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Editors – Inbal B. Lessner ACE and Ben Kaplan
STORMY editors Inbal B. Lessner, ACE and Ben Kaplan each brought their considerable experience in unscripted storytelling to this timely and unique perspective of a woman who dominated the headlines throughout and following the presidency of Donald Trump.
Directed and produced by Sarah Gibson, STORMY follows Stormy Daniels as she navigates being a mother, artist, and advocate working hard to reinvent herself following the Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal. Judd Apatow serves as an executive producer under his Apatow Productions banner.
INBAL B. LESSNER, ACE
Inbal B. Lessner, ACE is an Emmy-nominated and Eddie-winning producer and editor. Prior to her work on STORMY, Inbal was most well-known for such true crime hits as Starz’ Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult (2020) and Netflix’s Escaping Twin Flames (2023), both of which she co-created alongside her filmmaking partner Cecilia Peck. As executive producer, showrunner, and editor, Inbal steered both shows towards nominations for Best Edited Documentary (Non-Theatrical) at the ACE Eddie Awards, nabbing a win for the latter. She was previously Eddie-nominated for her work on the “Can We All Get Along” episode of CNN’s The Nineties (2017).
Inbal has worked in the cutting rooms of directors such as Davis Guggenheim, Nancy Schwartzman, R.J. Cutler, Kelly Duane, Tricia Regan, Jeremy Simmons, and Tracy Droz Tragos, as well as Natalie Portman’s feature directorial debut. A member of the AFI Conservatory faculty, she has also been a Visiting Professor of Film Editing at UNCSA Film School and is a mentor in the Karen Schmeer Diversity in the Edit Room Program.
BEN KAPLAN
A multi-award nominated documentary editor with over a decade of experience in the edit suite, Ben has worked on projects for CNN, Peacock, ABC/Hulu, Viceland and MAX. When he’s not cutting docs, he’s usually cutting up ingredients in the kitchen, perfecting his favorite dishes.
Editing STORMY
In our discussion with STORMY editors Inbal B. Lessner, ACE and Ben Kaplan, we talk about:
- Making the most of the Miro board
- “If you can’t sum it up, you must cut it out”.
- Motorboating your way to authenticity
- Deconstructing one documentary for another
- Stringing together the spine of the story
The Credits
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Check out the Frame.io blog for an enhanced transcription of The Rough Cut.
Watch the ACE Invisible Art – Visible Artists Panel
Hear editor Inbal B. Lessner ACE discuss cutting SEDUCED: INSIDE THE NXIVM CULT
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