Interviews
Interviews
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“The Language of the Film Slowly Emerges in the Editing Room”: Editor Michal Reich on DJ Ahmet
A fifteen-year-old boy navigates first love, familial pressure and his newfound love of music in DJ Ahmet, premiering in the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition. The film is the feature debut by Sundance Short Film Program alum Georgi M. Unkovski. Michal Reich (The Ballad of Piargy) served as his former university mate’s editor. Below, he talks about moving scenes around in the edit to provide the desired emotional arc and preserving the performances of non-professional actors. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of […]
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“It Was an Ambitious Project From the Get-go”: Editor Bryan Mason on Jimpa
Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde), a non-binary teenager, falls in love with Amsterdam on a visit to her beloved grandpa (John Lithgow), who she affectionately calls Jimpa, in Sophie Hyde’s film of the same name. Deciding that she wants to stay with Jimpa for an entire year, her mother (Olivia Colman) wrestles with her parenting instincts and the idea of what’s best for her child. Editor Bryan Mason discusses cutting Jimpa, shedding insight on his recurrent collaboration with Hyde, the question he always asks himself before embarking on a project and his background as a skate video editor. See all responses to our […]
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“What Paul Was Saying Was Very Reflective of Who He Was”: Editor Damian Rodriguez on Pee-wee as Himself
Filmmaker Matt Wolf chronicles the life and career of Paul Reubens—best known as his alter ego Pee-wee Herman—via intimate interviews and a trove of archival footage in Pee-wee as Himself. Filmed before the artist’s recent death, the series premieres in Sundance’s Episodic section. Editor Damian Rodriguez discusses navigating Herman’s enormous personal archive, how the actor’s passing altered the film’s narrative and passing down his own affinity for Pee-wee’s Playhouse to his son. 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 […]
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“With Each Location We Embraced Its Essence:” DP Matthew Chuang on Jimpa
In director Sophie Hyde’s Jimpa, non-binary teen Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde) travels to Amsterdam with her mother Hannah (Olivia Colman) to visit her grandfather (John Lithgow); Frances’ longtime nickname for him lends the film its title. Won over by her grandfather’s unabashed queerness and the community he calls home, Frances communicates her desire to stay in Holland for a year to live with Jimpa, which, naturally, complicates things for Hannah. Cinematographer Matthew Chuang delves into the difficulties of shooting between Adelaide and Amsterdam, the influence of Nan Goldin on the film and the “memorable experience” of riding a bike to set […]
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“A Feeling of Endless Night”: DP Arseni Khachaturan on April
In April, the sophomore feature from Georgian filmmaker Dea Kulumbegashvili, a small-town obstetrician (Ia Sukhitashvili) comes under scrutiny when a baby dies during delivery. The investigation, spearheaded by the father of the deceased infant, threatens to also expose the young woman’s clandestine abortion operation. Cinematographer Arseni Khachaturan tells Filmmaker about shooting a live birth scene, her recurring collaboration with Kulumbegashvili and the team’s naturalistic approach to lighting. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your […]
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“We Wanted a Visual Language That Was Both Filmic and Intimate”: DP Guy Mossman on Speak.
<i>Speak</i> follows five high school Speech & Debate students who dream of winning at the event’s annual national tournament, one of the world’s biggset public speaking competitions. Jennifer Tiexiera (Unveiled, Subject) teamed up with Guy Mossman (The Human Trial) to direct the Sundance U.S. Documentary Competition premiere. Below, Mossman, who also served as the film’s director of photography, gets technical as he discusses the different equipment he used in <i>Speak.</i> He also recounts the difficulties of shooting the 2023 Nationals tournament in the blistering Phoenix heat and how it prepared him for the following year’s tournament. See all responses to […]
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“Paring the Story Down to Its Bare Essentials”: Editor Joshua L. Pearson on Sly Lives
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) examines the life and legacy of legendary funk act Sly & The Family Stone. Rather than biography, the film opts as an examination of legacy that combines archival footage with discussions among friends, family and other musicians. The film is Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s follow-up to the award-winning Summer of Soul. For the new film, he reteamed with editor Joshua L. Pearson, who explains how his background in music and long history with music videos prepared him for the job. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did […]
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Sundance 2025: Editor Interviews
Each year, Filmmaker sends all Sundance feature film or series editors a questionnaire to complete ahead of their film’s festival screening. We also send out a single question for feature directors to answer as well as questionnaires for cinematographers and first-time Sundance feature producers. Below, find links to individual editor responses, which will be updated daily during the festival. “Paring the Story Down to Its Bare Essentials”: Editor Joshua L. Pearson on Sly Lives “What Paul Was Saying Was Very Reflective of Who He Was”: Editor Damian Rodriguez on Pee-wee as Himself “It Was an Ambitious Project From the Get-go”: Editor Bryan […]
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Sundance 2025 Interviews: First-Time Producers
This year, Filmmaker sent all first-time Sundance feature film producers a questionnaire to complete ahead of their film’s festival screening. We also sent out a single question for feature directors to answer as well as questionnaires for editors and cinematographers. Below, find links to individual first-time Sundance feature producer responses, which will be updated daily during the festival. “Budget a Worst-Case Scenario and Then Do Better”: Producers Ivan Unkovski and Ivana Shekutkoska on DJ Ahmet “Don’t Be Afraid to Speak Up and Set the Tone”: Producer Pierre M. Coleman on Ricky “It Came Down to Me Not Wanting to Miss […]
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Sundance 2025: Cinematographer Interviews
Each year, Filmmaker sends all Sundance feature film or series cinematographers a questionnaire to complete ahead of their film’s festival screening. We also send out a single question for feature directors to answer as well as questionnaires for editors and first-time Sundance feature producers. Below, find links to individual cinematographer responses, which will be updated daily during the festival. “We Wanted a Visual Language That Was Both Filmic and Intimate”: DP Guy Mossman on Speak. “A Feeling of Endless Night”: DP Arseni Khachaturan on April “With Each Location We Embraced Its Essence”: DP Matthew Chuang on Jimpa “It Was the Movie I’d […]
