The 10th annual Karen Schmeer Emerging Editor Fellowship is now accepting submissions, a press release has announced. Named in honor of the Sundance-winning editor of “Sergio,” the program “champions emerging documentary editors by developing their talent, expanding their creative community, and furthering their career aspirations” and is offered in collaboration with American Cinema Editors (ACE), the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, and SXSW, among other partners.
U.S.-based editors who have cut at least one feature doc of at least 60 minutes — but no more than three features total, fiction or documentary — are welcome to apply.
The Karen Schmeer Fellowship comes with mentorship from an established editor, ACE membership, a $1,000 cash award, Adobe Creative Cloud membership, and passes/credentials to several festivals and events, and other benefits.
Victoria Chalk (“Call Her Ganda”) was selected as the 2019 fellow. Other alumnae include Lindsay Utz (“American Factory”), Eileen Meyer (“Crip Camp”), Erin Casper (“The Seer and the Unseen”), Kristin Bye (“Obit”), Anna Gustavi (“Seymour: An Introduction”), and Leigh Johnson (“Us Kids”).
Schmeer edited “The Fog of War,” “My Father, the Genius,” and “Fast, Cheap & Out of Control,” among other films. In 2004 she was nominated for ACE’s Best Edited Documentary Film prize for “The Fog of War.” She was in the midst of editing Liz Garbus’ “Bobby Fischer Against the World” when she was killed in a hit-and-run in 2010. She was 39.
Applications for the 2020 Karen Schmeer Emerging Editor Fellowship will be accepted until Friday, March 13. Applicants will be notified of their status in June. To apply or find out more, go to the fellowship’s website.
