Abigail Disney

Abigail E Disney is an Emmywinning director and producer philanthropist and the CEO and president of Fork Films An active supporter of peacebuilding she is passionate about advancing womens roles in the public sphere Abigails films and series focus on social issues and spotlight extraordinary people who speak truth to power Having grown up in a family of filmmakers Abigail turned to documentaries when inspired to tell the story of a brave group of women who used nonviolent protests and sex strikes to bring an end to Liberias long civil war She and renowned filmmaker Gini Reticker made the widely acclaimed Pray the Devil Back to Hell which is broadly credited with highlighting the achievements of Leymah Gbowee who received a Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 Abigail and Gini went on to found Fork Films which is known for making and funding high profile critically acclaimed documentaries that are seen on PBS Netflix HBO and other major outlets In addition to producing original films Fork Films awards grants to nonfiction films that promote peacebuilding human rights and social justice with a particular emphasis on projects with women behind or in front of the camera As of June 2017 Fork Films has awarded over 4 million to 90 documentaries including Cameraperson Trapped 1971 The Mask You Live In Citizen Koch Hot Girls Wanted The Invisible War and Sun Come Up Fork Films grantees have premiered at top tier film festivals won major awards and moved the needle on important social issues In 2009 Abigail founded Peace is Loud a nonprofit that inspires action through media and live events that spotlight women leaders on the frontline of peacebuilding worldwide Abigails directorial debut Emmywinning The Armor of Light codirected by Kathleen Hughes premiered at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival The film follows Reverend Rob Schenck an Evangelical minister and Lucy McBath the mother of a teenage shooting victim who ask is it possible to be both progun and prolife Peace is Loud led the outreach and engagement campaign for The Armor of Light to restore a moral ethical and theological framework to the conversation about gun violence in America The campaign has initiated and supported dialogue with faith leaders and communities around the country reaching out beyond the documentary film community to target dozens of conservative evangelical influencers In 2012 along with Pamela Hogan and Gini Reticker Abigail created and executive produced the firstofitskind series for PBS Women War Peace The fivepart series looked at women in modern war as active agents for peace and positive change makers in their communities It garnered the Overseas Press Clubs Edward R Murrow Award a Gracie Award and a Television Academy Honor Season II of the series is currently in production Abigail is the recipient of numerous awards including an honor by the International Womens Media Foundation for advancing womens issues and peace initiatives IDAs Amicus Award The International Advocate for Peace Award presented by Cardozo Law School and the Epic Award presented by The White House Project Disney received her Bachelors degree from Yale University her Masters degree from Stanford University and her Doctorate from Columbia University She is a mother of four