Elaine Mitchell Attias is a prize-winning documentary film writer-producer, syndicated international journalist and life-long political activist for human rights and social justice. Elaine was born on 8th June, 1928 as the youngest of four children, and was brought up in Canada. She studied Economics at the University of Chicago, and undertook graduate work in Theatre Arts at both University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Southern California.

Becoming politically active after graduation, Elaine went to work for a Labour Union in San Francisco, run by Harry Bridge, a famous American Labour Leader, and wrote for the Union Paper.

Elaine later became involved in making documentaries and worked with Martin Scorsese, along with other top directors on the experience of immigration to America, the labour of immigrants in opening up the West, and on heart disease amongst children. She served as Vice President of Tantalus Production (winner of seventeen international film awards), and the National Communications Foundation, based in Los Angeles, California. She is a board member of Human Rights Watch, PEN-USA, the American Jewish Committee, University of Elections and Creative Exchange and Center for Creative Communities. She is a member of the International Woman’s Forum, a Founder of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, and President of the Attias Family Foundation.

Her newspaper and magazine articles, dealing with developing political, social and cultural change, bring her to base in Europe three months of the year. Home is Los Angeles, California where she is a member of the Board of Directors of PEN USA. Her work appears in major newspaper and magazines in the USA, Europe, Canada and Asia.. She is currently working on a book dealing with the growing understanding in the Western World of the pivotal role the arts and creativity play in achieving sustainable development and human well-being.