In cinema, film editors are the unsung heroes behind the scenes, shaping raw footage into captivating stories. While their work is often associated with either narrative films or documentaries, there exists a fascinating breed of film editors who seamlessly navigate between both genres. Camilla Bartoli has built a steady career over the last decade, lending her talents to movies like ‘Hallelujah’, ‘Kissy and The Shark’, ‘Ages of Man’ and TV work including ‘Blippi’. Her latest documentary project ‘The Door To Hell’ is an important piece of the social, human, and economic history of Sicily. The film chronicles the inspirational stories of the last surviving men who worked in slave-like conditions in the sulfur mines up until 1963.
When asked about the difference between editing a narrative film and a documentary she said “the biggest difference is the structuring of the narrative. In my narrative film jobs, I am handed a script which is a starting point and then I have to figure out how to put together the footage to recreate the same emotions and beats on screen. In a documentary, on the other hand, a big portion of the editing process happens without a script. It is your job to figure out how to structure the narrative with the footage you have. Both are very interesting processes and both need some trial and error work”.
A big question that arises when talking about documentaries is how manipulated is the footage. How much creative freedom does an editor have when editing a documentary compared to a narrative film? Camilla explained that “With narrative, you are telling a scripted story with performances. You do your best to choose the right performances and shots and if something feels like it’s missing you need to figure out what is missing and find a creative way to bring it out to the surface any way you can. I enjoy the process of fixing something that is not working. In a documentary, you don’t have the comfort of planning. You can prepare the questions you ask during interviews, but you can’t control the answers you will get. You start with an idea of the story the director wants to bring to light, but the way to get there is much more creative and complex in my opinion. You have to be careful dealing with a true story and you don’t want to manipulate the feelings and experiences people talk about. What is up to the filmmaker is how to build the journey you want to put your audience through.”
As the cinematic landscape continues to evolve, the role of film editors who adeptly navigate between narrative films and documentaries becomes increasingly significant. Their ability to shape stories, manipulate emotions, and push the boundaries of storytelling makes them true artistic alchemists. Camilla is currently working on a docu-series and is planning on continuing editing narrative films in the future.
