Meet the Jury

At VLAFF, our juries are made up of filmmakers, artists, and cultural leaders who bring diverse perspectives and a deep love of cinema to the table. Each year, our jurors select standout films and honour exceptional voices in Latin American storytelling.

Alejandra Sofia.

Alejandra Sofia

Ana Paola Gutierrez Heredia.

Ana Paola Gutierrez Heredia

Ariadna Alvarado.

Ariadna Alvarado

Asu Raquel Richard Perrier.

Asu Raquel Richard Perrier

Ava Albaisa.

Ava Albaisa

Beatriz Jurkewicz.

Beatriz Jurkewicz

Fernando Vargas.

Fernando Vargas

Garbi Gomez.

Garbi Gomez

Juan Mendez.

Juan Mendez

Lavanda Mendez Ruvalcaba.

Lavanda Mendez Ruvalcaba

Lukas Troni Brien.

Lukas Troni Brien

Lyst Evelyn.

Lyst Evelyn

Maria Monaco de Oliveira

Maria Monaco de Oliveira

MARIANA GARCÍA OSPINA.

MARIANA GARCÍA OSPINA

Mikel Alberto Estrada Pinera.

Mikel Alberto Estrada Pinera

Santiago Hardie

Santiago Hardie

Sofia Treminio

Sofia Treminio

Valeria Renteria,

Valeria Renteria

Kendra Garcia

Kendra Garcia

Mayra Hermosillo.

MAYRA HERMOSILLO

Cecilia Kang.

CECILIA KANG

oscar ruiz navia

OSCAR RUIZ NAVIA

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Alejandra Sofia.

Alejandra Sofia

Alejandra Sofia is a Venezuelan-Canadian actress/choreographer and a recent graduate from the Acting for Stage and Screen program at Capilano University. Growing up with Western media, she never felt accurately represented on TV. Alejandra hopes to change this and be the representation she longed for as a young girl.

Ana Paola Gutierrez Heredia.

Ana Paola Gutierrez Heredia

I’m a Mexican historian, filmmaker, and holder of a Master’s in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. I have directed and produced movies for festivals like Run and Gun; my passion unites romance, history, and feminism. Leveraging creativity, I aim to inspire Latin American filmmakers and champion powerful, inclusive storytelling in the cinematic world.

Ariadna Alvarado.

Ariadna Alvarado

Ariadna Alvarado is a mixed media artist and communications specialist passionate about cultural storytelling and directing music videos. She founded Tertulia, a Spanish-language book club in Calgary, served as Community Manager for CLAFF’s first edition and is thrilled to be joining VLAFF this year!

Asu Raquel Richard Perrier.

Asu Raquel Richard Perrier

I’m Asu, Chilean, born in 2005. My parents are Canadian. I moved to Canada at 13. I spent my childhood writing stories and shooting “movies” with my plushes. Then, as a teenager, a highschool film class fueled my passion for film. I recently attended VFS, and made a short film.

Ava Albaisa.

Ava Albaisa

Ava Albaisa is a theatre artist from San Diego, California. She graduated from UBC’s Acting
program in 2026, and has taken a special interest in Latin-American adaptations of Greek
theatre. Through performance, Ava hopes to examine the relationships humans have to
themselves, one another, and the spaces we occupy.

Beatriz Jurkewicz.

Beatriz Jurkewicz

Beatriz is a Brazilian circus artist and film researcher. Her MA thesis explores cultural
memory, anti-colonial perspectives, and visual experimentation in cinema. After more than
three years in Vancouver’s film industry camera department, she now edits music-focused
content. Outside of work, she practices Capoeira and plays bass guitar.

Fernando Vargas.

Fernando Vargas

Fernando Vargas is an emerging scholar from Mexico with an interest in film festival curation and organization. He recently graduated from the University of British Columbia with an MA in Cinema and Media Studies. His research specializes in 1970s queer film and pornography, questioning its depictions of hyper-masculine desire.

Garbi Gomez.

Garbi Gomez

I am a Mexican filmmaker and writer who believes in the power of storytelling to connect people and share different perspectives. I studied filmmaking at Vancouver Film School and am currently majoring in Creative Writing. I love discovering stories that explore identity, culture and the complexity of human experiences, and I am excited to be part of the VLAFF Youth Jury.

Juan Mendez.

Juan Mendez

Juan Mendez is a Colombian sound design student and Visual Media graduate who is passionate about film and the relationship between sound and storytelling. Having grown up watching films, he values works that use sound intentionally and treat it as an essential element of the cinematic experience.

Lavanda Mendez Ruvalcaba.

Lavanda Mendez Ruvalcaba

Lavanda Mendez Ruvalcaba (they/she), is a writer, poet, creative, scholar-in-training &
spiritual practitioner. Lavanda centers her work around personal & collective transformation
through death & ancestral memory. She is currently finishing her BA in the Study of Religion
& Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. They are the daughter of Mexican
immigrants hailing from what is now colonially known as Saltillo, Puebla, & Mexico City.

Lukas Troni Brien.

Lukas Troni Brien

Lukas Troni Brien is a Chilean organizer based in Vancouver, where he co-runs Ritmos Climáticos, a youth-led arts and climate justice collective. He studied Geography at UBC, works across Spanish, English, and Portuguese, and has loved Latin American cinema for as long as he can remember.

Lyst Evelyn.

