INSPIRE. ENGAGE. ENTERTAIN.
CHANGE THE WORLD.
Isabel Sadurni is a Motion Picture Editor, Producer and Writer with over 20 years experience in filmmaking. She collaborates on feature films, shorts and series with independent and commercial filmmakers who share the belief that a story told well can change the world. Her work as an editor includes award winning feature-length documentaries and short narratives that have played in top-tier festivals and on HBO, PBS and The Discovery Channel. Her focus is in working on films that are vehicles for change for people, for communities and for the planet. She's especially supportive of cultivating diverse perspectives and fearless creativity. With every project, her goal is to inspire and empower, to think about challenges, issues, and shared goals, and build a strong emotional connection to a specific audience that will lift the material to its highest potential And she's ambitious enough to think that together, we can shatter expectations and change thinking through stories in every medium.
NOW SHOWING
TAKE CARE OF MAYA
Isabel Sadurni: Finishing Editor
Feature Documentary, Distributor: Netflix, Executive Producers: Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan , Kate Barry | Story Syndicate, Producers: Caitlin Keating | Wisefool Films
Ranked #3 in the world upon its debut, TAKE CARE OF MAYA tells the story of 10-year-old Maya Kowalski who when she was admitted to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in 2016, nothing could have prepared her or her family for what they were about to go through. As the medical team tried to understand her rare illness, they began to question the basic truths that bound the Kowalskis together. Suddenly, Maya was in state custody – despite two parents who were desperate to bring their daughter home. The story of the Kowalski family – as told in their own words – is an expose of the U.S. children’s healthcare system and its impact on real families.
WHAT I DID
Three weeks before delivery, I was hired to work side-by-side with the director, Henry Roosevelt and Producer, Caitlin Keating to clarify a pivotal scene explaining exactly how and why the central characters could take on the Goliath of Johns Hopkins University. After buying a a little more time from Netflix, we also worked through an ending sequence that sharpened “the fight” of the looming court battle and what the Kowalskis case represented to the many, many families across the nation who have experienced similar accusations.
“. . . .an unmistakably moving documentary that shines a light on an apparently mostly unrecognized problem with the U.S. healthcare system.”
“. . .absorbing and challenging”
“. . .heartbreaking and infuriating”
“. . .deeply affecting. . .”
WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL
Isabel Sadurni: Additional Editor
Director/Producer/Editor, Rob Garver, 95 mins., U.S.A., Juno Releasing, Telluride Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival + over 40 festivals worldwide, 2019
. . . a pure uncut hit of the tastiest cinephile candy imaginable . . . an exquisitely crafted documentary about the woman who was arguably the greatest movie critic who ever lived . . . WHAT SHE SAID plays like a kaleidoscope of Kael’s criticism and film history that’s fully in touch with the devil-may-care imperiousness of her personality. . . the film captures the unique intersection of a fearless critic, a movie renaissance and a time when a mainstream writer could seduce and challenge her audience by operating with supreme freedom
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, Berlin Film Festival, 2019
. . . Adamantly engaging . . . an absorbing doc
— Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter
Above all a celebration of the pleasure of intellectual and emotional response to art and a picture of a style of thinking that might be seen as distinctively but non-stereotypically female
—Jonathan Romney, Screen International
. . . A richly compelling work, one that makes you yearn to watch more films and to understand why we need them. . WHAT SHE SAID paints a vivid picture of the landscape Kale savored and shaped. . . . and.offers a feature-length look at the astonishing influence Kael had on the world. . .an impressive, exhaustive patchwork of her art.
— Ella Kemp, Little White Lies
You have amazing material but haven't yet nailed story structure? We can build it. Maximize compelling storytelling, complex character arcs and emotional highs and lows to rivet your audience. Below find an excerpt from the film featuring author Greil Marcus on Pauline Kael's pivotal 1968 review of BONNIE AND CLYDE (Dir: Arthur Penn, 1967) for The New Yorker
WHAT I DID
Producer- Director Rob Garver had an incredible subject in telling the story of film critic Pauline Kael, 43 gorgeously lit interviews with contemporary film luminaries such as Quentin Tarantino, David O'Russell, Paul Schrader, James Toback, Greil Marcus, Philip Lopate and Molly Haskell all waxing poetic about the influence and impact of the work of Pauline Kael, He had a vision, but hadn't yet nailed the story structure. We talked in detail about what kind of story he wanted to tell, who he identified as his target audience, the emotional throughline and the impact he wanted to make with his film. Here'sa peek at music and culture critic Greil Marcus speaking on the force of Pauline Kael's writing.
