Academy Panels is a new series from the Academy that shines a light on craftspeople and filmmakers as well as the humanity behind their artistry. In addition to talking craft, these artists share the humanity behind the artistry. Hosted by EVP of Membership Relations and Awards, Shawn Finnie.

Jane Campion’s tense, character-driven Western, The Power of the Dog, is a critical favorite and Oscar frontrunner. The film’s vast landscapes (shot in New Zealand, much to the chagrin of actors not involved with the movie) are a backdrop to a slow-moving family melodrama: sweet and earnest George (Jesse Plemons) marries widowed Rose (Kirsten Dunst), bringing out the worst in Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch), George’s volatile, curiously standoffish brother.

Oscar Nominee Editor Peter Sciberras, whose previous work includes David Michôd’s The Rover and War Machine, is already receiving considerable attention for his tension-filled editing on Jane Campion’s Netflix Western The Power of the Dog.

Script contributor Susan Kouguell interviews Australian film editor Peter Sciberras about carefully sustaining and building tension throughout the film, while still highlighting the complexity and surprises built into the characters and the story

Peter Sciberras picked up his first career American Cinema Editors (ACE) Eddie Award nomination. It came in the best edited dramatic feature category for his cutting of writer-director Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog (Netflix), adding to an awards season momentum for him which also includes making the BAFTA Best Editing longlist for the film and being recognized by various film critics’ associations.

Cumberbatch was joined by fellow “The Power of the Dog” castmates Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons, as well as editor Peter Sciberras, production designer Grant Major, supervising sound editor Robert MacKenzie, and director, writer and producer Campion. The team discussed the process of working on the critically acclaimed western together and what drew them to the material.

Here, in an interview with Awards Daily, Sciberras discusses some of the most intense scenes of this story. He talks about creating the mood in the way a shot is cut, giving a scene time to build, and just basking in great acting. Plus, he reveals how he fell in love with the editing process and why it works so perfectly for him.

Campion and editor Peter Sciberras on the challenge of balancing mystery, mounting sexual energy, and a growing sense of danger. Editor Peter Sciberras … breaks down the key narrative changes made in the editing room to keep the charge between the two characters amped, but without a sense of release or resolve.

Peter Sciberras, who is deservedly receiving Oscar buzz, started as a commercial editor and then worked on films like The Rover, War Machine, and The King. Based in Melbourne, Australia, the jet-setting Sciberras was actually at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills while we talked over Evercast about editing The Power of the Dog, his career as a whole, and how unforeseen circumstances landed him isolated in a New Zealand hotel with the best accommodation internet speed he’d ever seen.

"The Power Of The Dog" is one of 2021's very best films. Under the careful direction of Jane Campion, the film has spawned a ton of conversation since its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival for its themes, acting, and craftsmanship. We were very fortunate to get the opportunity to interview a few people involved with the making of the film, including cinematographer Ari Wegner, editor Peter Sciberras and actor Jesse Plemons who plays George Burbank. Please take a listen down below but be sure to watch the film first on Netflix before listening as we discuss spoilers in our conversations.

THE POWER OF THE DOG editor, Peter Sciberras had never met director Jane Campion prior to their working together on this film, but their initial discussion about maintaining the tension throughout the film and the kind of tenacious editor that would require, left no doubt that Pete was the one for this project. THE POWER OF THE DOG is a western drama. both written and directed by Jane Campion, based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Thomas Savage. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

On this week’s episode, we welcome Peter Sciberras, editor of The Power of the Dog.

On todays episode of the Editors on Editing Podcast, Glenn talks with editor Peter Sciberras about the highly anticipated Netflix film “The Power of the Dog.”

We spoke to editor Peter Sciberras about working with Campion, using Jonny Greenwood’s music, the challenges of pacing in a film like this and crafting the climactic barn scene.

“The Power of the Dog” editor Peter Sciberras was drawn to the psychological tension woven into Jane Campion’s script. That tension underlined the relationship between the Burbank brothers Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George (Jesse Plemons), as well as their dealings with George’s wife, Rose (Kirsten Dunst), or the tense dynamic between Phil and Rose’s son Peter (Kodi Smith-McPhee). Sciberras says he and Campion talked about how that tension was achieved through restraint. “We talked about elegant cutting without holding shots for as long as we could,” he says.

