Please join us during DOC NYC for our editors get-together. Mingle with Schmeer fellows, alumni, and mentors along with Alliance of Documentary Editors members from across the country. Come early to see old friends; make new ones; and enjoy happy hour prices (until 8pm) at the cash bar. The Billiards/Salon, and Hightop area with access to the main bar have been reserved for our gathering.

Please RSVP ahead of time to let us know you're coming! If you are a member of both communities, you only need to RSVP once.

RSVP here: www.eventbrite.com/e/documentary-editors-mixer-tickets-454893728387

Note: This meet-up will be taking place indoors.

ABOUT THE HOSTS:

The Alliance of Documentary Editors (ADE) is a working group of documentary film and television editors and assistant editors nationwide that campaigns for best practices within the industry while improving members’ career sustainability. The ADE promotes a better understanding and acknowledgement of the documentary editor’s unique position as storyteller, writer, and artist, as well as technician. We advocate for better working conditions and codified ethical standards, and champion diversity, inclusivity, and mentorship in documentary post-production.

The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship honors the memory of gifted editor Karen Schmeer. Our mission is to support an inclusive group of documentary film editors through programs that help them grow as artists and build their community. By investing in editors, we affirm and strengthen the critical role editors play in independent documentary storytelling. Since 2010, we have supported 82 emerging, associate, and assistant editors through our programs. The 2022-2023 Fellowship is a year-long group mentorship program with 30 fellows from across the country.

Join us online for the 2022 Sundance Art of Editing Virtual Celebration, which brings together the community of independent fiction and nonfiction editors. We'll honor editors of films in this year's Festival as well as the 2022 Adobe Mentorship Award winners.

The event will include program remarks from Sundance, Adobe, and organizations that support the editing community including the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship (KSFEF) and Alliance of Documentary Editors (ADE). We will conclude with breakout rooms to enable you to connect in smaller groups.

Learn more about the event and RSVP HERE.

For those who could not make it to the event, the recording is now available HERE.

Join DOC NYC this Fall from November 11-18 at Cinépolis Chelsea as the festival returns to an in-person celebratory event aimed to empower filmmakers as they take the next steps in their careers.

Join us for Editing Day on Sunday, November 14!
Case studies from prominent editors will elucidate the craft and help build your editor’s toolkit. A special panel launches the Alliance of Documentary Editors’ new guidelines and their BIPOC editor’s initiative. The day starts with breakfast (9-10 AM) and ends with a happy hour (4:15-5:15 PM) co-hosted by Signature sponsor Cquence and community partners The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship and the Alliance of Documentary Editors.

Day Passes are on sale now via the individual links here. Or save with a 4- or 8-Pass Pack, available at this link. Each PRO Day Pass grants access to a single DOC NYC PRO day-long programming track, including that day’s breakfast and access to the Festival Lounge on the day(s) selected.

Manhattan Edit Workshop's monthly online event series Sight, Sound & Story continues in August with Maya Mumma, Carla Gutierriez, Grace Medenhall, Ted Raviv & Samali Bikangaga.

A good working relationship between the film editor and assistant editor is crucial to a well run edit room. That is especially the case in documentary filmmaking where an editor is often tasked with sifting through hundreds of hours of footage to find the story. Join us for a special conversion with Editor Carla Gutierrez (RBG, Pray Away) and Assistant Editor/Associate Editor Grace Mendenhall (RBG, Pray Away); as well as Editor Ted Raviv (Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson) and Assistant Editor Samali Bikangaga (Muhammad Ali) as they discuss the unique relationship between editor and assistant editor and how that impacts the creative process of editing documentary film. Acclaimed documentary Editor Maya Mumma (OJ: Made in America, King in The Wilderness) will help guide the conversation; as well as show examples of documentaries that the team have worked on. This is a free online event where attendees will be able to ask questions live!

​​When: Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

Time: 5PM EDT / 2PM PDT

General Admission: FREE!!

REGISTER HERE.

For those who could not attend, the event is now available to view here.

Join us at the 24th Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival for the official launch of the BIPOC Documentary Editor's Database! Speakers include Sam Pollard, Jean Tsien, Lillian Benson and Stanley Nelson. The event will stream live on the Full Frame Vimeo page - RSVP here.

This new public database is a searchable, user-friendly website of BIPOC documentary editors to promote and increase the number of BIPOC editors hired across the documentary field.

This website has been created in response to the current lack of inclusion and access in documentary production. The documentary community is currently mostly white, and this has led to an overwhelming system of white creatives mentoring and promoting other white creatives already in their circles.

