusive of them.