Emmy-nominated editor Jen Fineran established Gypsy Camp Studios Inc. in 2005 just as technology was making a roving edit studio possible, and just before she started a family. With an education in film history and an early start in advertising, Jen is now best known for her intimate and eclectic non-fiction storytelling. Her work can be seen in theaters and at film festivals such as Sundance, SXSW, HotDocs and Berlin International Film Festival.
Jen has edited several award-winning documentaries including Emily Kassie’s Academy award-winning I Married my Family’s Killer about love and intermarriage in post-genocide Rwanda, and Alison Klayman’s Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (IFC Films) which won a US Documentary Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and was shortlisted for the Academy Award. Jen also earned an Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Editing: Documentary and Long Form.” Jen’s first film job was assistant editing on Ruth Leitman’s southern gothic documentary Alma, which was selected for the Whitney Biennial.
Jen has new work hitting theaters and television soon including Jon Schienberg’s Colossus (First Run Features), rare look into the aftermath of deportation and separation; The Brink (as story consultant, Magnolia Pictures), Alison’s Klayman’s fly-on-the-wall documentary exposing Steve Bannon’s efforts to mobilize and unify far-right parties; Adam Kahan’s Bass to Infinity, featuring intimate conversations with the great bass player Buster Williams and friends; and Beth Aala’s Made in Boise (PBS), which follows the journey of gestational carriers in Boise, Idaho.
Jen grew up in Cheverly, MD, a vibrant community in Prince George’s County on the border of Washington, DC. In college, Jen raised chimpanzees as a part-time job. After completing her undergraduate studies in sociology and political science at Emory University, Jen explored the world playing pickup soccer from Kinshasa, Zaire, to Lijiang, China. Jen worked at Channel 4 in London, then returned to the US to earn an MA in Film Studies from Emory University. She cut her first feature, the hilarious road comedy Waste, while living in Brisbane, Australia. She now lives with her husband and two kids in Nyack, New York. She still loves to play and watch sports, and also coaches. The short documentary The Invisible World, featuring Hudson Valley painter Mark Weiss, is Jen’s debut as a director.