Like all areas of production, this is very true in documentary edit rooms where, according to a recent study, 87% of doc editors are white. Without a fundamental and intentional effort to provide tangible long-term support to BIPOC talent, these systemic issues will remain. It will take all of us to make lasting change.

This database aims to promote BIPOC editing talent right now, with the long term goals of widening the pool of BIPOC talent considered “veteran” documentary editors and to help bridge the barriers of moving from assistant to full editor.

For those who could not attend, the event is available to view Full Frame’s Vimeo page.

Assistant editor is the first stop on the path of any editor’s career development journey. However, too many BIPOC assistant editors get stuck in that role for years, without opportunities to develop their creative skills and advance to the editor’s chair. A new working group within the Alliance of Documentary Editors has taken on this flawed talent pipeline and the need for real change in the culture of the edit room. The group is launching a database of BIPOC editors, along with an initiative to standardize the intermediate and creative role of Associate Editor on a post team. 

Learn more about their effort and hear from a member of the working group, a mentor/mentee editing team, and industry producers who are working towards change in the edit room. Moderated by Maya Mumma (Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship), speakers include documentary editors Carla Gutierrez (RBG), Hannah Choe (Dark Money) and Faisal Azam (St. Louis Superman), director/producer Kristi Jacobson (SOLITARY) and producer Alisa Payne (Between the World and Me).

This virtual event is free - RSVP here.

For those who could not attend the event, the seminar is available online here.

The Sundance Institute invites you to the seventh annual gathering of fiction and nonfiction editors at the Sundance Film Festival.

Join us as we bring the celebration for this year’s festival to the comfort of your home as we recognize the vibrant, creative community of independent film editors, honor the 2021 Adobe Mentorship awardees, and celebrate of the art of editing!

Friday, January 29
3:00PM - 4:30PM MST

RSVP here

For those who could not attend, the event is now available to view here.

On screen talent has largely dominated conversations around diversity, but editors spend more time on projects than most other creatives, aside from the director, and are crucial collaborators in the storytelling process. Editors often struggle to be seen as artists regardless of gender, race, sexuality, etc., but how much harder has it been for those who bring diverse perspectives to film & television? American Cinema Editors, founded to advance the art & science of the film editing profession, has been shining a light on the craft for 70 years.

The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship, awarded annually at SXSW, has launched a Diversity in the Edit Room program, to help bring a wider breadth of backgrounds and experiences into the craft. Featuring panelists Faisal Azam (KSFEF Diversity Mentee 2018), Lillian Benson, Victoria Chalk (KSFEF Fellow 2019), moderated by Nancy Jundi. Join us for a look into the future of edit rooms!

More info here.

Want to learn about making winning and fundable samples for your film? We are co-presenting a workshop "Creating the Perfect Work Sample" on with Women Make Movies and the NYU Arthur Carter Journalism Institute on December 2nd. Join Robin Hessmann, award-winning filmmaker and one of the founders of the Karen Schmeer Editing Fellowship, along with editors Leigh Johnson, Rabab Haj Yahya and Chithra Jeyaram at this not-to-be-missed workshop for filmmakers and editors alike.

More info and registration here.

The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship and LEF are teaming up once again to co-host a filmmaker reception during IFFBoston. Join us to meet other local and visiting filmmakers at the festival, and to celebrate New England's independent filmmaking community.

Enjoy some free appetizers, along with a cash bar including one free drink!

Space is limited, so please RSVP by Tuesday, April 23 at 4pm to Gen Carmel at gen@lef-foundation.org with RSVP in the subject line.

Presented by The Karen Schmeer Editing Fellowship
This panel is free and not ticketed. First come first served.

A conversation with editors Peter Rhodes (Jim Allison: Breakthrough) and Sara Maamouri (We Are Not Princesses), unpacking their approach to their character-driven documentaries. They'll discuss the challenge of portraying layers of their characters through vérité and animation. Moderated by editor Rachel Clark (Have you Sen Andy?, Family Affair).

See the panel... then see the films.
We Are Not Princesses screens immediately after the panel at 1pm, Somerville Theater.
Jim Allison: Breakthrough screens on Sunday, April 28 at 4:30pm, Somerville Theater.

Please join us and the Documentary Producers Alliance (DPA) at Stephen F's Bar on Sunday, March 10, 2-4pm. It's on the second floor of the Intercontinental Hotel. Cash bar. Stop by to meet our new fellow, celebrate Karen, and mix with editors and producers! RSVP to info@karenschmeer.com is appreciated but not necessary.

The DOC NYC PRO Editing For Documentaries Boot Camp is happening on February 26, 10am to 5pm at the IFC Center!

