Ronit Avni is a Canadian entrepreneur, tech founder, human rights advocate, and

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

-winning film director and producer.

Early life and education

Avni was born and raised in Canada. She graduated with honors with an A.B. in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

Career

Avni is the founder and executive director of Just Vision, a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that creates

digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, an ...

, award-winnin
films
(Naila and the Uprising, Budrus, My Neighborhood, Encounter Point), news analysis and public education campaigns in North America and the Middle East. As Executive Director of Just Vision, Avni raised over $10M, managed a diverse team and her films were seen by tens of millions of viewers on TV and online globally. She was a frequent speaker in think tanks,

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

, international,

educational Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

and media settings and is known for creating content that addresses sensitive geopolitical topics. Avni directed and produced the documentary film, '' Encounter Point'', which received the 2006

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

Audience Award for Best Documentary and was an official selection at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

Hot Docs The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June ...

, Atlanta Film Festival,

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...

Dubai International Film Festival The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF, ) was the largest film festival in the Arab world, Arab region. With particular emphasis on showcasing Arab cinema, Arab, Asian cinema, Asian, and African cinema, it also helped to develop industry a ...

and Jerusalem International Film Festival. '' Encounter Point'' has screened at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and in Gaza,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

Jenin Jenin ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and is the capital of the Jenin Governorate. It is a hub for the surrounding towns. Jenin came under Israeli occupied territories, Israeli occupation in 1967, and was put under the administra ...

and more than 200 cities worldwide and has won 5 international awards. Avni appeared on

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

in 2005 and her work was featured on Oprah.com, and on

Christiane Amanpour Christiane Maria Heideh AmanpourStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', 22 January 2019 (; ; born 12 January 1958) is a British-Iranian journalist and television host. Amanpour is the Chief International Anchor for CNN and host of CNN International, ...

’s show, Amanpour, on

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

. She produced the documentary film ''

Budrus Budrus () is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located 31 kilometers northwest of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the village had a population of ...

'', which received the

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

's Panorama Audience Award Second Prize, the Special Jury Mention at the

and the Audience Award at the

in 2010.

premiered at the Cultural Bridge Gala at the

in December 2009. It won the Ridenhour Prize and the 2012 PUMA Creative Impact prize. She co-produced ''Naila and the Uprising'', which premiered at DocNYC, IDFA and the

. Her short film ''My Neighborhood'' won a Peabody Award. Avni trained human rights defenders worldwide to incorporate film and digital media into their advocacy campaigns while working for the human rights organization
WITNESS
Avni has trained

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s to produce videos as a tool for

public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

and grassroots mobilizing, as a deterrent to further abuse and as evidence before courts and

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

s. She co-edited the book ''Video for Change: A Guide for Advocacy and Activism'', with staff from WITNESS. She now sits on the WITNESS Board, chairing the Program Committee as WITNESS advises activists and technology companies on the ethical uses of video. Avni is the founder o
Localized
a platform that connects college students and aspiring professionals in emerging markets to global professionals who can offer career guidance and expertise in languages they share. Launching in 2018 in Arabic and English, Localized was selected as one of 12 companies to join the NYU Steinhardt Edtech Accelerator, powered by StartEd in collaboration with Rethink Education Fund. She was a finalist for the 2018 ''Next Billion Prize'' at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai, overseen by TechCrunch Editor-at-Large Mike Butcher. A 2018

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

Halcyon Fellow, she has spoken and written about the intersection of technology, workforce readiness, education and migration for the World Economic Forum and The National's Future Forum in Abu Dhabi. Avni is a ''Young Global Leader'', sponsored by the

, a Term Member at the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

and has been recognized with a variety of honors, including the Search for Common Ground's Common Ground Award, the Circles of Change Award, Auburn Seminary's Lives of Commitment Award, the Trailblazer Award from the National Council for Research for Women and th
Daughters for Life Award
She sits on the jury of both the

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...

’s 100 & Change Competition and th
Global Teacher Prize
She has trained hundreds of business leaders, MBA students, nonprofit leaders and civil servants to speak persuasively to the media, on stage and in executive settings with KNP Communications.

