Ronit Bezalel

Ronit is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and photographer based in Chicago and Jerusalem. She tells stories about connections and communities. About underdogs and those in the margins. Growing up Jewish in rural America with British and Israeli immigrant parents, she experienced firsthand what it’s like to be an outsider. She draws from this outsider perspective in her work, as she became sharply acute to observing the lives of others and finding the threads of connections. Her stories explore stereotypes and build bridges between disparate communities.

After graduating with a B.A. in English from McGill University, Ronit worked at the National Film Board of Canada where she directed, "When Shirley Met Florence." She then moved to Chicago and obtained her M.F.A. in Film and Video from Columbia College Chicago. Ronit created two documentaries about the demolition of Chicago's Cabrini Green public housing and the displacement of a Black community from the city center, titled "Voices of Cabrini" and "70 Acres in Chicago."

Ms. Bezalel's journey morphed into focusing on photography after she bought a Sony A7 digital camera in 2013 and never looked back. Her work has been featured in numerous publications including Modern Luxury Magazine, Times of Israel, Chicagoist, Gaper’s Block,  Hyde Park Herald, and Windy City Times. She has also exhibited work at R. Public House and the PO Box Collective Gallery in Chicago.

Most recently her work "Faces of Argyle" is being exhibited at the Everybody's Coffee and Gallery in Chicago.