Sam Pollard and Paul Trewartha are both editors with a long pedigree, in Sam's case evolving into a distinguished career as director and producer of acclaimed documentaries. This wide-ranging conversation is a feast of insight into the art and process of documentary editing, covering remote collaboration, how to serve the film and not your ego, editing to help audiences feel a sense of ownership of the film, the limitations of interview transcripts, the traps and challenges of guide music, and much else besides.

The talk was held at the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, as part of the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival where Sam and Paul were presenting their film Tutu. The talk is a collaboration between Encounters and the South African Guild of Editors, in partnership with the South African Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture and the South African Audio Visual Cluster.