About BFFFilm SocietyStaffDesignPhotos

BFF STAFF 2025

Executive Director

Marco Ursino 

Director of Development

Susan E. Mackell

Programming

Michael Barringer - Feature Narrative Programmer

Feature Narrative ProgrammerMichael Barringer is a writer, director, and producer based in Brooklyn. By day he works as video producer for Sphere, and his short films have screened in festivals across the country and on NoBudge.com. Previously, he was the narrative shorts programmer at BFF, and 2024 marks his first year as feature narrative programmer. He holds an MFA in directing from the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema at Brooklyn College.

Sam Plakun - Feature Documentary Programmer

Feature Documentary ProgrammerSam Plakun has over a decade of experience in the documentary film space, working primarily in programming, festival management, marketing and outreach. For seven years, Sam served as the Program Manager for The DC Environmental Film Festival, and has held positions with DC/DOX Film Festival and the DC Shorts Film Festival. Her industry experience has earned her a spot on award juries for numerous festivals, including the Bozcaada International Festival of Documentary, Indie Street Film Festival and the Green Film Network. Born and raised in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, Sam earned a degree in Media Arts for Social Justice from Pitzer College, a member of the Claremont Consortium in Southern California. Now a proud resident of Washington, D.C., Sam shares her love of film with her husband and two cats.

Aniko Kovecsi - Short Narrative Programmer

Short Narrative ProgrammerAniko Kovecsi is a New York-based film programmer and festival manager. She has worked with film festivals internationally as managing director, programmer, grant evaluator and screening committee member, including at Verzio Documentary Film Festival (Hungary), NewFest (New York), and New York Film Festival, among others. Aniko studied and holds qualifications in human rights, liberal arts and arts management from Central European University, Bard College and New York University. She has a passion for shorts and nonfiction film and is interested in the correlation of visual arts, difficult history, and memory, particularly in Indigenous and LGBTQ+ contexts. Aniko is also an art educator and has taught courses at the New York Historical Society and Blinken Open Society Archives.

Aidan Cronin - Short Documentary Programmer

Short Documentary ProgrammerAidan Cronin is a Brooklyn-based Director, Cinematographer, & Programmer. His written and directed work examines the cyclical banality of our continued existence, while his cinematography experiments with repurposing antiquated film cameras, camcorders, and lenses to create impressionistic and nostalgic imagery. His work has screened at festivals including Sundance, Atlanta, New Orleans, Palm Springs, and Chicago Underground, and has received accolades from festivals such as Brooklyn, Yale, Ivy, Onion City, Charlotte, NFFTY, and AIFVF. Aidan is the Co-Founder of the Ithaca Experimental Film Festival, where he currently serves as one of its Festival Directors and Programmers.

Sarah Bex Rice - Experimental Programmer

Experimental ProgrammerSarah Bex Rice is a media archivist, writer and video artist that has worked in many different capacities with filmmakers and festivals both local and worldwide, including the Edinburgh Film Festival, Glasgow Film Festival and Indie Street Film Festival. She has screened work at the Imperial War Museum Film Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Passionate about the preservation of media, Sarah has also worked hands-on within several archives, including the Moving Image Research Collections, Ralph Lauren, Viacom and currently as a Film/Video Librarian for NBC News. She holds an advanced degree in Film, Exhibition and Curation and is interested in the future of both archival and experimental practices in programming.

Julia Cowle - Animation Programmer

Animation ProgrammerJulia Cowle is an Independent Filmmaker, Illustrator, and Comedy Writer based in New York City. She pursued her undergraduate Film and Television studies at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University and studied at The Rhode Island School of Design. Her Animation work has screened throughout the US and Internationally, and her Illustrations have appeared in various magazines and exhibits. In addition to her animated films, Julia directs live action; her most recent production, 'Winfield Historical Times… And Other Oddities'. Julia interned at Columbia Records in the 'Video Production and Visual Development' department where she designed company-wide concert blasts for Columbia Records artists such as Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, Little Mix, Russ and Leon and for concerts featuring Columbia artists including 'BET Hip Hop Awards' and 'CMT Crossroads.' Additionally Julia has worked in a wide range of curating capacities, as a jury member for the 'Scholastic Art Awards', Internationally as a Jury member for the 'CreActive International Open Film Festival' in Bangladesh and as a screener for 'Nantucket Film Festival'. She has also worked in literary curating as a staff reader for 'Spark: a Creative Anthology' and its two sister publications. Julia has programmed the Brooklyn Film Festival's Animation lineup for the past four festivals.

Montana Nelson – Programming Assistant

Production

James Nalle – Production Manager
Paul Osheske – Production Coordinator
Paul Screvane – Venue Manager
Noah Lapid – Venue Manager
Lucy Blum – Volunteer Coordinator
KY Woo – Special Events Host

Technical Presentation

Luke Emery – Setup & Projection
Dylan O’Keefe – Breakdown & Projection
DOK Productions – Technical Supervisor/Projectionist

Public Relations

Lisa King – Public Relations Manager
Lexi Riolo – Press Assistant
Emily Morley – Press Assistant

Digital Media

Haya Alghanim – Digital Media Manager

Still Photography

Lou Aguilar – Event Coverage

Print Traffic

Kayo Gorden – Exhibitions Manager

Website

Alessandro Bragaglia – Developer
Don Rainwater – Production
Mario Pego – Consultant

Design

OTHERWAY

In House Design

Daniel Schwabinger