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Emails are pouring in about the “untimely, senseless, and tragic” passing of Karen Schmeer, a respected member of the American Cinema Editors, at age 39. She was a gifted editor of documentaries who, according to news reports, was run down by robbers during their getaway as she was crossing a street in New York City. Best known for helping craft Errol Morris’ later films (The Fog Of War, Mr. Death, Fast, Cheap & Out Of Control, and Standard Operating Procedure) she won last year’s Sundance award for editing Greg Barker’s documentary, Sergio. “I had the honor to moderate a panel on documentary editing at the A.C.E. EditFest last summer in NY, and Karen was a member,” one source wrote in. “She was humble and soft spoken while her work spoke volumes. She surely understood the art of storytelling as a documentary editor.”
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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“Fast Cheap and Out of Control” is one of my all-time favorite movies, one of the best documentaries of the 1990s, and ridiculously well-edited; “The Fog of War” and “Mr. Death” are almost as brilliant, and The Fog of War deserved its Oscar. I’m a big fan of Errol Morris but never knew Ms. Schmeer’s name. This is tragic and enraging on all levels.
It’s so sad when someone so rarely talented is taken through violence.
Oh no! That’s very sad news. Any word, NF, on where donations can be made in her memory?
The Errol Morris films that she edited were nothing short of brilliant. Anyone that has seen them can tell you the strength is in the long, patient shots that reveal more about a person and what isn’t said than what is. None of these films were short of fantastic, but Mr. Death may have disturbed me more than any film I have ever seen and I still think about it years after viewing. Clearly, Karen had not just an amazing talent for storytelling, but also a brilliant understanding of human nature and the recognition of truth.
She took the cuts to another level in Fog of War, I hope M. Rabiger includes her in his next documentary book. Night and Fog and the Fog of War are equals in their impact on war, suffering and humanity.
RIP
After being inspired by a tweet, referring to first female director winning DGA award, I was further inspired by this tragic and senseless act of violence…I feel the momentum building, within our communities, to do something about the injustices. Rehabilitation works better than imprisonment, in many of these situations. Organization and unity prevents atrocities from occurring, as I’ve seen, firsthand, in my community. Funny, I still feel safer in Los Angeles county, than CA’s Orange county (too many drama queens, there…lol).
No, it’s not sad – it’s never sad when a great, humble artist gets a chance to elevate her field and share it with the masses.
Here is to the memory of a great talent – her incredible work will live forever
Very sad. Karen left a fantastic body of work, but now we’ll always wonder what else she might have done. Condolences to her family, friends and associates.
She was a talent, and above all else, she was a genuine person without any ego…just a great love of what she did. She’ll be missed.
One of the all time great people. endless patience and warmth. she will never be forgotten.
I live 1/2 block from the accident and heard the accident and the screams that accompanied it. I went outside and saw the aftermath – it was a truly tragic evening and it is even more sad to hear more details and what a loss this is.
God bless her. She’s surely in a better place…
I took an AVID editing class in Boston (CityScape Film School) and Karen was my instructor. She was very humorous and talented. It was funny how she talked about editing the documentary Mr. Death, and how he gave her the heebie jeebies! She also made fun of herself having an “editor’s butt” (from sitting too much). She was a real nice, funny, talented lady. This is such a tragic loss. I’m glad I can still appreciate her work. I’m going to rent Fast, Cheap and Out of Control again. That film is pissah.