Body as Interval: The Actress’s Performance in Editing

Abstract

This section presents a conversation between three prominent editors of contemporary Spanish cinema: Julia Juániz, Ana Pfaff, and Ariadna Ribas. Drawing on their experiences in fiction, documentary and hybrid films, it offers a collective reflection on editing practices as a mode of sensitive, political, and embodied thought. The discussion touches on aspects such as viewing raw footage, the construction of the actor’s performance through editing, tensions between acting registers and directorial styles, working with archival materials, and the affective presence of the body in the editing room. The authors explore how editing can reveal subtle gestures, establish emotional and narrative rhythms, and support processes of subjectivation—particularly in female characters. The text also highlights collaborative practices and ways of inhabiting the editing process through doubt, attentiveness, and care. Editing is conceived of here as a space for listening and rewriting, in constant dialogue with what has been filmed, lived, and imagined.