Ronit Avni
Encyclopedia
Ronit Avni is a Canadian/Israeli/ recent American
. Ronit Avni is an award-winning filmmaker, human rights
advocate and media strategist with an expertise in Israeli-Palestinian conflict
resolution efforts. Ms. Avni is the Founder and Executive Director of Just Vision
, a non-profit organization
that researches, documents and creates media about Palestinian
and Israel
i grassroots
leaders in nonviolence
and peace
building.
Ronit directed and produced the documentary film
, Encounter Point
, which received the 2006 San Francisco International Film Festival
Audience Award for Best Documentary and was an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival
, Hot Docs
, Atlanta Film Festival
, Vancouver International Film Festival
, Dubai International Film Festival
and Jerusalem International Film Festival. Encounter Point
has screened at the International Finance Center, the United Nations
and in Gaza
, Tel Aviv
, Jenin
and more than 200 cities worldwide and has won 5 international awards. Ronit appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show
in 2005 and her work was featured on Oprah.com, and on Christiane Amanpour
’s show, Amanpour, on CNN
.
Ms. Avni recently produced the documentary
film
, Budrus
, which received the Berlinale’s Panorama Audience Award Second Prize, the Special Jury Mention at the Tribeca Film Festival
and the Audience Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival
in 2010. Budrus
premiered at the Cultural Bridge Gala at the Dubai International Film Festival
in December 2009, followed by a keynote address by Her Majesty Queen Noor.
From 2000-2003, Ronit co-produced short videos and online video advocacy features in collaboration with filmmakers in Senegal
, Burkina Faso
, the United States
and Brazil
while working for Peter Gabriel’s human rights organization, WITNESS. Ronit has trained non-governmental organizations from Honduras
to the Gambia to produce videos as a tool for public education
and grassroots
mobilizing, as a deterrent to further abuse and as evidence before courts and tribunals. She wrote and produced a short documentary film, Rise, with RAWA
: the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. She co-edited the book, Video for Change: A Guide for Advocacy and Activism (Pluto Press, UK), with staff from WITNESS. Ronit’s essay, “Inverting the Shame-Based Human Rights Documentation Model in the Context of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict,” was published in the spring 2006 edition of American Anthropologist
.
Ronit is currently a Young Global Leader, sponsored by the World Economic Forum
, a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations
and a United Nation’s Global Expert through the Alliance of Civilizations. She received the Auburn Theological Seminary
’s Lives of Commitment Award and a Joshua Venture Group
Fellowship for young, Jewish social entrepreneurs. Ronit has lectured at universities across North America
and her op-eds have been published in Ha’aretz and the Washington Post.
Ronit graduated with honors with a BA
in Political Science
from Vassar College
. She received a Burnam Fellowship to intern at B'Tselem
: the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. Concurrently, Ronit volunteered for the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel
(PCATI).
She is a 2011 Woodhull Fellow.
In 2010-11, the film Budrus was:
In 2010, Ronit Avni was:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Ronit Avni is an award-winning filmmaker, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
advocate and media strategist with an expertise in Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
resolution efforts. Ms. Avni is the Founder and Executive Director of Just Vision
Just Vision
Just Vision is a nonprofit non-partisan and religiously unaffiliated peace organization based in Washington and Jerusalem that informs Israeli, Palestinian and international audiences about under-documented joint civilian efforts between the Israelis and the Palestinians to resolve the conflict...
, a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that researches, documents and creates media about Palestinian
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
leaders in nonviolence
Nonviolence
Nonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...
and peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
building.
Ronit directed and produced the documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, Encounter Point
Encounter Point
Encounter Point is an award-winning film directed by Ronit Avni and Julia Bacha. It depicts different families that have been affected by the violence in Israel between Israelis and Palestinians. In this film, Just Vision, a non-profit organization, follows these families for 16 months. It begins...
, which received the 2006 San Francisco International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival is the oldest continuously running film festival in the Americas. Organized by the San Francisco Film Society, the International is held each spring for two weeks, presenting an average of 150 films from over 50 countries...
Audience Award for Best Documentary and was an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
, Hot Docs
Hot Docs
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is North America's largest documentary film festival, conference, and market, held annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
, Atlanta Film Festival
Atlanta Film Festival
The Atlanta Film Festival is an Academy Award qualifying, international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia. Started in 1976 and occurring every April, the festival shows a diverse range of independent films, including genre films such as horror and sci-fi...
, Vancouver International Film Festival
Vancouver International Film Festival
The Vancouver International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for two weeks in late September and early October...
