Meet Marco Rosas: 2026 Sally Menke Memorial Editing Fellow and Editor of Sender

Marco Rosas has been named the 2026 Sally Menke Memorial Editing Fellow by the Sundance Institute. The Los Angeles-based editor, known for his work on Sender and Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, will receive a yearlong mentorship and participate in the summer Directors Lab to collaborate with emerging filmmakers, according to sundance.org.

Menke also served as a creative advisor at the Sundance Institute Directors Lab. The program selects one fellow each spring to work with two directors to workshop, shoot, and edit scenes in a collaborative environment.

Rosas recently completed his time as an editor at this summer’s Directors Lab in Estes Park, Colorado, which ran from June 9 to June 24. During this period, he was paired with directors Roberto Fatal and George Watsky. Rosas stated in an interview with sundance.org that he focused on helping the directors trust their instincts and prioritize performance and emotion over technical editing concerns during the shoot.

Collaborative Process at the Sundance Directors Lab

The Sundance Institute structured the lab to include one-on-one meetings between editors and directors before they start rehearsing and shooting. Rosas used these sessions to establish a shared emotional language for the scenes. He also attended rehearsals and visited the set to observe blocking, a practice he noted is uncommon for film editors.

Rosas highlighted a six-hour workshop led by creative advisor Gyula Gazdag as a significant point of professional growth. Gazdag’s instruction on how directors approach emotional beats and cinematic tools helped Rosas articulate the instinct-based nature of his editing process to the directors he supports.

The fellowship also provided Rosas with a connection to Menke’s legacy. He met Dean Parisot, Menke’s husband, who discussed how Menke championed independent filmmakers and returned to the labs as an advisor for several years.

Career Background and Upcoming Projects

Rosas’s portfolio includes work on An Almost Successful Dating App Love Story (2025 Sundance Film Festival), Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (HBO), and Sender (2026 SXSW), starring Britt Lower and Jamie Lee Curtis. He has a history of working with first-time directors, a preference he cited during his application process for the fellowship.

Beyond the fellowship, Rosas is currently editing his second feature film, Strange But Perfect. It’s a comedy-drama. He is also in the process of selecting a mentor as part of the yearlong requirements of the Sally Menke cohort.

Past fellows have included Daysha Broadway (Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody), Troy Lewis (Daughters), and Debbie Berman (Black Panther).

I just try to be the best version of myself as an editor. So, it’s not necessarily about a certain editor I look up to or a genre I want to work in. It’s more about the directors I really want to work with. I always want to know — who are the new directors?

Marco Rosas via sundance.org