Q&A with editor Keiko Deguchi moderated by Lucila Moctezuma
Isaiah Zagar, a Philadelphia artist whose vibrant mosaic murals cover the city, is losing his family and his mind. While Isaiah's marriage to his wife Julia has always been complicated by their vastly different personalities, it finally shatters after the admission of an affair. Directed by Jeremiah Zagar, the subject's son, the film chronicles Isaiah's journey as an artist, husband and father, and the nervous breakdown that results from him losing his lifelong muse, Julia.
Keiko Deguchi is an award-winning film editor of over 50 feature narrative films and documentary films combined. She is the nominee in the best editing category for 2019 Spirit Award for her work on We The Animals. Other narrative films she has edited include Steven Shainberg’s Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus', Dina Amer’s You Resemble Me, and most recently, Jeremiah Zagar's Hustle. Her documentary film credits include award-winning films such as Jeremiah Zagar’s In A Dream, Matt Wolf’s Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project, Ross Kaufman’s TIGERLAND, and JR’s Paper and Glue. Most recently she worked on a documentary series Monster Factory for Apple TV. She is a rare editor who is versed in both fiction films and documentary films and brings her sense of narrative structure to documentary films and her creative use of footage to narrative films.
Lucila Moctezuma is a consultant to documentary filmmakers and media organizations in the US and internationally, and programmer with international festivals. Her work with independent filmmakers focuses on story, craft and creative authorship, and consults with media organizations in program design and program implementation, and as facilitator of story workshops. Currently she is Senior Consultant of Artist Programs at Points North Institute, and other consulting organizations include the Sundance Documentary Film Program, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, and Multitude Films, and story workshops with the Bronx Documentary Center and BAVC. She is Associate International Programmer for Hot Docs in Canada, and a member of the documentary programming committee at the Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico. Previously, she held senior positions at high-profile organizations such as Chicken & Egg Pictures, UnionDocs, Women Make Movies, the Media Arts Fellowships for The Rockefeller Foundation, and founded the TFI Latin America Fund for Tribeca Film Institute. She sits on the Executive Board of Cine Qua Non Lab and was Vice-President of the Board of Trustees of The Flaherty. She is Producer of the feature-length documentary, She Wrestles (in development, by award-winning director and wrestling state champion, Charles Fairbanks). Based in Brooklyn, NY, Lucila is from Mexico City and is a frequent guest participant at film forums, panels and juries in the US and internationally. Lucila is a 2019 Ford Foundation / Rockwood Leadership Institute JustFilms fellow. In 2021 she became a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.