Academy Award for Best Film Editing facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Academy Award for Best Film Editing
The 2024 recipient: Sean Baker
Presented by	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
Country	United States
First awarded	1935
Currently held by	Sean Baker Anora (2024)

Thelma Schoonmaker (left) and Columba Powell (right) at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Schoonmaker is among the deans of film editing; Powell is the son of Michael Powell, a prominent film director to whom Schoonmaker was married until his death in 1990.

Conrad A. Nervig was the inaugural winner, winning for Eskimo (1933). He also won for King Solomon's Mines (1950), alongside Ralph E. Winters.

The Academy Award for Best Film Editing is a special prize given each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). This award celebrates the best film editors who help make movies exciting and easy to follow.

Winning this award often goes hand-in-hand with winning the Academy Award for Best Picture. For many years, almost every movie that won Best Picture was also nominated for Best Film Editing. About two-thirds of Best Picture winners have also won the Film Editing Oscar! Only the main editor(s) listed in a film's credits can receive this award.

The people who vote for this award are members of the Academy's Editing Branch. In 2012, there were 220 members in this group. They vote for up to five films they think are best edited. The five films with the most votes become the nominees. Then, all active members of the Academy vote to pick the final winner from these nominees.

What is Film Editing?

Film editing is like putting together a giant puzzle. An editor takes all the different video clips, sounds, and special effects and arranges them to tell a story. They decide which parts to keep, which to cut, and how long each shot should be. Good editing makes a movie flow smoothly, builds suspense, and helps you feel the emotions of the characters. It's a very important job that often goes unnoticed, but it's key to how a movie feels when you watch it!

History of the Award

This award was first given out for movies released in 1934. Sometimes, the name of the award changes slightly. For example, in 2008, it was called the Academy Award for Achievement in Film Editing.

Some amazing film editors have won this award multiple times:

• Ralph Dawson won three times for A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), Anthony Adverse (1936), and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).
• Daniel Mandell also won three times for The Pride of the Yankees (1942), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and The Apartment (1960).
• Michael Kahn won three times for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Schindler's List (1993), and Saving Private Ryan (1998).
• Thelma Schoonmaker has won three times for Raging Bull (1980), The Aviator (2004), and The Departed (2006).

It's rare, but some film directors have also won this award for editing their own films. These include James Cameron for Titanic, Alfonso Cuarón for Gravity, and Sean Baker for Anora.

Award Records

Here are some interesting facts about the Academy Award for Best Film Editing:

Recent Winners and Nominees (2010s-2020s)

These lists show the winners and nominees from recent years, based on information from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.      indicates the winner

2010s

2020s

Images for kids

• 

  The 2024 recipient: Sean Baker

• 

  Thelma Schoonmaker (left) and Columba Powell (right) at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Schoonmaker is among the deans of film editing; Powell is the son of Michael Powell, a prominent film director to whom Schoonmaker was married until his death in 1990.

• 

  Conrad A. Nervig was the inaugural winner, winning for Eskimo (1933). He also won for King Solomon's Mines (1950), alongside Ralph E. Winters.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Óscar al mejor montaje para niños

• BAFTA Award for Best Editing
• Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing
• Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Editing
• American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic
• American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical
• List of Academy Award–nominated films