John Refoua

John Refoua (December 8, 1964 – May 14, 2023) was an American film editor. He was nominated at the 2009 Academy Awards for Best Film Editing for the film Avatar. He was nominated along with James Cameron and Stephen E. Rivkin.^[1] He worked on television series, including Touched by an Angel, Twin Peaks, and Law & Order. He died from complications related to bile duct cancer at the age of 58.^[2][3]

John Refoua
Publicity Photo of John Refoua
Born	(1964-12-08)December 8, 1964 Tehran, Iran
Died	May 14, 2023(2023-05-14) (aged 58) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation	Film editor
Years active	1990–2023
Spouse	Serena Refoua

Awards

Refoua had 2 wins and 8 nominations for his editing work. Won:

• 2010 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for Best Editing on Avatar (2009) (Shared with: Stephen E. Rivkin)
• 2009 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards for Best Film Editing on Avatar (2009) (Shared with: James Cameron and Stephen E. Rivkin)

Nominations:

• 2010 Academy Awards, USA for Best Achievement in Film Editing on Avatar (2009) (Shared with: Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron)
• 2010 BAFTA Awards for Best Editing on Avatar (2009) (Shared with: Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron)
• 2010 American Cinema Editors, USA for Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) on Avatar (2009) (Shared with: Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron)
• 2010 Hollywood Post Alliance, US for Outstanding Editing on a Feature Film on Avatar (2009) (Shared with: Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron)
• 2010 Online Film & Television Association for Best Film Editing on Avatar (2009) (Shared with: Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron)
• 2010 Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing on Avatar (2009) (Shared with: Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron)
• 2009 Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Film Editing on Avatar (2009) (Shared with: Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron)

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1999	Soft Toilet Seats	Tina Valinsky	Co-edited with Robbie Adler, Lynel Moore and Nancy Rosenblum
2003	Ghosts of the Abyss	James Cameron	Co-edited with David C. Cook, Ed W. Marsh and Sven Pape
2007	Reno 911!: Miami	Robert Ben Garant
	Balls of Fury
2009	Avatar	James Cameron	Co-edited with Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron
2013	21 & Over	Jon Lucas and Scott Moore
	Olympus Has Fallen	Antoine Fuqua
2014	The Equalizer
2015	Southpaw
2016	The Magnificent Seven
2017	Transformers: The Last Knight	Michael Bay	Co-edited with Mark Sanger, Debra Neil-Fisher, Roger Barton, Adam Gerstel and Calvin Wimmer
	Geostorm	Dean Devlin	Co-edited with Ron Rosen and Chris Lebenzon
2022	Avatar: The Way of Water	James Cameron	Co-edited with David Brenner, Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron
2025	Avatar: Fire and Ash		Post-production; Co-edited with David Brenner, Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron; Dedicated to his memory