From the Theatre of Saint Etienne to International Screens: Accomplished Film Editor Alexandre Donot Shares His Insights Into the Art of Film Editing
Prior to entering the intimate space of the editor’s room, the scenes of a film or television series are often captured out of order according to the production schedule, and exist as random parts of a story waiting to be melded together into a cohesive and compelling whole. Removed from the hundreds of people on set, the industry’s top film editors, like Alexandre Donot, work their magic quietly behind the scenes, weaving together the best takes from thousands of hours of footage into something that audiences can connect with emotionally.
“It is in the editing room where the film actually happens. All the work that was done and shot before is assembled in this little room. All the difficulties that happened before, and during the production are behind the director, and now, this is where the fun really starts,” explains film editor Alexandre Donot. “It’s a lot of effort to make a film work, but it’s so rewarding when all the pieces resonate together.”
Often the unsung heroes on a production, editors like Donot play one of the most pivotal roles as they work diligently to create a harmonic rhythm between the shots, determine the pacing of the story and decide what most deserves the audience’s attention.
Over the years Alexandre Donot has edited numerous internationally acclaimed projects, including César Award winner Alex Lutz’s dramatic comedy film “Guy,” Maysoon Pachachi’s BIFA winning war drama “Our River…Our Sky,” Myrsini Aristidou’s dramatic film “Aria,” which was nominated at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as the Netflix France series “The Chef in a Truck” starring French pastry Chef François Perret, the series “Lost in Traplanta,” and the follow up, “Lost in California,” which aired on Arte.TV, to name a few.
Donot also recently directed the film “Le Centre,” which aired on France 3 last year and takes viewers on a journey into the lives and experiences of aspiring professional soccer players and their coaches over the course of a year at the soccer Academy of the club Saint-Etienne.
“I always saw my grandfather and my mother direct for the stage and it was always something that I was drawn to as a kid. As far as I remember directing was always something I wanted to do. As an editor you put so much energy in other people’s films, sometimes you want to have this kind of energy back for your own stories,” admits Donot.
Growing up in Saint Etienne, Donot was heavily influenced by the arts from an early age, particularly theatre. His grandfather, Jean Saby, was a railroad worker who created his own community theatre in the 70s called “Le Théâtre de la Grille Verte,” where Donot’s mother later served as a director. Forming a love and reverence for storytelling early on, Donot developed an adept understanding of the way audiences are impacted by story; and in the years following, he found a unique methodology for ensuring the stories he edits and directs impact viewers in a profound way.
Donot says, “I think good cinema always has a documentary aspect to it. Even if it’s a fantasy you have to believe that such a world can exist. Good cinema comes from characters with believable reactions.”
After gaining extensive experience in the industry through his work on films such as France’s 2014 César Award winning version of “Beauty and the Beast” (“La belle et la bête”), “Down by Love” starring Lumiere Award winner Adèle Exarchopoulos (“Blue is the Warmest Color”), and César nominee Edouard Baer’s “Ouvert la nuit,” Donot carved out a prominent position for himself as a thoughtful and adaptable genius behind the scenes; and directors around the world began to seek him out as an editor.
One film that revealed the extent of Donot’s extraordinary talent and vision as an editor is “Guy,” the 2018 mockumentary from famous French actor, comedian and director Alex Lutz. The film revolves around Gauthier, a young journalist who, after discovering that he’s the illegitimate son of Guy Jamet, a once uber famous French pop singer, decides to follow his “father” on his attempt at a comeback tour under the pretext of filming a documentary about his career. A touching exploration of an aging artist who looks back on his career with both nostalgia and regret, “Guy” earned rave reviews for its empathetic portrayal, understated humor, meticulous character work and unique editing.
Donot says, “Alex Lutz was making a very free film. His fame on TV allowed him to have an entire film financed by Canal + with no actual script, only a 14 page treatment with described situations, which is really rare. The whole film was improvised on those situations.”
For Donot, the editing was all about blending “fictional” archival and present day footage, mostly improvised, and creating a seamless storyline. Fusing together scenes from a series of concerts featuring music that was shot and created specifically for the film, as well as authentic archival footage to help show the progression of time reflected by Guy’s career, Donot, who edited the film with Alexandre Westphal, nailed the mark.
“The challenge in the editing was to respect the freedom Alex wanted to have, but still make a one hour and a half film that would be enjoyable by a regular audience,” explains Donot. “I think I was able to offer Alex the liberty he asked for by shaping the scenes little by little and not having preconceived ideas of what the film needed to look like. You need to bring fifty ideas to have one being chosen by Alex. I trusted Alex and he trusted me and little by little the film was shaped.”
With an avant-garde filmmaking style, brilliant editing and a top-notch cast that included Alex Lutz in the titular role of Guy, as well as Tom Dingler (“The Hookup Plan,” “For Sarah”) and Pascale Arbillot (“Angry Annie,” “Little White Lies”), “Guy” proved to be a huge success, taking home the César Awards for Best Actor and Best Original Music, the Lumiere Award for Best Actor, as well as the Audience Award for Best Feature Film from On Vous Ment! Mockumentary Film Festival and a Critics Award from the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics.
