Tyler Walk
Editor
Editing (Nov. 12)
Case studies from prominent editors will elucidate the craft and help build your editor’s toolkit. Insider tips on how to craft scenes for maximum storytelling impact will also be highlighted. Special interactive panel exploring mental health care for documentary editors.
Editing Day is co-presented by:
In the Festival Lounge, the day starts with Breakfast (9-10AM) and ends with a Happy Hour (4:30-5:30PM) co-presented by Portrait Creative Network.
10-11:15AM
Documentary Editors and Mental Health
The craft of editing can bring unique challenges, pressures, and emotional toll. DOC NYC’s Director of Industry and Education and co-founder of DocuMentality Malikkah Rollins joins editor Tyler Walk (Great Photo, Lovely Life), editor Jason Pollard (Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues), and editor Sara Wasserman (Great Photo, Lovely Life) to assess the issues, share coping strategies, self-care techniques, and ways of fostering a supportive editing community. Discover how to navigate the delicate balance between creating powerful stories and safeguarding your mental health and well-being. This discussion will include audience interactive elements.
Tyler Walk
Editor
Tyler H. Walk is a Sundance Special Jury Award for Editing, Cinema Eye award winning, and Emmy-nominated editor whose projects include David France’s Welcome To Chechnya, the Oscar-Nominated How To Survive A Plague, and Michael Moore’s Where To Invade Next. A graduate from Penn State University (’06) and The Edit Center, Tyler is also an amateur pinballer. His Bacon number is 2.
Malikkah Rollins
Director of Industry and Education
Malikkah Rollins
Director of Industry and Education
As the new Director of Industry and Education at DOC/NYC, Malikkah will oversee a portfolio of projects including DOC NYC PRO, the festival’s line-up of educational courses and industry networking opportunities; Only In New York industry meetings for filmmakers with works-in-progress; and the 40 Under 40 list. Malikkah brings 15 years of experience in education, counseling, and professional development to the role. As a freelance doc producer, WIFV/DC board member, Sundance Collab Community Leader and D Word Ambassador, Malikkah’s passion is rooted in connecting people and building stronger, more collaborative film communities.
Jason Pollard
Editor
Jason Pollard
Editor
Jason Pollard’s involvement in the film industry began as a young child when he accompanied his father, acclaimed film producer/editor Sam Pollard, to different edit rooms as Sam magically turned strips of celluloid into complex and wonderful stories. He has has edited many acclaimed documentary films including Slavery by Another Name, which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and Netflix documentary Get Me Roger Stone, which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. More recently, he edited The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song for PBS, Who Killed Malcolm X? and Rapture for Netflix, Tina Charles’ Game Changer, which premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, and Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues which premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.
Sara Wasserman
Editor
Sara Wasserman
Editor
Sara Wasserman is a documentary film editor living in Brooklyn, New York. She has worked with clients all around the world, and her films can be seen on Netflix, HBO, PBS, Univision, and Fusion. She has worked on many diverse projects throughout her eleven years in the industry, including as Assistant Editor on Lenox Hill (Netflix), Emergency: NYC (Netflix), Paper Children (YouTube Originals), and A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting (HBO), which premiered at DOC NYC in 2021. Most recently, she was Additional Editor and Lead Assistant Editor on Great Photo, Lovely Life (HBO), which premiered at SXSW, and will be released in 2023.
11:30-12:45PM
Editing Secrets of All The Beauty and The Bloodshed and Food, Inc. 2
Uncover the editing secrets behind All The Beauty and The Bloodshed, co-edited by Amy Foote, ACE, and Food, Inc. 2, co-edited by Ryan Loeffler. Moderated by Rory Thost (Participant), gain insights into their distinctive storytelling techniques, from navigating extensive footage to crafting compelling narratives. Whether you’re an aspiring editor or a documentary enthusiast, this dynamic conversation promises an elucidating look into the art of editing.
