
“I Even Found Myself Taking Lines into My Personal Life”: Editor Berenice Chavez on Come See Me in the Good Light

In the latest documentary by Ryan White (Pamela, A Love Story; Ask Dr. Ruth), poets Andrea and Meg turn to their art to help them cope with Andrea’s cancer diagnosis. Come See Me in the Good Light will screen as part of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s Premieres section.
Editor Berenice Chavez, who also edited Pamela, A Love Story returns to the cutting room for Come See Me in the Good Light. Below, she talks about finding her way into Andrea and Meg’s life despite not, at least initially, being a fan of poetry.
See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here.
Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job?
Chavez: I’ve worked on multiple projects with director Ryan White, and he came to me for this project because of my previous work on character-driven documentaries. Neither of us is a poetry fan; neither of us was familiar with Andrea’s work, but we both recognized the universality of the themes and shared a creative vision to bring a unique rhythm and sentiment to the story. We approached with curiosity and patience, wanting the emotional core of the film—its humor, vulnerability, and intimacy—to really shine through, especially in the verité moments.
Filmmaker: In terms of advancing your film from its earliest assembly to your final cut, what were your goals as an editor? What elements of the film did you want to enhance, or preserve, or tease out or totally reshape?
Chavez: My primary goal was to preserve the humor and authenticity of Andrea and Meg. From the beginning, I focused on editing the verité scenes as long as possible to truly understand who these amazing human beings are. As the process continued, we began trimming and refining, but kept those tiny quirks that might not be vital to the plot but were crucial to conveying their personalities. I focused on ensuring that the emotional beats hit strongly and allowing the quieter moments space to breathe while maintaining momentum in the more energetic, humorous scenes, like the poems.
Filmmaker: How did you achieve these goals? What types of editing techniques, or processes, or feedback screenings allowed this work to occur?
Chavez: I experimented with pacing, using jump cuts in some scenes and letting others breathe longer to emphasize their emotional stakes. We began by editing individual scenes, then gradually shaped a rough cut before focusing on story structure. Andrea’s cancer progression is measured by a blood test every three weeks, meaning there is a regular cycle of emotional highs and lows as part of a tumultuous path with an uncertain end. Ryan and I worked closely together to balance these peaks and valleys of pain or joy within the larger arc of Andrea’s journey. We also knew we wanted to incorporate Andrea’s brilliant poetry but wanted to be sure it was motivated and balanced, so we even utilized the old cork board & notecard method to visually track the beats.
Filmmaker: As an editor, how did you come up in the business, and what influences have affected your work?
Chavez: I graduated from AFI, then started as an assistant editor to Helen Kearns. She taught me the ins and outs of documentary editing. Sitting in on screenings and supporting and observing Helen made me realize how much the editing process shapes a film, especially in the documentary industry. Through Helen, I connected with the Tripod Media team, who produce the kind of character-driven films I’m passionate about. Influences like Helen Kearns, Ryan White, and Jessica Hargrave have deeply impacted my approach. Their work inspired me to focus on emotional storytelling and character-driven editing.
Filmmaker: What editing system did you use, and why?
Chavez: I used Avid Media Composer because it offers the best workflow for offline editing, particularly with large amounts of footage. Its flexibility with media management allowed me to work efficiently through multiple versions of sequences as we honed the story.
Filmmaker: What was the most difficult scene to cut and why? And how did you do it?
Chavez: The most challenging scene to cut was the live show performance. It was crucial to capture not just the scale of the event but also the emotional depth: this was a pivotal and vulnerable moment for Andrea, who hadn’t performed in years and yearned to connect with an audience but was limited by their health. We shot the show on six cameras so there were so many different versions that could exist: I experimented for weeks with pacing and shot selection, and worked closely with sound design and music to maintain both intensity and intimacy. I needed to convey the emotional complexity within Andrea—fear, excitement, joy, nerves—while maintaining the breadth and connection of the performance.
Filmmaker: Finally, now that the process is over, what new meanings has the film taken on for you? What did you discover in the footage that you might not have seen initially, and how does your final understanding of the film differ from the understanding that you began with?
Chavez: After hearing the concept, I initially saw the film as a straightforward verité documentary and assumed the tone would be dark and sad. But as I went through the footage, I saw how funny and fun Andrea and their partner Meg are, and I realized the quieter moments, in particular, revealed Andrea and Meg in a more intimate light. Andrea and Meg were so raw and open as subjects, and at such a difficult time, so the film ended up feeling far more intimate than I had expected. I also noticed recurring visual motifs in their everyday life—such as windchimes, basketball hoops, and windows—that added subtle depth to the themes. Sometimes with subjects you’re looking for that moment of clarity when they say something insightful, but with Andrea there were too many of these moments and it was hard to let some of them go. I even found myself taking lines from Andrea and Meg into my personal life, like “Name it love,” which became an instant favorite.