PNI Staff
Zeshawn Ali
Artist Programs Manager
he/him
Zeshawn Ali
Artist Programs Manager – he/him
Zeshawn Ali is a filmmaker originally from Ohio. His feature film debut, “Two Gods,” was supported by ITVS, Ford Foundation and Sundance Institute and was selected in festivals across North America. It was also screened as a part of “Independent Lens” on PBS and was nominated for a Cinema Eye Spotlight Award. He was recently named a Pillars Artist Fellow as well as a recipient of the HBO/ Gotham Documentary Development Fund. He is a member of Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective and Meerkat Media and currently based in New York City.
Annie Brown
Chief of Staff
she/her
Annie Brown
Chief of Staff – she/her
Annie Brown is a longtime member of the Maine non-profit community. Her professional experience ranges from event production (think parades, pop-up events, fundraising galas) to donor relations to conference management. She grew up in Portland, ME, and is a graduate of Bennington College, where her studies focused on performing arts, costume and production design, and administration. She’s been on the Points North team since 2018, joining the organization from the Farnsworth Art Museum. She’s passionate about doing powerful work in the midcoast community and fostering surprising opportunities here on the Coast of Maine. She likes Earl Grey tea, peonies, and to move.
Sean Flynn
Program Director and Co-Founder of the Points North Institute
he/him
Sean Flynn
Program Director and Co-Founder of the Points North Institute – 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
Operations Director
she/her
Meg Fournier
Operations Director – 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.
Nicole Fowlie
Finance Manager
she/her
Nicole Fowlie
Finance Manager – she/her
Nicole Fowlie has been a dedicated supporter since the Camden International Film Festival's first year, and she has enjoyed working for Points North as an official member for several years. She lives in the midcoast area where she is raising her two sons. In addition to her work for Points North, Nicole is proud to work with youth at a local elementary school.
Cam Howard
Program Coordinator
they/them
Cam Howard
Program Coordinator – they/them
cam howard (a.k.a. a.c.) is a writer, astrologer, and multidisciplinary artist, and the program coordinator at the Points North Institute. Their work focuses on queer coming of age, community care, music, nature, and the future. Their writing has appeared in 68 to 05, The Lambda Literary Review of Books, The Stopgap, and in their newsletter The Deal. Cam grew up in DownEast Maine, studied film at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and are an alumni of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. They were a 2023 LEF Fellow at the Flaherty Film Seminar, a recipient of the 2021 Springboard Artist Grant from the Maine Arts Commission, and a semi-finalist for the 2019 Student Academy Awards.
Colin Kelley
Tech Director
he/him
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.
Rick Rector
Interim Executive Director
he/him
Rick Rector
Interim Executive Director – he/him
Rick is a seasoned business executive with experience in a broad range of industries. He has served on the Points North Board since its inception, both as Board Chair and currently Treasurer.
Deborah Rudolph
Interim Development Director
she/her
Deborah Rudolph
Interim Development Director – she/her
Deborah has been with Points North since 2019, serving as Partnerships officer. She is also an Associate Programmer at the Tribeca Film Festival, and Industry Programs Manager for Chicago International Film Festival. She was previously Director of Development and Industry Programs for DOCNYC, Producer of the Points North Forum at CIFF, and for many years Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility at HBO. Other roles included Impact Producer at Looky Looky Pictures, and Film Evaluator for POV, Catapult Film Fund, and Chicken & Egg Pictures. She holds a BFA in Film and Photography from NYU, and a Masters in Communication from Columbia University.
CIFF & Artist Programs Team
Emily Abi-Kheirs
Festival Programming Associate
she / they
Emily Abi-Kheirs
Festival Programming Associate – she / they
Emily is a queer documentary programmer and producer based in the Greater Boston area. Currently, she is the Programming Manager at GBH, a renowned public broadcaster and producer of PBS content, and Program Director at Salem Film Fest, a filmmaker-friendly, documentary film festival in Massachusetts. They are currently producing their first feature, Unconscious Medicine (w.t.) with director Julie Mallozzi. Recently, Abi-Kheirs reimagined the 2023 FNYC Flaherty Seminar MAKA: Many Eyed Vessel in collaboration with a collective of curators. She is a 2024 Rockwood Documentary Leader.