Lyst Evelyn

Lyst Evelyn is a Colombian 3D modeler specializing in animation and video games. Living in Vancouver since 2017, she has developed a strong passion for visual storytelling across different media. Her background in digital arts, combined with her appreciation for diverse voices and creative expression, brings a unique perspective to her role as a film festival jury member.

Maria Monaco de Oliveira

Maria Monaco de Oliveira

Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Maria Monaco de Oliveira is a Vancouver-based
filmmaker with a love for storytelling. She has worked in production design, camera, and sports broadcasting, and enjoys discovering films that spark conversation, offer new perspectives, and celebrate the creativity and diversity of Latin American cinema.

MARIANA GARCÍA OSPINA.

MARIANA GARCÍA OSPINA

Mariana García Ospina is a Colombian Audiovisual Communicator with expertise in
documentary, fiction, and videodance production. Her multidisciplinary practice spans
cinematography, direction, and editing. She merges her dance background with audiovisual
storytelling to create innovative content exploring cultural narratives. Her work has received
recognition at national and international film festivals.

Mikel Alberto Estrada Pinera.

Mikel Alberto Estrada Pinera

Associate Producer and partner at Vancouver-based independent production company
Flying Cat Productions. He studied Animation Engineering at Universidad Panamericana
and Visual Effects at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and trained in screenwriting with
acclaimed Latin American filmmakers, including Carlos Cuarón, Astrid Romero, Marcelo
Tobar, and Fernanda Valadez.

Santiago Hardie

Santiago Hardie

Santiago Hardie is a psychology graduate and writer from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He studied filmmaking and co-hosted a film podcast for several years. His interests include cinema, literature, and poetry.

Sofia Treminio

Sofia Treminio

From El Salvador, Sofia is a UBC graduate, passionate about cinema, especially films that explore memory, identity, and the complexity of human relationships. She works in the non-profit sector, committed to developing programs that support and empower Latin American communities across Vancouver and British Columbia.

Valeria Renteria,

Valeria Renteria

I’m Valeria Renteria, I was born on 2006 in Mexico City, where I developed a huge interest
in fashion and film. Currently studying Film Production at VFS. I’m excited about exploring
other ways to see the world through other people experiences to understand how the
world collides in just one.

Kendra Garcia

Kendra Garcia

My name is Kendra Garcia. I am a 17 years old Mexican – American (Chicana). Graduate in 2025. My family and I immigrated here to Canada for a better opportunity. I am Passionate about filmography, and I love films in every way possible. I am glad to be able to be a part of the Latin youth jury.

Mayra Hermosillo.

MAYRA HERMOSILLO

Mayra Hermosillo (1989, Torreón, Coahuila, México) es actriz, directora y escritora. Inició sus estudios de actuación en el ITESM Campus Laguna y la Universidad del Valle de México antes de mudarse a la Ciudad de México para profundizar su arte. En la capital, Hermosillo también colaboró con el Festival Internacional Cervantino, un evento musical. Su carrera teatral incluye papeles protagónicos en Jesus Christ Superstar y Privacidad junto a Diego Luna. Hermosillo hizo la transición al cine y la televisión, obteniendo reconocimiento por su interpretación de Enedina Arellano Félix en Narcos: México. Además de actuar, incursionó en la realización cinematográfica, coescribiendo y codirigiendo su primer cortometraje, En la piel de Lucía, en 2018. En 2021, recibió apoyo de FOCINE para su segundo cortometraje, Me quedo aquí. Vainilla marca su debut como directora de largometrajes.

Cecilia Kang.

Cecilia Kang

Cecilia Kang is from Buenos Aires. With Hijo Mayor (Elder Son), her first fiction feature film, she won the Best Emerg ing Director award at the Concorso Cineasti del Presente at the Locarno International Film Festival (2025). She makes projects that question the cultural duality she herself experiences as an Argentine – Korean, such as the documentaries “Mi último fracaso” (My Last Failure – BAFICI 2016) and “Partió de mí un barco llevándome” (A Boat Departed From Me Taking Me Away, 2023), winner of the Special Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival

oscar ruiz navia

OSCAR RUIZ NAVIA

Director-Writer-Producer and Cinematographer.
Born in Cali, Colombia, he lives in Montreal, Canada since 2023. Social Communicator-Journalist (Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia) and holds an MFA in Cinematic Arts (Concordia University, Montreal, Canada). He was part of the Cannes Cinefondation Residency 2010. He has directed the feature films EL VUELCO DEL CANGREJO (FIPRESCI Prize, Berlinale, Forum 2010), LOS HONGOS (Special Jury Prize- Filmmakers of the Present, Locarno 2014), EPIFANÍA (Busan Film Festival, South Korea – 2016) co-directed with Anna Eborn, FAIT VIVIR (Biarritz 2019 -Ficunam 2020), and the short films SOLECITO (Directors´ Fortnight, Cannes 2013) and TIGERS CAN BE SEEN IN THE RAIN (New York Film Festival, Currents 2025). He is currently in the postproduction of his new short film DUERMEVELA, and developing and financing his new feature film, POPULAR. In early 2006 he founded CONTRAVÍA FILMS, one of the most recognized independent film production houses in Colombia, coproducing with countries like France, Germany, Sweden, Mexico, Canada and Argentine.
https://www.contraviafilms.com.co/en