Clio Berta

Operations Manager – she/her

Clio Berta is an artist, musician and event producer based in Midcoast Maine. Before joining the Points North Institute team as Operations Manager, she spent three years working as the Special Events Coordinator for CIFF. In addition to orbiting the Points North universe, Clio has worked as Digital Marketing Manager and Wedding Coordinator for the Waldoboro Inn in Waldoboro, Maine, as Fundraising Campaign Manager for Spoontree Productions in Tucson, Arizona, and as Cafe Manager at Seafolk Coffee in Rockport, Maine. Throughout the last decade, she has directed and produced collaborative arts events and musical showcases, composed scores for short films, published and merchandised an oracle card deck, and thrown a series of multi sensory raves. Most recently, Clio co-founded Wishbone Coffee, a coffee pop up business. She is currently touring her sophomore album, Baby Fever (which is, pssst, out now on all streaming platforms!).

Sean Flynn

Artistic Director – he/him

Sean Flynn is the Program Director and Co-Founder of the Points North Institute, where he has spent the past 13 years leading the organization’s program development and expansion from a small-town film festival into a year-round media arts institute with global reach. He currently oversees the curation and design of the Camden International Film Festival, a growing suite of filmmaker grants and fellowships, a 2-day documentary conference, an immersive media exhibition, and year-round community engagement initiatives that use documentary screenings to build public discourse. Sean received a master’s degree from MIT’s Comparative Media Studies department, where he worked as a researcher at the MIT Open Documentary Lab. He began his filmmaking career as a producer and cinematographer on two feature-length documentaries, BEYOND BELIEF and THE LIST, which examine the consequences of America’s military interventions in the Muslim world since 9/11. Both films premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and aired on national television. In 2012, Sean was a Fulbright Senior Research Fellow in Mumbai, India.

Meg Fournier

Finance Manager – she/her

For over 15 years, Meg has been building and supporting multi-disciplinary arts programs around Maine with a particular interest in their effect on the communities they serve. Born and raised in Louisiana, the arts have been an integral part of her daily life since day one. She moved to Brooklyn to pursue a BFA at Pratt Institute and somehow landed in Waldo County, Maine – a place she loves with every fiber of her being. Prior to joining Points North Institute as Production Manager, Meg’s work included roles with the Maine Arts Commission, Waterfall Arts, the Maine International Film Festival, Shadow Distribution, and the Unity College Center for the Arts, as well as the Renzi Education & Art Center in Louisiana. She also co-founded and directed the Free Range Music Festival and Roots & Tendrils, a contemporary art and music venue in Belfast. Meg lives in Belfast with her family, a wild rescue pup, and four moody chickens.

Kate Fox

Director of Development – she/her

Kate is a seasoned nonprofit leader with nearly two decades of experience advancing arts and cultural organizations through strategic fundraising and program development. She holds a graduate degree in Visual Arts Administration from New York University and has secured and managed funding for organizations ranging from grassroots initiatives to multimillion-dollar institutions. Prior to joining Points North, she held positions at BRIC Arts Media, the Children’s Museum of the Arts, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Her work is grounded in community engagement, educational access, artist support, and a deep commitment to equity. Based in the Portland area, Kate spends as much time as possible in the Midcoast—especially in the summer.

Willoughby Lucas Hastings

Senior Marketing Coordinator – she/her

Willoughby Lucas Hastings is a visual artist and educator originally from Huntsville, Alabama, and currently based in Rockland, Maine. As a visual artist, Willoughby works in textiles, photography, sculpture, and social practice. Her artistic practice led to an interest in public programming and design both implemented in her Marketing role at Points North. Willoughby holds an MFA from the School Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University and a BFA from the University of Georgia. She was a Artist in Residence at MASS MoCA, Aquarium Gallery, and JX Farms and has participated in fellowships at the Tufts Institute of the Environment, School Museum of Fine Arts, and Out in the Open.

