Edit Girls career story - Shahnaz Dulaimy - Editor
An interview with feature film editor Shahnaz Dulaimy, as part of a collection of career stories for Edit Girls, a platform championing women in post-production.
Tell us about your job role and the kinds of projects you work on;
I am a feature film editor, working mainly on Arabic language films. As the film industry continues to grow, I have had the pleasure to work on some of the most beautiful and breakthrough films from the Middle East and North Africa region, written and directed by true auteurs that are establishing a strong identity for Arab cinema.
What does an average day look like in your post-production working world?
When I'm working on a big-budget feature film, with copious amounts of media, my day starts with receiving Avid bins organised per shoot day from the assistant editors, and a string out of all the clips laid out on the sequence. I spend the first half of the day going through the footage, marking moments and shots that stand out to me.
Once that task is complete, I begin assembling my scenes on the timeline and creating as clean of a story line as possible. Over the past 10 years, I have learned that directors often prefer having a clean cut to watch before they give their feedback.
How did your career in post-production begin?
In 2012, I began working on a Jordanian film that was shot on 16mm called “Theeb” by Naji Abu Nowar. The film went on to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, which was a historical moment as this was the first film from Jordan to ever be nominated for an Academy award. More recently, I would say cutting the Saudi Arabian feminist fable “Scales” by Shahad Ameen, had been very rewarding. Working with a female director on a story that I can relate to, and later on going to win Most Innovative Film at Venice Film Festival was a personal achievement.
I hope to see more female films by marginalised female filmmakers being represented on the international circuit.
I knew I wanted to work in film, but wasn’t sure what role I wanted to pursue. Being Iraqi and living in Jordan at the time, a career in filmmaking was not really a viable option, so I went to study filmmaking in Rome, Italy. It was at school that I discovered editing, and I naturally fell into that role - I have a good sense of storytelling and pacing.
Returning to the Middle East, I was the first-ever Avid certified editor, and as the industry grew, the demand for my skill set grew as well, and I’ve been busy ever since.
Which women in post do you admire?
There are incredible women in post across the globe that I wish I could list on here, from women that I have worked closely with, to industry professionals that I look up to. However, to name an icon from the Arab film industry, I would say Rachida Abdel Salam. She began her long career as an editor in the 1950’s, cutting some of the most celebrated Arab films such as Youssef Chahine’s Al Massir “Destiny” (1997), Al Mohager “The Emigrant” (1994), and Iskanderia Leh? “Alexandria, Why?” (1979), all of which had gained international recognition at major film festivals including Cannes, Venice, and Berlin.
What advice do you have for other women wanting to start a career in post?
Stay focused on every little detail in the film you’re cutting. In writing, you can drastically alter the meaning of a word by changing one letter, and the same applies to your timeline. Make every frame count in filmmaking.