Ronit Bezalel

Ronit Bezalel has been creating social issue documentary films for over 25-years. Ronit began her career at the National Film Board of Canada, where she directed When Shirley Met Florence (1994). Her latest documentary, 70 Acres in Chicago: Cabrini Green tells the volatile story of the demolition of Chicago's Cabrini Green public housing. Bezalel’s award-winning film, Voices of Cabrini: Remaking Chicago’s Public Housing (1999), received a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Award to catalyze dialogue about affordable housing issues in Chicago neighborhoods. Newsweek magazine selected Ronit as one of the “Top 10 Women of the 21st Century” (Jan 8, 2001) for this work. Bezalel holds an MFA from Columbia College Chicago, and a BA from McGill University in Montreal.

Ronit Bezalel has been creating documentary films for over 25-years. She began her career at the National Film Board of Canada, where she directed When Shirley Met Florence (1994). Her latest documentary, 70 Acres in Chicago: Cabrini Green tells the volatile story of the demolition of Chicago's Cabrini Green public housing. This film is a sequel to Bezalel’s acclaimed Voices of Cabrini: Remaking Chicago's Public Housing (1999). Newsweek magazine selected Ronit as one of the "Top 10 Women of the 21st Century" for this work. Bezalel also created the feature documentary A Day on the Force: Women's Professional Tackle Football, with filmmakers Sree Nallamothu and Laurie Little.

Bezalel also works as a freelance photographer and journalist. Her work has been published in numerous publications including the Times of Israel, the Windy City Times, Modern Luxury, Chicagoist, and TheChainlink.Org. In 2014, she published a book of photos taken during Chicago’s notorious “Polar Vortex” winter.

Bezalel holds an MFA from Columbia College Chicago, and a BA from McGill University in Montreal.