The Oscar-tipped editing of a ‘political thriller’

As a young boy, film editor Nick Emerson’s fascination with 1970s American political thrillers, and watching the unfolding peace talks in Northern Ireland, set him on a path that would lead to him working on one of the most acclaimed films of last year.

Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini, is leading this year’s Bafta nominations, receiving nods in 12 categories, including Best Editing.

The film is also thought to be a strong contender for the best picture award at next month’s Oscars, and several of its stars, and Emerson, could also be in contention for individual prizes.

Growing up in Lisburn, County Antrim, Emerson told BBC News NI that the talks which brought about the Good Friday Agreement gave him an appetite for this depiction of the election of a new pope, and the skills to put it together.

“Working in the BBC newsroom at the start of my career was a really exciting place to be,” he said.

“There were a lot of peace talks and a lot of news.”

He describes Conclave – which follows a gossipy and scheming group of cardinals as they select the new Pope – in similar terms.

“It’s essentially about the political machinations that go on… people with competing interests and competing ideologies.”

Emerson moved through the media industry, inspired by his experience in the BBC Newsroom in Belfast.

“I found myself doing factual TV and now feature films. Its the process, that’s the joy of it for me.”

Conclave opens with the death of the Pope, prompting cardinals to gather in Rome to select a new head of the Catholic Church.

But it comes with all the skullduggery, wheeling and dealing, and conspiracy one would expect, as the frontrunners try to improve their chances of becoming the Vicar of Christ.

Emerson was in his editing suite working on upcoming projects when the Bafta nominations were announced.

“We watched the live stream. And we were just jumping up and down, screaming,” he said.

The film is an adaptation of the Robert Harris novel, published in 2016, in which faith and ambition collide in the heart of the Vatican.

It’s not the first time a papal conclave has been depicted on screen, and though the real world process is shrouded in mystery, there has been a number of notable attempts to dramatise what goes on.

Emerson told BBC News that he and Edward Berger – the acclaimed German-Austrian film-maker whose 2022 adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front was nominated for nine Academy Awards – aspired to make something that would replicate the 70s thrillers they grew up on.

“Edward and I are big fans of films like All The President’s Men and we both thought: ‘Wouldn’t it be great to aspire to something like that?’

“The action is people behind closed doors, scheming,” he said.

“Conclave follows one man, the dean of the College of Cardinals, who is charged with organising the Papal Conclave – the process of bringing all the cardinals into the Sistine Chapel as their sequestered and go about the process of voting for the next Pope.

“He’s having a personal crisis of faith as he does this,” Emerson said.

Emerson and Berger’s Conclave has pacing and visual storytelling that have been lauded for the way they create suspense and intrigue, as the camera often holds on a subject slightly longer than expected.

Emerson said: “In our approach Edward was really keen to push boundaries on how long we could hold shots and maintain rigger but also keep an eye on the pace.

“We were aware that its people talking for a couple of hours so we had to keep it moving like a political thriller,” he added.