His father, Raphael Sivan (1935-2011) was a world-renowned electronics researcher and professor, as well as clinical psychologist, and was former head of the Electrical Engineering Department at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.

As his graduation project, he co-directed with fellow student Ari Folman the documentary film Comfortably Numb, which portrayed Israel during the First Gulf War, focusing on real-time reactions and feelings of young people in Tel Aviv, petrified by the possibility of a deadly gas attack.

Sivan wrote and directed, along with director Eytan Fox, the successful Israeli television drama series Florentine, starring Ayelet Zurer and Karin Ofir.

In 2000, Sivan co-created and was head screenwriter of the popular Israeli television series Saturdays and Holidays, starring Alon Abutbul and Lior Ashkenazi, which ran for 5 seasons.

In 2005, Sivan co-created, co-directed, and was head screenwriter of the original Israeli television series In Treatment (Betipul), starring Assi Dayan, Ayelet Zurer, and Maya Maron.

In addition to HBO, The original Israeli series was sold for re-make and broadcast in more than 20 countries including Spain, Italy, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, Belgium and The Netherlands.

In the summer of 2014, Sivan is about to direct a new feature film named Harmony, a free adaptation of the biblical story of Abraham and his two wives Sara and Hagar, starring Alon Abutbul and Tali Sharon.

Ori Sivan had the role of himself, a filmmaker and friend of the leading character, in the 2008 feature animated documentary film Waltz with Bashir, which was released in movie theaters to wide acclaim.