Avo John Kambourian

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California – Avo John has always been surrounded by movies, but they still seemed somewhat foreign to him early in life because no one at home watched them. His parents, who immigrated to the US during the fallout of the Lebanese Civil War in the early 80s, knew absolutely nothing about cinema. He picked up a camera at age 10 and cast his friends in comedic short films about Batman. But what intrigued him more was when his parents bought a second VCR player, and he was able to edit home made movies and produce more elaborate amateur tapes. As technology progressed, he picked up editing while still in high school. In 2010 he traveled to Armenia, where he had an internship at Bars Media studios, a documentary company. There Kambourian found his passion for documentaries with a film called The Last Tightrope Dancer of Armenia, which he helped subtitle for international release. Upon returning to the US he earned his BA in Communication at UC San Diego. But it was what he learned outside of the classroom, through making films with friends at the on campus TV station, which gave him the courage to pursue making documentaries, but only as a hobby. In subsequent years he returned to Armenia in between jobs as a PA, Assistant Editor, to work on his own documentaries about the region. In 2015 he worked with the UNHRC and OxFam to successfully raise funding for refugee housing in Armenia for people who fled there during the ongoing Syrian Civil War. In 2017 he released a docuseries called Echoes of Survival, about artists shaped by their cultural identity as Armenian’s in America, which won the Audience Award at the Pomegranate Film Festival. Today Avo John works in post-production as an Editor, having worked for companies such as Vice, Nat Geo, Hit RECord, and BMG Films. Most recently, he showcased a documentary about rocker Joan Jett (of ‘I Love Rock N Roll’ fame) at Sundance 2018.