ACE Holiday Party 2020

February 14, 2021

“We can still do what we love to do more than anything at the annual party – mingle with other ACE members,” said outgoing ACE president Stephen Rivkin, ACE, as he kicked off the annual ACE Holiday Party, which this year was held as a virtual event on the afternoon of Dec. 5. “Remember, it’s evening in the U.K. and France.”

During his remarks, he introduced new ACE president Kevin Tent, ACE. Rivkin, who has served as president since 2016 and had reached his term limit, told members that it had been “an honor and a privilege” to lead the society. “I promise to do my best,” said Tent, who was elected to a two-year term. Acknowledging that it’s a difficult time, he urged members to “keep an eye on each other. Please keep in touch and talk to each other. It’s healthy for us as individuals and our organization.” He also encouraged member to get involved and introduced the “rock star editors” elected to this year’s Board.

These include Lillian Benson, ACE, who was re-elected as Secretary; Anita Brandt-Burgoyne, ACE; Dorian Harris, ACE; Sabrina Plisco, ACE; Tatiana S. Riegel, ACE; Andrew Seklir, ACE; and Rivkin, alongside Associate Board Members Mark Helfrich, ACE; Michael Ornstein, ACE; Terilyn Shropshire, ACE; and Troy Takaki, ACE. They join the existing Board of Vice President Carol Littleton, ACE; Treasurer Stephen Lovejoy, ACE; Jaqueline Cambas, ACE; Maysie Hoy, ACE; Bonnie Koehler, ACE; and Mary Jo Markey, ACE.

Helping everyone to feel more connected, a presentation during the holiday party featured members from around the globe, sending holiday wishes as well as sharing new hobbies or other reflections on 2020. Among them, Yang Jinmo, ACE, from Seoul; Job ter Burg, ACE, in Amsterdam; Pia Di Ciaula,

ACE, in the U.K.; Lee Smith, ACE, in Sydney; and Debbie Berman, ACE, Melissa McCoy and Stephanie Neroes, ACE, in Los Angeles. The program also included a performance of holiday classics by The Jeff Diskill Trio, which was accompanied by a montage of photos from past ACE Holiday Parties and Eddie Awards ceremonies. There was time to mingle, both one on one and in small groups. And a trivia contest was held, with winner Esther Sokolow receiving tickets for the ACE Eddie Awards.

Additional prizes were awarded during the annual raffle. Debbie Berman, ACE, won a one-year subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, courtesy of Adobe; Amelia Allwarden won a oneyear subscription to Media Composer Ultimate, courtesy of Avid; Nicole Brik grabbed a Blackmagic Speed Editor bundle package, including DaVinci Resolve Studio 17, courtesy of Blackmagic Design. Amy Duddleston, ACE, claimed a G-Tech 2TB G-Drive, courtesy of Filmtools; James M. Martin collected a Gold Package to the NAB Amplify™ platform and a conference pass of choice to the 2021 NAB Show taking place in October, courtesy of NAB; and Adam Bedford received a one-month ClearView Flex Pro package worth $3130, courtesy of Sohonet. Thank you to all of the businesses that donated prizes

In lieu of ACE’s annual toy drive, members were asked to consider a donation to Comp-U-Dopt, EveryoneOn, Spark of Love or Toys for Tots.


A film editor for nearly 30 years, Kevin Tent, is best known for his longtime collaboration with director Alexander Payne. Their first project together was Payne’s Sundance hit, Citizen Ruth, starring Laura Dern, followed by the critically-acclaimed hit Election starring Reese Witherspoon (for which Tent earned his first ACE Eddie Award nomination).

Tent received his second ACE nomination for About Schmidt starring Jack Nicholson and his third for Sideways starring Thomas Haden Church, Paul Giamatti, Sandra Oh and Virginia Madsen. In 2011 Tent won an ACE Eddie Award and earned an Academy Award® nomination for his editing on The Descendants, starring George Clooney. He was also nominated for an ACE award for his work on Nebraska in 2014 and worked with Payne on his most recent film, Downsizing, starring Matt Damon.

After attending Los Angeles City College’s film school, Tent got his first break working for legendary producer Roger Corman cutting films like Emmanuelle 5 and Not of This Earth. While continuing to hone his skills in the throes of B-movies, Tent also tapped into the emerging U.S. independent film movement cutting the underground hit Guncrazy directed by Tamra Davis and Payne’s Citizen Ruth.

Some of Tent’s other credits include Blow, the late Ted Demme’s drug epic starring Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz; James Mangold’s Girl, Interrupted starring Winona\ Ryder and Angelina Jolie; and Parched from director Leena Yadav. More recent credits include the heartwarming hit The Peanut Butter Falcon starring Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson and Zack Gottsagen.

Tent has also collaborated on several projects with director Barry Sonnenfeld, has worked with Nancy Meyers, and edited Martin Scorsese’s short film The Audition. He’s a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

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