, Dubai International Film Festival
Dubai International Film Festival
The Dubai International Film Festival is an international film festival based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched in 2004, it aims to foster the growth of filmmaking in the Arab world.-Overview:...
and Jerusalem International Film Festival. Encounter Point
Encounter Point
Encounter Point is an award-winning film directed by Ronit Avni and Julia Bacha. It depicts different families that have been affected by the violence in Israel between Israelis and Palestinians. In this film, Just Vision, a non-profit organization, follows these families for 16 months. It begins...
has screened at the International Finance Center, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and in Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
, Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Jenin
Jenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
and more than 200 cities worldwide and has won 5 international awards. Ronit appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
in 2005 and her work was featured on Oprah.com, and on Christiane Amanpour
Christiane Amanpour
Christiane Amanpour, CBE is anchor of ABC News's This Week and formerly chief international correspondent at CNN, where she worked for 27 years. She is a Board Member at the IWMF .-Early years:...
’s show, Amanpour, on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
.
Ms. Avni recently produced the documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Budrus
Budrus
Budrus is a Palestinian town 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 , the town had a population of 1,399 inhabitants in 2007."Budrus" is Arabic for "Peter" and in...
, which received the Berlinale’s Panorama Audience Award Second Prize, the Special Jury Mention at the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
and the Audience Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival is the oldest continuously running film festival in the Americas. Organized by the San Francisco Film Society, the International is held each spring for two weeks, presenting an average of 150 films from over 50 countries...
in 2010. Budrus
Budrus
Budrus is a Palestinian town 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 , the town had a population of 1,399 inhabitants in 2007."Budrus" is Arabic for "Peter" and in...
premiered at the Cultural Bridge Gala at the Dubai International Film Festival
Dubai International Film Festival
The Dubai International Film Festival is an international film festival based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched in 2004, it aims to foster the growth of filmmaking in the Arab world.-Overview:...
in December 2009, followed by a keynote address by Her Majesty Queen Noor.
From 2000-2003, Ronit co-produced short videos and online video advocacy features in collaboration with filmmakers in Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
while working for Peter Gabriel’s human rights organization, WITNESS. Ronit has trained non-governmental organizations from Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
to the Gambia to produce videos as a tool for public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
and grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
mobilizing, as a deterrent to further abuse and as evidence before courts and tribunals. She wrote and produced a short documentary film, Rise, with RAWA
Rawa
Rawa may refer to:Locations in Poland:*Rawa Mazowiecka, town in Poland*Rawa near Katowice in Poland*Rawa County in Poland*Rawa, Lublin Voivodeship Locations elsewhere:...
: the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. She co-edited the book, Video for Change: A Guide for Advocacy and Activism (Pluto Press, UK), with staff from WITNESS. Ronit’s essay, “Inverting the Shame-Based Human Rights Documentation Model in the Context of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict,” was published in the spring 2006 edition of American Anthropologist
American Anthropologist
American Anthropologist is the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association . It is known for publishing a wide range of work in anthropology, including articles on cultural, biological and linguistic anthropology and archeology...
.
Ronit is currently a Young Global Leader, sponsored by the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
, a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
and a United Nation’s Global Expert through the Alliance of Civilizations. She received the Auburn Theological Seminary
Auburn Theological Seminary
Auburn Theological Seminary was founded in 1818. Auburn Theological Seminary focuses on religious leadership development, movement-building, and research. Auburn is based in New York City and exists in covenant with the Presbyterian Church ....
’s Lives of Commitment Award and a Joshua Venture Group
Joshua Venture Group
Joshua Venture Group is a non-profit organization whose primary activity is currently the Dual Investment Program, a United States national initiative that provides social entrepreneurs working in the Jewish community with training, tools, and resources to help them start up or scale their ventures...
Fellowship for young, Jewish social entrepreneurs. Ronit has lectured at universities across North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and her op-eds have been published in Ha’aretz and the Washington Post.
Ronit graduated with honors with a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
. She received a Burnam Fellowship to intern at B'Tselem
B'Tselem
B'Tselem is an Israeli non-governmental organization . It calls itself "The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories"...
: the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. Concurrently, Ronit volunteered for the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel
Public Committee Against Torture in Israel
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel is an Israeli human rights organisation specifically dedicated to combating torture, and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment and punishment...
(PCATI).
She is a 2011 Woodhull Fellow.
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)
Books and articles
- Avni, Ronit. "From Budrus to Bilin: Arresting Heroes." Huffington Post, 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 / Nominations
In 2006, the film Encounter Pointwas:- 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
- 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, Jury Award for Excellence in Documenting a Human Rights Issue, Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival (2011)
- 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
In 2010, Ronit Avni was:
- Winner, Circles of Change Award from