Editors Shawver and Jurgensen win big at ACE Eddies, shifting Oscar momentum

Michael P. Shawver and Andy Jurgensen took home the marquee film editing awards at the 76th American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards on March 1 at UCLA’s Royce Hall, strengthening both editors’ Best Editing Oscar narratives and underscoring studio stakes in awards season. The ceremony, hosted by actor and comedian Asif Ali, was presented by the roughly 1,700‑member Motion Picture Editors Guild and honored winners across 14 categories covering film, television, documentaries, and, for the first time, shorts and digital content.

Sinners, edited by Michael P. Shawver, won Best Edited Feature Film Drama, while One Battle After Another, cut by Andy Jurgensen, took Best Edited Feature Film Comedy. Both titles were framed at the ceremony as awards‑season contenders and as central pieces of their studios’ campaigns; KPop Demon Hunters, edited by Nathan Schauf, captured Best Edited Animated Feature Film for the streaming powerhouse Netflix. A Winter’s Song, edited by Yvette M. Amirian, was named Best Edited Feature Film Non‑Theatrical from a category that ACE’s nominee list showed had been expanded after a tie.

Documentary winners reflected a split between ACE’s nominees listing and ceremony outcomes. The Perfect Neighbor, edited by Viridiana Lieberman, is reported as the documentary feature winner, while ACE’s nominees included Becoming Led Zeppelin among contenders. Organizers also signaled a programmatic shift: "For the first time, the ACE Eddies recognized shorts and digital content, with the Oscar‑nominated documentary short All the Empty Rooms among the winners."

Television editing prizes reinforced recent Emmy momentum. Frasier won Best Edited Multi‑Camera Comedy Series for the episode "Murder Most Finch," The Studio's episode "The Promotion" earned Best Edited Single‑Camera Comedy Series, and Mark Strand won Best Edited Drama Series for The Pitt episode "6pm." Limited series honors went to Henk van Eeghen for The Penguin episode "A Great or Little Thing," and documentary series recognition included Pee‑wee as Himself - Part One, edited by Damian Rodriguez.

The ceremony also conferred several lifetime and industry honors. Ang Lee received the ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award. "Along with his Best Director wins for Life of Pi and Brokeback Mountain, Lee’s many films include Gemini Man(2019), Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk(2016), Lust, Caution (2007), Hulk(2003), Sense and Sensibility(1995) and The Wedding Banquet(1993). His Eat Drink Man Woman(1994),The Ice Storm(1997) and Taking Woodstock (2009) premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, as did Couching Tiger," the program noted. YouTube accepted the ACE Visionary Award via Kim Larson, and career achievement trophies went to Arthur Forney, ACE, and Robert Leighton.

The evening included a traditional In Memoriam segment honoring figures from the editing community, with tributes to Reiner, Chris Willingham, Don Zimmerman, Jane Kass, William Steinkamp, Alan C. Marks, John Soh and Ted Woerner.

Beyond trophies, the Eddies operate as a practical bellwether. "Among this year’s winners were 'Sinners' and 'One Battle After Another,' whose respective editors Michael P. Shawver and Andy Jurgensen are both currently nominated for the Best Editing Oscar." That alignment intensifies the Eddies’ role as a measurable momentum gauge for campaigns, while the new shorts and digital categories reflect how editing craft and platform strategies are evolving in a streaming era that prizes shorter formats and viral reach.