Sostrin Client Spotlight - Jason Ballantine

Sostrin client Jason Ballantine is a film editor whose editing credits include several Oscar-winning and nominated movies that you just might recognize, including: Mad Max: Fury Road, The Great Gatsby, Happy Feet, Moulin Rouge!, Babe: Pig in the City, and Australia.

“This invisible contribution to a film’s strength is appealing,” Mr. Ballantine says.

As a film’s editor, Mr. Ballantine is a close but silent collaborator with the director, working to refine everything from performances and camera angles to sound design, scoring and visual effects. He has worked with some of the world’s top directors throughout his career, like George Miller, Baz Lurhmann, and George Lucas.

“For me,” he continues, “film editing is the perfect blend of creative and technical storytelling.”

Mr. Ballantine began his career in his native Australia, first experiencing what he calls the “manipulative power of editing” during his university years. Today, he lives in Los Angeles with his wife Bronwyn, an interior designer, and their children.

“To be here is to play ball with the industry’s cream,” he says. “Although I am grateful to have been born Australian, Los Angeles was inevitable in the pursuit of career fulfilment.”

Mr. Ballantine was working on The King’s Man, directed by Matthew Vaughn, the third movie in the Kingsman film series, when the pandemic first began. And although he had to put his career on hold, he explains that he was able to find a silver lining, reassessing some parts of his life and spending more time with his family.  

He notes, “I was grateful to be close to the kids as they homeschooled, sharing all meals with my wife and watching an evening film in bed. I was able to cross off many long-standing personal projects, such as sorting countless years of stockpiled photos and learning to play guitar.”

While catching up on these personal projects, Mr. Ballantine was also able to continue working on films from home, spending much of the pandemic editing Antoine Fuqua’s upcoming thriller The Guilty, which is set to arrive on Netflix.

Currently, he’s working on the DC Comics blockbuster The Flash for Warner Brothers, directed by Andy Muschietti, while looking forward to the release of The King’s Man later this year.

“Films have always been a wonderful escapist pursuit,” he says, because of their ability to stir people’s emotions through “stories from any period, any corner of the planet, or stars.” With his own career as a film editor, Mr. Ballantine has ensured that audiences escape into whole new worlds.

Sostrin Immigration has had the pleasure of working with Mr. Ballantine and his family since 2013, through several O-1 visas, permanent residence, and most recently, U.S. citizenship. We are so proud to have played a role in his journey to Hollywood and very much look forward to seeing his handiwork on the big screen soon!