Amy Foote, ACE
Editor
Amy Foote, ACE
Editor
Amy Foote, ACE is an Emmy Award winning documentary editor based in Brooklyn, NY. Some of her editing credits include Laura Poitras’s Oscar-nominated film All The Beauty and the Bloodshed, Father Soldier Son that won the News and Documentary Emmy for Best Editing and the Tribeca Film Festival Jury Award for Best Editing); Hail Satan?; The Work (Grierson Awards for Best Single Documentary and Best International Documentary, Grand Jury Prize SXSW 2017, Gotham Award nominated for Best Documentary); Peabody award winning Mavis! (HBO); Fauci (Nat Geo); the Emmy-nominated and James Beard Award winning film, A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt (HBO, BBC); For Once In My Life, (PBS Independent Lens, SXSW Audience Award 2010, IDA Best Music Documentary). and the Emmy-nominated film, Finishing Heaven (HBO). She lives in Sunset Park with her wife and daughter.
Ryan Loeffler
Editor
Ryan Loeffler
Editor
Ryan Loeffler is a documentary filmmaker and editor based in Los Angeles, California. He cut his teeth as an assistant editor and additional editor on award-winning documentaries from some of the most accomplished documentary directors working today, including Robert Kenner, Brett Morgen, Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin. Most recently, he edited Food., Inc. 2, the forthcoming sequel to Academy Award-nominated Food, Inc. Currently, he is editing the acclaimed Showtime documentary series Couples Therapy. His other recent credits include ¡Viva Maestro! (2022), a portrait of LA Philharmonic artistic director Gustavo Dudamel, the Netflix true crime series The Confession Killer (2019), and the Emmy-winning LA 92 (2017). With experience in editing, producing, and cinematography, Ryan approaches projects with a breadth of knowledge about the entire filmmaking process.
Rory Thost
Participant
Rory Thost
Participant
1:45-3PM
Collaborative Filmmaking, Accessibility and Editing
Accessibility is key to inclusive storytelling. In this panel, we’ll explore how to work in collaboration with film participants throughout the editing process, how to incorporate feedback, and how to center accessibility as a cornerstone throughout. Director Alexis Neophytides (Fire Through Dry Grass) and director/producer Set Hernandez and protagonist/co-writer Pedro (Unseen) discuss their challenges with moderator Nefertiti Matos Olivares (Descriptive Video Works) and some of the ingenious solutions that arose during their own collaborative filmmaking processes.
Set Hernandez
Director/Producer
Set Hernandez
Director/Producer
Set Hernandez is a filmmaker and community organizer whose roots come from Bicol, Philippines. As a queer, undocumented immigrant, they dedicate their filmmaking to expand the portrayal of their communities on screen. Set’s past documentary work includes the award-winning short Cover/Age (2019) and impact producing for Call Her Ganda (Tribeca, 2018). An alumnus of the Disruptors Fellowship, Set is also developing a TV comedy pilot and a feature-length screenplay. Since 2010, Set has been organizing around migrant justice issues, from deportation defense to healthcare access. They co-founded the Undocumented Filmmakers Collective which promotes equity for undocumented immigrants in the film industry. Set’s work has been supported by the Sundance Institute, NBCUniversal, Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, among others. In their past life, Set was a published linguistics researcher, focusing in the area of bilingualism. Above all, Set is the fruit of their family’s love and their community’s generosity.
Alexis Neophytides
Director
Alexis Neophytides
Director
Alexis Neophytides is a documentary filmmaker and educator based in New York City. Her work centers around community and how we find meaning in people and place. She is the co-creator/co-director/producer of Neighborhood Slice, a public television documentary series that tells the stories of longtime New Yorkers who’ve held onto their little corner of the city despite fast-growing gentrification. She produced and directed the series 9.99, for which she won a NY Emmy. Her first feature-length documentary, Dear Thirteen, explores coming of age in the modern world and premiered at DOC NYC in 2022. She is a Sundance Institute Documentary Film Grantee for her second feature, Fire Through Dry Grass, co-directed with Andres “Jay” Molina. Fire Through Dry Grass premiered at BlackStar in 2023, where it won the jury award for best feature documentary. It will be broadcast on POV/PBS in late 2023. Alexis holds a BA from Brown University and an MA in Media Studies from The New School.
Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Workflow Manager, Descriptive Video Works
Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Workflow Manager, Descriptive Video Works
I am a blind bilingual Latina deeply committed to ensuring that culture is a shared space for all, a fervent advocate for disability inclusion, and a lover of documentary films. In my role as Workflow Manager for Quality and Inclusion at Descriptive Video Works, I am dedicated to developing pathways and building frameworks for gainful employment of the blind and low vision community in the AD industry. A professional voice talent, you can hear my Audio Description narration in many independent films as well as on the Emmy-winning short My Disability Roadmap, Hot Docs Official Selection Unseen,, and Netflix’s Jennifer Lopez: Halftime. I am particularly passionate about creating culturally competent Audio Description. I am a member of the Social Audio Description Collective, co-host the Blind-Centered Audio Description Chat series, and I proudly run the Audio Description LinkedIn Group and the Audio Description X Community where all things AD are welcome.
3:15-4:30PM
Case Study: Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
Embark on a journey through the heart of Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project in this captivating panel discussion. Explore the documentary’s intricate editing process and uncover the storytelling secrets that make this film a powerful narrative. Go behind the scenes with co-director and co-producer Joe Brewster, additional editor/consulting editor Regi Allen and moderator Adam Lingo (National Geographic) as they explore the challenges and creative choices that brought Nikki Giovanni’s remarkable journey to life on screen. Whether you’re a budding filmmaker, a fan of this documentary, or simply curious about the art of storytelling, this panel promises an illuminating exploration of the documentary’s editing process and narrative craft.
Joe Brewster
Director
Joe Brewster
Director
Joe Brewster is a Harvard-trained physician and an award-winning immersive and documentary filmmaker whose character-driven work challenges the audience to envision an equitable future. He is a Spirit Award and four-time Emmy nominee. Brewster, a two-time Sundance jury prize winner, resides in Brooklyn with his partner, Michèle Stephenson (and cat, Tama).
Regi Allen
Editor
Regi Allen
Editor
Regi Allen is a 2X Emmy® award-winning editor, producer, and media design artist. He is the creative director, editorial kingpin, and producer for the post-production collective Niceandcreative.
Regi has edited and produced various works and specials for MTV, Discovery Channel, ABC, HBO, BBC, IFC, ESPN, Investigation (ID), TLC, SyFy, Showtime, NATGEO, TV One, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google and Disney, as well as several corporate and private companies. He has received two EMMY Awards for editing and multi-camera editing, one for Children’s Television Workshop’s Sesame Street and another for ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings/The Century. In addition, Mr. Allen has won numerous BDA and Telly Awards for editing.
Regi lives between Washington, DC, Panama City, Panama, and London, England. Niceandcreative. is a multicultural collective of editors, colorists, and mixers providing tons of post-production services. Regi was featured this past year as a featured editor and post-production designer for Rada Film Group’s Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project. The film premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and won the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Award.
Adam Lingo
Senior Editor
Adam Lingo
Senior Editor
Adam Lingo is currently a Lead Senior Editor at National Geographic. He is excited to work on projects that challenge and explore our shared humanity. His significant credits include the one hour special Black Travel Across America premiering February 6th for National Geographic, Frontline: The Healthcare Divide (nominated for 2022 Peabody & National Emmy), the PBS verité documentary series 180 Days: A Year Inside an American High School (2014 Peabody award), numerous large and small format videos for the opening of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (2016), the PBS Frontline: Blackout in Puerto Rico (2019 Loeb Award), Robert Rauschenberg: Inventive Genius for the PBS American Masters Series (1999), and Great Books: The Autobiography of Malcolm X for the Learning Channel (1999 national Emmy nomination).
To experience the DOC NYC PRO lineup, purchase an individual PRO Day Pass (via the Buy Ticket button) to hone in on a specific subject, or benefit from discounted pricing when you purchase Multi-Day Pass Packs to an assortment of topics.
DOC NYC PRO is co-presented by:
