Zeb Achonu

EDITORS DON’T GROW ON TREES — Expanding the editorial pool Producers, commissioners, post execs… this one’s for you 👀 There’s a growing feeling across the industry that we need more practical ways for emerging editors to gain high-end documentary editing experience. But stepping up within the edit suite is often near-impossible, particularly for women and gender-diverse people. And we at Stitch n Bitch know that nothing can train you for our job like the job itself. At Sheffield DocFest, we’re bringing together the team behind a Netflix documentary production that put this idea into practice; training a junior editor to edit within a high-end production, with all the usual pressures around budgets, schedules and delivery still in place. We are hosting an honest discussion about the pros, the cons and what other productions could gain from following suit. With Peter Beard (Story Films), Tom Dixon-Spain (Editor) and Acelya Kancelik (Emerging Editor) Moderated by Zeb Achonu (Editor and Consultant) Presented by StitchNBitch Editors Collective ✂️ 📍 Friday, 12th June at 2:30pm 📍 The Workstation, Creative Lounge, Sheffield

#sheffielddocfest #documentary #filmmaker #editing

EDIT FAM!! You know what day it is? It's PICTURE LOCK FRIDAY!!!! There was of course a picture lock outfit. In fact there were a few picture lock outfits over the last week or so because there were a few "soft" locks on the way to the end, as is common these days. I've had so much fun with a very skilled team. Updates to follow but for now, we celebrate.💃🏽 Enjoy a glorious sunny weekend my loves. ☀️ #editorlife #documentary # womeninpost

Still taking it all in… but you’re now looking at an RTS award-winning producer-director 🥹 And an award-winning production company, @storytellher.studios . And a very, very proud daughter. This one hits differently. It happened at home in Southampton on Friday night. On my home turf. In a place that holds more meaning than I can even fully put into words right now. Surrounded by the very industry, networks, and people I’ve been moving through for the past two decades. It might be my television documentary debut… but this has been a long time in the making. And I am absolutely chuffed. Thank you to @royaltelevisionsociety for this. For recognising Saving Mum. For holding it alongside such powerful, beautiful documentaries. It means more than you know. Thank you judges for saying it was “A film made with sensitivity and respect. Brave, honest and utterly compelling.” Because making work like this isn’t easy. Choosing nuance, truth, and emotional honesty, especially in a system that can often reward what’s familiar, safe, and predictable… it asks a lot of you. So I really want to shout out the people who believed in me, believed in this story, and backed it with their time, energy, care, and resources. I wouldn’t be standing here without you. Truly. My amazing team @dancingledge @channel4 @onsight_ukltd and all the incredible creatives that supported from the start. This belongs to all of us. What made it even more special… I grew up 10 minutes from the venue, the Hilton at the Utilita Bowl. I used to come here with my dad to watch cricket. And so much of this film was shot in these same streets, these same spaces, holding memories that are woven into the documentary itself. To stand there, in that place, and receive this… it felt like a full circle moment. A real homecoming. A moment of light. And beyond all of that, this matters for something bigger. For South Asian filmmakers. For those of us who have stories that don’t always fit neatly into boxes. Who are trying to tell things with depth, with care, with cultural truth. There is space for us. There is value in our stories. And there is power in telling them our way. 🏆

✨Had a wonderful night at the @royaltelevisionsociety Southern Awards where Saving Mum was awarded best single doc. So honoured to have edited this one, and so proud of director @maleenapone , her mum Jas, and the incredibly supportive teams at @storytellher.studios and @dancingledge , Exec @fatimasalaria , Assistant editor @deniz_kavalali , and the team at @onsight_ukltd . ✨🥂✨🥂✨🥂✨ Even fit in a stroll through the woods, an audience with Bali and a visit to the "set". ❤️ Saving Mum: Our Family Secret is available to view on Channel 4 and youtube.

I've been kept busy on this since the start of 2026. A fascinating insight into the conversations and decisions that happened a decade ago to bring the UK to where it is now. Can't wait to share it with you all. 10 years! Can you believe it?! #editorlife #documentary #Avid #politics #Brexit

New Voice Awards last night with the Saving Mum team (L-R : DoP Daniel Trapp, Editor me, Exec Producer Fatima Salaria, Director @maleenapone , who was a very deserving nominee for best debut director) Mark Wynter (@mewynnie1 ) gave the most brilliant talk about his career, reminding us why it's so important to have people like him who genuinely care and have real lived experience to share in the industry. Olaide Sadiq, winner of best debut director for her incredible work on Grenfell. Bella Roberts also gave a wonderful speech on accepting her award, reminding us how we can make our work places more accessible and welcome in a wider range of voices. As always I was busy having fun and not taking many pics but it was great to chat to so many inspiring winners, nominees and collaborators, new voices and older voices. ❤️

Mission Motherland, coming to your screens from Tuesday 20th Jan. Alesha Dixon episode directed by @alexthomasfilms and edited by me ✨

Saving Mum: Our Family Secret. TONIGHT on Channel 4, 11.10pm. Or catch up on 4+. Proud to have edited this film for the visionary herself @maleenapone , produced by @fatimasalaria , with the assistance of editor @deniz_kavalali , for @storytellherstudios and @dancingledge , commissioned by @rita_daniels_ for @channel4 First Cuts. It's such an honour to be invited into someone's life, family and secrets through their archive and honest conversations. Thank you Maleena for trusting me with this process. I'm looking forward to sharing this with the world, and hopefully encouraging more conversations through the power of film. Love, love and love to all.

Yet another fantastic @wftv_uk Awards, celebrating women working in the film and TV industry, sisterhood, talent and pure loud, high pitched JOY! Always a highlight of my year. Thanks to Katie and the increable team for doing it all so brilliantly again!

In two weeks’ time (10th December), Saving Mum: Our Family Secret will air on Channel 4 at 11:10PM. Directed by the visionary herself, @maleenapone and edited by me. ✨ Saving Mum: Our Family Secret is a bold and deeply personal documentary from British South Asian filmmaker Maleena Pone, commissioned as part of Channel 4’s First Cut strand. The film follows Pone as she tries to repair her complicated relationship with her mother, Jasbir, and confront the legacy of silence, grief, and alcoholism that has shaped their family. Filmed across the UK and Costa Rica, it charts an unfiltered journey through love, resentment, and recovery. At the centre of the story is an Ayahuasca ceremony that becomes a catalyst for honesty and change. What begins as a desperate attempt to reconnect turns into a raw emotional reckoning - forcing both women to face painful truths and see each other beyond the labels of “mother” and “daughter.” Told through years of personal footage, photos, and diaries, Saving Mum: Our Family Secret captures a side of British Punjabi family life rarely seen on screen. It’s about what happens when old wounds are finally opened and healing begins in public view. Credits 🎬 Filmed, Produced & Directed by @maleenapone Edited by @zebeditor Executive Produced by Fatima Salaria, Laurence Bowen and Chris Carey Director of Photography- Daniel Trapp Assistant editor - @deniz_kavalali @storytellher.studios @dancingledge OnSight Credits Head of Documentary – Julia Veidt Senior Post Producer – Jade Townsend Sound Supervisor – Andy Coles Senior Colourist – @colour_by_emily Online Editor – Andrew Fisun Senior Edit Assistant – Alfie Mitchell

Funtimes were had AT THE Young BAFTA Showcase yesterday. Gaming, colouring, presenting, prizes.. Many fabulous prizes. 😊