A sub-committee of BFE governors selected five finalists in each category from a long-list of nominees. Separate juries, each chaired by a renowned editor will determine the winner of the awards, partly based on interviews with the finalists and the BFE members who nominated them.

The Award for Breakthrough Editor celebrates the outstanding achievements of emerging editing talent in 2020. Chris Crookall was a BFE member who was enjoying an exceptional career. The finalists in this category have demonstrated exemplary qualities in documentary or in drama.

The Chris Crookall Cut Above Award for Breakthrough Editor nominees are:
● Lindsey Woodward (I May Destroy You, The Last Bus)
● Tatjana Rhodes (Tummy Ache, Dorcha)
● Dan Gage (Home, Staged)
● Liyana Mansor (The Alienist)
● Izzy Curry (Goldfish, I Hate Suzie)

The BFE selection sub-committee also wanted to highlight two nominees as ‘highly commended’:
Gaz Evans(Porno Uncle Jim) and Simon Whitcombe (The Heist).

BFE used to be GBFTE (The Guild of British Film and Television Editors) and Michael Johns had been a governor of GBFTE for many years, known for championing junior members of the cutting room, offering help and advice.

The Michael Johns Cut Above Award for Outstanding Assistant Editor nominees are:
● Ruth Antoine
● Tom Coope
● Simon Davis
● Christopher Frith
● Jay Kishan Patel

“These finalists have demonstrated that they are exceptional Assistant Editors. They are soaring in this role. If they choose to become editors they will be building on a very firm foundation. Behind their pathways to success are stories of endeavour, flair, cooperation and determination.”
– Renée Edwards BFE, Chair.

The winners will be announced at the BFE Cut Above Awards ceremony, to be held as a live streamed event on the 5th March at 7.30pm.

For the remainder of this article, I am going to concentrate on the Assistant Editor nominees.

Because of this amazing breakthrough for Assistant Editors, I thought it would be beneficial to those wishing to achieve such a status to learn more about each of the nominees.

I went to IMDb and copied their editing related credits (keep in mind that IMDb is not always 100% accurate). Also for any assistant editing credits from 2021-2019, I listed the editors.

Ruth Antoine
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4290209/
Editorial department (14 credits)

The King’s Man (Second Assistant Editor) (completed)2021
Film Editing by
Jason Ballantine
Robert Hall

The Dig (first assistant editor) 2021
Film Editing by
Jon Harris

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (second assistant editor) 2019
Film Editing by
Laura Jennings
Craig Wood

Pokémon Detective Pikachu (first assistant editor) 2019
Film Editing by
Mark Sanger
James Thomas

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (second assistant editor)2018
T2 Trainspotting (second assistant editor)2017
Tawai: A Voice from the Forest (Documentary) (assistant editor)2017
The Crown (TV Series) (second assistant editor – 10 episodes)2016
- Pride & Joy (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Assassins (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Scientia Potentia Est (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Gelignite (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Smoke and Mirrors (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Windsor (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Act of God (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Hyde Park Corner (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Gloriana (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Wolferton Splash (2016) … (second assistant editor)
The Idol (first assistant editor)2015
Legend (second assistant editor)2015/I
The Monuments Men (editorial trainee)2014
Christmas in a Day (Documentary) (assistant editor)2013
Trance (second assistant editor)2013/I
Les Misérables (editorial trainee)2012

Tom Coope
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4563520/
Editorial department (13 credits)

Mission: Impossible 8 (first assistant editor) (filming)2022
Film Editing by
Eddie Hamilton

Mission: Impossible 7 (first assistant editor) (filming)2021
Film Editing by
Eddie Hamilton

Top Gun: Maverick (first assistant editor) (post-production)2021
Film Editing by
Eddie Hamilton
Chris Lebenzon

Dora and the Lost City of Gold (first assistant editor)2019
Film Editing by
Mark Everson