Morgan Hulquist

Festival and Community Programs Manager – she/her

Morgan Hulquist is a documentary filmmaker based in Portland, Maine. Prior to joining Points North Institute, she was Associate Producer at Multitude Films, the Emmy-winning documentary production company invested in mentoring the next generation of independent producers. Her credits include Sundance winning and IDA Award nominated LIFE AFTER (Sundance 2025), Netflix Original POWER (Sundance 2024), IDA Awards nominated shorts collection QUEER FUTURES (CPH: DOX 2023), New York Times Critic’s Pick IT'S ONLY LIFE AFTER ALL (Sundance 2023), Oscar-shortlisted HOW WE GET FREE (SFFILM 2023) and Emmy-winning LOWNDES COUNTY AND THE ROAD TO BLACK POWER (Tribeca 2022). She also held roles at Chicken & Egg Films, was a 2025 LEF New England Flaherty Fellow and an organizer of the 2025 Maine Palestine Film Festival, and recently spent a season working on a flower farm in Southern Maine.

Colin Kelley

Tech Director – he/him

Colin has been with CIFF since 2010, where he started as a projectionist. In addition to his work here, Colin is the Technical Director for the Full Frame Documentary Festival in Durham, NC and a media production consultant at Bowdoin College. He is a graduate of Alfred University and the Maine Media Workshops four-week doc program.

Elise McCave

Executive Director – she/her

Elise is the Executive Director of the Points North Institute. She has 15 years of leadership and field-building at the intersection of independent film and social impact. Previously, she was at the global fundraising platform, Kickstarter, where she served as the Head of Film, leading strategy for the company’s largest category. Prior to that, she was Deputy Director of Doc Society, where she was a member of one of the UK’s most innovative social impact funders. Over eight years she worked on pioneering models for community engagement through documentary film, notably via the international Good Pitch program and the free-to-access Impact Field Guide & Toolkit. Elise is from Cambridge in the UK, and has a BSc in Anthropology from the University of London. She’s lived in the US since 2015, and divides her time between New York and Midcoast Maine.

Eileen Baptistin Level

Venue Manager: Strand Theatre – she/her

Eileen Level, a champion of the cinema-going experience, has been working in the film festival industry since 2014 and since then has launched PaleFO Cinema, amplifying voices through the cinematic arena which seeks to look forward to the evolution of the cinescape experience in New York City.

Maddie Bone

YETI Lounge Venue Manager – she/her

Hailing from the foothills of the Appalachia, Maddie is a brand designer based in Brooklyn, NY. Her work spans across film, motion design, identity systems and illustration. Also including a stint at Aphrodite Oysters in the beautiful town of South Thomaston, ME.

Mara Bresnahan

Accessibility Consultant – she/her

Mara Bresnahan is an Accessibility Consultant with the Points North Institute. She previously spent more than six years supporting the organization's artist programs before stepping into her current role. Mara has served in accessibility roles on productions for Apple TV+, Netflix, and Hulu, including the forthcoming Being Heumann, Patrice: The Movie, and the Academy Award–nominated documentary Crip Camp. In adiition, she was the Festival Director of the Boston ReelAbilities Film Festival for five years.

Allison Brzezinski

Associate Producer: Forum – they/them

Allison Brzezinski (they/them) is the owner of Birch Bark Events, the event planning and management boutique based in Camden, Maine. Some career highlights include Camden Pride Pop-Ups, a series of events celebrating the queer community while raising funds for OUT Maine; Owls Head Transportation Museum's 50th Anniversary Gala, celebrating the first 50 years of the museum's legacy while looking to its future in STEM education; Camden Famous Podcast Palooza, a summer kick-off event featuring many local businesses in Camden; Freedom Rising Conference, a Manhattan based conference aimed at coalition-building and supporting activists in political reform; and Nasty Women Unite Fest, a multi-day, multimedia arts festival created in response to the 2016 election. In addition to their work as an event planner, Allison is also a multi-disciplinary artist, producer, and parent of two adorable dogs.

Zaina Bseiso

Senior Programmer – she/her

Zaina Bseiso is a filmmaker, educator, and curator whose work explores diasporic notions of return, cinematic acts of solidarity, and articulations of power in the moving image. She is the Senior Programmer at the Points North Institute, Shorts Programmer at the Sundance Institute and serves on the programming board of the LA Film Forum. As a guest curator, she has collaborated with the Flaherty Seminar and DOXA Film Festival, among others. In 2019, Bseiso co-founded Bahia Collective, a community of filmmakers committed to collaborative practices and curation. Her first feature film, Todo Lo Sólido, is currently in post-production and has received support from Sundance, Sandbox Films, Visions Sud Est, IDFA, and others.