“That was something we talked about very early on … We talked about the tension in the film and also building momentum,” says “The Power of the Dog” editor Peter Sciberras and how he and director Jane Campion gradually ratcheted up the intensity of the Western drama. “We want it to really feel like it was building and building and building,” while “trying to be really elegant, economical,” and “letting the characters really drive the story.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Sciberras above.

Today we’re speaking with Peter Sciberras, the editor of Jane Campion’s highly acclaimed film The Power of the Dog. Peter has received great critical recognition for his early Australian films Hail, The Rover, and The King.

The Power of the Dog is a movie that takes people by surprise. It's a slow-burning, thoroughly considered yet simple tale about love, longing, revenge, loyalty, and all kinds of other human things that happen in moments where we aren't saying what we mean.

Peter Sciberras is the ACE Eddie Awards-nominated editor for Netflix’s The Power of the Dog. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Jane Campion’s critically acclaimed drama relies heavily on the tension that great editing helps deliver. Here, in an interview with Awards Daily, Sciberras discusses some of the most intense scenes of this story. He talks about creating the mood in the way a shot is cut, giving a scene time to build, and just basking in great acting. Plus, he reveals how he fell in love with the editing process and why it works so perfectly for him.

Kodi Smit-McPhee, an Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actor, along with Film Editing nominee Peter Sciberras and Cinematography nominee Ari Wegner, joined me for Netflix’s panel on The Power of the Dog at Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees event.

Editor Peter Sciberras discusses editing The Power of the Dog at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2022.

Editor Peter Sciberras says that when he first read the script for The Power of the Dog, he was immediately compelled by characters and relationships that he found to be “so well drawn” and “interesting.”

When film editor Peter Sciberras first heard that Jane Campion wanted to meet with him to discuss a film titled The Power of the Dog, he wasn’t familiar with the source material. A quick Google search yielded the Don Winslow book of the same name, which led him to initially think that Campion was making a cartel movie. Though that didn’t turn out to be the case, he was still surprised when he learned that Campion would be adapting Thomas Savage‘s 1967 novel for the screen.

There has been a lot of talk recently about film artisans, the talented craftspeople behind the camera who bring a film to life, without whom a director’s vision remains only in their imagination, and actors would be left reading a script in an empty, dark, quiet room, naked. Without the costume designers, the production designers, the cinematographers, the hair and makeup designers, the editors, the sound mixers, the visual effects artists and the composers, movies would not be movies.

It’s murder by anthrax, though this isn’t made completely obvious. “The last act has been heading to this moment where these men are finally together, and there’s a lot of crafting their relationship to get to that moment in a way that was hopefully incredibly tense, both dangerously and sexually,” says editor Peter Sciberras of the scene in the Netflix movie, which is nominated for 12 Academy Awards, including best picture, director and editing.

The twist in Jane Campion’s Montana-set 1920s drama The Power of the Dog, also from Netflix, occurs when rancher Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) completes a cowhide rope that he is making for Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee), not knowing that the cowhide Peter gave him is contaminated. What is essentially Phil’s murder by anthrax is a misdirect, made to feel more like a love scene. “It was really important here that it felt really sensual and really tense,” says editor Peter Sciberras.

Having now seen it three times over the past six months, it’s incredibly clear to see how expertly crafted The Power of the Dog is. Jane Campion‘s film has terrific work from top to bottom, with the editing certainly among it. To that end, editor Peter Sciberras deserves a ton of credit. While he may only have a handful of credits to his name over the years, the work more than speaks for itself. So, recently I was able to hop on Zoom for a decently sized chat with the cutter. We had a pretty good time, which you’ll be able to hear today.

One of the reasons The Power of the Dog is so, well, powerful, is because of its ending. Director Jane Campion found a way to adapt the novel to make the ending a tad more mysterious, while still hitting all of the major plot points.

Final interview of the season! Editing is often called "the invisible art" but it's very visible. The audience just doesn't always know what they're looking at. Editors make a million choices in how we see, absorb, and feel the movies we love. I was thrilled to sit down with the editor Peter Siberras, who is Oscar nominated for his rich work on Jane Campion's Best Picture nominated future classic The Power of the Dog.

Host, Adrian Pennington interviews Peter Sciberras, editor, “The Power of the Dog”, now streaming on Netflix.

There has been a buzzy discussion among audiences who have seen Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog.” It has to do with the artful, understated ending of the film, which has inspired collective questions of “What just happened?” even from those who paid close attention to the dark, subtle shifts in the plot and the violence buried just under the topsoil of the story’s surface.