Skip to content

The Video Art and Experimental Film Festival is looking for assistant curators to join the festival’s small, dedicated team of volunteer curators. Joining VAEFF’s team as an assistant curator is a unique opportunity to get firsthand, behind-the-scenes experience with a boundary-pushing film festival in New York City.

As an assistant curator, you will watch and evaluate works of video art and film from a vast variety of genres and themes, including music video, fashion film, dance film, documentary, visual narrative, and more. The ideal candidate for this position should possess a critical eye, a passion for art and film, and strong writing skills. We are looking for self-starters who can work independently and in a team. Work is done remotely from home during flexible hours, but candidates should be prepared to periodically communicate with the director/chief-curator via Zoom.

Past selected films from 2010-2022 can be viewed at VAEFF Selections

**Candidates should be ready to commit to a minimum of 4 hours of curation per week for 1 month. After completing 16 hours of curation (around 80 films), you will earn the title of Associate Curator and will officially be added to the VAEFF Team page. Associate Curators will have the opportunity to be a part of the final rounds of curation.**

To apply for Assistant Curator for VAEFF 2023, please submit here:

Frequently Asked Questions:

What does the VAEFF curatorial team do?

The VAEFF curatorial team each year receives and reviews hundreds of submissions from artists and filmmakers from around the world. Submitted works come in a vast variety of genres and themes, including visual narrative, music video, animation, documentary, and fashion film. VAEFF seeks to reflect in its final selection the stylistic and thematic changes that are taking place in contemporary video art and film.

Past selected films from 2010-2022 can be watched at VAEFF Selections

What are the benefits and responsibilities of joining the VAEFF curatorial team?

Joining VAEFF’s team as an assistant curator is a unique opportunity to get firsthand, behind-the-scenes experience with a boundary-pushing film festival in New York City. VAEFF takes the task of evaluating hundreds of submissions from artists worldwide very seriously, and all curatorial decisions come with extensive deliberation, scrutiny, and debate. Being part of the curatorial team is a fun and educational experience,  but it also comes with the responsibility of maintaining the highest integrity and professional standards.

What are the requirements of a VAEFF Assistant Curator?

As an assistant curator, you will be required to watch and evaluate 80 film submissions in 4 weeks. This is usually broken down to 5 films per hour, 4 hours per week (we recommend watching no more than 2 hours in a day). 

What is a VAEFF Associate Curator?

The Associate Curator position is earned after completing at least 16 hours of curation. As an Associate Curator, you will have the opportunity to be a part of the final rounds of the festival curation process in addition to being officially added to the VAEFF Team page.

How do I watch and evaluate the submissions?

VAEFF accepts and curates submissions via https://filmfreeway.com/VAEFF  

As a curator, you will be given an account on FilmFreeway, where you will watch, rate, and comment on submissions assigned to you.

Where do I work from?

As long as you have an online connection, you can watch and evaluate submissions from anywhere at any time. 

Can Curators be considered for another position at VAEFF 2023?

Highly qualified individuals will be more than welcome to voluntarily be involved in programming and other tasks as part of the VAEFF leadership team.

When and where is VAEFF 2023

VAEFF 2023 will take place on November 17 – 18, 2023 at the Tribeca Film Center in NYC.

Trailer for the ninth annual Video Art & Experimental Film Festival (VAEFF 2021)

Trailer for the ninth annual Video Art & Experimental Film Festival (VAEFF 2020)

Trailer for the “Fashion Film — The New Wave” program

 

Back To Top