Andrea Arauz
Festival Programming Associate
she / her
Andrea Arauz
Festival Programming Associate – she / her
Central American filmmaker and executive producer of Aurora Studio. Based in Honduras. Master degree in Documentary Cinema from the School of Cinema in Barcelona (ECIB). Production Coordinator for Solutions Storytelling Project: Latin America for Video Consortium (2024). For her films, she likes to work with different formats and genres, with the goal of expressing her roots and themes like migration, human rights, and gender violence. In 2021, she became the first Honduran to receive the Logan Nonfiction Fellowship for her research on her first feature documentary. Since 2020, she has taught cinema at the Film School "Una Mirada Propia" of the Female Honduran Filmmakers Collective. She dreams for the international industry to recognize more Central American cinema.
Kendra Arey
Box Office Manager
she/her
Kendra Arey
Box Office Manager – she/her
Kendra Arey is an artist and Midcoast native. In addition to her work with the Camden International Film Festival, Kendra is also a contracted art therapist with the Rockland school district. Kendra has worked for Points North in multiple capacities over the last 5 years, including Box Office Manager, Recovery in Maine Coordinator, and Covid Compliance Officer. Kendra has also worked extensively for the Island Institute, the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and the National Council for the Traditional Arts helping to coordinate multiple festivals and events.
Eileen Baptistin Level
Venue Manager: Strand Theatre
she/her
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 NYCHA. Beyond this she is the Head of Education at New York International Children's Film Festival, an Oscar-qualifying film festival bringing films that represent and celebrate unique, diverse, and historically excluded voices to thousands of students throughout NYC and Newark, NJ! In 2023 Level spoke at SXSW on the 90 minute Film School panel about her journey as a budding exhibitor and mission to quench cinema deserts. Later that year she Founded AniTOMO Manga and Anime Convention, a free event in Brooklyn designed to celebrate diverse perspectives from historically underrepresented communities.
Max Bédrune
Festival Programming Associate
they/them
Max Bédrune
Festival Programming Associate – they/them
Max (born Mathilde) Bédrune is a French filmmaker and student based in Brussels. They studied in Ciné-Sup in France and the INSAS film school in Belgium. Their work plays with both documentary processes and fiction. They explore themes of belonging, intergenerationality and transmission, in docu-fiction as well as comedy. Inspired by their childhood moving experiences and their family origins, they create multilingual films with a tender-and-absurd humorous twist.
Zaina Bseiso
Programmer, CIFF and Artist Programs
she/her
Zaina Bseiso
Programmer, CIFF and Artist Programs – she/her
Zaina Bseiso is a filmmaker and curator, primarily focused on documentary and experimental cinema. In 2021, she joined the Points North Institute as a programmer for The Camden International Film Festival and artist programs. As a co-founder of Bahia Colectiva, she is dedicated to collaborative filmmaking and curatorial practices. Zaina is currently in post-production for Todo Lo Sólido, a co-directed hybrid feature film set in Cuba. Based in Los Angeles, she was raised in Egypt by Palestinian parents and earned her master’s degree in film and video from the California Institute of the Arts.
Marta Denny
Operations Assistant
She/Her
Marta Denny
Operations Assistant – She/Her
Marta is thrilled to be joining the team this year as Operations Assistant and CIFF Pass Master, after working the two previous CIFF seasons in Stage Management positions. She holds a deep knowledge of and love for the Midcoast community, paired with a drive to facilitate, spread, and share more of the special moments she has experienced as a lifetime resident and previous CIFF-goer. Marta comes to Points North from various management roles with other small businesses and non-profits in the community, and brings with her a keen ability to pivot and wear many hats. She works in vintage fashion on the side, so let her know if there are any pieces you have been dying for and need help sourcing!
