INTRODUCTION
Over many years, Sally Menke was an inspired mentor to Sundance Institute filmmakers and editors. As a creative advisor at the Directors Lab, she was dynamic, focused, generous, and passionate about the creative process. She loved the editing room and spent hours with the fellows who sought her out. She used her own experiences and skills to help filmmakers bring their visions to life and offered her advice with generosity and kindness.
Her many editing credits include Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, All the Pretty Horses, Kill Bill, and Inglourious Basterds. In memory of Sally’s artistry and love of mentoring, Sundance Institute created the Sally Menke Memorial Editing Fellowship to support an emerging fiction editor in furthering their understanding of craft, expanding their artistic community, and providing momentum to their editing career.
Past fellows include Troy Lewis (Daughters), Daysha Broadway (Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody), Sushila Love (Ms. Marvel), Susan E. Kim (I’ll Be Your Mirror), Josie Azzam (Summer ’03), Monica Salazar (Honey Boy), Kate Hackett (Waikiki), Kathryn Schubert (Marjorie Prime, The Transfiguration), Erica Freed Marker (The Detour, Netflix’s Marco Polo), Alex O’Flinn (The Rider, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night), Julia Bloch (Green Room, The Wall), Debbie Berman (co-editor, Black Panther and Spider-Man: Homecoming), Joseph Krings (Captain Fantastic, Rebel in the Rye), and Abbi Jutkowitz (Lizzie, As You Are).
The mentors have included the accomplished editors Amy Duddleston (High Art, Mare of Easttown), Dody Dorn (Memento, End of Watch), Myron Kerstein (In the Heights, Crazy Rich Asians), Debra Neil-Fisher (The Hangover, Sonic the Hedgehog), Michael Sale (Bridesmaids, We’re the Millers), Maryann Brandon (Venom, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens), Tatiana S. Riegel (The Girl in the Spider’s Web; I, Tonya), Wyatt Smith (Harriet, Into the Woods), Susan Morse (Manhattan, Music and Lyrics), Pamela Martin (The Fighter, Little Miss Sunshine), Dylan Tichenor (Zero Dark Thirty, There Will Be Blood), Jeffrey Ford (The Avengers, Crazy Heart), Meg Reticker (30 Rock, True Detective, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Joe Hutshing (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire), Barbara Tulliver (Signs, Hard Eight), Jay Rabinowitz (The Tree of Life, Requiem for a Dream), Suzy Elmiger (Master of None, Short Cuts), Tim Squyres (Life of Pi; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Christopher Tellefsen (Moneyball, Capote), Affonso Gonçalves (Carol, Beasts of the Southern Wild), and Deborah Moran (The Wire, Bloodline).
DESCRIPTION OF FELLOWSHIP
The Sally Menke Memorial Editing Fellowship will include the following elements:
Two editing mentors; collaboration with Sundance staff to identify the mentors who will be available from July 2025 through May 2026. You will engage in monthly meetings with one or both of the mentors for advice on the editing process and potential opportunities for career development. When appropriate, there might be a key moment to observe mentors at work during an essential part of their process.
Invitation to join the American Cinema Editors as an associate member. Benefits include receiving the ACE CinemaEditor Magazine, invitations to events, and screeners, with the opportunity to vote for the Feature Film Best Editing categories as part of the ACE Awards.
Invitations to join periodic informal gatherings of the cohort of Menke fellows.
Invitation to join the Art of Editing Event at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where the annual Menke fellow is announced.
Participation as an editor for two of the directing fellows at the 2025 Sundance Directors Lab (fellow must be available to attend in person at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, anticipated dates June 1–16, 2025).
ELIGIBILITY
The Sally Menke Editing Fellowship will support an emerging fiction editor who has served as lead editor for at least one, but no more than three fiction features and any number of shorts, documentary films, industrial films, or webisodes. Additionally, the ideal candidate is committed to continuing a career in editing, passionate about collaboration and the creative process, and open to exploration and experimentation in the editing room. We hope to find an editor based in either Los Angeles or New York City, but the fellowship is open to all editors based in the U.S.
Applicants must have working knowledge of editing equipment and be proficient in both AVID and Adobe Premiere.
APPLICATIONS
Applications for the Sally Menke Editing Fellowship will be accepted starting Tuesday, February 11; the deadline for submissions is Thursday, February 27. Please apply online and carefully read the instructions below.
*NOTE: Because this application is by invitation only, you will need an access code to successfully submit your application. Please email Sofia Tate at sofia_tate@sundance.org to request an invitation and code.*
Fill out the online form (https://apply.sundance.org), including:
Applicant contact information
Applicant bio (150 words max)
Applicant demographic information
A link to one feature film you feel best demonstrates your editing ability
Upload one letter of recommendation from an editor or director with whom you have previously collaborated, addressed to the Sally Menke Memorial Editing Fellowship Selection Committee. Include as a PDF document with the file name in the format: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_Letter
Upload your response to the following questions as a PDF document with the file name in the format: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME _Application (250 word max per answer)
What are your key goals as an editor, and what would be most helpful to you in a mentoring relationship right now?
Tell us about a specific experience you’ve had working as an editor that taught you something key about the process.
Choose a film you admire for its exceptional editing and explain why.
What steps have you taken in your career to pursue mentorship and build a community?
**NOTE: Once you hit “submit,” you will not be able to go back and edit your application. Make sure to carefully review all your materials.**
Final decisions to select the 2025 fellow will be made by May 2. All applicants will be notified by this time. Please contact featurefilmprogram@sundance.org with any questions.
