OPEN CALL FOR THE 2024-2025 KAREN SCHMEER FELLOWSHIP STARTS TODAY!

The open call for applications for the 2024-2025 Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship begins today, April 1, 2024. The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship is a year-long professional development program for documentary assistant, associate and emerging editors from historically underrepresented backgrounds and experiences - including those facing discrimination or barriers due to race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomics, immigration, disability, age, gender, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity. The fellowship will run from September 2024 to September 2025 and will consist of monthly small group meetings with seasoned documentary editor mentors.  The program will be hybrid, both online and in-person. We will have in-person group meetings in New York and Los Angeles and virtual group meetings for those in other areas of the United States. 

Applications will be accepted during our open call period from April 1 to May 12, 2024. Ideal applicants are currently working as documentary assistant, associate or early career editors who are looking to grow and work towards building a sustainable career. Applicants should be curious, open-minded, collaborative, and self-motivated people who are eager to get together with other documentary creatives to talk about the art, craft, ethics and business of editing documentaries.

Our mission is to cultivate the careers of an inclusive group of emerging documentary editors through mentorship to help them grow as artists and build their community. We recognize that each editor brings their own unique set of skills and perspectives to every project they work on. By investing in editors, we affirm and strengthen the critical role editors play in documentary storytelling. This year marks the thirteenth year of our programs and we have supported 139 emerging, associate and assistant editors since the fellowship’s inception. 

The organization honors the memory of gifted editor Karen Schmeer, ACE (The Fog of War, Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, Bobby Fischer Against the World), who was killed in a hit and run accident at the age of 39, on January 29, 2010. 

To learn more about the fellowship program:  www.karenschmeer.com/fellowship. For information about this year’s eligibility requirements and application process view our 2024-2025 Application Guidelines and 2024-2025 FAQ documents. To apply visit: www.karenschmeer.com/apply.  

Visit www.karenschmeer.com to meet our current fellows and mentors, as well as past program alumni and mentors. Visit our Hire page for detailed information about our alumni and current fellows, including availability.