Markovitz began his career in 1992 and co-founded the production company Big World Cinema in
Cape Town in 1994. In 1999, he produced the short film
Husk, which premiered in competition at the
Cannes Film Festival; followed by the award-winning ''It's My Life
(2001), a portrait of South African AIDS activist Zackie Achmat. In 2003, The Tap'', a short documentary which shows the change brought to a South African rural community when water is brought to it for the first time, won Best South African Documentary at the Apollo Film Festival and Best Production of the Year at the Stone Awards, South Africa. Markovitz co-produced the
Academy Award-nominated short film
Inja ("Dog") in 2003; followed by the award-winning South African-Canadian feature film
Proteus directed by
John Greyson and Jack Lewis which premiered at
Toronto International Film Festival in 2003 and
Berlin;
Raya, a short film part of the "Mama Afrika" series, which was theatrically released in the US in 2003; and the TV movie
Crossing the Line by award-winning director Brian Tilley. In 2005 he was the executive producer of the feature film
Boy called Twist directed by
Tim Greene, which screened at the
Cannes Film Festival in 2005. This was followed by the animated short film
Beyond Freedom, which screened at the
Berlin International Film Festival. Markovitz produced a series of thirteen films made by new South African documentary filmmakers titled
Project 10: Real Stories from a Free South Africa. The series screened at
Sundance,
IDFA,
Tribeca and
Berlin. In 2008, he produced the acclaimed feature documentary
Behind the Rainbow on South Africa's ruling party, directed by
Jihan El-Tahri for
ZDF/
Arte,
SBS,
SVT,
VPRO,
SABC and
ITVS (USA).
Latitude, a series of 9 short films from 8 African countries, was executive-produced by Markovitz, and premiered at
Berlin in February 2010. It included the award-winning Kenyan science fiction short
Pumzi by
Wanuri Kahiu. In 2009 Markovitz completed the documentary omnibus
Congo in Four Acts which travelled to over 50 festivals including
Berlin,
IDFA,
Hot Docs 2010; and the documentary
State of Mind, directed by
Djo Tunda Wa Munga, investigating trauma and healing in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. Markovitz co-produced the Congolese-French-Belgium crime thriller
Viva Riva!, directed by
Djo Tunda Wa Munga, which premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival in September 2010 and
Berlin International Film Festival 2011 and won the
MTV Movie Award for Best African Movie. It was released in USA, UK, Australia/NZ, Canada, Belgium, France, Germany and 18 African countries. In 2013, Markovitz executive-produced the fiction omnibus
African Metropolis consisting of six films by six directors across Africa. The films have screened at
Durban IFF,
Toronto IFF,
Santa Barbara IFF and
IFF Rotterdam. In 2014, Markovitz was involved in three award-winning films:
Stories of Our Lives, a Kenyan feature film about the LGBT community in Kenya, by
Jim Chuchu and the NEST Collective, which Markovitz executive-produced. The film premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival and won the
Berlin International Film Festival’s Teddy Jury Award;
Love the One You Love, a South African feature film written, produced and directed by
Jenna Cato Bass, which Markovitz produced. The film won prizes at the
Durban International Film Festival, Jozi Film Festival and
Three Continents Festival in Nantes; Documentary
Beats of the Antonov was produced by Markovitz, and directed by Sudanese filmmaker
Hajooj Kuka. The film premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival and won the People's Choice Documentary Award == Other work ==