Karen Schmeer
American film editor
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Karen Schmeer (February 20, 1970 – January 29, 2010) was a film editor who frequently collaborated with filmmaker Errol Morris.
Early life and education
Schmeer was born in Portland, Oregon.[1] She was the daughter of Michael Schmeer and Eleanor DuBois, as well as the granddaughter of photographer Ray Atkeson.[1]
In 1988, Schmeer graduated from Portland's Lincoln High School. In 1992 she graduated from Boston University with a degree in anthropology.[1]
Career
The year she graduated from college she was hired for an unpaid internship with Errol Morris.[1] Schmeer edited a number of his films, including The Fog of War, a 2004 portrait of Robert S. McNamara that was nominated for an Eddie award and Fast, Cheap and Out of Control.[1] She also edited Sergio, a 2009 film by Greg Barker about Sergio Vieira de Mello. Schmeer won the award for best documentary film editing at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival for Sergio.[2][3][4] Other work included editing Sydney Pollack's 2005 documentary, Sketches of Frank Gehry.[3]
Death
Schmeer was killed on the evening of January 29, 2010, in a hit-and-run as she was crossing New York City's Broadway Street at 90th Street.[3] The driver that struck her was the getaway driver for the robbery of a nearby pharmacy.[2][4]
Posthumous tributes
The Karen Schmeer Award for Excellence in Documentary Editing is awarded by the Independent Film Festival Boston.[5]
The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship, created in 2010, is awarded annually.[6][7]
Awards
- 2002: Slamdance Film Festival, Excellence in Editing Award for My Father, the Genius
- 2004: American Cinema Editors, Eddie Award, Best Edited Documentary Film (nominee) for The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara with Doug Abel and Chyld King
- 2009: Sundance Film Festival, Editing Award, Documentary for Sergio
Filmography
- 1997: Fast, Cheap & Out of Control
- 1999: Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.
- 1999: Theme: Murder
- 2000: Well-Founded Fear
- 2000: First Person (TV Series documentary) – episode: "The Killer Inside Me"
- 2002: My Father, the Genius
- 2002: American Experience (TV Series documentary) – episode: "A Brilliant Madness"
- 2003: The Same River Twice
- 2003: The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara
- 2005: American Masters (TV Series documentary) – episode: "Sketches of Frank Gehry"
- 2006: Independent Lens (TV Series documentary) – episode: "Revolution: Five Visions"
- 2008: American Son
- 2008: Standard Operating Procedure – as co-editor
- 2009: Sergio
- 2011: Bobby Fischer Against the World
- 2012: Futures Past
