About this episode

Viridiana Lieberman discusses the emotional aspects of film editing and her collaborative process in documentary filmmaking.

We sit down with Viridiana Lieberman , an award-winning editor and director behind some of the most acclaimed nonfiction films and series of the past decade. Her work includes The Sentence , Call Center Blues , and most recently The Perfect Neighbor — Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Feature Film, as well as winner of the US Documentary Directing Award at Sundance 2025 and the Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Editing. With a style marked by precision, restraint, and emotional clarity, Lieberman’s projects consistently push the boundaries of what a documentary can be. In this conversation, Viridiana shares how she approaches the craft of editing not just as a technician, but as a storyteller and partner in the filmmaking process. She reflects on her years-long creative collaboration with director Geeta Gandbhir, the unique editorial challenges behind The Perfect Neighbor , and why she believes documentaries can feel as cinematic as narrative film. We also talk about the editorial mindset she brings to directing her own work, including her debut feature Born to Play , and how that perspective shapes how she receives footage from other teams. Throughout the episode…

People in this episode

Guest: Viridiana Lieberman

Topics covered

• film editing
• documentary filmmaking
• storytelling
• emotional clarity
• collaboration

Keywords

• film editing
• documentary
• Viridiana Lieberman
• storytelling
• collaboration
• emotional work
• editing techniques

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Sentence, Call Center Blues, The Perfect Neighbor, Born to Play

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