Abigail Disney
Encyclopedia
Abigail E. Disney is a filmmaker, philanthropist
, and scholar known for her documentary films focused on social themes.
. She is the daughter of Roy E. Disney
and granddaughter of Roy O. Disney
, co-founder of The Walt Disney Company
with his brother Walt Disney
. She turned to the family business of filmmaking after she met Liberia
n peace activist Leymah Gbowee
in 2006 and Nobel Peace Prize winner 2011. Her filmmaking career began with a documentary film, Pray the Devil Back to Hell
, made with Emmy Award
-winning director Gini Reticker.
In 2008 she launched Peace is Loud, an organization that supports female voices and international peace-building through nonviolent means. Peace is Loud organized a 2009 Global Peace Tour as part of the UN’s International Day of Peace
. The tour brought Pray the Devil Back to Hell to hundreds of community screenings in churches, living rooms, community spaces, and forums in the U.S. and abroad, sharing the inspirational story of the women of Liberia. Peace is Loud funded a 10-day project held in three different cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo
to help foster female peace-building capacity.
Her latest project with partners Pamela Hogan and Gini Reticker is Women, War & Peace which airs starting October 11, 2011 on PBS, and will run each Tuesday night until November 8th. It is a 5 part special series that looks at the untold story of women in wartime around the world.
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, and scholar known for her documentary films focused on social themes.
Biography
Abigail E. Disney was born in 1960 and was raised in North Hollywood, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. She is the daughter of Roy E. Disney
Roy E. Disney
Roy Edward Disney, KCSG was a longtime senior executive for The Walt Disney Company, which his father Roy Oliver Disney and his uncle Walt Disney founded. At the time of his death he was a shareholder , and served as a consultant for the company and Director Emeritus for the Board of Directors...
and granddaughter of Roy O. Disney
Roy O. Disney
Roy Oliver Disney was, with his younger brother, Walt Disney, the co-founder of what is now The Walt Disney Company.-Early life:...
, co-founder of The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
with his brother Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
. She turned to the family business of filmmaking after she met Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
n peace activist Leymah Gbowee
Leymah Gbowee
Leymah Roberta Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist responsible for leading a women's peace movement that brought an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. This led to the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia, the first African nation with a female president...
in 2006 and Nobel Peace Prize winner 2011. Her filmmaking career began with a documentary film, Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Pray the Devil Back to Hell is a documentary film directed by Gini Reticker and produced by Abigail Disney. The film premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Documentary. The film had its theatrical release in New York City on November 7, 2008.The film documents...
, made with Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning director Gini Reticker.
In 2008 she launched Peace is Loud, an organization that supports female voices and international peace-building through nonviolent means. Peace is Loud organized a 2009 Global Peace Tour as part of the UN’s International Day of Peace
International Day of Peace
The International Day of Peace, also known as the World Peace Day, occurs annually on 21 September. It is dedicated to peace, and specifically the absence of war, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone. It is observed by many nations, political groups, military...
. The tour brought Pray the Devil Back to Hell to hundreds of community screenings in churches, living rooms, community spaces, and forums in the U.S. and abroad, sharing the inspirational story of the women of Liberia. Peace is Loud funded a 10-day project held in three different cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
to help foster female peace-building capacity.
Her latest project with partners Pamela Hogan and Gini Reticker is Women, War & Peace which airs starting October 11, 2011 on PBS, and will run each Tuesday night until November 8th. It is a 5 part special series that looks at the untold story of women in wartime around the world.
Films
- Family AffairFamily Affair (film)Family Affair is a documentary film directed by Chico Colvard, exploring a history of abuse that had gone on inside his family, as a child. The movie was produced by Chico Colvard and Liz Garbus. It opened theatrically in Los Angeles on July 30th, 2010 and opened in New York City on August 13th,...
, 2010 - Sun Come Up, 2010
- PlaygroundPlayground (2009 film)Playground is 2009 documentary directed by Libby Spears. The film focuses on the child sex trade in the United States.Playground challenges the notion that the sexual exploitation of children is limited to back-alley brothels in developing countries and traces the epidemic of exploitation to its...
, 2009 - Pray the Devil Back to HellPray the Devil Back to HellPray the Devil Back to Hell is a documentary film directed by Gini Reticker and produced by Abigail Disney. The film premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Documentary. The film had its theatrical release in New York City on November 7, 2008.The film documents...
, 2008
Community service
- Co-Founder and co-President of the Daphne Foundation, which funds programs that confront the causes and consequences of poverty in the five boroughs of New York City with a particular interest in grassroots and emerging organizations.
- Board member of Roy Disney Family Foundation, The White House ProjectThe White House ProjectThe White House Project is an American non-profit organization, which, according to its mission statement, "aims to advance women’s leadership in all communities and sectors, up to the U.S...
, the Global Fund for WomenGlobal Fund for WomenThe Global Fund for Women is the largest non-profit foundation in the world funding women's human rights. It was founded in 1987 by New Zealander Anne Firth Murray, and co-founded by Frances Kissling and Laura Lederer to fund women's initiatives around the world...
, the Fund for the City of New York, and Peace is Loud
Education
- BA from YaleYALERapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
- Masters in English Literature from Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
- PhD in English from Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...