By Jane Hathaway 10/20/25
Film editing is a sedentary gig, but for those who are willing to put in the long, tedious hours it can be rewarding when they are noted for their personal touch of style that can be seen across projects. Imagine then a film editor whose personal style is that she puts each project first and draws from a wide skill set and the latest technologies to make every film its own experience.
This is the approach of Xueer Cai, a relatively young film and video editor and graduate of the American Film Institute who has nevertheless managed to stand out in a sea of post-production professionals. Hers is the light, resonant, minimalistic touch that leaves space for audiences to pause and reflect, and lends weight to narrative form whether it is a documentary or comedy.
“I think I excel at uncovering the emotional highlights in performances,” says Cai. “I know how to build strong character arcs by amplifying key moments in the footage. And I can work with the director and creative team to ensure that we achieve the desired tone and rhythm envisioned.”
A film editor’s journey
Born in Beijing, Cai’s first love was science. She was a top-level student and competed in physics competitions. She later funneled her academic interests into studies of journalism, communication, and creative media at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where she also studied psychology and other social sciences. This has made her an eager adopter of new technologies, such as AI in film editing software, she says, as well as sensitive to film characters as well as the audiences watching them.
By joining her scientific eye with the latest technologies, Cai learned how to in a thorough and diligent way create the best possible results for a project, and to align them with the overall creative vision.
“I know how to pick up on those subtle microexpressions in vérité-style footage too,” says Cai.
An example of this was her editing of We Are All the Same, a documentary about helping children with autism engage in social and community activities. One boy featured in appeared anxious on camera, and the crew told Cai that had almost no good footage of him. “But after watching all the material, I was able to find every tiny moment where he relaxed, every smile,” she says. “In the final cut, that part with him became the most moving section of the whole film.”
This focus on emotional nuance and human connection is a signature of Cai’s editing work.
‘Something Just Clicked’
Like most of us, Cai found her way to her chosen profession in a zigzagging, wandersome way. She worked for fashion magazines after graduating and also earned her way doing commercial shoots. Some of the clients were high profile indeed — Apple, BMW, Nike — and there were also ventures into documentary work. She worked on Zhu Gang’s documentary on Chinese Opera Painting, which was discussed in almost 500 publications, and the We Are All the Same documentary, which was recognized at the China International Philanthropic Movie Festival.
It was in 2022, toward the end of the COVID-19 Pandemic, that she found herself at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles starting a new chapter in her life. “I was surrounded by narrative film editors and caught the bug,” she remembers. “Something just clicked there.” She adds that the contacts she made at AFI are indispensable and that she continues to work with them. They even whisper among themselves that one day they will remake the film industry.
Working with AFI fellows, she cut a few short films including Francis, Pluto, and Saltado, which showcased her talent. Francis, in particular, was nothing like she had done before. “That project was about family, about restraint,” she says. “The emotions were subtle. My job was to make the conversations feel real — to leave space for the audience to feel something.”
It’s an approach that the award winning editor — she won the DGA Student Film Award Jury Prize in 2024 and her film Pluto was highlighted at the Boston Sci‑Fi and Rhode Island festivals this year — says is informed by her early grounding in science.
“I like to think of myself as someone who’s cool and collected, maybe even too calm, but also very perceptive and emotionally aware,” says Cai.
Ready for everything
The natural trajectory of film editors seems to be onward, toward bigger and higher profile projects. Feature films, television. More eyes, more accolades. However, what Cai really wants to do is invest in her craft.
What she feels sets her apart from most editors is her background as a director, along with extensive experience in production and pre-production. In addition to editing, Cai also has a strong technical foundation in post-production, including graphic design, animation, sound design, color grading, and workflow management.
Because of this diverse skill set, she is able to shape a total vision for the piece, allowing her to communicate well with other post-production departments during the finishing stage.
She also adapts dextrously to different formats, whether they be long-form or short-form, for film, television, or online platforms. For social media or promotional content designed for online distribution, she employs dynamic transitions, rhythmic pacing shifts, music-driven cuts, and startling visual design to garner attention. And in the rapidly growing vertical short drama market, she has also immersed herself in understanding audience preferences and aesthetics.
Her sole wish is to continue.
“I really wish to maintain my passion for editing, to keep advancing my technical skills, and to preserve the sensitivity and creative intuition that allow me to truly connect with the stories I help tell,” says Cai. And as for the projects that await, she stresses that she is ready for everything.
“I’m not confined to any single form of visual storytelling,” says Cai. “I just love to do what I do.”
Learn more about her work at www.findxueer.com.
