Debbie Berman is a South African film and television editor. She is best known for her editing work on multiple movies in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

, including '' Spider-Man: Homecoming,

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

,'' and ''Captain Marvel''.

Life and career

She was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, South Africa. She attended High School Victory Park, part of the King David Schools, and was introduced to video editing. She would edit films for school events and personal projects. She began editing television shows and movies in South Africa, before moving to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada. After editing ''

Space Chimps ''Space Chimps'' is a 2008 computer-animated science fiction comedy film directed by Kirk DeMicco in his directional debut, and written by DeMicco and Rob Moreland. It features the voices of Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Patrick W ...

'' and ''Invictus'', Berman moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where she was placed on the editing team for ''Spider-Man: Homecoming, Black Panther'', and ''Captain Marvel''. In ''Spider-Man: Homecoming'', Berman suggested re-shoots for scenes of Liz and Peter interacting to make Liz's character feel more genuine. While working on ''Black Panther'', Berman convinced director

Ryan Coogler Ryan Kyle Coogler (born May 23, 1986) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards, four Black Reel Awards, a Golden Globe Award nomination and an Academy Award nomination for Best Pictu ...

to do reshoots on the final battle scene, to include the female Jabari warriors. She said that the film's style is based on

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

and

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...

and she began work on the production a few months later than the rest of the crew. In 2018, she was inducted into the

American Cinema Editors Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the post-nominal ...

Guild. Her most recent work includes being an editor for Love and Monsters, a

monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

released in October 2020. In August 2020, it was announced that she will be making her directorial debut by directing an adaptation of

Don Handfield Don Handfield is an American filmmaker, author, and producer. Education and acting career Handfield studied theater and film at Ohio State University, graduating with a degree in journalism in 1993. His first job in media after college was as a ...

and Joshua Malkin's graphic novel Unikorn, which will be published in 2021.

Filmography

Film

As editor

Berman was also credited as part of the editorial departments of '' Ripper 2: Letter from Within'' (2004), ''Reflection'' (2004), ''Good Session'' (2015), and ''The Jesuit'' (unreleased). She was the visual effects editor for ''In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale'' (2007) and ''Invictus'' (2009).

Television

As editor

Awards and nominations

* 2012 recipient of the

Sally Menke Sally JoAnne Menke (December 17, 1953 – September 27, 2010) was an American film editor, who worked in cinema and television. Over the span of her 30-year career in film, she accumulated more than 20 feature film credits. She had a long-time c ...

Editing Fellowship from the

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers f ...

. *2018 - ''

'' (nominated with Michael P. Shawver) -

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

- "Best Editing" * 2019 - ''Black Panther'' (nominated with Michael P. Shawver) -

Alliance of Women Film Journalists The Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) is a non-profit organization founded in 2006. It is based in New York City and is dedicated to supporting work by and about women in the film industry. The AWFJ is composed of 84 professional female ...

- "Best Film Editing" * 2019 - ''Black Panther'' (nominated with Michael P. Shawver) - Columbus Film Critics Association - "Best Film Editing"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berman, Debbie Living people South African film editors 1978 births