TEMPO General Assembly 2025

Here are excerpts from a report from of what happened at this year’s TEMPO gathering.

TEMPO is the international federation of film editor associations, of which British Film Editors is a member. It took place at Edimotion a long-standing film editing festival.

From October 24th to 26th, our federation successfully convened its General Assembly and related events in the historic city of Cologne, Germany. This year’s meeting held special resonance as it unfolded against the backdrop of the 25th anniversary of Edimotion, the film editors festival where TEMPO was first founded.

Close to 70 representatives—including members attending both in person and virtually, along with a few guests—engaged in a vital period of review, reflection, and strategic planning for 2026, confronting past challenges and looking ahead to those yet to come.

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The AI Task Force reported on the success of their inaugural online panel concerning AI editing tools, which attracted 226 participants. They announced plans for future webinars, with a focus on exploring the ethical implications of these technologies.

The Events Task Force successfully organized an international panel in collaboration with ACE (American Cinema Editors) for EditFest Global on October 4th (you can watch it here). Furthermore, together with Adobe, our main sponsor, they launched another webinar focusing on editors as creative contributors, particularly to the documentary and non-scripted film industry.

The presentation concluded with a tribute to Ferg McGrath, a significant contributor to the organization who passed away in June.

New TEMPO board members - Photo by @julianemarianne

TEMPO also held its new Board Election! Job (NCE, Netherlands) and Sebastián (ECCA, Colombia), who are stepping down, expressed gratitude for their time with the group and confidence in the new board members, who are now (from left to right): Are Syvertsen (NFK, Norway), Julie Dupré (LMA, France), Alejo Santos (SAE, Argentina), Karina Vilela (AMC, Brazil), Özcan Vardar (KUDA, Turkey), Jane MacRae (CCE, Canada), Ludwik Sielicki (PSM, Poland), Sarah McTeigue (AMC, Italy), and Eoin McDonagh (ISE, Ireland).

Two new task forces were created: one to discuss establishing a World Film Editors Day (as the group agreed to further discuss and poll members on the best date to represent all countries and cultures within TEMPO), and another to explore the creation of regional chapters, following an idea presented by Justin Wachira (AFEK, Kenya).

We also heard the good news that both Estonia and Portugal will soon have their own associations join TEMPO, reinforcing our Federation as the most important representative body of film editors worldwide.

Our meeting ended with a discussion on how to enhance public awareness of the editing craft. The board discussed strategies to increase the visibility of film editing through international film festivals by focusing on organizing events and establishing awards, as well as creating content for our YouTube channel, specifically interviews with editors whose films are featured in these major festivals.

We also took part in the International Film Editors Forum (IFEF). Conceived by Dietmar Kraus, this event brings together editors from around the world in an incredible opportunity to share experiences. Held at the Alte Feuerwache (the same location as our assembly) and led by facilitator Christine von Fragstein, this historic precursor to TEMPO offered an invaluable platform for international dialogue and networking among editors on the topics of leadership and hierarchy. […] This gathering powerfully reaffirmed the importance of staying connected, listening to each other, and sustaining the networks that drive our profession forward, both locally and internationally. Our craft often takes place in silence and behind closed doors, but gatherings like this vividly illustrate the collective dimension and the strength that emerges when our voices unite. We return to our daily practices with renewed perspectives and the certainty that the TEMPO community remains alive, dynamic, and in continuous dialogue.