Alex O'Flinn

Editor

Alex O’Flinn grew up in the Washington, D.C. area before attending Kenyon College where he received his B.A. in English. Studying literature opened up the door to the storytelling world and an interest in visual storytelling began. This interest lead Alex to pursue a M.F.A. in Film Directing and Production at UCLA where he learned extensively about filmmaking and what goes into crafting a compelling story while also beginning to understand the process of editing. 

After graduating from UCLA, Alex teamed up with Ana Lily Amirpour to edit her feature film debut A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, which would have its world premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Later that year, Alex was the recipient of the Sundance Institute’s Sally Menke Memorial Editing Fellowship, which allowed him the opportunity to attend the 2014 Sundance Directing Lab as an editor, as well as learn from mentors Stephen Mirrione, Doug Crise, and Dylan Tichenor throughout the year. 

As an editor, Alex is inspired by bold storytelling and directors who are willing to push the boundaries of film and filmmaking. He has had the pleasure of editing films such as Autism In Love for Matt Fuller, The Bad Batch for Ana Lily Amirpour, and The Rider for Chloé Zhao for which he received an Independent Spirit Award Nomination for Best Editing. 

Currently, Alex is an editor on the Netflix Series The OA. He also served as an editing advisor for Film Independent’s Project Involve and Director’s Lab.


Artist's Chosen Interview: 


Links to Work:


Creative Resources:

  • One of the biggest inspirations is literature and art (painting, music and photography). 
  • I often reference Jennifer Egan’s novel A Visit From The Goon Squad, which I think is a brilliant, brilliant example of unconventional storytelling structure. It think of it often when I’m working on the structure of a film. 
  • The photographs of William Eggleston, Richard Avedon, the paintings of Caravaggio, Hopper, and A. Wyeth all contain such brilliant glimpses into narratives. 
  • I watch a lot of films as well, but I think it’s really important to get inspiration from an emotional reaction. Then examine the narrative behind that work – what was it that made you have such a strong response. Trying to figure out why something emotionally resonates is a good way to strengthen story skills and vocabulary. Also, to explore a variety of mediums, as it only strengthens one’s knowledge of narrative and how film as a medium fits into the greater conversation of storytelling. 
  • It’s important to go to museums, read books, listen to music, and be aware of what grabs you.