Editors
Interviews - Editors
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“Be Very Conscious About Pruning Unnecessary Branches”: Editor Silvija Vilkaite on Slow
When contemporary dancer Elena (Greta Grinevičiūtė) meets sign language interpreter Dovydas (Kęstutis Cicėnas), they’re immediately attracted to each other. Slowly, their bond grows more intimate, but becomes somewhat complicated when Dovydas discloses his asexuality. Yet the pair commit to recognizing and facilitating each other’s needs—until they inevitably become weary of constant compromise, leading them to explore the limits of their relationship. Slow, writer-director Marija Kavtaradze’s sophomore feature, premiered at Sundance in the World Cinema Dramatic category. Editor Silvija Vilkaite discusses how she approached cutting the film, a process which she considers “a pleasure.” See all responses to our annual Sundance […]
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“I Couldn’t Even Tell You Who Cut What”: Editors Brett Banks and Chris Iversen on Willie Nelson & Family
Archival and present-day footage are utilized to create a non-linear portrait of a legendary singer-songwriter in Willie Nelson & Family, a seven-part docuseries from directors Thom Zimny and Oren Moverman. Encompassing all seven decades of Nelson’s career, the series also touches upon his “philanthropy, marijuana advocacy, and activism on behalf of the American farmer.” Editors Brett Banks and Chris Iversen discuss their collaborative cut, resulting in a final product that’s an “amalgam” of both of their editing choices and styles. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the […]
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“Figuring Out How and When to Peel Back the Layers of the Story Was Crucial”: Editor David Mehlman on Murder in Big Horn
The epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) in Montana’s Big Horn County and its surrounding areas is the focus of the doc Murder in Big Horn from directors Razelle Benally and Matthew Galkin. With dozens of young women and girls from Crow and Northern Cheyenne Nations having gone missing over the past decade, the filmmakers utilize interviews with grieving loved ones, Native journalists and local law enforcement to try and understand the circumstances surrounding these tragic cold cases. Editor David Mehlman talks about cutting the three-part docuseries, including his longstanding collaboration with much of the team involved. See […]
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“My Techniques Are Intuitive”: Editors Marc Boucrot and Jacqueline Castel on My Animal
Lycanthropy serves as a metaphor for burgeoning queer desire in My Animal from director Jacqueline Castel. Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) is a benchwarmer on her local hockey team and deals with an alcoholic mother at home. Adding to her misery is the fact that she’s confined to her quarters during each full moon due to a dangerous transformation occurring within her. She finally finds a salve in Jonny (Amandla Stenberg), a figure skater who recently moved to town. Desperate to flee from her myriad problems, Heather hopes that Jonny will join her on the journey to society’s outskirts. Edited by […]
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“Don’t Settle for What Your Eyes See on the First Day”: Editor Clara Martínez Malagelada on La Pecera
When Noelia’s (Isel Rodríguez) cancer returns, she eschews traditional treatments and retreats to the Puerto Rican island of Vieques where she spent her childhood. Suffering severe contamination from its use as a U.S. Army testing site (and with Hurricane Irma inching closer), Noelia grapples with the painful legacy that lingers over Vieques in La Pecera, writer-director Glorimar Marrero Sánchez’s feature debut. Editor Clara Martínez Malagelada talks about cutting La Pecera, coming on board after the film’s original editor left the project. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being […]
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“I Love To Look For Good Reactions”: Editor Whitney Houser on Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out
In Jake Van Wagoner’s Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out, new kid in town Itsy (Emma Tremblay) befriends her neighbor Calvin (Jacob Buster) who harbors a strange suspicion. Obsessed with the cosmos, he constantly gazes at the stars and hopes that an alien spaceship that he believes abducted his parents will return to beam him up as well. Editor Whitney Houser discusses cutting the film, which premiered in Sundance’s Kids section. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? […]
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“A Collaboration of Kindred Expression”: Editor Mark Bukdahl on Twice Colonized
Greenlandic Inuit activist and lawyer Aaju Peter is the subject of Twice Colonized, a documentary by filmmaker Lin Alluna. Through her work, she forces colonizing forces Denmark and Canada to pay for their crimes, while also inspiring Westerners to grapple with the ways that they are also complicit in imperialist injustices. As she’s preparing for an Indigenous forum at the EU, however, her youngest son suddenly dies, bringing forth an extended period of intense grief and an eventual path toward healing. Editor Mark Bukdahl talks about cutting the film, including his non-cinematic inspirations and how “editing is an exercise in […]
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“This Is Filmmaking as an Artistic and Cultural Necessity”: Editor Nathan Delannoy on Mami Wata
The seaside village of Iyi is the setting for C.J. “Fiery” Obasi’s mythical Mami Wata, which chronicles the fraught relationship between an all-powerful African water deity and the villagers who are currently embroiled in a period of unrest. The widely respected Mama Efe (Rita Edochie) acts as the intermediary between the titular water goddess Mami Wata and the villagers, but the death of a young boy further provokes the villagers toward an act of violence that no entity can control. Editor Nathan Delannoy discusses the process of cutting the gorgeous black and white film, including how he followed his gut […]
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“Post-it Notes Always Are a Huge Help”: Editor Thomas Pooters on When It Melts
Actress Veerle Baetens’s feature debut When It Melts, adapted from Lize Spit’s novel The Melting, follows Eva (Charlotte De Bruyne) as she returns to her hometown for a funeral with an ice block packed in the back of her car. While she waits out this frigid winter (and as the ice block slowly shrinks), she recalls a scorching summer during her adolescence that forever altered the course of her life. Editor Thomas Pooters shares his experience cutting Baetens’s film, a process that entailed many Post-it notes and enlightening conversations about gender. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews […]
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“Nothing Is Wasted in the Process of Documentary Editing”: Editor Jean Rheem on Bad Press
When the 2015 Free Press Act is repealed, Angel Ellis and her colleagues at Mvskoke Media in Okmulgee, Oklahoma begin a long battle to offer transparent journalism for Muscogee Nation readers. Bad Press, directed by Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler, chronicles this quest for government accountability and the right to report honest news. Editor Jean Rheem discusses cutting the project, including how “incredibly difficult and humbling” documentary editing often is. 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 […]
