---
name: "John Refoua"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-refoua"
fi1m_id: "john-refoua"
imdb_id: "nm0716350"
tmdb_id: 58871
wikidata_id: "Q533802"
roles: ["Editor"]
born: "20 August 1960"
died: "14 May 2023"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 8
average_fi1m_score: 59
average_over: 8
updated: "2026-10-07T12:38:49.571109+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# John Refoua

## Identity

John Refoua

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/john-refoua
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** john-refoua
- **IMDb ID:** nm0716350
- **TMDB ID:** 58871
- **Wikidata ID:** Q533802
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Refoua, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q533802, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0716350/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/58871

Editor. Born 20 August 1960 in New York City. Died 14 May 2023.

## Details

- **Work:** Editor
- **Born:** 20 August 1960, New York City
- **Died:** 14 May 2023
- **Active:** 1990–2025
- **Frequently works with:** [James Cameron](https://film.one/person/james-cameron.md), [Jon Landau](https://film.one/person/jon-landau.md), [Sam Worthington](https://film.one/person/sam-worthington.md), [Sigourney Weaver](https://film.one/person/sigourney-weaver.md), [Stephen E. Rivkin](https://film.one/person/stephen-e-rivkin.md), [Stephen Lang](https://film.one/person/stephen-lang.md), [Zoe Saldaña](https://film.one/person/zoe-saldana.md), [Amanda Silver](https://film.one/person/amanda-silver.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 68 (2), 2000s 70 (1), 2010s 47 (3), 2020s 63 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 56 to 55 across 6 titles
- **Score spread:** 0 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 4 under 60
- **Genres:** Action 5, Adventure 5, Science Fiction 4, Drama 3, Comedy 1, Crime 1
- **Screen time:** 16 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $7,604m across 6 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Refoua, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q533802, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0716350/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/58871

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Avatar*](https://film.one/film/avatar.md) (70), [*Avatar: The Way of Water*](https://film.one/film/avatar-the-way-of-water.md) (68), [*Ally McBeal*](https://film.one/tv/ally-mcbeal.md) (63), [*Avatar: Fire and Ash*](https://film.one/film/avatar-fire-and-ash.md) (58)
- **Apple TV:** [*The Magnificent Seven*](https://film.one/film/the-magnificent-seven-2016.md) (54), [*Southpaw*](https://film.one/film/southpaw.md) (54), [*Transformers: The Last Knight*](https://film.one/film/transformers-the-last-knight.md) (34)
- **Hulu:** [*Law & Order*](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md) (72)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

John Refoua was an American film editor. He graduated from Oberlin College with a bachelor’s degree in economics and began his career in the early 1990s as an assistant editor on the television series *Twin Peaks*. He later worked on series including *Dark Angel*, *Touched by an Angel* and *Law & Order* before moving into feature films.

Refoua collaborated extensively with James Cameron, serving as an editor on *Ghosts of the Abyss* (2003) and the *Avatar* films. He shared an Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing on *Avatar* (2009) with Cameron and Stephen E. Rivkin. His other credits include *Olympus Has Fallen* (2013), *The Equalizer* (2014), *Southpaw* (2015), *The Magnificent Seven* (2016), *Transformers: The Last Knight* (2017) and *Geostorm* (2017). He continued working on *Avatar: Fire and Ash* (2025) until his death and received a posthumous editing credit on the film.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (8)

- *Avatar: Fire and Ash* (2025), Fi1m 58, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/avatar-fire-and-ash.md)
- *Avatar: The Way of Water* (2022), Fi1m 68, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/avatar-the-way-of-water.md)
- *Transformers: The Last Knight* (2017), Fi1m 34, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/transformers-the-last-knight.md)
- *The Magnificent Seven* (2016), Fi1m 54, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/the-magnificent-seven-2016.md)
- *Southpaw* (2015), Fi1m 54, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/southpaw.md)
- *Avatar* (2009), Fi1m 70, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/avatar.md)
- *Ally McBeal* (1997), Fi1m 63, Editor — [page](https://film.one/tv/ally-mcbeal.md)
- *Law & Order* (1990), Fi1m 72, Editor — [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md)

## Complete filmography (20)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Avatar: Fire and Ash* (2025), Editor, In Memory Of — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/avatar-fire-and-ash.md)
- *Avatar: The Way of Water* (2022), Editor — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/avatar-the-way-of-water.md)
- *Geostorm* (2017), Editor
- *Transformers: The Last Knight* (2017), Editor — Fi1m 34, [page](https://film.one/film/transformers-the-last-knight.md)
- *The Magnificent Seven* (2016), Editor — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/the-magnificent-seven-2016.md)
- *Southpaw* (2015), Editor — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/southpaw.md)
- *The Equalizer* (2014), Editor
- *Sleepy Hollow* (2013), series, Editor
- *Olympus Has Fallen* (2013), Editor
- *21 & Over* (2013), Editor
- *Avatar* (2009), Editor — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/avatar.md)
- *Balls of Fury* (2007), Editor
- *Reno 911!: Miami* (2007), Editor
- *L.A. Twister* (2004), Editor
- *Ghosts of the Abyss* (2003), Editor
- *CSI: Miami* (2002), series, Editor
- *Dark Angel* (2000), series, Editor
- *Ally McBeal* (1997), series, Editor — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/tv/ally-mcbeal.md)
- *Earth Angel* (1991), Assistant Editor
- *Law & Order* (1990), series, Editor — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 2010: Best Film Editing (nominated), for *Avatar*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/john-refoua