Danya Abt was raised in Chicago and Detroit. She received a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and a hands-on education in filmmaking in New York.
Her first film, Food Water Revolution captures the early days of Iraq Veterans Against the War and played at MOMA's Documentary Fortnight. Danya later worked with IVAW to produce “Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan” a 3-day televised speak out by young veterans.
In the following years Danya worked on a documentary about the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline, living in Cameroon for part of the time. She then worked as a producer for Grit Tv with Laura Flanders, shooting segments for the show.
Danya continued to grow her career as an editor directing films in her available time. As a fellow of Uniondocs Collaborative Studio Danya made Eric Winter to Spring, a Vimeo Staff Pick featured at the True/False and Camden Film Festivals. Her piece for BBC Reel "The Cake That Survived WW2" tells the story of an Abt family recipe and was selected for a Lovie Award "Honouring the best of the European Internet." Her short film The Sinkhole was an official selection of the Traverse City Festival.
Danya is an active member of the documentary community and contributes her time and passion to the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective and the Alliance of Documentary Editors.
Press
“WHEN PERSONALITY TRAITS DON’T FIT THE NARRATIVE, THESE FILMMAKERS START ROLLING” OZY, 2018
“Interviewing Danya Abt” The Standard Print, 2017
“What Happened When Chad Found Oil?: 'Quel Souvenir' A Documentary” Save Virunga 2013
Guest Lectures
The New School - Editing practice and career
Sacred Heart University - Editing practice
SUNY Buffalo - Editing practice and career
Wagner College - Documentary editing
Teaching appointments
Downtown Community Television (DCTV) - Editing instructor
Sacred Heart University Masters in Film & Television - Instructor of editing history and practice
Skopelos International Film Festival - Filmmaking instructor