Oscar-nominated editor John
Refoua, who worked on Avatar and
Avatar: The Way of Water, has ied.
He is 58 years old.

According to his wife, Serena Bel,
who shared the news of his death in
a Facebook post, Refoua died of
complications from a rare form of
cancer of the bile ducts known as
cholangiocarcinoma.

He was diagnosed with cancer in early
2022. “Despite the pain and
complexity of this aggressive
disease, he faced it with courage
and determination,” wrote Bel
Refoua. “He continued to cut and
edit James Cameron’s Avatar 3 until
the last few weeks of his life. His life
journey is very unique, and
everything he touches is better.”

Refoua, a seasoned and widely
respected editor, is a longtime
Cameron collaborator who worked
with the legendary filmmaker on the
Avatar series, the Fox sci-fi series
Dark Angels and Titanic No. 1
documentary “Ghost of the Abyss”.
Refoua, along with Cameron and
Stephen E. Rivkin, was nominated
for a 2010 Oscar for Best
Achievement in Film Editing for his
work on Avatar.

In a 2010 interview with Cine
Montage, Refoua said Cameron
called him in early 2007 to help him
work on Avatar for a few weeks. The
editor ended up working on this
groundbreaking project for over two
years. This was a major technical
challenge, as Avatar’s editorial team
had to navigate the process and find
new ways of working. “The focus for
all of us was: How do we make this
film in a meaningful way? What’s the
best way to do it? There’s no set
process, so we discover things over
time” Refoua told Cine Montage
Cameron, Refoua, and Rivkin will
reunite for Avatar: Way of Water in
2022, with the late David Brenner
joining as a fourth editor for another
large, technically demanding
project. Refoua’s work will also
appear in the upcoming Avatar 3.

A favorite of Antoine Fuqua, Refoua
has worked with the director on four
consecutive films, including action-
adventure Olympus Has Fallen
(2013), Denzel Washington thiller
The Equalizer (2014) and brutal
boxing drama Southpaw (2015). )
and Sony’s budget remake of The
Magnificent Seven (2016).