OPEN CALL ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2019 KAREN SCHMEER FELLOWSHIP

The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship open call for its ninth annual award will run August 6, 2018 through September 30, 2018.

Applicants must have edited at least one feature documentary (60 minutes or longer) but no more than three (fiction or documentary) and plan on living in the US between March 2019 and March 2020. 

The fellowship champions emerging documentary editors by developing their talent, expanding their creative community, and furthering their career aspirations. In collaboration with American Cinema Editors (ACE), Manhattan Edit Workshop, SXSW, the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and other partners, the fellowship offers a wide array of opportunities. 

The organization honors the memory of gifted editor Karen Schmeer (The Fog of War; Fast, Cheap & Out of Control; Sergio; Bobby Fischer Against the World), who was killed in a hit-and-run at the age 39, on January 29, 2010.

Recent films edited by fellows include Risk (editor Erin Casper), Quest (Lindsay Utz), The Lovers and the Despot (Jim Hession), Obit (Kristin Bye) and An Inconvenient Sequel (Colin Nusbaum).

Our application guide and FAQ can be found here.

The 2019-20 fellowship benefits include: Mentorship with veteran editors; pass, badge and/or admission to the following: ACE EditFest Los Angeles, SXSW Film Festival, IFFBoston, Manhattan Edit Workshop’s Sight, Sound & Story summit, the KSFEF/Sundance Institute’s Contemplating the Cut workshop, Rooftop Films, Stranger than Fiction, IDA’s Getting Real 2020 conference, DOC NYC and the Camden International Film Festival; travel, accommodations and per diem to two of the aforementioned events; a credential to the Sundance Film Festival; an IDA one-year membership; an Adobe Creative Cloud membership; DCTV membership and DCTV Presents season pass; an ACE associate membership; a $1000 cash award; a $250 gift certificate at Powell’s Books; a portrait session with a photographer; and a DVD collection of all 12 of Karen’s films.

KAREN SCHMEER, ACE, was an award-winning film editor whose work included Errol Morris’ The Fog of War (Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary), Mr. Death, and Fast, Cheap and Out of Control. She edited Sketches of Frank Gehry, directed by Sydney Pollack, The Same River Twice, My Father the Genius, and American Experience: A Brilliant Madness. Her fiction film American Son premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. For the HBO film Sergio, Karen won the Best Editing Award at Sundance in 2009. Karen was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and attended Boston University. On her way home from editing Liz Garbus’ Bobby Fischer Against the World, Karen was struck and killed by a car fleeing a robbery in New York City on January 29, 2010.

AMERICAN CINEMA EDITORS (ACE) is an honorary association of professional film editors that celebrates & promotes the art of editing. Editors are included on the basis of professional achievement, dedication to educating others, and commitment to the craft of editing.