2025 Sally Menke Fellowship
INTRODUCTION
Over many years, Sally Menke was an inspired mentor to Sundance Institute filmmakers and editors. As a creative advisor at the Directors Lab, she was dynamic, focused, generous, and passionate about the creative process. She loved the editing room and spent hours with the fellows who sought her out. She used her own experiences and skills to help filmmakers bring their visions to life and offered her advice with generosity and kindness.
Her many editing credits include Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, All the Pretty Horses, Kill Bill, and Inglourious Basterds. In memory of Sally’s artistry and love of mentoring, Sundance Institute created the Sally Menke Memorial Editing Fellowship to support an emerging fiction editor in furthering their understanding of craft, expanding their artistic community, and providing momentum to their editing career.
Past fellows include Troy Lewis (Daughters), Daysha Broadway (Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody), Sushila Love (Ms. Marvel), Susan E. Kim (I’ll Be Your Mirror), Josie Azzam (Summer ’03), Monica Salazar (Honey Boy), Kate Hackett (Waikiki), Kathryn Schubert (Marjorie Prime, The Transfiguration), Erica Freed Marker (The Detour, Netflix’s Marco Polo), Alex O’Flinn (The Rider, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night), Julia Bloch (Green Room, The Wall), Debbie Berman (co-editor, Black Panther and Spider-Man: Homecoming), Joseph Krings (Captain Fantastic, Rebel in the Rye), and Abbi Jutkowitz (Lizzie, As You Are).
The mentors have included the accomplished editors Amy Duddleston (High Art, Mare of Easttown), Dody Dorn (Memento, End of Watch), Myron Kerstein (In the Heights, Crazy Rich Asians), Debra Neil-Fisher (The Hangover, Sonic the Hedgehog), Michael Sale (Bridesmaids, We’re the Millers), Maryann Brandon (Venom, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens), Tatiana S. Riegel (The Girl in the Spider’s Web; I, Tonya), Wyatt Smith (Harriet, Into the Woods), Susan Morse (Manhattan, Music and Lyrics), Pamela Martin (The Fighter, Little Miss Sunshine), Dylan Tichenor (Zero Dark Thirty, There Will Be Blood), Jeffrey Ford (The Avengers, Crazy Heart), Meg Reticker (30 Rock, True Detective, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Joe Hutshing (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire), Barbara Tulliver (Signs, Hard Eight), Jay Rabinowitz (The Tree of Life, Requiem for a Dream), Suzy Elmiger (Master of None, Short Cuts), Tim Squyres (Life of Pi; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Christopher Tellefsen (Moneyball, Capote), Affonso Gonçalves (Carol, Beasts of the Southern Wild), and Deborah Moran (The Wire, Bloodline).
DESCRIPTION OF FELLOWSHIP
The Sally Menke Memorial Editing Fellowship will include the following elements:
Two editing mentors; collaboration with Sundance staff to identify the mentors who will be available from July 2025 through May 2026. You will engage in monthly meetings with one or both of the mentors for advice on the editing process and potential opportunities for career development. When appropriate, there might be a key moment to observe mentors at work during an essential part of their process.
Invitation to join the American Cinema Editors as an associate member. Benefits include receiving the ACE CinemaEditor Magazine, invitations to events, and screeners, with the opportunity to vote for the Feature Film Best Editing categories as part of the ACE Awards.
Invitations to join periodic informal gatherings of the cohort of Menke fellows.
Invitation to join the Art of Editing Event at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where the annual Menke fellow is announced.
Participation as an editor for two of the directing fellows at the 2025 Sundance Directors Lab (fellow must be available to attend in person at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, anticipated dates June 1–16, 2025).
ELIGIBILITY
The Sally Menke Editing Fellowship will support an emerging fiction editor who has served as lead editor for at least one, but no more than three fiction features and any number of shorts, documentary films, industrial films, or webisodes. Additionally, the ideal candidate is committed to continuing a career in editing, passionate about collaboration and the creative process, and open to exploration and experimentation in the editing room. We hope to find an editor based in either Los Angeles or New York City, but the fellowship is open to all editors based in the U.S.
Applicants must have working knowledge of editing equipment and be proficient in both AVID and Adobe Premiere.
APPLICATIONS
Applications for the Sally Menke Editing Fellowship will be accepted starting Tuesday, February 11; the deadline for submissions is Thursday, February 27. Please apply online and carefully read the instructions below.
*NOTE: Because this application is by invitation only, you will need an access code to successfully submit your application. Please email Sofia Tate at sofia_tate@sundance.org to request an invitation and code.*
Fill out the online form (https://apply.sundance.org), including:
Applicant contact information
Applicant bio (150 words max)
Applicant demographic information
A link to one feature film you feel best demonstrates your editing ability
Upload one letter of recommendation from an editor or director with whom you have previously collaborated, addressed to the Sally Menke Memorial Editing Fellowship Selection Committee. Include as a PDF document with the file name in the format: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_Letter
Upload your response to the following questions as a PDF document with the file name in the format: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME _Application (250 word max per answer)
What are your key goals as an editor, and what would be most helpful to you in a mentoring relationship right now?
Tell us about a specific experience you’ve had working as an editor that taught you something key about the process.
Choose a film you admire for its exceptional editing and explain why.
What steps have you taken in your career to pursue mentorship and build a community?
**NOTE: Once you hit “submit,” you will not be able to go back and edit your application. Make sure to carefully review all your materials.**
Final decisions to select the 2025 fellow will be made by May 2. All applicants will be notified by this time. Please contact featurefilmprogram@sundance.org with any questions.