John Refoua, the editor of James Cameron’s Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water, has died. He was 58. His wife, Serena Refoua, announced that the Oscar-nominated Avatar editor was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare bile duct cancer, 15 months ago and was editing the upcoming Avatar 3 “right up to his final weeks” before his death on May 14th. Along with his Oscar nomination for 2009’s Avatar, which he shared with co-editors Cameron and Stephen E. Rivkin, Refoua was awarded theBroadcast Film Critics Association Award and the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for editing. He was also a BAFTA Awards nominee for his work on the original Avatar, which remains the highest-grossing film of all time.
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Remembering her “brilliant, sweet, creative husband John Djahanshah Refoua,” Serena wrote on Facebook that Refoua died “surrounded by family and friends who loved him. He was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare bile duct cancer, 15 months ago. Despite the pain and complexities of this aggressive disease, he faced it with courage and grit. He continued to work and edit on James Cameron’s Avatar 3 right up to his final weeks.”
She continued: “His life’s trajectory was quite unique and anything he touched, he made better. He loved music, movies, politics, traveling, vintage cars, science fiction, and his 4-year-old granddaughter Avery Sophia. We will miss his generosity and wisdom.”
In lieu of flowers, Serena asked that donations in Refoua’s name be made to The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation, the leading global resource in research, education, and public awareness that is on a mission to find a cure and improve the quality of life for those affected by bile duct cancer.
In addition to the first three Avatar movies, Refoua’s credits include The Equalizer (2014), Southpaw (2015), The Magnificent Seven (2016), Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), and Geostorm (2017). On television, Refoua served as an editor on Touched by an Angel (1994), Law & Order (1999), Ally McBeal (2002), Dark Angel (2000-2002), CSI: Miami (2002-2011), Sleepy Hollow (2013), and most recently, The Whispers (2015).
Refoua’s final completed film was Avatar: The Way of Water, Cameron’s 13-years-later sequel to the original that grossed $2.32 billion to become the highest-grossing film of 2022 and the third highest-grossing film of all time behind Avatar and Avengers: Endgame.
