Aaron I. Butler is an American film and television editor and producer. Butler graduated from

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...

and began his career working with two-time

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

-nominated director Bill Jersey at the Saul Zaentz Film Center in Berkeley. His first broadcast editor credit was Learning To Fly (1999) which won gold medals at the U.S. International Film Festival and the New York Festivals. He also edited on the documentary series The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow (2002). The series won a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

and the

IDA Award International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...

for Best Limited Series and was nominated for three News and Documentary Emmys. Butler moved to Los Angeles where he edited the

Sundance Channel Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV, formerly known as Sundance Channel (United States). * Sundance Channel (Canada) * Sundance Channel (Netherlands) * Sundance Channel (Europe) * Sundance Channel (Iberia) * Sundance Channel (Asia) * Sunda ...

documentary series Pleasure for Sale (2008), followed by the final season

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

Taxicab Confessions ''Taxicab Confessions'' is a television series of hidden camera documentaries that aired on HBO from 1995 through 2006. When passengers enter the cab, they are recorded with several small cameras hidden in the taxi. The producer prompts passeng ...

(2010). He then edited and produced the HBO documentary American Winter (2013) and was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy and an ACE Eddie Award for it. J. Butler then edited on the Showtime documentary series ''

Time of Death ''Time of Death'' is a 2013 American documentary television series. It airs on the premium cable station Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1 ...

'' (2013) which won Best Limited Series at the IDA Awards and the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...

documentary '' L Word Mississippi: Hate the Sin'' (2014) which won Outstanding Documentary at the GLAAD Media Awards. He also edited the final episode of ''The Sixties'' (2014) which was nominated for Best Limited Series at the IDA Awards. Butler began editing features starting with ''

I Am Michael ''I Am Michael'' is a 2015 American biographical drama film written and directed by Justin Kelly. Based on the journalist Benoit Denizet-Lewis' ''New York Times Magazine'' article "My Ex-Gay Friend", the film stars James Franco, Zachary Quinto, ...

'' (2015) which was executive produced by Gus Van Sant and premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

. ''I Am Michael'' was nominated for Best First Feature at the Berlinale International Film Festival. The next feature he edited was In Dubious Battle (2016) directed by

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider- ...

. It premiered at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

and won the Fondazione Mimmo Rotella Award. Next Butler produced the documentary feature Out of Iraq (2016). He then edited and produced the theatrical documentary feature

Cries From Syria ''Cries from Syria'' is a 2017 documentary film about the Syrian Civil War, directed by Evgeny Afineevsky, and acquired by HBO. It contains video shot by Syrians with and interviews with guerilla fighters, activists, journalists, defected military ...

(2017) with

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

nominated director

Evgeny Afineevsky Evgeny Mikhailovich Afineevsky (Russian: Евгений Михайлович Афинеевский; born October 21, 1972) is an Israeli-American film director, producer and cinematographer. He has an Academy Award nomination and Emmy ...

. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and aired on HBO. Butler won the Peter Jennings Award from the Overseas Press Club, and was nominated for an ACE Eddie Award, a PGA Award, and two News and Documentary Emmy Awards for his work on Cries From Syria. Butler's latest feature is ''

JT Leroy Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy, or simply JT LeRoy is a literary persona created in the 1990s by American writer Laura Albert. LeRoy was presented as the author of three books of fiction, which were purportedly semi-autobiographical accounts by a te ...

'' (2018). The film was written and directed by Justin Kelly and stars

Laura Dern Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born to actor Bruce Dern and ac ...

Kristen Stewart Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2012, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a César Award, in addition to nominations for an Ac ...

, and

Diane Kruger Diane Kruger ( Heidkrüger; ; born 15 July 1976) is a German and American actress. Early in her career, Kruger gained worldwide recognition and received the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival. Kruger became known for her roles in ...

. Butler is a member of the

American Cinema Editors Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the post-nominal ...

and is represented by

the Gersh Agency The Gersh Agency (also known as simply Gersh) is a talent and literary agency established in 1949 by Phil Gersh, based in Beverly Hills, California and New York City. The Gersh Agency is the fourth largest talent agency in the United States. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Aaron I. Living people University of California, Berkeley alumni Year of birth missing (living people) American film producers Primetime Emmy Award winners