2008 District 5370 Conference

Award-winning documentary filmmaker and television journalist Avi Lewis is one of Canada's most controversial and eloquent media personalities. He is the son of diplomat and former Ontario NDP Leader and UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS Stephen Lewis and journalist Michele Landsberg, and the grandson of former NDP leader David Lewis. He is married to activist and author Naomi Klein, well known for her political analyses of corporate globalization.

 

Avi is the current host of the TV series On the Map, a daily international news analysis program, described as "a fast-paced half-hour show with substance and attitude." On the Map combines sharp talk, compelling footage from around the glove, and a wide spectrum of passionate opinion.

 

His previous show, The Big Picture, aired on CBC Newsworld in the fall of 2006 and premiered Canadian and international documentaries that sparked passion and controversy, igniting debates you didn't want to miss.

 

As a former host and producer of CounterSpin on CBC Newsworld, Avi presided over more than 500 nationally televised debates in three years.  He crisscrossed the country, hosting huge public forums in small communities and big cities alike.

 

On CITY TV's landmark music journalism show, The New Music, Avi interviewed hundreds of celebreties from David Bowie and Leonard Cohen to The Rolling Stones and the Spice Girls.

 

At the same time, in the 1990s, Avi was MuchMusic's political specialist, pioneering political "uncoverage" for a youth audience, and winning a Gemini Award for Best Special Event Coverage.

 

Avi took a break from his on-air career to direct his first feature length film entitled The Take. Set in Argentina, it's an emotional story of hope and resistance in the global economy. The New York Times called it "a stirring, idealistic documentary"; it was nominated for four Gemini Awards, and won the International Jury Prize at the American Film Institute Festival in Los Angeles. 

Avi Lewis is a funny and thoughtful speaker who knows how to keep an audience on its toes. His anecdotes and arguments draw on his globetrotting research, his celebrity-studded television experience, and the passion of a political dynasty of which he is the third generation.