Kristen Huntley was an award-winning and beloved film editor whose career spanned more than thirty years. Much of her body of work centered the stories of exceptional women, told from their perspective. Kristen brought a trademark elegance, curiosity, and wit to her craft; her editing excellence was recognized by fellow filmmakers, journalists, and film critics alike.
Born in Burlington, Vermont on June 1, 1957, Huntley grew up in Avon and Canton, Connecticut. She was a 1981 graduate of the School of Visual Arts, and was awarded an emerging artists residency that year at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. Huntley worked as a costumer on feature films, including Ragtime (1981).
As an editor, her credits include Michael Moore's Emmy-award-winning series TV Nation and the cult comedy series Strangers with Candy. Huntley worked on groundbreaking films and series including Frontline, Wide Angle, Moments of Impact, National Geographic Explorer, and The Age of Aerospace. She edited the Martin Scorsese-produced Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows (2007). Her work on Judy Garland: By Myself (American Masters) won the Emmy for Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction. She also worked extensively with other directors and producers such as Stephen Colbert, Gini Reticker, Susan Lacy, Amy Sedaris and Louis Theroux.
Kristen's final documentary The Janes (2022), directed by Emma Pildes and Tia Lessin, was the story of an underground network of young women in pre-Roe v. Wade Chicago who risked arrest and prison to provide safe, affordable illegal abortions. The Janes had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and broadcast premiere on HBO Max and has won film festival awards and nominations, including for exceptional editing. The film won "Best Documentary," "Outstanding Social Issue Documentary," and "Outstanding Direction - Documentary" at the 44th News & Documentary Emmys.