Director and Chief Curator Dan Fine is an award-winning artist who lives and works in New York City. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of Visual Arts and has exhibited work in the United States, Germany and Israel. Fine founded Videoart.net in 2005 and currently serves as its director and chief curator. In 2010, he established the Video Art & Experimental Film Festival in New York City.
Mark Alpert
Board Member and Panel Moderator Mark Alpert is the author of the international bestselling novel Final Theory and its sequel, The Omega Theory. A longtime journalist who has worked for newspapers, magazines and television, he focuses his writing on the connections between science and art. He is a graduate of Princeton and Columbia and currently a contributing editor at Scientific American. His books have been published in more than twenty languages.
Niccolo Montanari
Guest Curator Niccolo Montanari was born in Italy and raised in the UK. He built his experience in fashion film as one of the founding members of the Berlin Fashion Film Festival. Since 2016 he has worked with film directors, production companies and agencies to support them in the distribution of video content across online media and international film festivals. Learn More
Sharvari Bhat
Senior Coordinator, Programming & Partnerships Sharvari Bhat is a Creative Producer based in New York City. Sharvari has a dual degree in Film & Television and Psychology from Boston University and has an MFA in Creative Producing from Columbia University. Her films have been supported by Panavision, NY Women’s Fund, The Film Collaborative, and The Gotham Film Institute. Sharvari is a recipient of the Arthur Krim Memorial Fellowship for Excellence in Producing.
Carmela Del Vecchio
Senior Curator Carmela Del Vecchio is a TV/Film Professional based in New York. Her background is as a Production Manager having worked for MTV, among others. She received her Master’s Degree in Media Studies & Film Production Certificate from The New School. Her Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in Radio/TV/Film is from Marist College. She has a passion for film and currently has a short film in post production which she wrote, produced and directed. Carmela joined the VAEFF team in 2019.
Katie Christ
Associate Curator Katie Christ is a filmmaker and video editor based in Queens. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts from Fordham University in 2019, and recently earned her MFA at Rochester Institute of Technology in Film Production.
Jonathan Fine
Producer Assistant & Editor Jonathan Fine is a filmmaker, VFX artist, and musician based in Brooklyn. With a degree in film production from Bard College and a background in piano, he has won awards including “Best Music Video” at NYIFA, “Young Filmmaker” at LAFA, and Gold Medal at the National Young Maestro Competition.
Rachel Debolski
Associate Curator Rachel Debolski is a Brooklyn based visual artist, writer, and filmmaker. Her work has been showcased and awarded both locally and internationally. She holds a BFA In Entertainment Arts with an emphasis in Digital Filmmaking from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan and an MA in Media Studies from The New School in New York City. Outside of her artistic practice, Rachel has also worked freelance in independent film production as well as academia where she has taught creative visualization and storytelling for filmmaking.
Brian Mark
Associate Curator Brian Mark is an award winning composer, pianist and video artist based in Brooklyn. His works have been performed by the BBC Singers, Chelsea Symphony, Pacific Chamber Orchestra, Ligeti Quartet, members of the London Symphony Orchestra and others. His video installations have been shown in venues and art galleries in the US, UK and throughout Europe. Brian has received grants from the Brooklyn Arts Council, Jerome Fund, Mozaik Philanthropy, and ASCAP. He completed his PhD at the Royal Academy of Music.
Mariano Testa
Associate Curator Mariano Testa Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mariano moved to Europe, where he graduated from EINA University, School of Design and Art in Barcelona. New York City has been home for over seventeen years. Mariano has evolved into an innovative and hands-on Creative Director, filmmaker, and College Professor with over 15+ years of experience in Lifestyle, Beauty, and Fashion Advertising. He had the honor and privilege to work with some of the best talent in the industry.
Yijiu Wang
Senior Curator Yijiu Wang is a writer and film critic based in New York. She holds a BA in Art History with a concentration in French and Film Studies, and is currently applying for graduate programs in tv/film production.
Jeffrey Crowley
Associate Curator Jeffrey P. Crowley is a NY based filmmaker and film programmer. As a jack-of-all-trades cinema worker, Jeffrey has programmed, managed, coordinated and screened for a variety of film institutions and festivals, most notably Jacob Burns Film Center, Metrograph, Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers, AFMI’s Arab Film Festival, Indie Memphis and Rooftop Films. His feature debut, Night Light, is an award winning period drama, set in one location, about two, young brothers’ shifting sense of brotherhood. The third of four Crowley-siblings, Jeffrey is a graduate of SUNY Purchase’s Art History and Playwriting & Screenwriting programs, and in his free time, he’s pretty handy with a yo-yo.
Coral Gregory
Coral Gregory, from Richmond Indiana, is an intern for the Fall 2023 season. She is participating in the New York Arts Program and currently studies Film and Media at DePauw University.
Charlie Levine
Charlie Levine, a student at The New York Arts Program, is an intern for the fall 2023 semester. He hails from New Hampshire, and is currently a junior at DePauw University where he majors in English Writing.
VAEFF 2023 Venues Tribeca Film Center Producers Club Theaters
Sponsors Beer has been lovingly provided by Brooklyn Brewery