American Cinema Editors Awards (Eddie Awards)

Overview

The American Cinema Editors Awards, known as the Eddie Awards, honor outstanding editing in film, television, documentary, and short-form content. ACE is an honorary society of film editors, not a union. Members are voted in based on professional achievements, education of others, and dedication to the craft. The 76th annual ceremony took place on February 27, 2026, at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles, hosted by actor and comedian Asif Ali.

Sinners editor Michael P. Shawver won Best Edited Feature Film (Drama, Theatrical), while Andy Jurgensen won Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy, Theatrical) for One Battle After Another. Both Shawver and Jurgensen were also Oscar-nominated for their work. KPop Demon Hunters won Best Edited Animated Feature Film, and The Perfect Neighbor won Best Edited Documentary Feature.

The Eddie Awards are a reliable predictor of the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. The overlap between ACE members and the Academy's editing branch produces consistent alignment between the two ceremonies. For the 98th Oscars, four of the five ACE Eddie nominees in the drama category were also Oscar-nominated.

Full details on ACE membership requirements and Eddie Award winners are available on the ACE website.

Membership Requirements

ACE is an honorary society, not a union. It should not be confused with the Motion Picture Editors Guild (MPEG), which is the IATSE local representing editors in labor negotiations. ACE members are not required to be MPEG members, though many belong to both organizations.

Active membership is by invitation only. Candidates must meet the following requirements:

• 72 months (6 years) of substantiated editing credits on feature-length motion pictures or television (30 minutes or longer) with U.S. distribution, either theatrical or national broadcast
• Sponsorship by 2 Active or Life ACE members who have been in good standing for at least 3 years (at least one sponsor should have worked directly with the applicant)
• Interview by the Membership Committee
• Approval by the Board of Directors
• Acceptance by the general membership

Eddie Award nominees and winners have a streamlined application path. The ACE Board of Directors also reserves the right to directly invite film editors of distinction to become members without application.

Financial requirements for membership:

• Application fee: $50
• Initiation fee: $1,500
• Annual dues: $450

Members use the post-nominal letters "ACE" after their name in screen credits and all professional contexts. The organization also offers Affiliate Membership for industry professionals in allied fields and International Partner status for editors living outside the U.S. who belong to a recognized editing organization in their own country.

Key Categories

The 76th ACE Eddie Awards presented awards in 14 categories, including shorts and digital content for the first time:

Film

• Best Edited Feature Film (Drama, Theatrical)
• Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy, Theatrical)
• Best Edited Animated Feature Film
• Best Edited Documentary Feature
• Best Edited Feature Film (Non-Theatrical)
• Best Edited Short (new category)

Television

• Best Edited Drama Series (one-hour)
• Best Edited Single Camera Comedy Series (half-hour)
• Best Edited Multi-Camera Comedy Series
• Best Edited Limited or Anthology Series
• Best Edited Documentary Series
• Best Edited Reality Series
• Best Edited Variety Talk/Sketch Show or Special
• Best Edited Animated Series

Additional Honors

• Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award (Ang Lee, 2026)
• ACE Visionary Award (YouTube's Creator and Gaming, 2026)
• Career Achievement Awards (presented to established editors)
• Coates Award for Student Editing

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Eddie Awards, films must have been released in theaters between January 1 and December 31 of the awards year. Television series must have aired between November 2 of the prior year and December 31 of the awards year. The comedy and dramatic split in the feature film category mirrors the Golden Globes' genre division, giving more films the opportunity for top-tier recognition.

History

ACE was founded on November 28, 1950, when 108 of the industry's top film editors attended a Charter Membership meeting. The first General Membership meeting followed on January 9, 1951, at which Donn Hayes suggested the name "American Cinema Editors" with the acronym "ACE." The organization became a non-profit corporation under California law on May 29, 1951. The first Eddie Awards were presented that same year.

The society adopted the post-nominal letters "ACE" to signify membership. These letters appearing after an editor's name in film credits became a widely recognized marker of professional distinction. Until 2014, the acronym was separated by dots ("A.C.E."), but this was dropped to conform with the format used by other industry organizations such as the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).

The Eddie Awards ceremony has maintained a relatively intimate character compared to larger ceremonies, reflecting the editing community's close-knit culture. The event draws editors, directors, and producers who understand that the editing room is where a film finds its final shape. The current president of ACE is Kevin Tent, elected in 2020.

