THE WORLD CULTURE FILM FESTIVAL (2024)
Founding Member, Co-Executive Director, and Programming Director
The Art of Living Foundation Los Angeles, USA

‍In 2024, I helped the Art of Living Foundation found the World Culture Film Festival in Los Angeles, which marked an exciting inaugural celebration of global cinematic talent. As one of the three Founding Members, Co-Executive Director, and Programming Director, I spearheaded crucial partnerships, including a collaboration with the USC School of Cinematic Arts, which hosted our esteemed Opening Night event. My efforts included co-curating a rich selection of films, thoughtfully considering entries from over 60 countries, and securing a panel of distinguished judges to evaluate the submissions. I assembled a dynamic team comprising a PR specialist and a renowned producer with experience at prestigious events such as the Oscars and Grammys, while also engaging two skilled MCs to enhance the event experience. The festival highlighted notable films, including the opening feature "The Monk and The Gun," Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days” and "Common Ground," delivering significant value in its first year. Additionally, I supervised the social media strategy and collaborated with the design team to successfully launch the festival website and promotional materials. To recognize exceptional talent, I ensured that awards were crafted overseas for our festival winners while coordinating with our team to shape an unforgettable overall event experience.

 ANIWA (2022, 2023, 2024)
Photographer, Cinematographer, Editor
THE BOA FOUNDATION Big Bear, USA

‍The Boa Foundation works with Indigenous communities to regenerate degraded ecosystems, support strategic land buybacks, assist with reforestation projects, help preserve songs, crafts, languages, and ceremonies, and offer a broad spectrum of eco-friendly solutions to increase the carrying capacity of land and community. They also facilitate intercultural exchanges with Indigenous leaders from around the world to learn how to live in harmony with nature, build alliances, support the preservation of their cultures, and amplify their message.

Since 2022, I have served as photographer and filmmaker at their gathering of elders, where Indigenous leaders from around the world come to offer wisdom and workshops to an international community and discuss the most pressing issues we face today. I am part of a small filming team that helps shoot educational courses for the BOA Foundation based on the lectures the Indigenous elders offer at the conference. Some of the leaders include:
- The Mamos and Zagas from elusive Kogi and Arhuaco tribes of Colombia,
- Ashaninka elder Benki Piyako, who is a UN Equator Prize winning and Environmental Administrator of Acre, Brazil,
- Hopi elder Mona Polacca, who has gained international recognition for her work as one of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers - a group of spiritual elders, medicine women, and wisdom keepers since 2004,
and many many more.

These academic courses are foundational to the BOA Foundation’s mission, and offer life-sustaining, earth-friendly practices by some of the world’s wisdom-keepers and made available to people worldwide. 

BRIDGE PHOTOGRAPHY MENTORSHIP PROGRAM (2023, 2024)
Lead Facilitator
The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), Los Angeles, CA

As Board Member of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers, I helped bring the 16-week long BRIDGE program to Los Angeles in the summer of 2023. Duties included assisting with the facilitation of the program, working with students to help them move past their difficulties, debriefing after each class to see what worked and what didn’t in order to better develop the program.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES SUMMIT (2023)
Omaha, Nebraska

In August 2023, an Indigenous Peoples’ Summit took place in Omaha, NE, where a robust conversation around Seedkeeping, Rematriation, Indigenous Womanhood, and Food Sovereignty took place over two days with Indigenous leaders from all over. Attendees included Chief Holloway of the Unmohon People, Queen Quet Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, Cynthia Ellis, Ambassador of the Garifuna Nation, Great Grandmother Mary Lyons, and so on.

I was invited to create a short documentary around the above-mentioned themes at the Summit. The Summit ended with a Treaty signed between the Iowa people and the Omaha Nations and the Garifuna Nations.

EMPOWERED INDIGENOUS FILMMAKER MASTERCLASSES (2018)
VoVo PRODUCTIONS AND TELUS STORYHIVE British Columbia

Canada-based Farhan Umedaly (VoVo Productions), who works with conservation organizations such as the David Suzuki Foundation, founded the Empowered Indigenous Filmmaker Masterclass, which offers filmmaking mentorship to marginalized communities worldwide, from First Nations youth to Syrian refugees and Indigenous communities worldwide.

I was invited to be a storytelling mentor at their British Columbia cohorts. We taught filmmaking to groups of First Nations youth from New Hazelton and then Kamloops, each cohort one week long. We offered the Indigenous youth of Canada with no prior experience in filmmaking hands-on technical training—from storyboarding and script writing to on-location filming, audio production, delivery of a completed film. We screened their films on a big screen and presented awards. Some of the youth have since successfully gone on to document and tell the stories of their elders.