Posts published in “African-American Firsts”

American Cinema Editors (ACE) announced today that film editor Lillian E. Benson, ACE the first woman of color invited to join ACE, will receive the institution’s Career Achievement Award for her outstanding contributions to film editing at the 72nd Annual ACE Eddie Awards on March 5.

Benson has been an integral part of the organization and its growth. She has served on its Board of Directors for over two decades and has been instrumental in helping ACE expand and diversify its reach.

An Emmy® nominee for the Peabody, Dupont and Emmy® Award-winning PBS documentary series “Eyes on the Prize,” which chronicled the civil rights movement from 1952-1985, Benson is currently editing the highly successful procedural “Chicago Med,” which she has been working on for six seasons.

Other notable documentary projects Benson has edited include “Beyond the Steps: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater,” “Motown 40: The Music is Forever,” “A Century of Living,” “Conscience and the Constitution,” “Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” “Craft in America” and “All Our Sons: Fallen Heroes of 9/11.”

In 2016 Benson edited “Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise” about the American poet’s resiliency in life and her impact on America.

Other credits include “Greenleaf” for OWN, Debbie Allen’s “Old Settler,” and “Life is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story,” the Showtime series “Soul Food” and the feature film “All About You.”

Benson’s personal favorite in her rich career was editing “John Lewis: Get in the Way.” Benson said, “This documentary is the thing I love the most of anything I’ve ever done. I feel I was born to cut it. It was released a couple of years before he died and was the first documentary done about his life. I love Lewis because he was a warrior his entire life. He never wavered. He did what he could. He forgave people; people I couldn’t forgive. He always had the bigger picture in mind.”

Richard Chew, ACE will also be receiving the Career Achievement Award at the 2022 ceremony. Chew’s body of work includes“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Star Wars” (for which he won the Oscar® for Best Film Editing with his co-editors Marcia Lucas and Paul Hirsch, ACE), “Risky Business, “Mi Vida Loca, “Waiting to Exhale,” “Hope Floats,” “That Thing You Do!” and “Shanghai Noon.”

“Lillian and Richard are rock star editors and represent the very best of our craft and profession,” stated ACE president Kevin Tent, ACE. “Just look at those credits! Not only have they had incredibly prolific careers, but they’ve given back to our community in many ways, not the least of which by mentoring the next generation of editors. We are thrilled to honor these two special editors and look back at their amazing careers.”

About American Cinema Editors
American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of motion picture editors founded in 1950.  Film editors are voted into membership on the basis of their professional achievements, their dedication to the education of others and their commitment to the craft of editing.

The objectives and purposes of the AMERICAN CINEMA EDITORS are to advance the art and science of the editing profession; to increase the entertainment value of motion pictures by attaining artistic preeminence and scientific achievement in the creative art of editing; to bring into close alliance those editors who desire to advance the prestige and dignity of the editing profession.