John Djahanshah Refoua was an American film editor who graduated from Oberlin College in 1980 with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics.
He started his career as an editor in 1990, working on the television crime series Twin Peaks, where he served as an assistant editor for two episodes. After serving as the lead editor on an episode of the action series Raven, Refoua's work focused on television until his first feature film, Soft Toilet Seats in 1999.
When Refoua was hired as an editor for the series Dark Angel, he met producer and director James Cameron. The two collaborated on several projects, including Ghosts of the Abyss (2003) and the Avatar films. Refoua was nominated, alongside James Cameron and Stephen E. Rivkin, for Best Film Editing for Avatar at the 2009 Academy Awards. Refoua also worked on the television series New York Undercover, Touched by an Angel and Law & Order. Refoua died from complications related to bile duct cancer while working on Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025), which is dedicated to his memory.
Refoua was married to Serena Bell Refoua for 32 years. They share one son, Aaron James Refoua.
Awards Refoua won two awards and was nominated for an additional eight.
Wins: 2010 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for Best Editing on Avatar, shared with Stephen E. Rivkin 2009 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards for Best Film Editing on Avatar, shared with James Cameron and Stephen E. Rivkin
Nominations: 2009 Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Film Editing on Avatar, shared with Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron 2010 Academy Awards for Best Achievement in Film Editing on Avatar, shared with Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron 2010 BAFTA Awards for Best Editing on Avatar, shared with Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron 2010 American Cinema Editors—Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) for Avatar, shared with Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron 2010 Hollywood Post Alliance—Outstanding Editing on a Feature Film on Avatar, shared with Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron 2010 Online Film & Television Association—Best Film Editing on Avatar, shared with Stephen E. Rivkin and James Cameron 2010 Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing on Avatar, 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 Stephen E. Rivkin, David Brenner, and James Cameron 2025 Avatar: Fire and Ash Posthumous release; co-edited with Stephen E. Rivkin, Nicholas de Toth, Jason Gaudio, James Cameron, and David Brenner
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