LINDSAY REACTS TO BEING AWARDED THE 2012 FELLOWSHIP

By Lindsay Utz, 2012 Fellow

I’m simply thrilled to be this year's Karen Schmeer Fellow. Karen was a truly groundbreaking editor, and I’m humbled to be chosen for a Fellowship in her honor and memory. My work can only begin to live up to the exacting standards in craft, vision and creativity she left behind. I feel especially honored to be chosen for this award by my peers in the filmmaking world.

Though I never met Karen, I vividly recall a feeling of deep sadness when I learned of her death. Here was a young woman at the peak of her career, thriving quietly in a business dominated by big egos. She was, for me, a role model in the truest sense. I’m incredibly thankful to the KSFEF Committee for all the hard work and dedication that has gone into creating this opportunity for young editors – extending to them the same gifts Karen herself shared with others.

Editing is a solitary enterprise; an editor often labors silently in the shadows of the creative process, making thousands of tiny decisions every time she sits down in the edit suite. But nobody makes a film alone, and I think we are only as strong as the personal and professional networks of which we’re a part. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of a community that recognizes that, and I look forward to the many new friends and colleagues I will make in the coming year.