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 art, culture and food. She has been involved with VLAFF since its 13th edition; first as a movie-goer, a volunteer, a Youth Juror, and now as its Managing Director since 2020. You can also find Valentina managing The Cultch’s Youth Program and IGNITE!, a beautifully multidisciplinary festival celebrating emerging artists in so-called East Vancouver.
Programming Director
Christian Sida
christian(at)vlaff.org
Christian 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 Programming Director. Christian 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. During 2018 and part of 2019, Christian was the Head of the film commission of the state of Durango, 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 & co-creator of the 2021 feature Santuario: El viaje perrote de Paty Aguirre. Christian is now finishing his second feature film Historia Miníma de Durango.
Festival Coordinator | Volunteer Coordinator
Dani Rodríguez
dani(at)vlaff.org | volunteer(at)vlaff.org
Dani (she/ella) is passionate about analog & lo-fi practices, poetry & hybrid forms, art making in community and independent radio. Co-founder of multidisciplinary artist collective *mim* and co-creator of El Mashup, a hybrid writing + media art workshop series for Latine Youth in ‘Vancouver,’ Dani believes freedom to experiment, accessibility, collaboration and play should always be taken seriously. She holds a BA in Anthropology and a BFA in Creative Writing from UBC. She is the Festival Coordinator and Shorts in Competition Co-Programmer at the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. Dani lives on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations with one of her four siblings and her two wiener dogs.
Graphic Designer | Poster Artist
semillites hernández velasco
Semillites Hernández Velasco (he/him) is a brown visual artist and graphic designer based in Vancouver, Canada, on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam Nations. Semillites was born in Mexico City and at the age of nineteen he migrated north. Semillites’ artwork primarily focuses on self-portraiture that celebrates imperfection and it’s driven by in-depth research on the cultural and social associations of color. Semillites’ medium range from drawing to zines, board games and animated gifs. His artworks are love letters to himself, his ancestors and every person, flower and grasshopper that has ever crossed his path. In 2021 he was commissioned a public installation (all flowers deserve to play) by Pride Vancouver, and he was a recipient of Wedge Art Residency at the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver. Semillites’ work has been showcased in numerous publications across Canada, including: ROOM Magazine, Femme Art Review, False Freedom Zine and Trains magazine. Additionally, his art has been featured in festivals such as the IGNITE! Youth Festival, Vines Art Festival, Unibrow Arts Fest, and Vancouver Pride Art Walk.
Youth Jury Coordinator
Ana Tonso
Community Partnerships
Vanesa O’Toole
communitypartners(at)vlaff.org
Box Office Team
boxoffice(at)vlaff.org
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!