Emilia Pérez

The Rough Cut

Editor -Juliette Welfling

EMILIA PÉREZ editor Juliette Welfling took on the job of editing her first musical without knowing the rigor and precision that would be required for the job. For better or worse, neither did writer/director Jacques Audiard, himself new to the world of making a musical. It turns out, experience might be overrated, as the Netflix Oscar-hopeful has won over critics since its premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

Written and directed by Jacques Audiard, EMILIA PÉREZ is based on Audiard's opera libretto of the same name. Audiard's opera was loosely adapted from Boris Razon's 2018 novel, Écoute. The film stars Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz and Karla Sofía Gascón in the title role. EMILIA PÉREZ tells the story of a feared cartel leader who enlists a lawyer to help her disappear and achieve her dream of transitioning into a woman. Its original songs were contributed by French singer Camille, while its original score was provided by her partner and collaborator, Clément Ducol.

Juliette Welfling

Juliette Welfling began her career at age eighteen as an intern on Jean-Charles Tachella’s Cousin cousine. She later befriended Jacques Audiard while both were working as assistant editors, and she earned her first editor credit on his directorial debut See How They Fall. Welfling has received César nominations for each of Audiard’s eight films, winning four times: for See How They Fall, The Beat That My Heart Skipped, A Prophet, and Rust and Bone. She received an additional César nomination for Asghar Farhadi’s The Past, as well as a César win and Oscar nomination for Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Welfling has also collaborated with other directors including Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep) and Gary Ross (The Hunger Games, Ocean’s Eight).

Editing EMILIA PÉREZ

In our discussion with EMILIA PÉREZ editor Juliette Welfling, we talk about:

• Knowing the rules, when you don't want to know them, so you can apply them without knowing
• Not being a prisoner of precision
• Managing the menace within
• Fixing problems within the cutting room by finding inspiration outside of it
• Respect for fromage

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