Documentary Editing Workshop with Chris King - Editor of Senna and Amy . London 10-11 October

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FEST FILM LAB

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Jul 14, 2026, 5:51:55 AM (7 days ago) Jul 14

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399GBP with 35% Discount until the 21st of July

DOCUMENTARY EDITING WORKSHOP WITH CHRIS KING

10th -11th October | London UK

This workshop offers a wonderful opportunity to deepen your knowledge of documentary editing under the guidance of Chris King, A.C.E., one of the most respected documentary editors working today. A BAFTA-winning editor (and the only to achieve it with a Documentary), Chris has edited some of the most important documentaries of the last two decades, including Senna, Amy, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Diego Maradona, All This Mayhem, Young@Heart, and Welcome to Lagos.

Over the course of two days, Chris will explore how powerful documentary narratives are built in the edit, from finding the story spine within vast amounts of material to shaping rhythm, character, perspective, and emotional progression, drawing from his work with directors such as Asif Kapadia, Banksy, Eddie Martin, Stephen Walker, and Gavin Searle. For filmmakers working with real stories, archive, interviews, or complex factual material, this workshop is especially valuable, as it focuses on the decisions that transform footage into cinema.

This intensive 2-day workshop is limited to 25 participants, so we advise registering quickly to secure your place. The workshop fee is 599 GBP, but we are offering a discount, reducing the cost to only 399 GBP until the 21st of July. The workshop will take place in London, UK, on the 10th and 11th of October 2026

For more information and to register please visit this workshop's page www.filmlab.fest.pt

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

ABOUT CHRIS KING, A.C.E.
Chris King, A.C.E. is one of the most respected documentary editors working today. A BAFTA-winning editor and two-time American Cinema Editors Award winner, King has been a key creative collaborator on some of the most acclaimed documentaries of the last two decades

Chris has edited documentaries such as Senna, Amy, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Diego Maradona, All This Mayhem, Young@Heart, and Welcome to Lagos.

A major milestone in King’s career came with Senna. The film became a landmark in archive-led documentary cinema, building the life and career of Ayrton Senna into a dramatic, emotional and cinematic experience. Chris won the BAFTA Award for Best Editing for Senna, the only time in the history of the BAFTA a documentary won the Best editing award. Senna also won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, and became one of the defining documentary releases of its period.

King continued his collaboration with Asif Kapadia on Amy, the documentary portrait of Amy Winehouse. Edited by King, the film became one of the most awarded documentaries of the 2010s. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, and the Grammy Award for Best Music Film. King also won the ACE Eddie Award for Best Edited Documentary. The film’s power lies on the strength of its archive, and the sensitivity of its structure, allowing the audience to gradually understand Winehouse as artist, daughter, performer, friend and public figure, while revealing the pressures surrounding her.

King’s work on Exit Through the Gift Shop, directed by Banksy, further demonstrates his ability to handle documentaries where truth, performance, authorship and ambiguity collide. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, became a major critical success, and won the ACE Eddie Award for Best Edited Documentary.

Chris edited Diego Maradona, a large-scale archive-driven portrait constructed from over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage from Maradona’s personal archive. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

King has contributed to a broad and distinguished range of documentary work. He edited All This Mayhem, directed by Eddie Martin, for which he won the AACTA Award for Best Editing in a Documentary. He also edited Young@Heart, directed by Stephen Walker, and Welcome to Lagos, the acclaimed BBC factual series directed by Gavin Searle, which won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Factual Series.

What makes King’s work particularly important is his command of structure. In documentary filmmaking, the film is often written in the edit, and King’s career is a masterclass in discovering narrative inside reality. His editing demonstrates how to find a story spine in overwhelming amounts of material, how to create character arcs from fragments, how to balance authenticity with dramatic momentum, and how to build emotional escalation without losing truth.

SHAPING REALITY: DOCUMENTARY EDITING WORKSHOP WITH CHRIS KING
This two-day FEST FILM LAB workshop with award–winning editor Chris King is designed for editors and filmmakers who want to refine their skills in building powerful, nuanced, and emotionally resonant documentary narratives. The sessions focus on the decision-making processes, structural strategies, and creative problem-solving techniques used at the highest level. Participants will explore how to find clarity and focus within vast amounts of material, shape narrative flow, and collaborate effectively under the demands of real-world production schedules and creative pressures.

DAY 1 – STRUCTURING AND SHAPING THE NARRATIVE

Morning: Narrative Strategy and Story Architecture

Defining the editorial approach: thematic, linear, or hybrid structures. Balancing authenticity with dramatic drive to maintain audience engagement. Identifying the essential story spine and supporting it through every sequence. Managing multi-character or multi-timeline stories without losing clarity.

Afternoon: Rhythm, Pacing, and Perspective

Building emotional arcs over the course of acts and entire films. Controlling tempo shifts to heighten tension or deepen intimacy. Using point of view as a storytelling tool to guide audience perception. Maintaining tonal and visual consistency when combining varied sources.

DAY 2 – PROBLEM-SOLVING AND ELEVATING THE EDIT

Morning: Creative and Logistical Challenges

Reconstructing narratives when key footage is missing or unusable. Recognising when the original structure no longer serves the material. Working with incomplete or contradictory information while preserving credibility. Navigating high-stakes collaboration with directors, producers, and broadcasters.

Afternoon: Fine-Tuning for Maximum Impact

Refining micro-rhythms, transitions, and scene endings for emotional precision. Using music, sound design, and silence to reinforce structure and emotion. Preparing multiple versions of the same film for different platforms and audiences. Building a final cut that balances creative vision with delivery requirements.

By the end of the workshop, participants will have a understanding for handling the creative, technical, and collaborative demands of high-level documentary editing. They will gain strategies for structuring complex stories, refining narrative flow, and making editorial decisions that elevate the emotional and cinematic power of their work.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Participant Profile

This workshop is designed for editors, documentary filmmakers, directors, producers, assistant editors, and professionals working in factual, documentary, television, or independent cinema who want to deepen their understanding of documentary editing at a high professional level.

It is particularly suited for participants interested in story structure, archive-led storytelling, character development, rhythm, pacing, collaboration with directors, and the process of shaping complex real-life material into powerful cinematic narratives