Jeff Boyette

Weight of the State(2022) Serving 15 years in prison for a non-violent drug offense, Ryan Troxler embodies everything that advocates want to change about Kentucky’s persistent felony offender statute. Weight Of The State, a 15 minute documentary, is part of an ITVS series that examines the impact of the criminal justice system in localities around the country. After spending time with Troxler's loved ones, Emmy-award winning director Marlon Johnson decided to focus this story on the hole left behind in Troxler's absence. This was my second time working with Johnson. In this excerpt you meet his family and hear from his ex-girlfriend and Troxler himself about how the opioid crisis led to his arrest.

The Secret Song(2022) Doug Goodkin, a much-beloved music teacher prepares to retire after forty-five transformative years educating children in San Francisco, but the pandemic abruptly upends the school year, spurring a deeper inquiry into the meaning of music itself in our lives, schools, and communities. After receiving a warm reception at festivals around world The Secret Song was released on PBS in 2024. The film won the Marion Herrman Excellence in Filmmaking at the Sedona International Film Festival and was listed as one of the top 10 films to see at the Cinequest film festival. Here you see one the film’s establishing scenes showing Goodkin’s engaging teaching style.

River City Drumbeat(2019) “Uplifting and immersive“ according to Salon and “an edifying story of rhythm, passion, and rites of passage” according to Film Threat. For 30 years, the indefatigable Ed “Nardie” White offered a path to empowerment for African-American youth in Louisville, KY through his River City Drum Corps. With retirement approaching, White must train his successor, Albert Shumake, a first generation Drum Corps alum. River City Drumbeat made its debut at Doc NYC in 2019 then went on to a successful virtual theatrical and festival run in 2020. It was a New York Times Critics pick and was one of Common Sense Media’s 20 Best Family Movies of the Year. It was a true honor to edit this film with directors Marlon Johnson and Anne Flatté. Here you see an excerpt from the film’s opening.

A Message From E.O. Wilson (2021) In this short film the renowned entomologist, E.O. Wilson joins a group of citizen naturalists for a "bio blitz" aimed at cataloguing biodiversity in the Walden Woods. Wilson, who has since passed away, engages viewers in the wonders of the natural world and appeals for a collective effort to preserve global bio-diversity. Jill Tidman of The Redford Center directed this film for the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation. This was one of many projects I've edited for The Redford Center.

Not Without Us(2016) Here are three excerpts from Not Without Us, a feature documentary that follows seven activists from around the world as they head to Paris for the 21st session of the U.N. Climate Change Conference, or COP 21. When director Mark Decena of Kontent Films returned from COP 21 in December of 2015 he asked me if I could cut the film in time for an April premiere. Always up for a challenge, I said yes. Less than four months later the film premiered at the 2016 San Francisco Green Film Festival. It can now be streamed on Amazon. I was the film's editor and post-supervisor.

Playing for Keeps(2020) If you ever needed an excuse to work less and play more, here it is. In today’s hyper-active, productivity driven society most adults have little time to simply enjoy themselves. The results aren’t pretty. Playing for Keeps shows by example the joys of downtime through the experience of several formerly play-starved and now playful adults. In this excerpt David Miles Jr. describes his journey to becoming “The Godfather of Skate”. Needless to say, it was a joy to edit this feel-good doc with director, James Redford. Despite pandemic barriers the film has had a successful(and ongoing) virtual festival run starting in the fall of 2020.

Symphony for Nature(2018) This half hour documentary captures the world premiere of “Natural History,” an original composition inspired by and performed at Oregon’s breathtaking Crater Lake. More than a performance the event had the effect of an art installation, enveloping the audience in the natural world and mingling music with the natural soundscape. It was a treat to experience the event vicariously as the film’s editor, working alongside director Anne Flatté. The film was broadcast on PBS stations nationally, garnering two regional Emmy Nominations and has played in numerous film festivals. Here you see the film's trailer.

My Morning Jacket on Boing Boing(2011) When My Morning Jacket descended on Oakland's historic Fox Theater for an epic performance in support of their album, Circuital, director Scott Compton hit the scene. The result: this 21 minute interview/live performance/rock-doc hybrid. The film debuted on Boing Boing Video. This was the first video that I cut entirely on Adobe Premiere Pro. Premiere Pro has since become my editing platform of choice.

Music is Alive(2015) Teddy Abrams gathers world-class musicians including folk songstress Aoife O’Donovan, classical musicians, bluegrass artists and a maraca virtuoso for an experimental festival at Fairchild Garden in Miami, Florida. Here, the artists “embrace the chaos” as they workshop and perform pieces that defy musical labels.This is one of two episodes that I cut for the PBS Arts web series Music Makes a City Now for director Anne Flatté and executive producer Owsley Brown.

New World SymphonyIn this episode of PBS Arts' web series Music Makes a City Now conductor Teddy Abrams returns to his alma mater in Miami to guest conduct a concert at the state-of-the-art New World Center. This is one of two episodes in the series that I cut for director Anne Flatté and Executive Producer Owsley Brown. See the whole series here: www.musicmakesacity.com

Strings in the Temple(2015) When Chuck Prophet considered re-releasing his record, Temple Beautiful, he thought "maybe we'll re-imagine it with strings." And so he enlisted an 8 piece string section to join him in a live performance of the album. Prophet also enlisted director Darrel Flowers to capture the event. Flowers orchestrated an 8 camera shoot of the concert and then brought the footage to me for editorial and color correction. The resultant hour long film includes the full performance plus interstitial scenes from rehearsals. It won a Van Gogh Award for documentary directing at the 2015 Amsterdam International Film Festival. Here you see the film's trailer which I also cut.

Watershed(2012) During the final weeks of post-production on director Mark Decena's Watershed: Exploring A New Water Ethic For The New West I worked as additional editor on this feature length documentary. Since its release the film has played in festivals and community screenings across the country and around the world. I also cut the film's official trailer that you see here.

Where We Live(2011) A short documentary that I edited with director Mark Decena of Kontent Films, Where We Live recounts the 2010 "fight to defeat the dirty energy proposition," a.k.a. the No on Proposition 23 campaign in California. This historic electoral battle showed the impact that grass-roots community organizations can have in combating climate change.