Tristan Meunier Assistant editor of Le Silence de Lorna (Lorna’s Silence)

It is clear that French editor Tristan Meunier - who earned the nickname "serial cutter" when he suggested cutting the whole first scene of a short film he was working on – is passionate about his job.

He has worked with Rohmer and the Dardennes brothers and edited countless other features, shorts and documentaries. After six years in the business he says he understands why so many stop. Every month, every project is a new negotiation. “Editing is like ping pong”, he comments, “It’s an exchange of ideas. You return the ball that the director sends… I’ve done my job if the director says he got the film he was after".

One can imagine Tristan as the fairytale character who comes in during the night to fix the shoes that the shoemaker needs to repair. He tells how in editing you need to be a good psychologist, diplomat, and partner: "There are three in the editing room - the director, the editor and the movie, the director’s baby. You need to know what kind of movie you are editing, to support the director”.

Like many young editors, Tristan reads Walter Murch (editor of Apocalypse Now) to find out what the job of the editor is actually about, although he clearly has views of his own - essential when you close yourself in a darkroom to bring stories alive.

Atso Pärnänen