Monica Castillo reports from South by Southwest: #1 The Karen Schmeer Fellowship

And this year's award for promising new editor goes to...  

South by Southwest is just picking up speed in rainy Austin, and Boston has already made the news. Just ahead of the film festival's award ceremony on March 13 came the announcement that the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship will be given to Lindsay Utz, editor of the controversial "Bully" documentary that is currently fighting with the MPAA over its recent rating ruling.

The KSFEF Board singled out Lindsay's skill in helping to tell the stories of 5 young students struggling to cope with bullying for its honor, marking the film as a stand-out first feature for the young editor. The Fellowship was established at last year's SXSW film festival to honor the memory of Karen Schmeer, a local award-winning film editor and Boston University alum. Her work on "The Fog of War" was singled out by fellow local director and frequent collaborator Errol Morris during his Oscar acceptance speech back in 2004. Sadly, she passed away in 2010 at the young age of 39.

The Fellowship created in her honor seeks to provide young editors with several opportunities to take master classes, attend several festivals, and allotted several different stipends to further their training.

Hopefully, we'll see her in town for the Independent Film Festival Boston, one of the many festivals that the award grants Lindsay free access to. To learn more about Karen Schmeer and the Fellowship, check out their website.

Stay tuned to Outside the Frame for much more news out of Austin as the 2012 South by Southwest Film Festival gets underway.