Business Impact for Filmmakers

For editors, an ACE Eddie nomination validates their work among peers who understand exactly how difficult the craft is. Editing decisions affect pacing, performance, narrative clarity, and emotional impact, and the ACE electorate evaluates all of these dimensions. The comedy and dramatic split acknowledges that comedic editing requires a distinct skill set involving timing, rhythm, and tonal calibration that differs from dramatic editing.

For directors, the Eddie Awards highlight the editorial partnerships that shape their films. Many directors maintain long-standing collaborations with specific editors, and an Eddie Award recognizes that partnership's creative output.

The ACE Eddie Award for Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) is one of the most reliable Oscar predictors in the awards season. When an editor wins the Eddie, they frequently go on to win or contend for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing, making the ceremony a key data point for awards season strategists.

Recent Results (76th ACE Eddie Awards, February 2026)

• Best Edited Feature Film (Drama): Sinners, Michael P. Shawver
• Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy): One Battle After Another, Andy Jurgensen
• Best Edited Animated Feature Film: KPop Demon Hunters, Nathan Schauf
• Best Edited Documentary Feature: The Perfect Neighbor, Viridiana Lieberman
• Best Edited Feature Film (Non-Theatrical): A Winter's Song, Yvette M. Amirian, ACE
• Best Edited Drama Series: The Pitt ("6:00pm"), Mark Strand, ACE
• Best Edited Single Camera Comedy Series: The Studio ("The Promotion"), Eric Kissack, ACE
• Best Edited Multi-Camera Comedy Series: Frasier ("Murder Most Finch"), Russell Griffin, ACE
• Best Edited Limited Series: The Penguin ("A Great or Little Thing"), Henk van Eeghen, ACE
• Best Edited Documentary Series: Pee-wee as Himself (Part One), Damian Rodriguez
• Best Edited Reality Series: Conan O'Brien Must Go ("Austria"), Matthew Shaw, ACE; Brad Roelandt
• Best Edited Variety Talk/Sketch Show or Special: Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special
• Best Edited Animated Series: South Park ("Twisted Christian")
• Best Edited Short: All The Empty Rooms, Erin Casper, ACE; Stephen Maing; Jeremy Medoff
• Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year: Ang Lee

Watch

Eligibility Quirks That Trip People Up

• Different eligibility periods for TV vs. features: Television submissions have a different eligibility window (November 2 of the prior year through December 31) compared to feature films (January 1 through December 31). This often trips up filmmakers who assume a single calendar year cutoff applies to all categories.
• Theatrical vs. non-theatrical split: Feature films must have premiered and screened theatrically for the Drama/Comedy categories. Films that are "made for television or digital streaming" with a running time over 60 minutes must be submitted in the separate "Best Edited Feature Film (Non-Theatrical)" category.
• Editor credit requirements: Only credited upfront editors are considered for nomination. Back-end editors and assistant editors are not eligible, regardless of their contributions to the final cut.
• Category submission restrictions: The same title cannot be submitted in more than one category. The ACE Blue Ribbon Committee reserves the right to change a submission category as it sees fit, and if a show has more than 2 nominations in a single category, it may be subject to review.
• 72 months of credited experience for membership: ACE membership requires 6 years of substantiated editing credits on feature-length productions with US distribution, plus sponsorship by 2 Active or Life members. This is one of the most stringent membership requirements of any craft organization.

Prestige Tier

The ACE Eddie Awards are the premier editing-specific honor and a strong Oscar indicator. Since 2000, the Eddie winner for theatrical drama has matched the Academy Award for Best Film Editing 14 of 26 times, though the correlation has weakened recently (only once in the past five years). Among craft-specific guild awards, the ACE Eddie ranks alongside the ASC Award (cinematography) in industry prestige. The ACE carries more weight within the editing community than general critics' or industry awards for editing, because the electorate consists entirely of peers who understand the craft. The comedy/drama split mirrors the Golden Globes' genre division, giving more films the opportunity for top-tier recognition.

See Also

For understanding the editorial workflow that leads to award-caliber work, see Post-Production Workflow. To calculate storage and media management needs for editorial projects, use the Storage and Footage Calculator. For planning your post-production schedule and timeline, use the Post-Production Timeline Calculator.