Director

*2006: '' Encounter Point'' (Director, Producer, Executive Producer)

Producer

*2000-2002: ''Now is the Hardest Time'' (Associate Producer) *2001: ''Forgotten People'' (Associate Producer) *2001: ''Expelled'' (Associate Producer) *2001: ''Postcards from Peje'' (Associate Producer) *2001: ''Refuge'' (co-producer) *2001: ''A Right to Justice'' (Associate Producer) *2001: ''The Road to Pineapple'' (Associate Producer) *2001: ''Rule of the Gun in Sugarland'' (Associate Producer) *2001: ''Set Apart'' (Senior Producer) *2001: ''The Soul Eaters'' (Senior Producer) *2001: ''Terra Nas Nossas Mãos'' (Supervising Producer) *2001: ''Youth Interrupted'' (Associate Producer, 2001) *2002: ''Rise'' (Writer/Producer) *2002: ''Following Antigone: Forensic Anthropology and Human Rights Investigations'' (Associate Producer) *2002: ''Fueling Abuse: Foreign Investment and Terror in Burma'' (Associate Producer) *2002: ''No Place to Go'' (Associate Producer) *2002: ''Voices from Silence'' (Associate Producer) *2003: ''Garifunas Holding Ground'' (Writer/Producer) *2006: ''Encounter Point'' (Director, Producer, Executive Producer) *2009: ''Budrus'' (Producer) *2011: ''Home Front: Portraits from Sheikh Jarrah'' (Co-Producer, Executive Producer) *2012: ''My Neighbourhood'' (Executive Producer) *2017: Naila and the Uprising (co-producer)

Books and articles

*Avni, Ronit.
From Budrus to Bilin: Arresting Heroes
" ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

'', October 14, 2010. *''Video for Change: A How-To Guide on Using Video in Advocacy and Activism'' (by Sam Gregory, Gillian Caldwell, Ronit Avni and Thomas Harding)

Awards and nominations

In 2006, the film ''Encounter Point'' was: *Winner, Audience Award, Best Documentary at San Francisco International Film Festival *Winner, Spirit of Freedom Jury Prize at Bahamas International Film Festival *Voted Top 5 Audience Pick at Kansas International Film Festival *Opening Night at Vancouver International Film Festival *Winner, Best Musical Score at BEND International Film Festival *Director's Cut Work-in-progress

True/False Film Festival True/False Film Fest is an annual documentary film festival that takes place in Columbia, Missouri. The Fest occurs on the first weekend in March (sometimes beginning in late February), with films being shown from Thursday evening to Sunday nigh ...

*Director's Cut Work-in-progress Screening Search for Common Ground *Winner, Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film and Digital Media In 2010-11, the film ''Budrus'' was: *Winner, Panorama Audience Award Second Prize, Berlin International Film Festival *Winner, Special Jury Mention, Tribeca Film Festival *Winner, Audience Award, San Francisco International Film Festival *Winner, Honorable Mention for Best Documentary in the Spirit of Freedom Award, Jerusalem International Film Festival *Winner, Witness Award at Silverdocs Film Festival, *Winner, Honorable Mention of the Jury, Documenta Madrid *Winner, Amnesty Italia Award, Pesaro Film Festival, *Winner, Founders Prize, Best of Fest, Nonfiction, Traverse City Film Festival *Winner, Checkpoints Award, Bergen International Film Festival *Winner, Festival des Libertés Prize, Festival des Libertés *Winner, Spirit of Freedom Documentary Award, Bahamas International Film Festival *Winner, Amnesty's Matter of Act Human Rights Award, Movies That Matter Film Festival *Winner, Jury Award for Excellence in Documenting a Human Rights Issue, Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival (2011) In 2009-11, Ronit Avni was: *Winner, King Hussein Leadership Prize, 2009 *Winner, Circles of Change Award, 2010 *Winner, The Common Ground Award, 2010 *Winner, The Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film and Digital Media, 2011 *Winner, The Ridenhour Documentary Film Prize, 2011 *Winner, Next Billion Ed Tech Prize, 2018

References

External links

*
Ronit Avni page on ''"Encounter Point"'' websiteRonit Avni
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avni, Ronit Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian women activists Canadian human rights activists Canadian women in business Vassar College alumni