Meet Ivanka Lawrence | Film Editor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ivanka Lawrence and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ivanka, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I think about risk as a challenge in everyone’s life or taking an opportunity but sometimes you got to sacrifice something to achieve it. Being brought up in a conservative society, being out of the box, or not following the family tradition was shunned. They would say “Filmmaking, that’s a hobby “,
Risk-taking has been an impact on my life. When I convinced my parents that I want to pursue filmmaking, I had to prove to myself that I could achieve and not let them regret their mistakes. And that was when I got accepted to AFI.
I have never been to LA or America in general, especially going on my own and living alone.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m currently pursuing my master’s as an editing fellow at the American Film institute aspiring to be a film editor in Los Angeles. I have been editing for almost 5 years before coming to LA,

I edited a short for my undergrad called “Anamika” which is a slice of life, coming out, and self-love that I cherish with all my heart
I have been editing teasers and upcoming events for a startup company called OFFBEAT CCU where they promote local artists and promoting short film events.
AFI is my biggest turning point as it helped sharpen and hone my editing skills. Making cycle films was an exercise and a learning experience for me and I feel that I’m learning new things, collaborating with amazing artists and growing to find my identity as an artist.

In terms of technical, I did assist editing projects which helped me learn and solve technical problems.
I also have been honing my skills in sound and music editing which helps edit with rhythm and beat.
I have also been getting an opportunity to work on other school film projects and am excited to get more editing gigs in the near future.
I measure my skills in need of growth, technical and creative.

Despite any momentary setbacks, I am an optimist, determined to learn and succeed as a film editor.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Being in LA for over a year and a half, I tried exploring as much as possible; honestly, LA is a vast city. But my friends or family come to visit me, I would first take them to Kettle Glazed Donuts as they have the best delicious donuts ever. I would say the food in LA is remarkable, whenever we get a short break after class, we would head to Thai town and go to “Crispy Pork Gang” which is open 24 hours. Finding good affordable food places is easy, especially getting to know them from your friends. I always craved sushi but never had it because it was pricey when I found “Sushi Stop”, I never stopped going there most of my nights when I crave it.
Sometimes I do get homesick and crave Indian food, and I would either go to Trader Joe’s ( my favorite market of all time ) and buy their microwave Indian meals which might not be that perfect but gives me happiness.
Now comes the sightseeing or the places I have gone and would recommend if it’s sunny weather, go through Griffith Trail Park. And it’s a must to explore Hollywood Boulevard with its amazing bars and foods.
Despite being here for over a year, I’m still exploring this amazing city.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I know it’s a bit cliche but my family has been nothing but super supportive of me. When I was a kid, my mom was confused about what. I was interested and one day my dad was watching Jurassic Park, and hearing that soundtrack, I crawled and sat next to my dad and was just watching it and that wasn’t it, every night my dad comes home carrying a bag with DVDs that he would buy.
My mom knew that I would stand out and was into watching films. She was the one who pushed me to apply to AFI, we didn’t even research the school and just saw the criteria on what to submit for the application and we did it.
My family did help me pave my own path, to be a unique artist.
During my undergrad, learning every aspect of filmmaking, and watching films in classes I knew I wanted to be a film editor. And making films with my friends helped to motivate me to pursue even more in this path.
After getting accepted in AFI, they have helped me so much, to sharpen my skills in editing and learn every day from my fellows, professors, and editing faculty.
They have helped me grow and given me an identity of who I am .

Website: https://lawrenceivanka.wixsite.com/mysite

Instagram: @ponka_wonka