Nathaniel "Nat" Sanders (born August 9, 1980) is an American film editor. He is best known for his collaborations with

Destin Daniel Cretton Destin Daniel Cretton is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his films '' Short Term 12'' (2013), '' The Glass Castle'' (2017), ''Just Mercy'' (2019) and the Marvel Studios film ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' (2021). He h ...

and

Barry Jenkins Barry Jenkins (born November 19, 1979) is an American filmmaker. After making his filmmaking debut with the short film ''My Josephine'' (2003), he directed his first feature film '' Medicine for Melancholy'' (2008) for which he received an Inde ...

. He won

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...

s for both '' Short Term 12'' (2013) and '' Moonlight'' (2016), as well as being nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for the latter.

Life and career

Sanders was born in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

. He studied film at the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts, graduating in 2002. After moving to Hollywood, his first job as an editor was on the reality television show ''

The Biggest Loser ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show '' The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight; the winner receives a cash priz ...

''—a job that he quit when another FSU alumnus, writer-director Barry Jenkins, made his 2008 film ''

Medicine for Melancholy ''Medicine for Melancholy'' is a 2008 independent romantic drama film written and directed by Barry Jenkins. The film stars Wyatt Cenac, Tracey Heggins, and Elizabeth Acker. The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 7, 200 ...

'', which Sanders moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

to edit. (In 2014, Sanders thanked Jenkins for "saving me from a career in reality television".) When ''Medicine for Melancholy'' premiered at the 2008 South by Southwest film festival, Sanders met director

Lynn Shelton Lynn Shelton (August 27, 1965 – May 16, 2020) was an American filmmaker, known for writing, directing, and producing such films as ''Humpday'' and ''Your Sister's Sister''. She was associated with the mumblecore genre. Early life Shelton was b ...

and soon after headed to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

to edit her film '' Humpday'', which was released in 2009. Following the release of ''Medicine for Melancholy'' and ''Humpday'', Sanders was named one of ''

Filmmaker Magazine ''Filmmaker'' is a quarterly publication magazine covering issues relating to independent film. The magazine was founded in 1992 by Karol Martesko-Fenster, Scott Macaulay and Holly Willis. The magazine is now published by the IFP (Independent F ...

'' "25 New Faces in Independent Film" in 2009. He worked at 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 fr ...

's Directors' Lab while editing his next project, the 2010 film '' The Freebie''. In 2010, he had a minor acting role in ''

Tiny Furniture ''Tiny Furniture'' is a 2010 American comedy-drama film written, directed by, and starring Lena Dunham. The film premiered at South by Southwest, where it won the award for Best Narrative Feature, screened at such festivals as Maryland Film Fes ...

''; he was friends with

Lena Dunham Lena Dunham (, born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is known as the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series ''Girls (TV series), Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy ...

, the film's writer, director and lead actress. Sanders also edited

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

and

Jay Duplass Lawrence Jay Duplass (born March 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker, actor and author widely known for his films '' The Puffy Chair'' (2005), ''Cyrus'' (2010), and ''Jeff, Who Lives at Home'' (2011), made in collaboration with his younger brother, ...

's film '' The Do-Deca-Pentathlon'', which was released in 2012, four years after it had originally been filmed. Sanders met

at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, and in 2012 Cretton hired Sanders to edit '' Short Term 12'', a feature-length adaption of Cretton's 2009 short film of the same name. In March 2014, Sanders won the Independent Spirit Awards' inaugural Best Editing award for his work on ''Short Term 12''. After ''Short Term 12'', he edited ''

Laggies ''Laggies'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''Say When'') is a 2014 American romantic comedy film directed by Lynn Shelton and written by Andrea Seigel. It stars Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz, Sam Rockwell, Kaitlyn Dever, Jeff Garlin, ...

'', his fourth collaboration with Lynn Shelton, and the first season of '' Togetherness'', an HBO series created by Mark and Jay Duplass. In 2016, Sanders, alongside Joi McMillon, edited the

drama '' Moonlight''. Sanders was responsible for editing the first and second chapters, while McMillon was responsible for the third. The pair received much acclaim for their work, and were both nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Film Editing The Academy Award for Best Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. For 33 consecutive years, ...

at the 89th Academy Awards. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife.

Filmography

Films

* ''

'' (2008) * '' Humpday'' (2009) * '' The Freebie'' (2010) * ''

On the Ice ''On the Ice'' is a 2011 American drama film written and directed by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean. The film is set in (and was shot on location in) Utqiagvik, Alaska, MacLean's home town, and follows two Iñupiaq teenagers who, while on a seal hunt, a ...

'' (2011) * '' Your Sister's Sister'' (2011) * '' The Do-Deca-Pentathlon'' (2012) * '' Short Term 12'' (2013) * ''

'' (2014) * '' Moonlight'' (2016) * ''

The Glass Castle ''The Glass Castle'' is a 2005 memoir by American author Jeannette Walls. Walls recounts her dysfunctional and nomadic yet vibrant upbringing, emphasizing her resilience and her father's attempts toward redemption. Despite her family's flaws, t ...

'' (2017) * ''

If Beale Street Could Talk ''If Beale Street Could Talk'' is a 1974 novel by American writer James Baldwin. His fifth novel (and 13th book overall), it is a love story set in Harlem in the early 1970s. The title is a reference to the 1916 W.C. Handy blues song "Beale S ...

'' (2018) * ''

Just Mercy ''Just Mercy'' is a 2019 American biographical legal drama film co-written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and starring Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson, Jamie Foxx as Walter McMillian, Rob Morgan, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall, a ...

'' (2019) * ''

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Shang-Chi. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 25th film ...

'' (2021) '' * '' Next Goal Wins'' (2023)

Television

* '' Togetherness'' (2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Nat Living people Florida State University alumni 1980 births American film editors