Sarah Erwin
Associate Producer, Artist & Community Programs
she/her
Sarah Erwin
Associate Producer, Artist & Community Programs – she/her
Born & raised in Maine, Sarah is thrilled to be a part of the Points North Team as Associate Producer, Artist & Community Programs. She comes to Points North from Tribeca Film Institute and is excited to bring her love for independent film & community engagement to her home state. She loves talking about TV shows and also would be happy to help anyone source the perfect vintage quilt for their home.
Julia Ferguson
Events & Lounge Manager
she/her
Julia Ferguson
Events & Lounge Manager – she/her
Julia Ferguson is a sound artist and audio field mixer living in Los Angeles, CA. She is CIFF's Special Events Manager and loves swimming in the Gulf of Maine whenever possible.
Julia Grinberg
1:1 Meetings Coordinator
she/her
Julia Grinberg
1:1 Meetings Coordinator – she/her
CIFF 2024 marks Julia Grinberg's first year with the Points North Institute, stepping into the role of 1:1 Meetings Coordinator. In addition, Julia has worked as an Industry Coordinator for the Tribeca Festival, the Guest Relations Manager for SeriesFest, Philadelphia Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival, and as a Venue Manager for the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Prior to immersing herself in the world of festivals, Julia worked in different corners of the industry including talent management, development, production, and distribution.
Milton Guillen
Senior Programmer
they/him
Milton Guillen
Senior Programmer – they/him
Milton Guillén is a visual artist, filmmaker, and the senior programmer at CIFF/PNI. His work explores the cinematic intersections of radically collaborative non-fictions and political dreamscapes, focusing on themes around human rights and aesthetics. Milton’s films have screened at the Venice Biennale, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Rooftop, Dokufest, DOK Leipzig, True/False, and several dozens of festivals and venues around the world. He is currently a FSC-LEF Harvard Fellow, and teaches at the University of Vermont. His MFA from Northwestern University is equally important and his love for cycling around the hills of Camden.
Willoughby Hastings
Marketing Assistant
she/her
Willoughby Hastings
Marketing Assistant – she/her
Willoughby Lucas Hastings is a visual artist and educator originally from Huntsville, Alabama, but currently based in Rockland, Maine. Hastings's background is primarily in higher education teaching studio art and art history courses most recently at Lesley University and MassArt. Since moving to Rockland she has also been teaching at the Watershed School and with Leaps of Imagination. As a visual artist, Hastings works in textiles, photography, sculpture, and social practice. The production of site-specific community-engaged performances confirmed her occupational interests in public programming. Hastings holds a BFA from the University of Georgia and an MFA from the School Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She is eager to contribute to the vitality of the Midcoast's art community.
Shannon Pelletier Herring
Graphic Designer
she/her
Shannon Pelletier Herring
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 in 2022 as “unquestionably the most beautiful” Irish literary journal. She is also a founding member and designer of Culch Magazine: Maine’s art and culture anthology which will debut in 2024.
Elizabeth Kroner
Journeys End Venue Manager
She/her
Elizabeth Kroner
Journeys End Venue Manager – She/her
Elizabeth Kroner is a writer and researcher living in New York.
Kate Lemberg
Associate Manager, Industry & Artist Programs
she/her
Kate Lemberg
Associate Manager, Industry & Artist Programs – she/her
Kate Lemberg is the Associate Manager, Industry & Artist Programs at Points North. In addition to her work at PNI, Kate is a staff programmer at RiverRun and Nashville; the Creators Market producer at Tribeca and Industry Roundtables producer for DOC NYC; an assistant programmer for Tribeca; and a screener for Rooftop. She has served as a juror for IDA. Having begun her work in festivals in venue and ticketing operations—having previously done so at Sundance, Tribeca, DOC NYC, True/False, Hamptons, and more—she still works in those arenas on occasion. Kate is a proud BA & MA alum of Cinema Studies at NYU Tisch.
