Women bear all in Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, the intimate documentary from Estonian filmmaker Anna Hints. While partaking in the ritualistic cleanse, a group of women divulge secrets, talk through past traumas and, above all, foster their feminine bond while sweating bullets in the nude. DP Ants Tammik tells Filmmaker about the complications of shooting in such a hot, stuffy environment with sensitive equipment —and a few injuries he sustained along the way. 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 […]

An aspiring chaplain must complete her yearlong residency at NYC’s Mount Sinai Hospital during a particularly dark period for public health in A Still Small Voice, the latest from doc filmmaker Luke Lorentzen. Between 2020 and 2021, Mati conducts visits as part of the hospital’s spiritual care department, navigating the grief, trauma and uncertainly that weighs heavily on these patients—and herself. Lorentzen, who acted as director, cinematographer and editor, discusses his experience cutting the film, which he describes as his “favorite part of the filmmaking process.” See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did […]

An aspiring chaplain named Mati navigates tragedy, grief and her own bandwidth for handling the incalculable loss of the pandemic in A Still Small Voice, the latest from documentary filmmaker Luke Lorentzen. Finishing her yearlong residency at the spiritual care department in New York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital, Lorentzen captures Mati and her supervisor Rev. David’s fight to maintain hope and warmth between 2020 and 2021, two of the deadliest years in U.S. history. Lorentzen, who directed, shot and edited the film, discusses how his one-person shoot allowed him to blend into the doc’s setting—and gain the trust of subjects—more […]

Feña (Lío Mehiel) is a 20-something trans guy living in Brooklyn in Mutt, the feature debut from writer-director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz. His life is instantly thrown into tumult when a series of people reenter his life unexpectedly, leading to the opening of old wounds. Editor Adam Dicterow talks about the process of cutting Mutt, also offering insight on how lucky he felt to work on the film in the first place. 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 […]

Co-directors, cinematographers, producers and editors Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck embark on a meticulous dissection of “image-making and a mapping of its movement through society” in Fantastic Machine, the duo’s documentary that utilizes a large catalogue of archival footage to make its point. Danielson and Aretryck discuss the intricate editing process they undertook for the film along with another co-editor Mikel Cee Karlsson.  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 […]

The Eternal Memory, the latest from Chilean documentary filmmaker Maite Alberdi, follows a couple on a difficult journey after husband Augusto is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. They have been married for 25 years, and August has lived with the disease for eight years at this point. As his memory fades, wife Paulina takes care of him and ensures that above all, Augusto is cognizant of how much he is loved—even if he eventually forgets the woman who provides it for him.  Editor Carolina Siraqyan talks about cutting the film and the process of working with Alberdi.  See all responses to our […]

Still one of the bestselling books of all time since its publication in 1976, The Hite Report offered a groundbreaking look at women’s sexual desires through anonymous survey responses. Despite its success at demystifying vulvas and those who possess them, the book’s author Shere Hite has remained a relatively obscure figure in popular culture. Filmmaker Nicole Newnham’s latest, The Disappearance of Shere Hite, attempts to bring this woman back into relevancy while investigating why her legacy has gone unspoken for so long. Editor Eileen Meyer tells Filmmaker about her experience cutting this project, also offering insight on she came to work […]

In Other People’s Children, the latest from director Rebecca Zlowtowski, a woman in her 40s named Rachel (Virginie Efira) grapples with the idea of being a mother—as well as the idea of going down a child-free path. Editor Geraldine Mangenot, who’s worked with Zlowtowski since her 2019 film An Easy Girl, discusses how being a mother herself influenced the film’s edit. 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? Mangenot: […]

Milisuthando, the five-part personal essay film from first-time director Milisuthando Bongela, utilizes a trove of unseen archival images of South Africa during apartheid, particularly the all-Black Transkei community that Bongela grew up in. As such, editor Hankyeol Lee had a lot of material to sift through while remaining attentive to the intimate and oft-sensitive details of Bongela’s—and an entire nation’s—traumatic reckoning. Lee tells Filmmaker about how they went about editing the film, including a ritual she and the director would practice in the cutting room. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you […]

Since the disappearance of her sister, Jax (Lily Gladstone) has been taking care of her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson), both of them desperately hoping for her return. When she’s been officially declared “missing” for two weeks, CPS shows up at Jax’s door, leading to a dogged fight for her to keep caring for Rokii. The feature debut from writer-director Erica Tremblay, Fancy Dance explores womanhood and Indigenous identity through one family’s fractured ties. Cinematographer Carolina Costa talks about shooting the film, including a singular motto the team adopted during the shoot. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here.  […]