Peter Cooke

Volunteer Manager – he/him

Peter is from Mid Coast Maine and is excited to bring his experience working at non profits to CIFF. For the last five years, Peter has worked in the field of positive youth development in Rockland, Maine. He is very community minded and hopes to engage volunteers and help facilitate a meaningful film festival experience for all involved.

Nate Davis

Web Developer – he/him

Nate Davis is a composer, artist, and technologist who has had the good fortune to participate in projects across a wide variety of creative and technological domains. Recent work includes a large quasi-theatrical piece of musical alchemy for the early music ensembles at Florida State University and a chamber opera about agriculture in Maine and on Mars. Davis holds a PhD in music composition and theory from the University of California, Davis and an MA in mathematics from Brandeis University. He lives in Rockland and is serving his second term on the Rockland City Council.

Amber Eklund

Events & Lounge Manager – she/her

Amber Eklund is an artist, former boat builder/carpenter, and community event producer, currently living and working in midcoast Maine. She spends most of the year connecting with the local agriculture scene producing community events for the Maine Federation of Farmers' Markets. She is thrilled to be leading the Special Events team for CIFF 2025 and can't wait to share all the magic that will be showcased this September!

Sarah Erwin

Associate Producer, Artist & Community Programs – she/her

Born & raised in Maine, Sarah has loved being a part of the Points North team since moving back to her home state in 2021. She loves talking about television and also would love to come rearrange the furniture in your home.

Brit Fryer

Fellowship Manager – he/him

Brit Fryer is a filmmaker and artist from Chicago's South Side, currently based in New York. His films include Tessitura, The Script, Caro Comes Out, and Across, Beyond and Over. His feature debut, With Time (co-directed with collaborator Noah Schamus), is supported by ITVS, the Ford Foundation, Chicken & Egg Films, and the Points North Institute. Prior to working in documentary, Brit worked at the Writers Guild of America East and the Made in NY Post Production Training Program.

Gugi Gumilang

Features Programming Associate – he/him

Gugi Gumilang is a documentary programmer, producer, and industry strategist working across global film ecosystems. As Programme Director of In-Docs, he leads Docs by the Sea, supporting Asian documentary projects for international markets. He is an International Programmer at Hot Docs and serves on the Executive Board of the Documentary Association of Europe (DAE). His curatorial work extends to selection committees for Sundance Documentary Fund, Chicken & Egg Pictures, IDFA Bertha Fund, and Eurimages, and juries at CPH:DOX, DOK Leipzig, Cannes Docs, IDFA Forum, RIDM, and Ji.hlava IDFF. His films as producer and executive producer have premiered at major festivals including Locarno, Hot Docs, DOK Leipzig, and Hong Kong.

Sam Heth

Guest Experience Coordinator – she/they

Samantha Heth is a festival worker, bike rider, cat lover, and occasional daiquiri shaker. She has helped feature and short filmmakers, artist fellows, conference speakers, industry representatives, and studio executives to major US cities and small towns. She has programmed and coordinated activation spaces for film festival conferences, completed a film programming fellowship, managed venues, and coordinated volunteers. She has worked with True/False Film Festival, Camden International Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, the International Documentary Association, and more.

Maggie Hirshland

Late Night Events Manager – they/he

Maggie is currently based in Brooklyn, NY and is pursuing a Master's in Social Work at Hunter College's Silberman School. They've previously served as a Program Coordinator at LGBTQ+ non-profits across Maine and New York, and enjoy working at the intersection of art, media, and community spaces. This is their 6th year at CIFF, and they are excited to return to the fest as the Late Night Events Manager this year.

Elizabeth Kroner

Production Coordinator – she/her

Elizabeth Kroner is a writer and researcher living in New York City. She holds a BA in Film Studies from UC Berkeley and an MA in Media Studies from The New School. Her production experience includes roles at the Flaherty Film Seminar, MoMI's First Look Festival, and now her fourth year with CIFF. Additionally, she has supported development and programming at SFFILM and the Sundance Institute.