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (first assistant editor)2018
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (first assistant editor)2017
War Machine (second assistant editor)2017
Victoria (TV Series) (assistant editor – 3 episodes)2016
- Brocket Hall (2016) … (assistant editor)
- Ladies in Waiting (2016) … (assistant editor)
- Doll 123 (2016) … (assistant editor)
Now You See Me 2 (Dailies Assistant Editor)2016
The Huntsman: Winter’s War (assistant editor)2016
Spectre (dailies operator)2015/I
Kingsman: The Secret Service (second assistant editor)2014
Welcome to the Majority (assembly editor)2013

Editor (2 credits)
35mm (TV Series documentary) (1 episode)2008
- 35mm Special: Quantum of Solace
Terry Pratchett’s ‘The Colour of Magic’: The Making Of (TV Special documentary)2008

Simon Davis
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2065287/
Editorial department (17 credits)

Death on the Nile (first assistant editor) (completed) 2021
Film Editing by
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle

Artemis Fowl (first assistant editor)2020
Film Editing by
Matthew Tucker

Ready Player One (assistant editor)2018
Inferno (first assistant editor)2016/I
In the Heart of the Sea (associate editor)2015
Rush (first assistant editor)2013/I
War Horse (assistant editor)2011
Exitz (first assistant editor)2007
Cashback (assistant editor)2006
The Da Vinci Code (assistant editor)2006
Red Mercury (first assistant editor)2005
Around The World In 80 Days (assistant editor)2004
In My Country (first assistant editor)2004
Dinotopia (TV Series) (assistant editor – 6 episodes)2002-2003
- Car Wars (2003) … (assistant editor)
- LeSage (2003) … (assistant editor)
- Night of the Wartosa (2002) … (assistant editor)
- The Big Fight (2002) … (assistant editor)
- The Matriarch (2002) … (assistant editor)
- Contact (2002) … (assistant editor)
Dinotopia (TV Mini-Series) (assistant editor)2002/II
The Tailor of Panama (assistant editor)2001
The General (assistant editor)1998

Visual effects (6 credits)
Tomb Raider (visual effects editor)2018
The Nice Guys (visual effects editor)2016
Wrath of the Titans (vfx assistant editor)2012
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (first assistant visual effects editor – uncredited)2010
Quantum of Solace (vfx assistant editor)2008
The Golden Compass (vfx assistant editor)2007

Christopher Frith
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4268793/
Editorial department (19 credits)

Mission: Impossible 8 (first assistant editor) (filming)2022
Film Editing by
Eddie Hamilton

Mission: Impossible 7 (first assistant editor) (filming) 2021
Film Editing by
Eddie Hamilton

To Olivia (associate editor)2021
Film Editing by
Colin Goudie

Cognition (Short) (additional editor)2020
Wonder Woman 1984 (assistant vfx editor – uncredited)2020
The Show (associate editor) 2020/II
The Great (TV Series) (first assistant editor – 4 episodes)2020
- Meatballs at the Dacha (2020) … (first assistant editor)
- A Pox on Hope (2020) … (first assistant editor)
- Moscow Mule (2020) … (first assistant editor)
- And You Sir, Are No Peter the Great (2020) … (first assistant editor)
The Nest (first assistant editor) 2020/I
Dora and the Lost City of Gold (first assistant editor – uncredited)2019
It’s Snowing Outside (Short) (assistant editor)2019
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (3D Editor – uncredited)2018
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (second/3D assistant editor)2018
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (assistant editor) 2017
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (assistant editor)2016
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (assistant editor)2015
Naked and Afraid (TV Series) (assistant editor – 16 episodes)2013-2014
- Himalayan Hell (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Playing with Fire (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Argentina Impossible (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Hearts of Darkness (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Blood in the Water (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Primal Fear (2014) … (assistant editor)
- New Season Exposed (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Bares All: Starvation, Snakes and Strife (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Meltdown in Bolivia (2014) … (assistant editor)
- The Pain Forest (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Mayan Misery (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Paradise Lost (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Damned in Africa (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Man vs. Amazon (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Double Jeopardy (2013) … (assistant editor)
- Jungle Love (2013) … (assistant editor)
Gnomes (Short) (assistant editor)2014
Puncture Wounds (additional assistant editor)2014
Irma and the Yeti (Short) (assistant editor)2011

