John Zaritsky
Encyclopedia
John Zaritsky is a Canadian documentarian film maker. He was the recipient of an Academy Award in 1982 for his documentary Just Another Missing Kid
. He also won a Cable Ace Award in 1987 for Rapists: Can They be Stopped, a Golden Gavel Award from the American Bar Association
for My Husband is Going to Kill Me, a Robert F. Kennedy
Foundation Award for “Born in Africa”, and an DuPont-Columbia Award
in 1994 for Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo
.
Born in St. Catharines, Ontario
, and a graduate of Denis Morris Catholic High School
in 1961, he studied at the University of Toronto
. Prior to entering film, Zaritsky worked as a newspaper reporter for seven years. In 1970, he received a Ford Foundation
Fellowship to study at the Washington Journalism Center. In 1972, he won a National Newspaper Award for his investigative reporting at the Globe and Mail newspaper.
His films have won awards at the New York Film Festival
, the American Film Festival, Banff Television Festival, Houston International Film Festival, Columbus Ohio Film Festival, and the John Muir Medical Film Festival. Three films, “Broken Promises”, “Born in Africa”, and “Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo” were nominated for Emmy Awards. In addition, Zaritsky has won six Geminis, Canada’s national television award. In 1995-96, he was an artist-in-residence at the graduate school of journalism, University of California
at Berkeley.
He also directed and produced the documentary Right to Die?
, which documented the assisted suicide of Craig Ewert by the group Dignitas
. The film also features a discussion of the case of Betty and George Coumbias
, a Canadian couple seeking legal approval for their suicide pact.
Right to Die? attracted extraordinary publicity in Britain when it aired in December 2008. According to the Associated Press, "The documentary ... has been shown on Canadian and Swiss TV and at numerous film festivals, where it provoked little controversy. But it struck a raw nerve in Britain, where the divisive debate over assisted suicide
remains unresolved."
Just Another Missing Kid
Just Another Missing Kid is a 1981 documentary film about the search for a missing teenager directed by John Zaritsky. Eric Wilson had left his native Ottawa in July 1978 in a Volkswagen camper on a trip to Boulder, Colorado. Somewhere in Nebraska he disappeared. The movie traces how his family...
. He also won a Cable Ace Award in 1987 for Rapists: Can They be Stopped, a Golden Gavel Award from the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
for My Husband is Going to Kill Me, a Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
Foundation Award for “Born in Africa”, and an DuPont-Columbia Award
DuPont-Columbia Award
The Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award is an American award that honors excellence in broadcast journalism. The awards, administered since 1968 by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City, are considered a broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, another...
in 1994 for Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo
Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo
Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo was an international documentary about the deaths of Admira Ismić and Boško Brkić . The couple were natives of the former Yugoslavia, living in the city of Sarajevo...
.
Born in St. Catharines, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and a graduate of Denis Morris Catholic High School
Denis Morris Catholic High School
Denis Morris Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario. The school is administered by the Niagara Catholic District School Board.-Notable alumni:*Linda Evangelista - Supermodel...
in 1961, he studied at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. Prior to entering film, Zaritsky worked as a newspaper reporter for seven years. In 1970, he received a Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
Fellowship to study at the Washington Journalism Center. In 1972, he won a National Newspaper Award for his investigative reporting at the Globe and Mail newspaper.
His films have won awards at the New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
, the American Film Festival, Banff Television Festival, Houston International Film Festival, Columbus Ohio Film Festival, and the John Muir Medical Film Festival. Three films, “Broken Promises”, “Born in Africa”, and “Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo” were nominated for Emmy Awards. In addition, Zaritsky has won six Geminis, Canada’s national television award. In 1995-96, he was an artist-in-residence at the graduate school of journalism, University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
at Berkeley.
He also directed and produced the documentary Right to Die?
Right to Die?
Right to Die? is a documentary aired on Sky Real Lives in December 2008 about the assisted suicide of Craig Colby Ewert , a 59-year-old retired university professor who suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Oscar-winning Canadian John Zaritsky directed and produced the film...
, which documented the assisted suicide of Craig Ewert by the group Dignitas
Dignitas (euthanasia group)
Dignitas is a Swiss assisted dying group that helps those with terminal illness and severe physical and mental illnesses to die assisted by qualified doctors and nurses...
. The film also features a discussion of the case of Betty and George Coumbias
Betty and George Coumbias
Betty and George Coumbias were a Canadian married couple who sought to become the first husband and wife to complete simultaneous suicides with legal authorization. They were featured in John Zaritsky's 2007 documentary, The Suicide Tourist...
, a Canadian couple seeking legal approval for their suicide pact.
Right to Die? attracted extraordinary publicity in Britain when it aired in December 2008. According to the Associated Press, "The documentary ... has been shown on Canadian and Swiss TV and at numerous film festivals, where it provoked little controversy. But it struck a raw nerve in Britain, where the divisive debate over assisted suicide
Assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is the common term for actions by which an individual helps another person voluntarily bring about his or her own death. "Assistance" may mean providing one with the means to end one's own life, but may extend to other actions. It differs to euthanasia where another person ends...
remains unresolved."
External links
- http://www.pointgreypictures.com/john.htm
- Internet Movie Database