Robert Ivison, ACE | Discipline Head, Editing
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Robert Ivison has worked as a film editor in Los Angeles since 1994. He began his career cutting commercials and music videos, working with U2, Whitney Houston, The Wallflowers, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Celine Dion, Santana and many others.
His feature film credits include STANDER, WALKING TALL, TAKE THE LEAD and TRICK ‘R TREAT, and his television credits include SUITS, MAD DOGS, THE LAST TYCOON and THE ROOKIE.
Jeremy Grody | Faculty Lead, Editing & Lecturer
Randi Atkins | Lecturer
Christopher Cooke | Senior Lecturer
Christopher Cooke is a second-generation Southern Californian who received a BA and MFA in Film Production from UCLA. While still in college, he collaborated with director King Vidor on his last short film, METAPHOR. The film documented a conversation between Vidor and artist Andrew Wyeth on Vidor’s influence and the nature of art.
Cooke began his editing career assisting Basil Wrangell, who had his first job in the industry working on the silent version of BEN HUR. Cooke has edited on features, TV movies, episodic television and reality TV. He has cut multiple genres including drama, comedy and documentary. Some of his credits are SPEECHLESS, AGENT CARTER, REAPER, THE X-FILES, AMERICAN DREAMS, DAWSON’S CREEK, CAGNEY & LACEY and MGM: WHEN THE LION ROARS. He has been nominated for an Emmy® (for the miniseries BLIND FAITH) and for two ACE Eddie Awards (CAGNEY & LACEY and BLIND FAITH).
He served on the Motion Picture Editors Guild Board for three years while writing and editing the precursor to the Guild’s magazine. He also co-wrote a history of the Guild for their website. As a longtime member of the American Cinema Editors (ACE), he served for seven years as Secretary on the Board of Directors. He has also written for the ACE CinemaEditor Magazine. He currently serves on several committees for ACE including Membership, Internship and the Diversity Committee.
Lesley Dyer | Lecturer
Matthew Friedman, ACE | Senior Lecturer
Matthew Friedman has edited over 25 feature films. He won the 2021 American Cinema Editors Eddie for Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical) for PALM SPRINGS, directed by AFI Alumnus Max Barbakow. PALM SPRINGS won numerous other awards and nominations, and broke the record for highest sale at Sundance. Friedman was also nominated for the ACE Eddie for his work on Lulu Wang’s critically acclaimed film THE FAREWELL. The film earned Awkwafina a Golden Globe, won Best Feature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, and won or was nominated for over 70 awards in total. Friedman is currently continuing his collaboration with Wang on her upcoming Amazon series EXPATS, starring Nicole Kidman.
Friedman works in a wide variety of genres, cutting both studio and independent features. His feature credits include the comedies JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE and WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS, as well as ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL and the 3D dance movie STEP UP: REVOLUTION. He recently edited THE STARLING starring Melissa McCarthy and Kevin Kline for Academy Award®-winning director Theodore Melfi.
Friedman is a member of the American Cinema Editors and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Film and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Northwestern University.
Kristian Gabriel | Lecturer
Anne Goursaud | Senior Lecturer and Editing Thesis Mentor
Anne Goursaud is an accomplished film editor and director. It was Francis Ford Coppola who first spotted Anne’s talent, giving her the chance to edit ONE FROM THE HEART. Since that time, she has directed and edited a wide range of projects, and she has worked with some of the most highly acclaimed professionals in the movie industry.
Her directing credits include the cult thriller EMBRACE OF THE VAMPIRE, POISON IVY II, both for New Line Cinema, and the erotic drama LOVE IN PARIS (ANOTHER 9 ½ WEEKS) for Trimark.
Her editing credits include Francis Ford Coppola’s teen classic THE OUTSIDERS, starring Matt Dillon and Tom Cruise, the Oscar-winning hit BRAM STOKERS DRACULA, starring Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins, and IRONWEED, starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep for which they both received Oscar® nominations.
Goursaud also edited Bruce Beresford’s comedies CRIMES OF THE HEART and HER ALIBI, John Duigan’s epic drama WIDE SARGASSO SEA, Janusz Kaminski’s horror flick LOST SOULS, and the sequel to Chinatown, THE TWO JAKES, directed by and starring Jack Nicholson. Most recently, she edited Universal Pictures’ innovative Outkast movie-musical IDLEWILD and the edgy new independent feature EXPIRED, which premiered at Cannes.
