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Managing Director / Curator ¡Así Suena! Music Nights
Valentina Acevedo Montilla
valentina(at)vlaff.org
Valentina (she/ella) is a Mexican-Venezuelan cultural curator/gestora cultural based on the stolen and ancestral lands and waters of the xwməϴkwəýəm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh Nations since 2013. She comes from a family of musicians, incredible cooks, and community builders; she also holds a BA in Art History and Anthropology from UBC, with a focus in museum studies. Valentina has a deep love for art, community engaged arts practices and bringing people together through expression and food. She is VLAFF’s new Managing Director, having collaborated at the festival first as a volunteer, a member of the Board of Directors and the Youth Jury. You can also find Valentina managing The Cultch’s Youth Program and IGNITE!, the oldest festival made by and for emerging artists in Canada.
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Programming Director
Christian Sida
christian(at)vlaff.org
Christian (he/el) has been involved with VLAFF since 2006, first as a member of the Board of Directors, then as the Volunteer Coordinator, Theatre Manager, Box Office Manager, and Shorts Programmer. He was the Programming Director from 2008-2010 and the Executive Director from 2011-2021. In 2022, he became VLAFF’s Artistic Director. Christian is a well-known figure in the Latin American film circuit and has been a jury member at film festivals in Rio de Janeiro, Havana, Cartagena, Valladolid, Guadalajara, Biarritz, and Huelva, among others. Christian was also a jury member for the Colombian National Documentary Prize. In addition to participating in panels and workshops, Christian is also the founder and director of the Festival del Nuevo Cine Mexicano de Durango in Mexico. In 2015 he received an official recognition from the Consulate General of Colombia in Vancouver, for his work promoting Colombian cinema. He is the director and co-creator of the 2021 feature Santuario: El viaje perrote de Paty Aguirre.
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Communications & Marketing Director | Volunteer Coordinator
Dani Rodríguez
dani(at)vlaff.org | volunteer(at)vlaff.org
Dani Rodríguez Chevalier (she/ella) is passionate about analogue & lo-fi practices, poetry & hybrid forms, art making in community and independent radio. She is a co-facilitator + co-creator of writing and experimental film programs for youth: el mash up (w/ Dora Prieto), and filmfood (w/ Michelle Martin), for which they have collaborated with Echo Park Film Centre North and The Cultch Historic Theatre. Her film and photography work has appeared in Discorder Magazine, AHVA Gallery, Framer Framed, Small File Media Festival, UNIT/PITT and as wallpapers on friends’ phones. Also known as DJ D-Rod, she is the co-host (w/ DJ Bruja) of the CiTR 101.9 FM show: Vivaporú, the Ointment for the Soul. She is a pre-screener at the Vancouver Short Film Festival and programmer of the Shorts in Competition at VLAFF. She currently lives with her two dachshunds and one of her 4 siblings in the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.
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Youth Jury Coordinator
Ana Tonso
Community Partnerships
Vanesa O’Toole
communitypartners(at)vlaff.org
Box Office Team
Sofia Sida
Sophia Valenzuela
boxoffice(at)vlaff.org
Graphic Design
Zatu Straftäter
Festival Consultant
Anne-Mary Mullen
Bookkeeper/Accountant
Alexandre Nicolaieff, CPA
Ad Sales + Sponsorship
sponsorship(at)vlaff.org
Please click here to meet our Programming and Curatorial Team!