Lucila Moctezuma
Senior Consultant, Artist Programs
she/her
Lucila Moctezuma
Senior Consultant, Artist Programs – she/her
Lucila Moctezuma is a consultant to documentary filmmakers and media organizations in the US and internationally, and programmer with international festivals. Her work with independent filmmakers focuses on story, craft and creative authorship, and consults with media organizations in program design and program implementation, and as facilitator of story workshops. Currently she is Senior Consultant of Artist Programs at Points North Institute, and other consulting organizations include the Sundance Documentary Film Program, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, and Multitude Films, and story workshops with the Bronx Documentary Center and BAVC. She is Associate International Programmer for Hot Docs in Canada, and a member of the documentary programming committee at the Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico. Previously, she held senior positions at high-profile organizations such as Chicken & Egg Pictures, UnionDocs, Women Make Movies, the Media Arts Fellowships for The Rockefeller Foundation, and founded the TFI Latin America Fund for Tribeca Film Institute. She sits on the Executive Board of Cine Qua Non Lab and was Vice-President of the Board of Trustees of The Flaherty. She is Producer of the feature-length documentary, She Wrestles (in development, by award-winning director and wrestling state champion, Charles Fairbanks). Based in Brooklyn, NY, Lucila is from Mexico City and is a frequent guest participant at film forums, panels and juries in the US and internationally. In 2021 she became a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
Josh Povec
Multimedia Producer
he/him
Josh Povec
Multimedia Producer – he/him
For 25 years Josh has been busy telling stories from around the world, leading teams from pre-production to distribution, filming expedition adventure documentaries, and directing media launches and social campaigns. This deep and versatile experience, along with Josh's skill and passion is a powerful combination he brings to every new role and project. Josh's editing and producing credits include 70+ hours of broadcast television as well as the award winning films Desert Ice, Lines to Hawaii, and Poumaka. When not at his desk, Josh can be found climbing up and skiing down mountains, paddling rivers, and exploring the coast of Maine where he grew up.
Sarah Rogers
Volunteer & Hub Manager
she/her
Sarah Rogers
Volunteer & Hub Manager – she/her
Sarah has been with CIFF since 2014, where she started as a production assistant. Over the past decade she has been the Festival Producer, Shotwell Drive-In Producer, and for many years our Volunteer Manager. You can find her this year, as our Hub and Volunteer Manager. In addition to her work here, Sarah works for DOC NYC, Nantucket Film Festival and True/False Film Fest. Sarah currently resides in Columbia, Missouri, or can be found in her van traveling the US with her dog, Odin.
Scott Sell
20th Video Producer
He/him
Scott Sell
20th Video Producer – He/him
Scott Sell is multimedia producer, editor, and writer operating out of the great state of Maine. A graduate of the Salt Institute of Documentary Studies and The Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, he is informed by the oral history traditions of documentarians like Studs Terkel and Pamela Wood and has produced in-depth projects for the New York Times, Atlas Obscura, and the Island Institute, among others.
Alix Towler
CIFF Associate Producer
they/he
Alix Towler
CIFF Associate Producer – they/he
Alix is a social work trainer, comics artist, queer community organizer, and sometimes filmmaker born and raised in North Carolina, currently blessing hearts in Brooklyn, NY.
Oliver Worner
Summer Production & Development Assistant
he/him
Oliver Worner
Summer Production & Development Assistant – he/him
Oliver has lived in Camden for 18 years after moving from San Francisco. A proud theater kid in high school, Oliver has worked in all aspects of the performing arts space. This is Oliver's 6th consecutive year with CIFF - he started as a volunteer in 2019 and hasn't stopped coming back since. He is entering his junior year at Emerson College, where he majors in Stage & Production Management. At Emerson, Oliver is the Managing Director of BlueJay Theater Collective, the Logistics Producer of the 44th Annual EVVY Awards, and the Chair of the Student Theatre Alliance of Emerson College. His favorite CIFF film he's seen is "Narrowsburg" - check it out on the Back Catalog!