IN THE WAKE OF DISASTER : HAMBURG, IOWA
Isabel Sadurni: Editor
Director/Producer/Camera, Jaka Vinsek and Reed Young, 3 min excerpt., U.S.A., 2019
You’re a super genius cameraperson, a natural with eliciting authentic, emotional moments from subjects, but don’t know how to torque the footage into compelling content with an emotional arc and a pointed tone? I’m ready.
WHAT I DID:
Working with Director-Producer-Cameramen Jaka Vinsek and Reed Young I worked through over 15 hours of incredible footage, came up with the story arc of a cautionary tale that tapped into the national anxiety of the unknowns around climate change and the need for community in overcoming natural disaster. Jaka and Reed’s primary purpose was to breakdown the larger story in to several scenes for a multi-media website which will feature their videos, still photographs and essays.: www.hamburgflood.com.
VICE FOR HBO: TRANSYOUTH
Isabel Sadurni: Additional Editor
Documentary VICE on HBO Broadcast U.SA., 30 mins, 2017,
As the debate continues over which bathroom transgender people should use, a more complex question is emerging about how early the medical transition begins for trans kids. Families and doctors are rewriting the rules as they decide when and how to start medical intervention before transgender youth hit puberty. VICE explores this emotionally charged and rapidly evolving issue with trans youth and their parents in the midst of that intense process.
HBO's transyouth is a powerful reminder of the need for acceptance -- Bustle Magazine
A refreshing direction in approaching the issues faced by the trans community -- The Sophian
This episode of HBO’s VICE couldn’t be more relevant after Trump and his administration withdrew transgender bathroom protections. --Awardsdaily.com
Need to build a narrative foundation for multiple character threads simultaneous to shooting their stories? That's exactly what we did.
WHAT I DID:
Working with Emmy award-nominated VICE Producer, Beverly Chase and Emmy and Peabody award-winning Executive Producer Tim Clancy, I built scenes that hit both the emotional core and sharpened the personal obstacles of a character in telling the story of the controversial issue of using of hormone blockers in todays youth ages 5-18.. In creating a piece about the oldest transgender subject preparing for top surgery, we focused on dramatizing the stigmas associated with presenting publicly as the alternate gender and how to navigate finding a sense of self, belonging and home after being abandoned by one's family. While we couldn't address the scope of this complex issue within the 30 minute time limit, we could encourage opening a conversation with the audience to guide and shape future episodes on transgender issues.
PISTOLA IN THE CITY
Isabel Sadurni, Director, Writer, Producer, Camera, Editor
An irreverent economist by day enters another world by night to fulfill the creative expression of her alter ego, Pistola Deluxe. Shot on location in NYC.
The American Nurse: Healing America
Isabel Sadurni: Lead Editor
Documentary Feature Film, HD, U.SA., 81 mins, 2015, American Film Showcase selection, for the U.S. State Department
"This is one of the best films you'll see this year, documentary or otherwise. . . It's hard to walk away from The American Nurse unmoved." -- The Aisle Seat
" A compassionate and psychologically revealing doc. . . accessible not only to Americans of any philosophical stripe but . . . to viewers in other countries." -- The Hollywood Reporter
How to interweave five characters work and lives covering wildly diverse territories under an overarching theme of nursing in America? Take a peek.
WHAT I DID
Building upon the success of The American Nurse book of portraits, this multi-platform release required the documentary feature to expand upon previously established themes of real-life heroism and extraordinary compassion. Working with Director Carolyn Jones’ initial ideas, I interwove back-story and home life for five separate characters, established their spiritual quest, distinguished a unique tone for each character using a palette of regional visuals and sound design. I then built a rake of escalating obstacles and resolution within an overarching 3-act structure.
The American Nurse explores some of the biggest issues facing America - aging, war, poverty, prisons - through the work and lives of five nurses.
Director: Carolyn Jones
Producer: Lisa Frank
D.P.: Jaka Vinsek
Distributor: Kino Lorber
THE CRITERION COLLECTION
Isabel Sadurni: Editor
Documentary, 10- 55 mins, Over 40 feature supplements edited
How to create momentum using sit-down interviews, stills and referential clips? It's a snap when the footage is sourced from cinematic masterworks.
Selection from Editing The THIN RED LINE, Shaping A Terence Malick Film
WHAT I DID
From Kurosawa to Vigo, Rossellini to Malick, I worked with multiple Criterion Producers to create rich, in-depth contextual explorations of the personal, historical and cultural significance of classical and contemporary cinematic masterpieces. Edits involved interweaving interviews with historians, scholars, critics and artists. I've been honored to create over 40 supplemental documentaries, ranging in length from 10 to 55 minutes.
REEL
My creative birth place in documentary filmmaking came from shooting, editing and producing documentaries for The 100 People Foundation, which took me to far-away lands and cultivated my education about the world, its peoples and my place in it. Below is a sample of work for The 100 People Foundation. Feel free to ask about developing similarly themed collaborations.
