Sema Stori Mentors

Edit Lab

Daphne Matziaraki
Daphne Matziaraki

Daphne Matziaraki, the Academy Award and Emmy-award nominated filmmaker with a knack for finding the artistic expression in each story she follows, shared how she manages to gain such intimacy and access to characters in challenging situations and how she allows true-life events to unfold in front of her camera lens.

Marc Hoeferlin
Marc Hoeferlin

Marc Hoeferlin made his first film Night Commuters, in Northern Uganda, about the children affected by war, Marc went on to work with acclaimed film-maker Nick Broomfield on a number of his films, co-writing and associate producing. Marc has been a long-time friend of Docubox having participated in our very first selection and mentoring sessions way back in 2013.  We were grateful to welcome him back as both a mentor and a friend .

Ruhi Hamid
Ruhi Hamid

Ruhi Hamid, a celebrated filmmaker who has worked on journalistic documentaries for AlJazeera, Channel 4 and BBC got to the heart of the story, sharing her years of experience from working on countless films shot across Africa and the world. Participants learned how she keeps a cool head in hot, dangerous situations and how to shoot for TV whilst maintaining curiosity and depth.

Yuval Orr
Yuval Orr

Yuval Orr, a decorated documentary filmmaker redefining the use of digital media as a platform for non-fiction film, shared how any shot can be manipulated in new and interesting ways for any online and experimental platforms to reach new audiences and lightened up the room with his humorous and insightful selection of films and reflections on life.

  • The Sema Stori edit lab became the very first workshop we have ever held online. The coordination and logistics of the endeavour seemed a daunting task, but our workshop team was able to pull off the week-long workshop with all 9 film teams meeting with their mentors remotely almost seamlessly. Don’t take our word for it, however, here is what two of our workshop participants had to say about the experience.

    I enjoyed the experience of an online edit workshop, the workshop was very helpful and to me, this represents the future that we are stepping into. That people from all over the world can congregate online, exchange information and learn from each other is a plus.

    – Nick Njache

    It was great for both my editor and I. We enjoyed the one on one chat with our mentor editor Khalid who took his time to analyze the whole documentary and gave us feedback. It was helpful because we shared our ideas and thoughts on certain scenes and how each builds onto the documentary.

    – Laissah Mali

    The workshop was a great success, considering the circumstances and this was thanks in no small part to our stellar mentors whose skill and professionalism was able to carry through their screens even though they remained miles away from the workshop participants. Thank you to our editors-extraordinaire, Nick Watson, Khalid Shamis and Emiliano Battista for your time and willingness to support emerging documentary film talent in the region. 

Edit Lab mentors

Nick Watson

Nick is an extremely adaptable music loving editor specialising in current affairs, documentary and factual content, particularly for digital, including Webby and BAFTA nominated shows for BBC Three, Channel 4’s digital platform and films for BBC One and BBC Four. As director of Warm Films, Nick has produced, directed and edited many films for ad agencies, charities and corporate clients including Royal Academy of Arts, Lottery Fund, Save The Children, Time Out and Comic Relief. He also runs a training and mentoring programme for new filmmakers.

Khalid Shamis

“Half Libyan, half South African, former Londoner, I direct and edit documentaries, although at vastly different paces. My own films have taken up to 7 years to finish whereas I construct and complete numerous films a year as an editor. This becomes a strange place of directing directors, guiding first time filmmakers, imbibing worlds alien to mine, containing and creating another’s vision, manifesting the dreams of the subjects in the films and being taken by the voice of the material itself.”

Emiliano Battista

Emiliano Battista is a London-based film editor of award winning feature documentaries, dramas and television programs. His films include 3 ½ Minutes (Special Jury Prize Sundance 2015, HBO) The Runner by Saeed Taji Farouky and The Auction House, a tale of two brothers about the oldest auction house in India. Emiliano has also worked on multi-screen art installations shown in major exhibitions and museums worldwide: All That is Solid Melts into Air and No Permanent Address with Mark Boulos.