what others are saying
Oscar winner Bill Couturié, Director "Saving Eden"
Any editor worth their salt can cut. Shot to shot, montage, to music, whatever… Eli does all of that with ease and authority. She’s a great music cutter, too. But I consider cutting a given. Eli is not only a terrific cutter, she’s also able to breathe in your style of cutting and do it true the director’s style. That’s huge for a director. Eli gets it. But by far her most important attribute is her storytelling talent. That’s what we’re in the room to do. Tell. A. Story. The rest is all craft (which is crucial too, of course). But the ability to tell the story and become a true collaborator with the director is what sets Eli apart from the rest. Ultimately, telling the story is the director’s responsibility. But it sure is nice when there’s an equal in the room that understands story and has your back. Eli does that and I can’t recommend her highly enough. In my 40 years of filmmaking, I can think of a mere handful of editors who I’ve worked with that I can say this about. Eli is one.
Jonathan Karsh, Director "My Flesh and Blood"
Eli cut a feature doc I directed for HBO called My Flesh and Blood. She won an Emmy for her work. For good reason. She's an amazing editor, storyteller, and collaborator. It was a true joy to work with her for months and see my movie get better each day based on the choices she made. I now run a production company at Lionsgate and would hire Eli in a second when I get a feature doc going again.
John Antonelli, Director, American Masters' "Sam Cooke: Crossing Over"
Eli is the ultimate collaborator. On my Sam Cooke film for American Masters, she helped me to sort through all the complexities and contradictions in Cooke's character while keeping her sights on the eloquence and rhythm of his music. She was always coming up with fresh ideas of ways to approach a scene or the whole structure and theme of the story. Beyond that, she has a great attitude and energy, is a great listener, and keeps things moving along without adding any stress to the equation. She is more fun to collaborate with than anyone else I've worked with. We're currently working on a new piece for the upcoming Academy Awards® telecast and I'm so pleased to be back in the edit room with her.