Kate Lemberg

Industry Programs Manager – she/her

Kate Lemberg works in programming, artist development, and operations at film festivals all over the USA. Primarily, she is documentary programmer at RiverRun; Industry Programs Manager at Points North; features assistant programmer at Tribeca; and Film Nominations Associate at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. She produced Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival in 2025 and worked in artist programs or programming at Tribeca, DOC NYC, and Nashville. Kate has served as a juror/reviewer for Chicken & Egg, NewFest New Voices Grant, New Orleans Film Festival, and the IDA Awards, and she was on the advisory committee for AIDC 2026 in Melbourne.

Jared McCarthy

Marketing Consultant – he/him

Jared McCarthy is a Maine-based strategist and co-founder of Venue Ad Network (VAN), a platform connecting brands with independent music venues and festivals across the country. He began his career in New York City, working at leading advertising agencies on brands including HBO, NBC, and YouTube, before returning to Maine to continue his work at the intersection of media, culture, and community. In addition to his professional work, Jared is a musician and an avid film enthusiast. He holds a BA from Colgate University and lives in Falmouth with his family.

Lucila Moctezuma

Senior Consultant, Artist Programs – she/her

Lucila Moctezuma is a producer and consultant to documentary filmmakers and media organizations in the US and internationally, and programmer with international festivals. She is producer of the documentaries in-progress She Wrestles (by Charles Fairbanks), Women Like Us (Nausheen Dadabhoy), and Regreso/Return (by David Barba). Her consulting work with filmmakers focuses on story and creative authorship, and consults with media organizations in program design, program implementation, and as facilitator of story workshops. Currently she is Senior Consultant of Artist Programs at Points North Institute where she co-leads the Diane Weyermann Fellowship; Senior International Programmer for Hot Docs in Canada, and a member of the documentary programming committee at the Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico. Other consulting organizations have included Close Up Initiative, the Sundance Documentary Film Program, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Multitude Films, and story workshops with the Bronx Documentary Center and BAVC. Previously, she held senior positions at high-profile organizations such as Chicken & Egg Films, UnionDocs, Women Make Movies, the Media Arts Fellowships for The Rockefeller Foundation, and founded the TFI Latin America Fund for Tribeca Film Institute. Lucila is based in Brooklyn, NY, and is originally from Mexico City. She is a frequent guest participant at film forums, panels and juries in the US and internationally. Lucila is a 2025 EAVE Producers Workshop Fellow, 2019 JustFilms Ford Foundation / Rockwood Leadership Institute Fellow, and a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences since 2021.

Chase Newman

1:1 Meetings Coordinator – he/him

Chase Newman is a NYC-based producer, coordinator, and programmer. He's programmed features and indie-TV projects for the Tribeca Festival, while working cross-functionally coordinating Tribeca's programming operations and digital assets. He is an proficient post-production producer, audio editor, and event coordinator with experience working on promotional campaigns for major brands, entertainment companies, and documentary films.

Shannon Pelletier

Graphic Designer – she/her

Shannon comes from a diverse background in performing, arts management and production. Originally from Maine, Shannon received her BFA from the New School University in NYC and her Master’s in Arts Policy and Practice at the Huston School for Film and Digital Media in Galway, Ireland. She has worked throughout the US and Europe under several scopes within the arts non-profit sector and within the commercial sector in Australia. Upon returning the US, Shannon was Operations Manager at Points North from 2016-2017 before transitioning to focused work in graphic design with a specialty in publication design—including design of the CIFF program since 2017. She is a founding member and designer of Holy Show, a magazine of contemporary life and culture in Ireland; described by the Irish Times as “unquestionably the most beautiful” Irish literary journal and celebrated in a 2024/2025 retrospective exhibition of the first 6 issues at the Museum of Literature Ireland.

Eynar Pineda

Associate Producer of Engagement – he/him

Josh Povec

Multimedia Producer – he/him

Josh has been directing, producing and editing for 25 years, from 100+ museum exhibits to 80+ hours of broadcast television for National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and PBS. Branded content and social-first distribution campaign clients that have included Adidas, Cannon, Dell, Nikon, Red Bull, Toyota, and Yeti. His media production company, Big POV Pictures, produces/tech directs the Camden Conference, and leads the Camden International Film Festival media teams. His most recent broadcast work, "America's Forests with Chuck Leavell" (PBS), explores stories of Maine’s north woods. Josh grew up in Maine, lives in Belfast and loves to go on expeditions exploring rivers and mountains.

