Stephanie Filo, ACEis a two-time Emmy and Peabody Award-winning TV/Film Editor based in Los Angeles, CA and Sierra Leone, West Africa. She earned an Emmy win for her unscripted editing on the Mental State episodeSeparated(making herself and Nzinga Blake the first Sierra Leonean women to ever win an Emmy award). Most recently, she won a Primetime Emmy award for her work on HBO'sA Black Lady Sketch Show, making her team the first all-women of color editing team to take home the award for Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming. This is just a tiny, tiny smattering of the credits and accolades which Stephanie has earned in her very young career (which doesn’t even begin to cover her social activism work in the documentary space).In short, if you’ve ever wondered if it’s possible to successfully build a fulfilling creative career jumping between multiple mediums and genres - from scripted, to unscripted, to docs, and beyond - then Stephanie Filo’s story is for you.In this conversation Stephanie shares how she has climbed to award-winning levels of both scripted and unscripted television…despite a lot of the barriers that unfortunately come with being a black woman in a white-male-dominated industry. She candidly opens up about how she has had to work harder to prove herself but also her own challenges around work-life balance and the sacrifices she’s made getting to this level in her career. This is a wide ranging conversation appealing to anyone looking to make a career transition, find purpose and fulfillment in life, and wanting better strategies for choosing the right projects to match both your lifestyle needs and your creative needs.Want to Hear More Episodes Like This One?» Click here to subscribe and never miss another episodeHere's What You'll Learn:How the movieSeveninfluenced her decision to get into editingThe struggles she encountered growing up as a first generation Sierra Leone African in ColoradoWhy Stephanie as a black woman is a better fit for certain types of stories than I am as a white maleStephanie shares the struggles she's endured as a black female editorHow to avoid getting pigeonholedHow to transition from one genre or format to anotherHow to sell your skills as an unscripted editor so that they are valuable in the scripted worldIs scripted editing equivalent to paint by numbers?What Lee Daniels taught me about how my life experience informs my choices as an editorWhat the cost was to Stephanie in order to diversify her resumeThe toxic work-life balance culture that is pervasive in the industry and how to fight against itConsequences of putting up boundaries against unreasonable deadlinesAre scripted or unscripted editors respected more by producers?How scripted projects compare to unscripted projects in terms of pay and lifestyleKEY TAKEAWAY: You are interviewing the show as much as the show is interviewing youWhy Stephanie recently turned down a job that was offered to herStephanie’s go to interview questions to determine if a project is the right fit for herUseful Resources Mentioned:Cutting Comedy with "A Black Lady Sketch Show" - Frame.io InsiderEmmy & Peabody Award Winning Editor, Stephanie Filo: Episode 2 of Post in Black Season 2 - YouTubeBoris FX | Ask the Artist with Stephanie Filo, TV/Film EditorEp112: On Signing COVID Waivers, Kit Rental Fees, and Working Humane Hours | with Cathy Repola, MPEG National Executive DirectorContinue to Listen & LearnEp128: How to Have a Successful Career Without Sacrificing Family | with Farrel LevyEp168: Hollywood On the Record: What’s REALLY Happening On Set? | with Shay’La Banks and Nickolaus BrownEp113: The Importance of Setting Boundaries, Advocating For Yourself, and Asking For Help | with Janace TashjianEp134: Leveraging Your Skills to Get Hired (When You Don’t Have the Experience) | with Steve Lang, ACE (pt1)Ep135: The “Playbook” ...