The open call for the 2024-2025 Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship program begins Monday, April 1, 2024. All applications and supporting materials must be completed and submitted by 11:59 pm PT on Sunday, May 12, 2024.

Our 2024-2025 fellowship is a year-long professional development program for assistant, associate and emerging documentary film editors from historically underrepresented backgrounds and experiences. The program will consist of monthly small group meetings with seasoned documentary editor mentors. 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.

Please read more about our fellowship program and its history HERE. Before applying, please read our 2024-2025 Application Guidelines document for this year’s elegibility requirements and a full outline of the application. Most other questions can be answered by our 2024-2025 FAQ document.

We recommend that you prepare you answers and materials ahead of time before filling out the application:

2024-2025 Fellowship Eligibility Requirements:

  1. Applicants must be committed to careers as documentary film editors (as opposed to fiction film editors or directors/producers who edit).

  2. Applicants must come 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. 

  3. Applicants must have at least two credits as an assistant, associate, additional, co-editor or editor on completed documentary films or documentary series, but no more than three credits as a co-editor or editor. These qualifying works must have running times of 45 minutes or more each (per film or episode). Your qualifying credits must be on two different projects. Your eligible editing credits may not be on works that you directed or produced.

  4. Applicants must be based in the United States and reside here during the fellowship year from September 2024 to September 2025.

  5. Applicants must be able to attend monthly meetings in-person if they reside in NYC or Los Angeles and monthly virtual meetings if they reside in other areas of the United States.

  6. Applicants cannot be enrolled as students in undergraduate or graduate programs during the fellowship year.

The application will consist of:

  • Applicant information

  • Short answer questions

  • Essay questions

  • Filmography resume

  • One letter of recommendation