Lillian Benson, ACE (left) and Zeinaba Irene Davis (right)
Guild Honors Lillian Benson with Fellowship and Service Award
by Jeff Burman • photos by Wm. Stetz
The Editors Guild presented its Fellowship and Service Award to picture editor Lillian Benson, ACE, on Saturday, April 8 at a ceremony held at the Sheraton Universal.
The Fellowship and Service Award was established 10 years ago by the Guild’s Board of Directors to recognize an individual who embodies the values the Guild holds most dear: Professionalism, Collaboration, Mentorship, Generosity of Spirit and a Commitment to the Labor Movement.
At the event, Editors Guild Executive Director Cathy Repola introduced Guild president Alan Heim, ACE. “I have known Lillian since the ’70s,” said Heim. “I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this award — which recognizes her accomplishments, her ability to communicate and her remarkable grace, kindness and humility.”
Heim in turn introduced Zeinabu irene Davis, a filmmaker and professor in the communications department at UC San Diego. After a short video tribute to Benson, Davis remarked, “I have worked with Lillian in the documentary world for many years. She is very generous and kind to everyone who crosses her path. She knows what I am looking for before I even know what I am looking for!”
After calling Benson her “cinematic big sister,” Davis went on to say, “The professor side of me is totally geeking out” because even though the directors get the most attention, the editors gathered to honor her friend “are the stars of the production because you find the stories… Your work is honored, studied and passed down.”
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