Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1504875
picture editing team was comprised of fellow Guild members Zene Baker, Ryan Folsey, and Giancarlo Ganziano.) "It's a classic, iconic vampire genre film," she said. "But what's really interest- ing about 'Renfield' is it really keys in on the tiny insecurities of this big ego. It's a very human flaw that this film focuses on, whether it's Renfield or the vampire, Drac- ula. It humanizes these monsters in a way that is funny and painfully embarrassing at the same time, because you see yourself now in their shoes." She said she and her team of fellow editors approached the movie as "social commentary of the life we're going through right now," adding that "Dracula was like a Trumpian character." As for Kamitsuna's own life and work, "Renfield" is just the latest in a long string of successes as an editor, writer, director and producer. Some of her other recent accomplishments include editing several acclaimed scripted television series for HBO, including the final episode of "West- w o r l d " ( s e a s o n 2 ) a n d t h e f i r s t t h re e episodes of "Perry Mason" (season 1). She also served as editor and consulting pro- ducer on the upcoming FX Network limited series reboot of "Shogun," which will have a strong emphasis on the Japanese charac- ters' point of view. "I know as editors, we pride ourselves on being 'invisible artists,' but what we do behind closed doors really is an essential ingredient for any material to be born as a movie," she added. "Without our craft, the movie doesn't exist." She doesn't consider herself a career editor "per se," but rather views writing, directing, and editing as one singular craft in the filmmaking process. "Editing is an essential craft as a filmmaker," she said. "If you don't know what editing is, you are depriving yourself of the real potential the movie can be." A 'MYSTERY OF A STORY' Having been "thrown" into an American school where she "couldn't speak a word of English," Kamitsuna found her voice as a child by drawing pictures as a manga artist. As a 12-year-old, she made her first film — an animation piece — and by the time she was a graduate film student at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, she was "indoctrinated into what film editing is." "I loved it," she said. "It's such an in- stinctual language for me to react to what the picture is telling you — reading visual language — and putting it together." Kamitsuna's first big break in putting together a film as a professional came when she met writer-director Dee Rees in 2010. Her first task: cutting a trailer as part of a filmmaking competition to raise funds to finish what later became the critically acclaimed feature film, "Pariah." "She had such a rhythm and an eye," Rees said. "Even with a trailer, she told a story." 'Without our craft, the movie doesn't exist.' 29 F A L L Q 3 I S S U E C O V E R S T O R Y Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult in "Renfield." P H OT O : U N I V E R S A L P I C T U R E S