Editor (25 credits)
Small Talk (Short) (post-production)
The Long Walk Home (Short) (post-production)
Demon Lake
Bus Stop (Short) 2019/I
The Morning and the Night (Short)2018
London You Live, Brighton You Die (Short)2018
Game Over (Video short)2018
Meet the Nativity (TV Mini-Series) (4 episodes) 2017
- The Boyfriend (2017)
- The Stepmother (2017)
- The Girlfriend (2017)
- The Father (2017)
The Man from Outer Space2017
Seeing Him (Short)2017
The Last Summer of My Youth (Short)2015
The Death of Eurydice (Short)2013
Old Souls (Short) 2013
Sergeant Townsend (Short)2012
Love the People (Video short)2012
Dissonance (Short) 2012/I
Because You’re Too Nice2012
The Man from Outer Space (Short)2011
The Firebird (Short) 2011
Impulse (Short)2011
The Card (Short)2010
Making Snow White and the Seven Sisters (Documentary short)2009
Blood Feud (Short)2008
Saltus Grammar School (Documentary short)2007
The Case (Short)2006

Jay Kishan Patel
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8859859/
Editorial department (5 credits)

The Serpent (TV Mini-Series) (first assistant editor – 8 episodes) 2021
Series Film Editing by
Helen Chapman
Malcolm Crowe
Danielle Palmer
Miikka Leskinen

- Episode #1.8 (2021) … (first assistant editor)
- Episode #1.7 (2021) … (first assistant editor)
- Episode #1.6 (2021) … (first assistant editor)
- Episode #1.5 (2021) … (first assistant editor)
- Episode #1.4 (2021) … (first assistant editor)
- Episode #1.3 (2021) … (first assistant editor)
- Episode #1.2 (2021) … (first assistant editor)
- Episode #1.1 (2021) … (first assistant editor)

The Trial of Christine Keeler (TV Series) (second assistant editor – 6 episodes)2019-2020
Series Film Editing by
Danielle Palmer
Sarah Louise Bates
Edel McDonnell
Carmela Iandoli

- Episode #1.6 (2020) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.5 (2020) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.4 (2020) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.3 (2020) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.2 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.1 (2019) … (second assistant editor)

Deep Water (TV Mini-Series) (second assistant editor – 6 episodes)2019
Series Film Editing by
Ben Drury
Mark Trend
Nick McPhee

- Episode #1.6 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.5 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.4 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.3 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.2 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.1 (2019) … (second assistant editor)

Curfew (TV Series) (second assistant editor – 8 episodes) 2019
Series Film Editing by
Ian Davies
Sarah Brewerton

- Episode #1.8 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.7 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.6 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.5 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.4 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.3 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.2 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.1 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
Lucky Man (TV Series) (second assistant editor – 8 episodes) 2018
- End of Days (2018) … (second assistant editor)
- Blinded by the Light (2018) … (second assistant editor)
- The Art of War (2018) … (second assistant editor)
- The Sins of the Father (2018) … (second assistant editor)
- Missing Persons (2018) … (second assistant editor)
- The Zero Option (2018) … (second assistant editor)
- Run Rabbit Run (2018) … (second assistant editor)
- Facing Your Demons (2018) … (second assistant editor)

As you can see, these Assistant Editors have been at it for a while (so, “young talent” is relative) and are working on the top films and TV. My heart is with the newcomer Patel, but something tells me Eddie’s man Christopher’s got the win. (He’s got two editors I know from BFE who could have nominated him.)

Hope you all tune in to see all the nominees and winners!

https://www.britishfilmeditors.co.uk/awards or streaming to YouTube and Facebook at 7.30PM (GMT) on Friday 5th March, 2021.