Sarah Rogers

Box Office Assistant – she/her

Sarah is a long time CIFF alum staff, volunteer, friend. She launched a whole second career in film festival administration by getting her start at CIFF. Now that work takes her to NYC (DOCNYC), Nantucket (NFF, The Hamptons (HIFF) and True/False in Columbia, Missouri. Camden and Point North will always be home.

Deborah Rudolph

Partnerships Officer – she/her

Deborah Rudolph is Partnerships Officer for Points North Institute, and Associate Programmer at Tribeca Festival. She was previously Industry Programs Manager for Chicago International Film Festival, Impact Campaign Manager at Looky Looky Pictures, Director of Sponsorship and DOCNYC PRO for DOCNYC, and has served as Producer of the Points North Forum at CIFF, Programming Coordinator at Montclair Film, and for many years as Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility at HBO. She has been film evaluator for POV, Catapult Film Fund, and Chicken & Egg Pictures. She is dedicated to filmmaker development and education, and building partnerships to increase sustainability for documentary makers. She holds a BFA in Film and Photography from NYU, and a Masters in Communication from Columbia University.

Alfie Russo

Associate Tech Director – he/him

Alfie has been with the Camden International Film Festival since 2014, working in immersive media and producing all things technology. He is also the Broadcast Transmission Manager for Maine Public, providing the infrastructure to support broadcasting NPR and PBS programming across the state. He holds a BA from Bates College in Rhetoric with a concentration in Film and Media Studies. Originally from New York, he has been gradually moving further and further north, currently residing in Bangor.

Alexa Stark

Lounge Buildout Team Lead – she/her

Artist, designer and crafts woman based in Maine.

Alix Towler

Festival Producer – they/he

Alix is a comics artist, social work trainer, community organizer, and sometimes documentary filmmaker born and raised in North Carolina and currently blessing hearts in Brooklyn, New York.

Nehal Vyas

Shorts Programming Associate – she/her

Nehal Vyas is a filmmaker, programmer, and educator from India, currently based in Los Angeles. Her work engages questions of nationhood, censorship, mythology, and domestic archives. She is interested in how cinema can hold memory against erasure and imagine collective futures rooted in solidarity. Her films and projects have been supported by the San Sebastian Film Festival, True/False, the International Documentary Association, FID Marseille, and Gold House, among others. For the past six years, she has been curating and coordinating community-based film programs through her collective work. She has also worked with the Flaherty Seminar, IFFLA, Experimenta, and Future East Films, among other film spaces.

Sara Watson

Program Guide Copy Editor & Proofreader – she/her

Sara M. Watson is a technology critic, analyst, writer, and editor who has spent more than 20 years exploring how we tell stories about personal data, algorithms, interfaces, power, and agency. She is a founding member of (m)otherboard, a tech justice collective nurturing connection, community, and governance practices that restore human agency, dignity, and care. Sara has held research fellowships at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University and the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, and her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Wired, and The Washington Post. She has covered emerging tech trends as an industry analyst at Forrester, Insider Intelligence, and the Gartner Research Board. She holds an MSc in the Social Science of the Internet from Oxford Internet Institute and graduated from Harvard College with a joint degree in literature and film studies. CIFF has been a beacon lighting her mossy path of rematriation back to Midcoast Maine, where you may spot her at Cafe Grazie or on the karaoke mic.

Oliver Worner

Events Coordinator, Points North Operations Assistant – he/him

Oliver is so excited to be returning to CIFF this year! As a Camden native, Oliver has loved the festival since his first CIFF in 2017, and hasn't stopped coming back since. He is passionate about production, design, and iced oatmilk lattes. Oliver recently graduated from Emerson College with a BFA in Stage & Production Management. At Emerson, he produced several productions, including the 44th and 45th annual EVVY Awards. Oliver hopes that you enjoy CIFF 2026 - come say hi at the hub!