Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1456671
42 C I N E M O N T A G E I N M E M O R I A M JENNIFER LILLY JUNE 5, 1973 — DECEMBER 23, 2021 Colleagues are mourning the loss of New York picture editor Jennifer Lilly, who died of ovarian cancer on December 23 at age 4 8 a f t e r a b r i l l i a n t 2 5 - y e a r ca re e r wo r k i n g a l o n gs i d e ce l- e b rate d f i l m m a ke rs i n c l u d i n g Sidney Lumet, Martin Scorsese, To m Fo n ta n a , A z i z A n s a r i , B o Burnham and more. Born in Indianapolis, Jennifer graduated from Bowdoin College where she spun records for the student-run station WBOR. She moved to New York after gradua- tion and landed a job as production assistant on a major studio film, which led to work as an appren- tice and then assistant editor in post-production. Her first post feature job came in 1998, working with the editor Alisa Lepselter on "Sweet and Lowdown" (1999). She found her passion for editing while syncing dailies, cataloging film trims, and conform- ing 35mm picture to the Avid. "She was so smart, so enthusiastic, so dedicated, it was impossible not to be charmed by her," Lepselter said. "It was Jen's first time in a cutting room, but she soon became an indispensable assistant, essential to the smooth functioning of our hybrid analog/digital workplace. She took her new skills out into the world and forged a brilliant career. I proudly followed her work, dazzled by her talent. I began as a mentor, but anyone who worked with Jen became her friend." Jennifer honed her craft by taking on side projects that allowed her to edit and even produce: short films, student films, and videos for non-profits benefiting mar- ginalized groups in Romania and Zambia. S h e j u m p e d to fe a t u re E d i to r w i t h " S o r r y T h a n k s " ( 2 0 0 9 ) , f o l l o w e d b y festival favorites and indies including "Hel- ena at the Wedding" (2010), "Elecktrick Children" (2012), "The One I Love" (2014) and "Eighth Grade" (2018), for which she won great acclaim. Jennifer was invited from 2010-2012 to take part in the Sundance Institute Direc- tors Lab, where she met her future husband, cinematographer Andrew Reed. Together they had two children, Theo (7) and Maddie (5); her husband and children survive her, as do her parents, Deborah and Eli Lilly II, and three siblings. She edited TV and streaming series as well, including "Mrs. Fletcher" (2019), "Living With Yourself" (2019), "Love Life" (2020) and "Master of None" (2015-2021). D av i d Wo o d s, a p ro d u ce r o n " M r s. Fletcher," remarked: "The patience and kindness that Jen showed you in boundless supply as a person, she would also extend in equal measure to the characters she was helping to shape with great care and dignity in the edit." For season two of "Master of None," Jennifer was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Single-Camera P i c t u re E d i t i n g f o r a C o m e d y Series. Jennifer said she had to "share it with the whole team...I really credit the whole team with everything I was given to make the show." She discussed the editing of "Master of None" in a 2021 inter- view. "We decided to really limit our toolbox," she said. "We were not going to have a lot of score, we were not going to prelap audio. We were going to mostly work in mas- ters. It does really sharpen your sensitivity to performance and to the tools that you do have... Every project has different challenges, and these were different muscles than I'd used before. It was fun... I a l w a y s h a v e t h e i n t e n t i o n t o stay out of the way a little bit w h e n I ' m e d i t i n g. I t 's k i n d o f invisible, especially in this show, making it as seamless and natural as possi- ble for the audience." She remained passionate about her life's work. "Honestly, it doesn't even feel like work sometimes," she said in the same interview. "It's such a pleasure." A memorial was scheduled at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn on March 5. Those wish- ing to offer a memorial tribute are asked to donate in her name to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance. https://ocrahope.org/JenLill ■ Colleagues Remember Jen Lilly CHARLIE MCDOWELL, WRITER/ DIRECTOR: "I made two films with Jennifer Lilly,