“I’m very proud of this film,” admits Donot. “I think everyone thought it was an impossible film to edit and we did it.”
As an editor who loves a good story, and one who doesn’t shy away from a challenge, one of Donot’s next films, the 2021 war drama “Our River…Our Sky,” was another project that called for a supremely talented editor capable of thinking outside of the box. The first internationally co-produced narrative feature film written and directed by a female filmmaker of Iraqi origin, Maysoon Pachachi’s “Our River…Our Sky” depicts the lives of people within a small Bhagdadi community trying to rebuild their lives and maintain a hopeful vision of the future, despite being surrounded by war.
“Maysoon wanted this film to be shot in very long shots, with very few cuts. But the reality of the production was different from what she had in mind. The shooting was difficult, there were no shows from some supporting actors, and she often had to cast people in the street the day before a scene,” explains Donot about the film, which was shot in Iraq, and went on to win the Best Ensemble Performance Award from the prestigious British Independent Film Awards.
“We had to reinvent the script. I think my background as a documentary editor and having edited ‘Guy’ was really helpful… The acting was raw and uneven that’s for sure but it was honest. I had the feeling it would be a difficult film to edit but I never doubted the amount of reality contained in those performances.”
With a deep dedication to the film’s story, and a strong belief in Maysoon’s vision and drive to give the people of Baghdad a voice, Donot worked tirelessly to blend the footage together in a way that was honest, as well as insightful and engaging for audiences. For Donot, creating a collaborative and connected relationship with the director throughout the production and editing process is a key factor in creating a successful film– a goal that he effortlessly achieved during his work with Pachachi on “Our River…Our Sky.”
“It was a complete joy to work with Alexandre, we laughed a lot and listened to each other’s ideas, and he was always willing to try something new. We communicated very well. I was absolutely certain by the first week of editing that I was in safe hands,” explains director Maysoon Pachachi. “Alexandre immersed himself in learning about the background of the film, why I had decided to make this film in the first place, and why I had chosen to tell the story in the way I did. There was a real understanding between us, and I would work with him again at any time.”
As an editor, Alexandre Donot has proven himself as a diversely talented genius behind the scenes capable of editing every genre and medium imaginable. In addition to his film work, he has established a stellar reputation for himself in the realm of scripted series, specifically on the music-focused series “Lost in Traplanta” from Mathieu Rochet. A comedy docu-fiction series, “Lost in Traplanta” follows Larry, a French guy in Atlanta who’s been dumped by his girlfriend. In order to get her back he has to reunite the famous hip hop band Outkast. Thanks to Donot’s editing, the series effectively blurs the lines of fiction and documentary, and takes audiences on an informative journey into the music of the U.S.’s ‘third coast.’
“Editing ‘Lost in Traplanta’ was a real music masterclass from director Mathieu Rochet, we would listen to funk, blues, even marching bands, going very deep in the Southern culture of the USA,” explains Donot.
“To me the important aspect of this story was to make the audience understand that in rap music there is not only the West Coast and the East Coast, but there is also this ‘third coast’ — the South of the United States. Coming from a blue collar area often looked down on by big cultural capitals, I could relate to the situation of the South in the United States, modest in terms of self publicity, but strong in terms of influence.”
Despite the challenges of editing a film or series, Donot finds the process incredibly rewarding when all the pieces resonate together– and when he’s behind the helm, they always resonate in a compelling way. With nearly two decades of experience as an editor under his belt, Donot has begun expanding more and more into his own directorial work– like his mother and grandfather.
In addition to the 2022 film “Le Centre,” Donot recently picture locked his newest documentary, “The Last Pope.” He is also currently editing the feature film “Un Monde Violent” from director Maxime Caperan, which stars acclaimed Lumiere Award winning actor Felix Maritaud. Additionally, Donot also recently wrapped production as the editor on the upcoming autobiographical essay documentary “Pour ton Mariage” by director Oury Milshtein, which is slated for release in theatres in France later this year.
Alexandre Donot’s love for film editing and directing stems from his passion for storytelling and the desire to make a difference in the way audiences experience a subject. His dedication and attention to detail are evident in the projects he chooses to work on, and his love for cinema continues to lead him to work on projects that make an impact on the film industry internationally.
“Film is a powerful medium because for an hour and half you forget your body and your life, and you dive into someone else’s vision,” says Donot. “Film is also a marker of a period of time that will no longer exist. You can reinvent Shakespeare every time on stage. You can’t reinvent a film. The actors, the environment is fixed forever and it’s a wonderful marker of the passing of time. You can also rediscover a film at every age of your life. The film hasn’t changed but you have, and you probably don’t experience it the same way.”