Goursaud was writer-producer on the feature-length documentary ULTRASUEDE: IN SEARCH FOR HALSTON, which was released in theaters in February 2012 and bought by Showtime.
She is attached to direct two features: CORONADO, and BETSY & NAPOLEON for legendary producer, Fred Roos.
Goursaud last produced, directed as well as edited A CLASSY BROAD: MARCIA’S ADVENTURES IN HOLLYWOOD, a feature-length documentary about the first woman Production VP at a major studio, Marcia Nasatir. The film opened March 5th on digital platforms and had a week theatrical run – March 8th to 14th – at the Laemmle Music Hall in Beverly Hills. It’s currently available through VOD, and KANOPY, for educational use.
Goursaud also re-cut THE LONGEST ROAD, a feature documentary about refugees in Kurdistan that premiered at the San Antonio Film Festival in 2018. She edited A DAY IN THE LIFE, a documentary about Apple Corps, and RING ROAD, a documentary about a woman motorcyclist finding her voice touring Iceland. She also was an editorial consultant on the documentary HENRI DAUMAN: LOOKING UP, a 2020 Samuel Goldwyn Company release. Most recently, Goursaud re-cut CONVERSION, a documentary about the practice of conversion in the 1970’s by director Gregory Caruso, and edited a feature film, SEVEN WEEKS IN, by director and AFI alum Cecilia Miniucchi.
Her short story, KEEP ONLY THE GOOD PIECES, was published on Hollywooddementia.com, in June 2016. Three other short stories, A GREAT BAD YEAR, PAULINE’S ADVENTURES ON THE SILVER SCREEN, and THE HEIRESS were also published.
Goursaud is an AFI mentor and teaches First Year Editing Analysis also at the AFI.
Goursaud received a License in History of Art from the Sorbonne and a Masters in Fine Arts from Columbia University. She is a member of the Directors Guild of America, the Editors Guild, ACE, the Academy of Arts and Sciences and SACD, and GreenLight Women.
Gedaly Guberek | Lecturer
Nancy Kirhoffer | Lecturer
Inbal Lessner | Lecturer
Martin Nicholson, ACE | Senior Lecturer
Over his 35-year career, Martin Nicholson has edited theatrical feature films, movies for cable and network, limited series, episodic television and documentaries. His recent credits include the soon-to-be released feature ABOVE SUSPICION, starring Emilia Clarke and directed by Philip Noyce; DEADWOOD: THE MOVIE, which earned a 2019 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Picture Editing; the 2018 Emmy® nominated, THE ALIENIST; and the 2016 Emmy® nominated ROOTS, which won the HPA Award for Outstanding Editing in Television.
Other notable credits include MARY AND MARTHA, THICK AS THIEVES, THE BIG PICTURE, THE FORBIDDEN ZONE, HALLOWEENTOWN and LITTLE GIRLS IN PRETTY BOXES, which won the 1997 ACE Eddie for Best Edited Movie for Television. Episodic includes DEADWOOD, JOHN FROM CINCINNATI, GAME OF THRONES, REVENGE, HAND OF GOD, MARCO POLO and THIRTYSOMETHING.
Also, the acclaimed PBS documentaries NORMAN ROCKWELL: AN AMERICAN PROTRAIT and THE LEGACY OF ROSINA LHEVINNE.
He received a Sundance Institute Fellowship for his screenplay of Tillie Olsen’s novel “Yonnondio.” He has served multiple terms on the Board of the American Cinema Editors, is a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild, the Directors Guild of America and ATAS. A graduate of NYU, Tisch School of the Arts, he has taught editing at the AFI Conservatory for 15 years.
Jason Rose | Lecturer
Brian Scofield | Senior Lecturer
Brian Scofield studied philosophy and literature at the University of Notre Dame and earned his MFA in film production from USC, where his short film BLACKBIRD was nominated for a Student Academy Award. He began his editing career as an apprentice for Terrence Malick on films TO THE WONDER and VOYAGE OF TIME. Scofield worked with Malick for nearly three years, eventually becoming an editor on KNIGHT OF CUPS in addition to contributing to several other upcoming films. Scofield then edited Warren Beatty’s RULES DON’T APPLY alongside former mentor Billy Weber, and has since edited five independent features including THE LONER (Tribeca Film Festival 2016), EMMA’S CHANCE (distributed by Sony), an upcoming feature produced by the Duplass Brothers and another feature for Netflix. Shorts he has edited have played at Sundance, SXSW and many other festivals around the world.
