June 2nd–11th, 2023
VSFF
TEAM
Each year, Vancouver Short Film Festival is produced by a team of passionate film-loving organizers who donate countless hours to producing our annual celebration of Canadian short-form works, as well as year-round festival operations.
Festival Co-Directors
Emily Weldon
She/Her
Festival Co-Director
Emily Weldon is a passionate film event producer and independent filmmaker born and raised in the Vancouver area. She has worked in event production with some of Vancouver’s top film events, such as Crazy8s, VIFF, Whistler Film Festival, and many more. A staff member of VSFF since 2017, Emily has been a part of the festival’s growth and successes over the last five years, and is proud to continue to strengthen VSFF as a key platform for BC and Canadian artists to showcase their work. She is currently a Marketing Specialist with the TELUS Local Content team (STORYHIVE, TELUS originals), and is a graduate of UBC’s BFA Creative Writing program.
Nicolas Ayerbe Barona
He/Him
Festival Co-Director
Nicolas Ayerbe Barona from Colombia, has been working independently as a producer in Vancouver since finishing his studies in film at UBC and the CDM. He has produced several shorts like A-Yi (streaming now on CBC GEM), The Quieting for Crazy8s, commercials (like one with John Cena), and a feature film: Cadence, which won the Must See Audience Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2016. He regularly volunteers in the local chapter of the Documentary Organization of Canada; and works at the National Film Board. He was previously in charge of Sponsorships at the VSFF.
Board of Directors
Kristyn Stilling
She/Her
Chair of the Board
Born and raised in the Semiahmoo Nation (White Rock, BC, Canada) Kristyn Stilling has
immersed herself into the Canadian film community as an independent Producer with over 10
years of experience. Her first feature film, Golden Delicious, premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in Oct 2022 and has screened at over 15 festivals. It won 4 awards at the Reelworld Film Festival, including Outstanding Feature Film, Audience Choice at the Seattle Queer Film Festival, and 3 awards at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival including Best Canadian Feature Film and People's Choice. Golden Delicious was one of the 2020 Telefilm Talent to Watch projects and also received funding from the Canada Council of the Art, the BC Arts Council, and the Frameline Completion Fund. Kristyn’s 2020 short film, FREYA, won 5 Leo Awards in 2021 including Best Short Film. FREYA played over 30 film festivals and won Audience Choice at Fantasia Film Festival, Best Short and Audience Choice at Etheria Film Festival, and was selected by the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival. FREYA sold to CBC Gem and the Dust channel where it has 40K views. Kristyn is also the Chair of the Vancouver Short Film Festival and has previously worked for such prestigious organizations as the National Film Board of Canada, eOne, Whistler Film
Festival, Crazy8s Film Society, and Kickstart Entertainment. IMBD
Forman Howes
He/Him
Secretary
Forman Howes teaches video production and animation at the Byng Arts high school program in Vancouver. For twenty years he has helped young filmmakers develop their skills and launch their careers. His student’s films have won awards at festivals all over North America, including the VSFF. As part of his program he has written and directed four short films and one feature as a way to provide a mentorship experience for his students. He looks forward to continuing the tradition of excellence at the Vancouver Short Film Festival.
Robin Chan
He/Him/His
Treasurer
Robin has been producing content for film and television for over a decade. He has taken part in producing short films, music videos, promotional videos and the feature films “The Hollow Child” (2017) and “All-In Madonna” (2020). Short films include: “Joanna Makes a Friend” (2011), winner of the Audience Choice Awards at TIFF.kid Film Festival and “Anxious Oswald Greene” (2014), winner of the Best Short Film Award at the LA Comedy Festival and multiple Leo Awards. Robin also works as a post-production supervisor.
Paul Armstrong
He/Him
Outreach Director
Paul Armstrong is an award-winning Vancouver film, television and theatre producer with over 75 film producing credits including both short form as well as feature films including Lawrence & Holloman and Cool Daddy. Paul is also the founder, programmer and producer of The Celluloid Social Club, an in-person screening series of short films, and from 2013-2022 was an Executive Director of Crazy8s, the 8 day short filmmaking challenge. Paul has been on the Board of the Vancouver Short Film Festival since its inception.
Marena Dix
She/Her
General Director
Marena Dix is an award winning filmmaker from Vancouver, BC. After beginning her career 10 years ago in producing short film, she found her calling in Post Production and has since gone on to Supervise for Hallmark to Netflix. Outside of her day job she had the honour and privilege to Co-Direct the Vancouver Short Film Festival for 4 years before passing on the baton.
Grace Chin
She/Her
General Director
Grace Chin produces, writes, edits, and acts. Based in Vancouver, BC's cross-cultural and creative industries, she co-founded the Pan-Asian Staged Reading Society and its script development platform, Scripting Aloud; is the Executive Director of Crazy8s; General Manager of Ruby Slippers Theatre; and is on the board of Vancouver Short Film Festival. She is a Playwrights Guild of Canada and UBCP/ACTRA member, and a marketing content specialist. She was Festival Director of Vancouver Asian Film Festival, Interim Managing Director of Women in Film and Television Vancouver, and has served on various boards, juries, and panels, including for Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre. Grace is googleable.
Javier Badillo
He/Him
General Director
Javier Badillo is a Venezuelan-Canadian film producer, writer and director, and owner of the production company Spitshine Flicks. He was the Director of Programming of the Vancouver Short Film Festival from 2012 to 2019. After directing more than a dozen short films, Javier released his feature-length debut, the crowdfunded war drama ROADS OF ITHRIYAH, in 2022. His second feature film as a producer is ENMANUEL (2023), a documentary which follows a Venezuelan refugee family in Colombia. Javier's newest project is a punk rock sci-fi comedy called LUPE Q AND THE GALACTIC EARWORMS, which was developed with the support of Telefilm, CreativeBC, and the Blood in the Snow Horror Development Lab in Toronto. In his free time, Javier enjoys long walks on the beach and saving kittens.
Melanie Jones
They/Them
General Director
Based in Vancouver, Melanie is an award-winning filmmaker of over a dozen short films, including the Crazy 8’s Comedy, Shuttlecock. Melanie’s first feature FSM earned them a Leo nomination for Best Directing and they are an alumnus of numerous talent labs including the TIFF Writer’s Studio, Women in the Director’s Chair, and Reykjavik Talent Lab.
PROGRAMMING TEAM
Laura Arboleda
She/Her
Co-Director of Programming
Avi Glanzer
He/They
Co-Director of Programming
Laura is a queer Colombian-Mestizo filmmaker and programmer currently based in Vancouver, Canada.
Her documentary practice explores shared memories and spaces through a process-based experimental approach. She is committed to advocating for equity and representation in the film industry through her programming work at the Vancouver International Film Festival, DOXA, Vancouver International Women in Film Festival, and Vancouver Short Film Festival.