Editors
Interviews - Editors
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“You Couldn’t Write This Story; No One Would Believe You if You Did”: Editor Berny McGurk on My Old School
Brandon Lee, 16, moved from Canada to Glasgow and enrolled in Bearsden Academy after the death of his mother, where he impressed teachers with both his knowledge and his temperament: he protected bullied students and helped bullies reform. In My Old School, director Jono McLeod, a former classmate of Brandon, investigates his story. Below, editor Berny McGurk discusses his first experiences in the industry as a teenager and the importance of not overloading the audience and making sure every reveal lands when telling a true story with countless twists. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor […]
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“We Wanted to Find Moments That Celebrated Women Reclaiming Birth”: DP Jenni Morello on Aftershock
With Aftershock, Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee turn their camera toward the crisis of the maternal mortality as it affects Black women in the United States. The film focuses on two widowers whose partners died preventable deaths during childbirth as they build support and rally for justice. Below, cinematographer Jenni Morello discusses the challenges of shooting a vérité when everyone is masked and the search for something unusual in every shot. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this […]
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“He Knew Exactly What Movie He Wanted to Make”: Editor Henry Hayes on Cha Cha Real Smooth
Cooper Raiff’s follow-up to his 2020 SXSW winner Shithouse follows a recent alum who, unable to find a career path, moves back home and begins to work as a party-starter for his younger brother’s classmates. When he befriends a local’s mom, he begins to imagine a different future for himself. Editor Henry Hayes balancing humor and pathos and how working with friends and on small projects gave him space to experiment. 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? Hayes: […]
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“My Process was Much Like Design Brainstorming”: Editor Anisha Acharya on Neptune Frost
Although its distinct color palette is more immediately noticeable, Neptune Frost, a directorial collaboration by slam poet Saul Williams and actress-cinematographer Anisia Uzeyman, also weaves a complex Afrofuturist narrative into a musical that brings pressing political questions about colonialism, environmentalism, and more to the forefront. Editor Anisha Acharya explains how a plethora of narrative interpretations informed the final product, and how the filmmakers struck a balance between complexity and accessibility. 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? Acharya: […]
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“A Labor of Love, Every Step of the Way”: Editor Grace Zarah on Sirens
Although Sirens captures a historic band—the all-woman Lebanese thrash metal band Slave to Sirens—at an equally historic moment in their nation’s history, director Rita Baghdadi and editor Grace Zarah quickly agreed that it was neither of these threads but instead the moments of friendship that were at the heart of their footage. Below, Zarah talks about looking for those moments and determining how to depict the August 2020 port explosion in Beirut. 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 […]
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“We Wanted to Make Sure There Was Intention With Every Shift”: Editor Stacy Moon on Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul, Adamma Ebo’s feature-length adaptation of their short film of the same name about a couple attempting to rebuild the congregation of their once-thriving megachurch after a scandal. Partially shot in the faux-documentary style of the film’s own documentarians, the film required the hand of a diligent editor to make every shift between the film’s different styles meaningful; editor Stacy Moon discusses how she made these shifts purposeful and more below. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your […]
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“We Wanted to Craft a Film That Wasn’t So Tightly Hewn to a Narrative Arc”: Editor Aaron Wickenden on 2nd Chance
2nd Chance, like Ramin Bahrani’s previous films, tells the story of a precarious person attempting to attain greater wealth and security. For his first documentary, Bahrani has investigated the story of Richard Davis, a bankrupt pizzeria owner who invented the modern bulletproof vest, only to embroiled in countless subsequent controversies. Editor Aaron Wickenden explains how the films of Werner Herzog influenced 2nd Chance and recalls the times he nearly ran over Roger Ebert and Michael Shannon. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your […]
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“This Film is Here to Illuminate and Mediate Objectification for You”: Editor Cecily Rhett on Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power
Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power is Nina Menkes’ adaptation of her own talk connecting the objectification of women in cinema to employment discrimination and sexual assault. Unlike the talk, however, the film is organized thematically rather than chronologically, and it makes use of film clips and interviews with women who have worked in the industry to makes its connection. Cecily Rhett, the film’s editor, explains how she structured the film and how it vindicated her feelings about the insidious effects of sexism within the film industry. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and […]
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“Skate Videos Really Influenced My Sensibility as a Filmmaker”: Editor Bryan Mason on Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
In Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Emma Thompson plays a retired schoolteacher who is certain she has never had good sex. She decides to change that by checking into a hotel room and hiring a sex worker, but he quickly appears to take an interest in her that is more than professional. Much of the film consists of these two characters in a hotel room, and editor Bryan Mason discusses the importance of highlighting performances and chemistry to keep the audience’s attention. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors […]
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“Acting Is Truly Not Just About the Language You Speak”: Editor Linda Jildmalm on Hatching
Hatching, a Finnish film that combines satire of modern “lifestyle” blogging with elements of coming-of-age films and body horror, follows a socially isolated pre-teen girl, Tinja, as she discovers and then nurtures the egg of a wounded bird. The egg eventually hatches, and Tinja christens her new best friend Alli. Editor Linda Jildmalm explained how she edited a film shot in a language she does not speak and worked to preserve the director’s vision. 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 […]
