Ivy League Film Festival, Co-Head/Director
Co-Head, Ivy League Film Festival (IFF)
Managed and supported a staff of 120 students in 10 departments to produce the world’s largest student film festival. Recent speakers included Sacha Baron Cohen, Aaron Sorkin, Olivia Wilde, Mindy Kaling, André Leon Talley, and others; past guests included Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Robert DeNiro, Jack Nicholson, Jodie Foster, amongst others.
Orchestrated 50+ events yearly; oversaw festival’s budget of $40K+.
Handled cross-functional workstreams, ideation, and collaborations with major studios including Lionsgate, Fox Searchlight, A24 for advance screenings. Launched partnership with Creative Artists Agency.
The largest student-run film festival in the world
Interviewing Bryan Cranston
IFF pivoted to a virtual festival in spring 2020 as COVID-19 struck and we reinvented every facet of the festival from securing new guest speakers to the establishing a broadcast platform in less than six-weeks.
I recruited actor Bryan Cranston who generously agreed to be our keynote speaker and conducted a one-hour interview with him via Zoom.
Networking: From beekeeping with Zac Efron to interviewing his Film Production Partner
Through my beekeeping work on a film set with Zac Efron, I established a rapport with his film production company partner, Michael Simkin, who accepted my invitation to travel to Brown for an on-stage interview during IFF’s 2019 festival.
Additionally, I liaised with Netflix to secure an advanced screening of Zac’s film, “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” amongst other films to preview campus throughout the year.
Establishing Lincoln Center as our NYC Festival Home
Leading the venue search for IFF’s sneak preview and press event in NYC, I approached Lincoln Center with the suggestion of offering special “impoverished student rates” to host the IFF festival-–and they agreed. I was the point person for the arrangements, handling all correspondence, contracts and details of the relationship.
Career Weekend
As Brown University does not offer a formal film concentration, Ivy League Film Festival filled the gap by recruiting high-level film professionals for a weekend of career workshops designed to incubate and educate students aspiring to enter the industry. Informative interviews were held with a screenwriter, director, producer, music supervisor, talent agent, cinematographer, film critic, and editor.
Acclaimed producer Michael Simkin was interviewed by Sasha Pinto '21, co-director of Ivy Film Festival, as part of the Ivy Film Festival 2020 Weekend of Career Chats at Brown University.
Award-winning film critic, journalist, and writer, Elizabeth Weitzman, was interviewed by Sasha Pinto '21, co-director of Ivy Film Festival, as part of the Ivy Film Festival 2020 Weekend of Career Chats at Brown University.
A moment from the annual halloween party
Elevating events and college parties to a new level
From my beginnings in the club as the events manager to my two years at the helm, IFF raised the bar for college events and student parties.
Under my leadership as events director, we raised five times more funds than previously through the creation of new data collection systems, a detailed marketing plan, direct mail solicitations, winning new events and venues, the negotiation of preferred rates, and the building of partnerships with other Brown clubs.
Event Snapshots
