American Cinema Editors (ACE) is proud to announce that two-time Oscar winning filmmaker Ang Lee will be receiving the ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year award at the 76th Annual ACE Eddie Awards taking place Friday, February 27, 2026 at UCLA’s Royce Hall, where winners will also be announced in 14 competitive categories recognizing the best film editing achievements of the year in film and television. Kim Larson, Managing Director and Head of YouTube’s Creator and Gaming team, will be accepting YouTube’s previously announced ACE Visionary Award, and Emmy winning editor/director Arthur Forney, ACE, and Oscar nominated editor Robert Leighton will receive ACE Career Achievement awards.

Lee joins an impressive group of Golden Eddie award recipients including Jon M. Chu, John Waters, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino, Kathleen Kennedy, Christopher Nolan, Lauren Shuler Donner, Guillermo del Toro, Steven Spielberg, Vince Gilligan, Alexander Payne, J.J. Abrams, Nancy Meyers, Martin Scorsese, Norman Jewison, Robert Zemeckis, George Lucas, and the Sundance Institute, among others.

“Ang Lee’s exploration of our most closely held emotions has ignited an international passion for cinema for over 30 years”, said ACE president, Sabrina Plisco, ACE. “The breadth of his filmography is unparalleled, ranging from the intimate and boundary-breaking romance of Brokeback Mountain, to the epic drama of ‘Life of Pi’ and ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,’ to even the pre-MCU Marvel film ‘Hulk’.”

This year’s ACE Visionary Award recognizes Larson and YouTube’s profound impact on visual storytelling as a whole, the importance of digital content and spaces in the evolving media landscape, and ACE’s ongoing work to support creatives of all kinds across both traditional and digital spaces. The recognition is given in the spirit of previous honors bestowed upon pioneering companies such as Avid, and celebrates YouTube and Kim’s role in empowering a global generation of visual storytellers.

“Kim Larson was the natural choice to represent YouTube in our inaugural year recognizing creator content,” Plisco went on to say. “She has played a key role in the growth of digital entertainment, supports creators at the highest level, and helps elevate independent voices shaping modern storytelling.

“This year’s Career Achievement Award honorees are equally exemplary,” Plisco noted. “Arthur Forney, ACE, was the backbone of post-production at Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment for more than 30 years, overseeing landmark series including ‘Law & Order.’ Robert Leighton shepherded the editing room for American icon Rob Reiner across 15 films – including ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ ‘A Few Good Men,’ and ‘This is Spinal Tap’ – shaping some of the most enduring works in modern cinema.”

Past recipients of the ACE Career Achievement Award are some of the best and most beloved editors in the industry, including Maysie Hoy, ACE, Paul Hirsch, ACE, Lynne Willingham, ACE, Don Zimmerman, ACE, Lillian Benson, ACE, Richard Chew, ACE, Alan Heim, ACE, Tina Hirsch, ACE, Thelma Schoonmaker, ACE, Janet Ashikaga, ACE, Craig McKay, ACE, Jerrold L. Ludwig, ACE, Mark Goldblatt, ACE, and Leon Ortiz-Gil, ACE, among many others.

Nominations for the 76th Annual ACE Eddie Awards will be announced January 27.

About American Cinema Editors
American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society that has been championing the art, craft and business of film editing since 1950. Through signature events like EditFest Global, the ACE Eddie Awards and Invisible Art/Visible Artists, the organization celebrates the vital role of editors in storytelling and provides a dynamic global platform to illuminate the craft. ACE is committed to elevating the profile of film editing, fostering a diverse and inclusive community and educating future generations through a variety of active mentorship and scholarship programs. Through its programs, publications (CinemaEditor), podcasts (Editors on Editing, Global Editing Perspectives) and active educational activities, this collective of accomplished film editors is at the forefront of both preserving cinematic history while simultaneously preparing the next generation of film editors in a continuously evolving artistic climate.