After This Death: Editor Kali Kahn on Crafting Lucio Castro’s Nonlinear Love Story in Premiere Pro

When Elliot suddenly disappears after a dangerous dance of longing and attraction, Isabel must face the haunting aftershocks of vanished love. That’s the core of “After This Death,” a film edited by Kali Kahn in Adobe Premiere Pro, where the Essential Sound Panel became indispensable in shaping the movie’s distinctive tone.

Kahn, who first taught herself to edit in 2018 by cutting her own shorts and those of friends, describes Premiere Pro as the “NLE system of the people” for its intuitive workflow and flexibility. For this project with director Lucio Castro, she approached editing by re-reading the script multiple times, then jotting down 60 pages of first impressions while screening the raw footage. That document became a touchstone whenever she felt lost in the process.

One standout sequence for Kahn is the green room reunion scene between Isabel and Elliot. With vivid production design, magnetic performances, and layered sound, the scene demanded precision. “It’s easy for a scene like that to devolve into chaos,” Kahn said, crediting sound design and her collaboration with consulting editor Julia Bloch (who cut Green Room) for guiding the audience’s focus.

The film’s nonlinear script posed additional challenges. Kahn and Castro experimented with multiple structures before settling on a linear cut. Using Premiere Pro’s drag-and-drop workflow, they created digital “animatics” as test storyboards, which allowed for flexible trial and error.

Sound was particularly crucial. “Sound can either save or kill a scene,” Kahn explained. With drop-down presets and the Essential Sound Panel, she was able to blend original band music, score, and natural ambiences into a sonic palette that gave the film its arthouse-thriller hybrid feel.

Citing editing legend Joe Bini as her inspiration, Kahn recalled his advice to “long for a reunion with ideas.” For her, editing means staying curious and allowing the film to reveal what it wants to be, rather than forcing a preconceived structure.

With its textured mix of nonlinear storytelling, sound-driven atmosphere, and emotional intimacy, After This Death stands as a testament to how editing can shape not just narrative, but the very soul of a film