Meet Sarah Gorsline, Film Editor for The Third Harmony

Can you share about your background in film editing? Why are you passionate about it?

My interest and work in visual art, writing and collage, and my love of music, naturally combined for me in filmmaking and video art in college, which seemed inevitable given my early exposure to amazing classic films, often watched with my dad, John Gorsline. I chose editing amongst the other crew roles in filmmaking because I see it as one of the most creative parts of the process, and because my skill set is a natural fit for editing. I prefer to be behind the scenes, stitching together ideas and drawing in the multiple creative strands of the project like weaving a tapestry. Film and video editing have many similarities with tailoring, weaving and other craftwork, and that's one of the reasons my business is called Sewing Circle Studios. When I'm working on a creative project with a great crew, I have the impression that I'm part of a sewing circle, in which each person is doing their best and most unique work, sometimes on the same thing, sometimes on different parts of the project.

For me, editing is about telling critical stories that the world needs to hear, and providing practicable tools. Editing is about asking an audience to examine something they may have already seen, with fresh eyes and engaged attention. Editing is also about awakening the deep love and compassion that dwells in each heart, and unleashing that out of the theater doors, and into the world. So ultimately for me editing is about connection, about decision making--which ironically I'm terrible at in my personal life--and it's about the impulse toward action which I feel is essential for such a passively-ingested art form.

What was your favorite part of making The Third Harmony?

For me, one of the most enjoyable parts of filmmaking is collaboration with a creative team. Working with Michael Nagler as our project visionary and director, Stephanie Van Hook and Katina Bishop as producers, Jim "Sky" Schuyler as our composer, Sicily Barry as an assistant editor and archival researcher, and Steve Michelson and Tom Eddington as executive producers, was the most exciting and fun part of the process. I learned about nonviolence through editing The Third Harmony, so I had constant questions about nonviolence and visual needs to illustrate the film that this team of experts, each with a unique skill set, were helpful with. Making The Third Harmony felt so urgent in 2019 when I began editing, in the midst of a volatile presidency in the U.S., with civil unrest and political violence escalating. As we wrapped up the film during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the protests responding to the murder of George Floyd by police, it became increasingly clear how critical the nonviolence tools provided by the film are for the world. In 2024, it feels like The Third Harmony is even more relevant. I sense that people around the world continue to search for a more effective way forward than destructive conflicts, whether personal, national or global.

How did the process change how you understand nonviolence?

I knew very little about nonviolence when I met Michael Nagler and began editing The Third Harmony. I was vaguely familiar with Gandhi, and had learned about the Civil Rights Movement in school. But I had no idea that nonviolence is an active stance. I had never heard of Old Story and New Story, or Obstructive and Constructive Program. I started to understand nonviolence as an incredibly practical and necessary discipline that can be used on the interpersonal level, on the community level and on the national and global level. I could put the nonviolence tools I learned about into practice immediately, as I left the office to go out into the community and home to my partner. As I began to try out some of the nonviolence tools in my personal life, I was excited to see how well they worked; for me that's really what drives home the truth, importance and functionality of nonviolence as a mode we can employ in the world and inside ourselves.

Do you have any stories of how you use nonviolence in your advocacy work?

The nonviolence tools I learned while editing The Third Harmony have been very helpful in my work life, especially in my wildlife advocacy as a Vermont Representative and Multimedia Associate for Project Coyote. Project Coyote is a national, science-based nonprofit whose mission is to protect North America’s wild carnivores (such as bears, wolves, coyotes, fox, bobcats, mountain lions, fisher and lynx) and promote compassionate coexistence through education, science, advocacy, and coalition building. In Vermont, I'm working with a coalition of wildlife advocates from organizations such as Protect Our Wildlife, Vermont Wildlife Coalition, Green Mountain Animal Defenders, Vermont Wildlife Patrol, Animal Wellness Action, In Defense of Animals and Vermont Coyote Coexistence Coalition to move Vermont wildlife policy closer to the current scientific understanding of ecosystems and best practices for wildlife conservation. My work advocating for wildlife runs into opposition with fellow Vermonters who hold opposing views on how to manage wildlife, and the Board of Fish & Wildlife who currently create wildlife policy in the state. Nonviolence tools have guided my interest and engagement in respectful dialogue with Vermonters who hold opposing viewpoints about wildlife issues, so as to better understand their perspectives, to gain an understanding of how the legislation we're trying to move ahead affects people in their daily lives, and to show fellow Vermonters of opposing viewpoints that I welcome respectful dialogue with them. When I've embarked on difficult conversations with hunters who use practices I'm advocating against, or members of Fish & Wildlife, I've found that connection with those I disagree with allows me to witness their humanity and deepest concerns, and it provides information about what they care about and why. Creating a connection with those I disagree with opens the possibility for future dialogue, a feeling of 'shared humanness,' and maybe even compromise.

Recent short films I've edited for Project Coyote (2023):

Ecosystem Allies: Large Carnivores and How They Benefit Us All

Farming and Ranching with Wildlife: Overview

Farming and Ranching with Wildlife: Guardian Animals

Farming with Wildlife: Coexistence Strategies for Farming in the Northeast United States

My website (URL): https://sarah-gorsline.squarespace.com/