We're excited to be co-presenting two panels that will feature Schmeer Fellows Colin Nusbaum and Leigh Johnson as moderators. Join us as accomplished editors Francisco Bello, Erin Casper (2011 Schmeer Fellow), Bob Eisenhardt, Maya Mumma and Karen K.H. Sim share clips and discuss editing tips, tricks, and best practices.

More info here.

Please join us during DOC NYC for our annual get-together. Mingle with our fellows, diversity program mentees, and their mentors; see old friends; make new ones; and enjoy extended happy hour prices at the cash bar. Last year we filled the bar to capacity and some people couldn't get in, so we've moved to a bigger place this year, Amity Hall.

The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship invite you to a day of in-depth, peer-to-peer conversation on the art and craft of editing feature nonfiction with some of the best editors working today.

RSVP HERE

Schedule

1:00 p.m. - Registration

1:30 p.m. - Introductions

1:45 p.m. - Part I: Beginnings
Jeff Malmberg (Won't You Be My Neighbor?), Alex O'Flinn (The Rider), and Kim Roberts (Unrest), with moderator Claudia Puig, reflect on their creative process and break down examples of effective opening sequences in their work as well as work that has inspired them.

3:15 p.m. - Part II: Craft Conversations: Directing the Edit
Kate Amend (The Keepers), Erin Casper (Risk), Greg Finton (Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind), and moderator Pedro Kos (Bending the Arc) share insights on navigating a rapidly changing production landscape and making room for creative approaches to complex edits.

4:45 p.m. - Closing Remarks

5:00 p.m. - Reception

The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship is teaming up with our friends at LEF once again to host a filmmaker reception at IFFBoston. Join us after the editing panel to celebrate independent film in New England! It's also a chance to meet Kristin Bye, the newest Schmeer Fellow.

Come enjoy some complimentary appetizers along with a cash bar. (Pssst: It's downstairs in the speakeasy!) The venue is wheelchair accessible by elevator.

Space is limited, so please RSVP by Thursday, April 26 to Gen Carmel at gen@lef-foundation.orgwith "RSVP" in the subject line.

"The Female Gaze: A View from the Edit Room"

Presented by: The Karen Schmeer Editing Fellowship
This panel is free and not ticketed. First come first served.

A good documentary editor often determines a film’s rhythm, its pacing, even its overall structure. This panel will celebrate those who toil, quietly and mainly unseen, in the dark. Kristen Salerno, editor of Dawnland, a film about the first truth and reconciliation commission for Native Americans, and Heather Cassano, director/editor of the personal documentary The Limits of My World, will discuss some of the unique challenges they faced in the editing room and demonstrate how they tried to solve them. The panel moderator will be Sabrina Zanella-Foresi, a long-time local editor/producer (Henry Ford directed by Sarah Colt for American Experience, and Photographic Memory by Ross McElwee). The presentation will include film clips.

Special thanks to producer/director Amy Geller (For the Love of Movies, The Guys Next Door) for helping to organize this event.

See the panel... then see the films later the same day!
The Limits of My World, screens on Saturday, April 28 at 3:45 pm in Somerville Theater 2. Tickets here.

Dawnland screens on Saturday, April 28 at 7:30 pm in Somerville Theatre 1. Tickets here.

Editors and film people, please join us at SXSW to honor our new documentary editing fellow and celebrate editor Karen Schmeer! Cash bar, fun people.

Join us at our annual gathering during DOC NYC to celebrate film, editors and documentaries! All documentary film professionals are invited. Come and meet our current fellow Leigh Johnson, see old friends, make new ones, and enjoy draughts and frites at the cash bar.

This year's Manhattan Edit Workshop “Sight, Sound & Story” post-production summit is happening on Saturday, June 10 in NYC at the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway, near Columbus Circle. KSFEF is proud to be a partner again this year!

The documentary editing panel will feature Amy Foote (The Work, Mavis - The Documentary), Maya Mumma, ACE (O.J.: Made in America, Restrepo), and Sam Pollard (Venus and Serena, Style Wars, When the Levees Broke). It will be moderated by Garret Savage (My Perestroika, President of Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship)

Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship friends can receive $30 the regular price by registering here.

Other panels include: “Television's Cinematic Revolution,” "Cinematic 360/VR," and "Inside the Cutting Room with Bobbie O’Steen" featuring Dylan Tichenor, ACE (There Will Be Blood, Brokeback Mountain, Boogie Nights, The Town).

More information and full schedule here.

