Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1504875
"Mudbound," the Oscar-nominated feature film adapted from the novel of the same name by Hillary Jordan. The mutual trust between director and editor allowed for a shorthand — and greater experimentation — to take place. "This is all about 'give me your best' — provoking each other to keep trying, keep doing," Kamitsuna said. "It's all about making this movie f ly, transform, and transport audiences. Whatever flexibility and experiments we did, Dee always had an unwavering understanding of what this "Pariah" tells the semi-autobiographical story of a 17-year-old Black poet in Brooklyn coming to terms with her identity as a les- bian and her efforts to find acceptance from her family. Shot on a $500,000 budget over just 19 days, the film earned praise when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011, winning the Best Cinematography Award and the John Cassavetes Award at the Independent Spirit Awards. Kamitsuna was completely immersed in the filmmaking process, Rees said, often traveling back and forth from the set to the cutting room on her green Vespa scooter (her "spaceship," as Kamitsuna calls it) with footage on a hard drive. When she initially recommended adding one more poem to the film, Rees balked at the idea. But Kamitsuna insisted. "She isn't afraid to go toe to toe with a director to create something better," Rees said. "And that idea ended up being transformative." In 2016, the pair rejoined forces on 'It's all about making this movie fly, transform and transport audiences.' OUTTAKES FROM MAKO'S PHOTO SHOOT: "There's always a story behind a story." P H OT O : M A R K E D WA R D S movie needs to be about." For Rees, she found that the moment of transformation in "Mudbound" came when Kamitsuna recommended changing the sequencing of an important scene, adding that "she's masterful at her craft." The film, which starred Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hed- lund, Jason Clarke, Mary J. Blige and Jason Mitchell, went on to earn four Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Ac- tress, Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song in 2017. H a v i n g s p l i t h e r t i m e a s a n e d i to r between documentary, narrative features, and scripted television, Kamitsuna said she always looks for "something that is not being said." "I look for a moment when it crosses over regardless of language, color of your skin, or the culture — the universally res- onating basic language, basic story, basic conflict. That's what I always look for in a narrative," she said. "All that being said, it's 30 C I N E M O N T A G E C O V E R S T O R Y