This week, Isaac Butler talks with Joi McMillon, an award-winning film editor and longtime collaborator with filmmaker Barry Jenkins. Her latest project, The Underground Railroad, tells the story of a woman’s escape from a Georgia plantation in the 1800s. They talk about how McMillon came to be an editor, her approach to her work, what it’s like to edit the same scene over and over again, and how she gets through it.

Afterward, Isaac and co-host Rumaan Alam discuss what they found most surprising about the interview and discuss how they plan to implement Joi’s tactics into their own work.

Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com.

Podcast production by Morgan Flannery.

Host

Isaac Butler

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