| Karen Schmeer | |
| Birth Date: | 20 February 1970 |
| Birth Place: | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation: | film editor |
Karen Schmeer (February 20, 1970 - January 29, 2010) was a film editor who frequently collaborated with filmmaker Errol Morris.
Schmeer was born in Portland, Oregon.[1] She was the daughter of Michael Schmeer and Eleanor DuBois, as well as the granddaughter of photographer Ray Atkeson.[1]
In 1988, Schmeer graduated from Portland's Lincoln High School. In 1992 she graduated from Boston University with a degree in anthropology.[1]
The year she graduated from college she was hired for an unpaid internship with Errol Morris.[1] Schmeer edited a number of his films, including The Fog of War, a 2004 portrait of Robert S. McNamara that was nominated for an Eddie award and Fast, Cheap and Out of Control.[1] She also edited Sergio, a 2009 film by Greg Barker about Sergio Vieira de Mello. Schmeer won the award for best documentary film editing at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival for Sergio.[2] [3] [4] Other work included editing Sydney Pollack's 2005 documentary, Sketches of Frank Gehry.
Schmeer was killed on the evening of January 29, 2010, in a hit-and-run as she was crossing New York City's Broadway Street at 90th Street. The driver that struck her was the getaway driver for the robbery of a nearby pharmacy.[2] [4]
The Karen Schmeer Award for Excellence in Documentary Editing is awarded by the Independent Film Festival Boston.[5]
The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship, created in 2010, is awarded annually.[6] [7]