Our Community | Slamdance

Slamdance is a community, a year-round experience, and a statement in which everyone is invited to take part. The first Slamdance Film Festival was held in 1995 by a wild bunch of filmmakers who were tired of relying on a large, oblique system to showcase their work. Since then, Slamdance has proven year after year that independent grassroots communities can take risks on bold talent and launch careers that change the industry. Our artist-led community continues to discover and nurture diverse, international creators through various programs throughout the year, focusing on new writers, digital and interactive art, awards and mentorship, DIY film education, film screenings and of course, the Slamdance Film Festival.

Slamdance Headquarters Team

By Filmmakers, For Filmmakers. Nowhere is our guiding principle more evident than in programming at Slamdance. Each year, we invite the newest class of Slamdance alumni to join us in the effort to discover and support the most exciting new voices in filmmaking, and to have a hand in shaping the future of film.

As Slamdance programmers, we’re all filmmakers and we’re all volunteers. Almost all of us have screened films at Slamdance. Every film submitted is watched in its entirety by at least two different programmers and there are over 200 programmers watching submissions from wherever in the world we are. Every programmer has an equal voice in the debate whether it’s their first or 25th year programming at Slamdance. After every film is watched and scored, our programming teams meet in person and spend a few weekends in late October and November re-watching, debating, and duking it out until our Festival Lineup finally emerges from the rubble of our battles.

Here are the programmers who made Slamdance 2023 possible.

Slamdance Headquarters Team

Brogan Luke Bouwhuis Social Media Manager

Cayden Turnbow Festival Intern

Chris and Pat McFaul Submissions Tech Gurus

Dekker Dreyer Marketing Consultant

Kyra Rogers Grants Manager

Lily Yasuda Festival Manager

Michael Christopher Morin Festival Producer

Paul Sbrizzi Graphic Artist

Peter Baxter President and Co-founder

Steven Amhrein Web Developer

Taylor Miller Associate Producer, Co-Founder Slamdance Unstoppable

Slamdance 2023 Artists

Tara Tavi Festival Key Artist

Slamdance Group Directors and Officers

Taylor Miller Secretary

Ken Coelho Treasurer

Paul Rachman Director

Peter Baxter Chairman

Sandy Lighterman Director

Kyra Rogers Director

Slamdance 2023 Programmers

Spotlight Features

Peter Baxter

Paul Rachman

Narrative Features

Maha Al-Saati

Michael Bartolomeo

Harry Cherniak

Sarah Diamond

Natacha Feola-Quintanilla

Camille Hollet

Peter Kimball

Skinner Myers*

Natalie Neal

Will Riley

Liam Riley

Paul Sbrizzi

Zach Sherman

Noel Taylor

Mila Zuo*

Documentary Features

Jonathan Berman

Brian Bolster*

Fabian Euresti

Summre Garber*

Sasha Levinson

Jason Polevoi

Patrick Sheehan

Debra Sugarman

Breakouts

Craig Parish*

Chris Parizo

Paul Rachman

Todd Remis

Kyra Rogers*

Ben Umstead

Matthew Wade

Narrative Shorts

Shane Aquino*

Via Bia*

Brogan Luke Bouwhuis

Mario Gajo

Theo Georgescu

Robert Kleinschmidt

Meryem Lahlou

Patrick Murray

Shaun Parker

Brian Ratigan*

Ben Roberds

Andrew Stone

Em Solarova

F. Anthony Shepard

Catriona Rubenis Stevens

Animation Shorts

Andi Benge

Gustavo Benjumea

Zhuoyun Chen

Sarah Diamond

Cecilia Fletcher*

Brogan Luke Bouwhuis
Social Media Manager

Cayden Turnbow
Festival Intern

Chris and Pat McFaul
Submissions Tech Gurus

Dekker Dreyer
Marketing Consultant

Kyra Rogers
Grants Manager

Lily Yasuda
Festival Manager

Michael Christopher Morin
Festival Producer

Paul Sbrizzi
Graphic Artist

Peter Baxter
President and Co-founder

Steven Amhrein
Web Developer

Taylor Miller
Associate Producer, Co-Founder Slamdance Unstoppable

Tara Tavi
Festival Key Artist

Taylor Miller
Secretary

Ken Coelho
Treasurer

Paul Rachman
Director

Peter Baxter
Chairman

Sandy Lighterman
Director

Kyra Rogers
Director