"The Long & Short of It: Contemplating the Edit for Features & Shorts"

In this conversation, we will be exploring the editing process for feature-length and short films. What are the differences (and similarities) in the ways an editor approaches each format? How does one inform the other?

Panelists will be editor Peter Rhodes (editor of Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive and The Glorious Future), director Eric Stange (Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive), and director Laura Longsworth (The Glorious Future). The moderator will be veteran filmmaker James Rutenbeck (Scenes from a Parish).

Sponsored by the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship
FREE and open to the public. More info.
   
The Glorious Future screens in the IFFB Shorts A program on Thursday and Sunday.
Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive screens on Saturday at 1:30pm.

The LEF Foundation and the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship invite you to our annual filmmaker reception at IFFBoston to celebrate the New England filmmaking community at the festival. Stop by for a drink and meet LEF grantees and the newest Schmeer Fellow, Leigh Johnson.

The reception is open to all local and visiting filmmakers, editors, and friends. There will be light appetizers and cash bar. The venue is wheelchair accessible by elevator.

Please RSVP by Thursday, April 27 by 5pm to gen@lef-foundation.org, with "RSVP" in the subject line.

The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship invite you to a candid conversation exploring the art and craft of editing feature documentaries.

Panel 1 - History In The Making: Creative Use Of Archival Footage with editors Joseph Krings, Mary Lampson and Maya Mumma. Moderated by Ashley Clark.

Panel 2 - Craft Conversations with editors Chyld King and Lindsay Utz. Moderated by Marshall Curry.

TICKETS AND MORE INFO

Editors and film people, please join us at SXSW to honor our new fellow and celebrate Karen Schmeer! Cash bar, cool people.

Please join us on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 for our annual get-together during DOC NYC. We're meeting once again at Vol De Nuit Belgian Beer Bar (148 West 4th St., near 6th Ave.). Meet some of our fellows, see some old friends, meet some new ones. Everyone is welcome.

RSVP to info@karenschmeer.com is appreciated but not required.

Manhattan Edit Workshop's one-day Sight, Sound & Story summit returns June 11th! Early bird ticket prices before April 15th.

Panels include the art and processes of editing documentary film and episodic television, and behind the the green screen with VFX artists.  Our closing panel will highlight the career of award-winning feature film editor Anne Coates, ACE, with author and film historian Bobbie O’Steen. The summit culminates in a gala reception and networking session for guests, panelists and vendors. 

The doc editing panel will feature: Erin Casper (2011 KSFEF fellow, American Promise, The Last Season), Gabriel Rhodes (The Tillman Story, Newtown), and more to come. Moderator: Livia Bloom, editor of "Errol Morris: Interviews," writer for Cinema Scope, Filmmaker Magazine, and Film Comment.

More information / Full schedule / Tickets

"Finding the Film: How two directors and one editor collaborated on The Guys Next Door"

Presented by the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship

With documentary film, the story is often found in the edit. But what does that process actually look like? And how does it work in a 3-way collaboration? Editor Rachel Clark (Have you seen Andy?, Family Affair) and directors Amy Geller (producer, For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism, Love and Other Anxieties) and Allie Humenuk (Shadow of the House) share the story of editing their new documentary, The Guys Next Door. Spanning over three years, the film follows a gay couple whose daughters are birthed by their friend with donor eggs – and offers a provocative alternative to the traditional nuclear American family. The conversation will be moderated by editor Sabrina Zanella-Foresi (Henry Ford, Photographic Memory).

Free to the public on a space‑available basis. More info.

The Guys Next Door, a ticketed event, will screen after the panel at the Somerville theater. Tickets and info here.

The LEF Foundation and the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship invite you to our annual filmmaker reception at IFFBoston to celebrate the New England filmmaking community at the festival. The KSFEF is proud to co-host this event for independent filmmakers in Boston! Join us for a reception open to all local and visiting filmmakers, editors, and friends.

Please RSVP by Thursday, April 28 at 5pm to gen@lef-foundation.org, with "RSVP" in the subject line.

The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship are hosting a candid conversation exploring the art and craft of editing feature documentaries. Veteran editors discuss the creative and ethical challenges of developing character in the edit. 

RSVP required but does not guarantee admittance. This event is first come, first served.

More information / Full schedule / RSVP

We'll be at SXSW March 11-16 where we'll present our new fellow with the fellowship at the Film Awards Ceremony. If you'll be in Austin, too, please join us at our annual SXSW meetup on Monday, March 14, 2-4 PM. We're meeting in a new location this year, the Stephen F Bar on the second floor of the InterContinental Hotel (701 Congress Ave.). Stop by to hang out, meet the new fellow and celebrate Karen!