Hillary Wills | Lecturer
Varun Viswanath | Lecturer
Allan Arkush | Senior Lecturer
Allan Arkush was the executive producer of the TV series HEROES and CROSSING JORDAN. His other Television Directing & Producing credits include NCIS,GET CRAZY, FAME, ALLY MCBEAL, MOONLIGHTING,LA LAW, HELLCATS, ELVIS MEETS NIXON,ST. ELSEWHERE, DEFIANCE,BRAINDEAD, WITCHES OF EAST END, SHANNON’S DEAL, CENTRAL PARK WEST, MOON OVER MIAMI and PARENTHOOD, over 400 episodes in all.
His most recent directing assignment, Netflix’s A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS: THE HOSTILE HOSPITAL episodes earned him a DGA Nomination for Best Directing of a Children’s Show.
As a lifelong film buff, Arkush’s film criticism can be found on TrailersFromHell.com, where he is a contributing Guru. He also taught Producing & Directing For TV at UCLA Graduate School.
Arkush graduated from NYU Film School and began his career working for Roger Corman’s New World Pictures in the mid-1970s. It was there that he began his career by Co-directing with Joe Dante, HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD, for which they were paid $85. In 1979, he made The Ramones’ cult favorite ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL, which Rolling Stone magazine named as one of the top 10 rock ‘n’ roll DVDs of all time.
Arkush resides in Los Angeles with his wife. He has 2 daughters in graduate school.
Moran Cerf | Sloan Scholar
Moran Cerf is a professor of neuroscience. Additionally, he is the Alfred P. Sloan faculty at AFI.
Prior to his academic career, professor Cerf worked as a hacker for nearly a decade, breaking into leading financial and government institutes to test and improve their security. His hacking background has led him to later pursue non-traditional ways to investigate the brain, using methods and techniques that benefit from heavy computational skills and novel research tools. Notably, he has been working with patients undergoing brain-surgery where he studies behavior, emotion, decision making and dreams – by directly recording the activity of individual neurons using electrodes implanted in the patients’ brain.
He is a multiple-times national story-telling champion (‘The Moth’), and his public talks at TED, TEDx, Google Zeitgeist, PopTech, DLD and others have received millions of views and a large following. In addition to his academic career, professor Cerf is a science consultant for various Hollywood films and TV shows. Recently, he was named one of the “40 leading professors below 40”.
Most importantly, he is right handed.
Barry Sabath | Senior Lecturer
Holding an MA and PhD in Cinema Studies from New York University, Sabath also offers two decades of feature film development experience as both a studio executive and producer.
A Vice President of Production at Columbia Pictures, he also ran the film division of Robin Williams’ Blue Wolf Productions, whose productions include MRS. DOUBTFIRE. At Twentieth Century Fox, he was Senior Vice
President of Production for Paul Schiff Productions, where he oversaw MY COUSIN VINNY and was co-producer on GHOST IN THE MACHINE and PCU.
Sabath is a recipient of the French Chevalier medal for his contribution to French film culture, an international mentor for the Korean Film Council’s Filmmakers’ Development Labs, a participant in labs and panels at the Busan International Film Festival and the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, and a consultant for the newly launched Hainan Island International Film Festival in China.
Sabath taught film history and theory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Illinois State University, and is the co-author of ERNST LUBITSCH: A GUIDE TO REFERENCES AND RESOURCES.
Cathy Wischner-Sola | Senior Lecturer & Faculty Director, Internships
Wischner-Sola is an award-winning executive producer. She executive-produced HBO’s TAKING CHANCE starring Kevin Bacon, which debuted in the Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival and won WGA and DGA awards and the Humanitas Prize. The film garnered 10 Emmy® nominations, including Outstanding Television Movie, and the Golden Globe nomination for Best Movie. She won the Christopher Award and Television Academy Honors, and was nominated for the Television Producer of the Year Award from the Producers Guild.
Wischner-Sola served as Vice President, Original Programming at TNT Originals, where she shepherded and supervised an extensive slate of distinguished movies, miniseries and high-budget international co-productions, earning network ratings and critical acclaim. Her projects include Emmy®-nominated PIRATES OF SILICON VALLEY, DAVID COPPERFIELD, Patrick Stewart’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL and ANIMAL FARM.
Additional producing credits include the CBS miniseries COMMON GROUND and Emmy®-nominated A WINNER NEVER QUITS with Daniel H. Blatt Productions, where she previously served as Vice President, Creative Affairs. Wischner-Sola holds a BA from The New School for Social Research and attended Northwestern University. She is a member of the Television Academy.
