Editors
Interviews - Editors
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Trade Wars: Ian Bell on WTO/99
WTO/99
The archival documentary WTO/99 functions both as historical document and prophecy of the future, chronicling the four days in 1999 when anti-globalization activists from multiple movements—labor unions, student groups, teamsters, anarchists, nonprofit organizations like Global Exchange and the Rainforest Action… Read more
“The Final Film Often Grows From a Process of Letting Go of Preconceived Ideas…” Editor Stephania Dulowski on Bunnylovr
Still from Bunnylovr. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
In Katarina Zhu’s Sundance Competition debut, Bunnylovr, a New York City-based Chinese American cam girl (played by the writer/director) navigates a number of fraught personal relationships (her ex, terminally ill father, artist best friend and one boundary-pushing client) while also… Read more
“Loads of the Story Was Abstracted”: Editor Irfan Van Tuijl on Mad Bills to Pay
Still from Mad Bills to Pay.
Joel Alfonso Vargas has adapted his short May It Go Beautifully for You, Rico into the feature-length Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo), part of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s NEXT section. The film follows the… Read more
“Any Type of Work Has Things to Teach”: Editor Geoffrey Boothby on Didn’t Die
Still from Didn't Die. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Meera Menon’s 2025 Sundance Film Festival Midnights selection follows Vinita, a snarky podcast host in a post-apocalyptic world dealing with a philandering ex, traumatized siblings, and a dwindling audience. The film is a low-budget, black-and-white homage to George Romero updated… Read more
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“Enter into Disagreements with More Compassion”: Editors Hannah Gabriel, Rubin Daniels Jr., Leslie Simmer and Elise Ahrens on Bucks County, USA
Buck County, USA observes both adults and teenagers in the eponymous location, one of Pennsylvania’s pivotal counties for national and state elections. The series, directed and produced by Robert May and Barry Levinson, focuses on the political battles as seen through teens, looking at conflicts from the eyes of students across the political spectrum. Hannah Gabriel, Rubin Daniels Jr., Leslie Simmer and Elise Ahrens all served as editors on the series. Below, they discuss how the project showed them the common ground in viewpoints they would have otherwise dismissed and the challenges of telling a story that weaves together ten separate […]
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“I Often Think of Doc Editing as Being Similar to Poetry”: Editors Kate Hackett & Andy McAllister on Sally
Sally Ride is well-known for being the first woman in space, but less recognized is her 27-year partnership with Tam O’Shaughnessy. Director Cristina Costantini gives both the professional and the personal equal treatment in the Sundance Premieres documentary Sally. Much of the film consists of footage shot by NASA during astronaut training. Editors Kate Hackett and Andy McAllister were tasked with combing through NASA’s enormous archive for Sally. Below, they talk about the challenges and excitement of being presented with so much footage and the importance of keeping the film close to Sally Ride’s story. See all responses to our […]
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“Keep Working with the Psychology of the Characters”: Editor Linda Man on Sauna
Mathias Broe’s feature debut Sauna tells the story of a man thriving in Copenhagen’s queer community who falls for a transgender man, upending his conception of himself. The film is part of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Linda Man (Psychosia, 3 Things) served as editor for Sauna. Below, Man talks about restructuring the first act in order to capture the audience and keeping character psychology at the forefront. 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 […]
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“Look at This Not as Reportage of an Event, But as a Metaphor”: Editor Yousef Jubeh on Khartoum
Khartoum is a poetic documentary that retraces the stories of five Sudanese refugees during the coup and outbreak of the civil war. The film, directed by Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad, Tomeea Mohamed Ahmed and Phil Cox, is part of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Documentary Competition. Editor Yousef Jubeh was tasked with compiling archival material, documentary footage from Sudan and green screen studio material. Below, he talks inspiringly of Sudanese culture and history and describes a sequence in the film that, in its description, evokes Sergei Eisenstein’s Strike. See all responses to our annual Sundance […]
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“I’d Have Done This One on iMovie if They’d Asked Me To”: Editor Christopher Passig on Middletown
In the early 1990s, teenagers enrolled in Fred Isseks’ Electronic English would regularly report on the illegal dumping of toxic waste in their community, their investigation culminating in a student film at the end of the course. Now thirty years older, these former students and Isseks look back on their projects and reflect on their impact on the town’s legacy. Editor Christopher Passig delves into the process of cutting Middletown, including the insane amount of raw footage he worked with, the “extreme levels of candor” he tries to bring to every project and the sympathy he now feels for his […]
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“It’s Wonderful to Aim for the Poetic”: Editor Julian Hart on Never Get Busted
Never Get Busted documents a decorated narcotics officer in Texas turn toward libertarianism as he aims to expose police misconduct and helps drug users slip under the radar. The docuseries, more than five years in the making, takes its name from the YouTube channel of its subject, Barry Cooper. Never Get Busted will screen at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival as part of the episodic pilot showcase. Below, editor Julian Hart extols the benefits that split screens had on his projects and shares what he has learned working for a diverse assortment of projects. See all responses to our annual Sundance […]
