Step into the cutting room with Sundance Collab and BIPOC Doc Editors for a spirited conversation with the editorial team behind Patrice: The Movie — a documentary rom-com about the next frontier of marriage equality: disability. Discover how this heartfelt film came to life in the edit bay and what it means to tell love stories that push boundaries and break barriers.

The discussion brings together four key collaborators on the film:

Editors Ephraim Kirkwood and John Tarquinio
Associate editors Ally Southwood-Smith and Jenna A. Bush

Together, they’ll delve into the editing process of Patrice: The Movie, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and began streaming on Hulu in September 2024. The film chronicles the lives of a disabled couple in their 50s who risk losing their health benefits should they choose to marry. Told with a light touch, the film is a charming, “infectiously giddy” (POV Magazine) ode to its protagonists with a “crowd-pleasing finish” (New York Times).

In this session, the editing team breaks down key scenes and offers useful tips for documentary editors. The team brings a wealth of experience to the table: Tarquinio was an editor on the Peabody-winning series Philly D.A. and Kirkwood served as an editor on the landmark 1619 Project. Southwood-Smith worked as an associate editor on the celebrated 2024 documentary Union and Bush served as editor/writer on the 2021 doc Mallory.

This event is part of the “Inside the Edit with BIPOC Doc Editors” series, a program hosted by Sundance Collab in collaboration with BIPOC Doc Editors. Don’t miss this chance to explore the craft of documentary editing with industry leaders. Click here to view our previous “Inside the Edit” event with the editing team behind Spermworld.

Jenna A. Bush

Jenna A. Bush is an award winning documentary editor and filmmaker. As a member of the disability community, she is consistently striving for greater representation both on screen and in the edit room. Credits include writing and editing the features FENCING FOR THE EDGE (2024) and MALLORY (Gravitas Ventures, 2021). She was recently an associate editor for the TIFF-premiered PATRICE: THE MOVIE (Hulu, 2024), a feature highlighting disability rights and marriage inequality, which screened at CIFF (Best Documentary Audience Award), BFI London, and the DOCNYC Winner’s Circle. Her short documentary, HELLO TO JULIA (2022), which she wrote/directed/edited, screened at the Woodstock International Film Festival and received awards from various festivals including Best Editing. Jenna’s short MINOR DETAILS received multiple accolades as well and aired on NJTV for many years. She is currently on the edit team for a disability centered feature documentary in post-production and is savoring her time as a 2024-2025 Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellow.

Ally Southwood-Smith

Ally Southwood-Smith is a documentary editor passionate about crafting stories that amplify the voices of QTBIPOC and other marginalized communities. With a keen eye for storytelling and a deep commitment to representation, Ally’s work challenges conventional narratives while creating space for underrepresented perspectives. Their film editing journey began as an assistant editor on the SXSW-premiered Bulletproof, followed by contributions to notable projects like Ailey (Sundance) and Free Money (TIFF). more...

John Tarquinio

John Tarquinio is an award-winning documentary film editor. Tarquinio was a co-editor on the critically acclaimed docuseries PHILLY D.A. (PBS/Topic, 2021). The series premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and screened at the Berlinale. The series received numerous awards, including a Gotham Award for “Best Breakthrough Non-fiction Series,” a Peabody Award, a duPont-Columbia Award, and a Hot Docs Audience Award. It was also a finalist for an IDA Award and a Cinema Eye. more...

Ephraim Kirkwood

Ephraim Kirkwood is an award-winning, two-time Emmy nominated Editor whose credits include the Peabody-awarded Netflix series High On The Hog, the SXSW Grand Jury Award-winning feature film Master Of Light and the Emmy-awarded Hulu limited docu-series, The 1619 Project. His other editorial contributions include ESPN’s 30 For 30, HBO’s original special Between The World And Me, and Showtime’s docu-series Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men. more...

Soheil Rezayazdi

Moderator | Digital Course & Event Producer

Soheil Rezayazdi is a Digital Course & Event Producer at the Sundance Institute, where he produces multi-session courses, master classes, filmmaker Q&As, and other digital programs for Sundance Collab. Prior to Sundance, Soheil served as the Nonfiction Programs Manager at the Gotham Film & Media Institute. He oversaw the Gotham’s core documentary programs: the Documentary Feature Lab, the Spotlight on Documentaries project market, and the Documentary Development Initiative in partnership with HBO Documentary Films. Soheil has worked with emerging filmmakers since 2015, when he began a seven-year tenure at the Columbia University MFA Film Program. At Columbia he managed the Columbia University Film Festival (CUFF), the Dr. Saul and Dorothy Kit Film Noir Festival, and the Carla Kuhn Memorial Speaker Series. more...

Tags:Editing

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