Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/832212
55 Q2 2017 / CINEMONTAGE of her field over the next three decades, bringing to Hollywood the same thoughtfulness, intelligence and skill that characterized Blackside's ethos, along with its commitment to social justice and to opening the filmmaking process to persons of color. She practiced these ideals in and out of the editing room, putting into action principles that others might have ignored — even when that meant working long hours for little recognition. To call Lillian a film industry trailblazer is an understatement. In 1991, she became the first female African-American member of the American Cinema Editors (ACE), and only the fifth of all Black editors admitted into the society. In 2002, she was elected to a seat on ACE's Board, buoyed by an e-mail and flyer campaign that demonstrated not only the high regard given her by fellow editors, but also the breadth of her influence. She continues to serve on the ACE Board. In addition to the Emmy nomination for editing Eyes on the Prize, she has contributed to films that have earned four Emmy nominations and four Peabody Awards. However, film was not Lillian's first career choice. Born in New York, she holds an undergraduate degree in Fine Arts from the Pratt Institute. There, she made an 8mm movie and claims, "It was the most fun I ever had." She taught art in a public school in New York, leaving only when Above: Lillian Benson with director and editor Robert Wise at his office in LA in 1995 as part of the ACE Oral History project. Right: Lillian Benson with ac- tor Peter Falk on the set of one of the Columbo Movies-of- the-Week in 1993.