Elizabeth Robbins:
Founder, Managing Director
Noreaster.filmfestival@yahoo.com

Liz Robbins graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art in 1996 with a BFA in photography, and has worked in a number of mediums since.

Liz is committed to seeing people being able to pursue their dreams. With the advent of inexpensive cameras and in home editing programs, a whole new realm of opportunities is available for filmmakers to pursue their passion. What is not as available is a place to share their work. There are a limited number of outlets available to filmmakers to show their work to the public. There are places like YouTube and other online facilities, but is not the same experience as being presented in a theater in front of a live audience. Making the film is only half the equation. Without the audience, the circle of artistic expression cannot be completed.

Liz hopes for the festival are that it grows and expands every year. The contributors and participants of the festival are able to gain exposure that will lead to successful careers. And most importantly, that the audience is move, touched, and inspired by the work that is presented.

Benjamin Chou:
Festival/ Artistic Director & Co-Founder
noreasterfilmfestival.neff@gmail.com

Benjamin Chou was originally brought in by Liz and Benn Robbins to assist as the submission coordinator and technical advisor for the Lights, Camera, Action showcase. He has been on all sides of the film festival world as an entrant, a spectator, a volunteer, and a festival director, making him the most experienced person driving the Nor’easter Film Festival.

Ben is an independent filmmaker, animator, digital post editor, and cameraman…pretty much an all around film and animation guy. A born and raised New Englander, Ben graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art in 2007 as dual major in Film/Video and the Studio for Interrelated Media with a minor in Animation.

Benn Robbins:
Public Relations Director/ Co-Founder
neff.PublicRelations@gmail.com

Benn Robbins, Man of action. Partner extraordinaire, co-creator of the Nor’easter Film Festival. A film maker and fine artist, he got his bachelors degree in 1995 in Film from the Massachusetts college of art and works professionally as an artist and full time pop culture guru. He got involved in the festival to help burgeoning film makers like himself have a place to show their work and get it out there for people to see! He hopes that the Festival will take off like wildfire and become the premier venue for up and coming filmmakers to show their work in New England. Originally created by his wife, Liz, he worked beside her on the original festival that she created in 5 weeks and has kept up his support for it and looks to be involved in it for years to come! GO SOX!!

David Concannon:
Volunteer
neff.volunteers@gmail.com

David Concannon volunteered to be a part of the crew of the Nor’easter Film Festival is because he want other young aspiring filmmakers to be able to receive the same experience that he did. David remember how it was when he started submitting his first films into festivals and how exhilarating it felt to actually be able to say “Hey! My short film is going to be screened in front of hundreds to thousands of people.” How it really feels to actually present your work into the real world; he believe all individuals interested in filmmaking should get a chance to get the best experience they possibly can. With the Nor’easter Film Festival, young filmmakers from New England have an opportunity to take advantage of such an experience.

David is a young animator who graduated from Massachusetts College of art in May ’07. Currently he has been employed by Apple and has been doing small commission projects on the side since graduating. Ben Chou had approached him several months later expressing his interest in this project and David was more than eager to jump on board and help with the production of this Festival; because in the end, he hope to see it bring some of the best student films into the light for studios and production companies to see a direct way to develop a network between New England filmmakers and the Film industry. He is more than confident that the Nor’easter film festival will accomplish this goal.

Angel Macaya:
Volunteer Coordinator/ Liaison Coordintor
neff.volunteers@gmail.com

Angel Macaya is a volunteer for the Nor’easter Film Festival. She recently graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Art and Animation, from Massachusetts College of Art. She is currently starting out in the professional world of animation.

She got involved with the film festival because a friend of hers, Ben Chou, brought it up in conversation with her and David just this past New Years Eve. He told them a couple of their other friends were also working with him and Liz Robbins and that they would like to get some more people involved to help volunteer. And so far it has been a lot of fun.

Angel volunteered to be a part of the Nor’easter Film Festival because she thought it would be a new and fun learning experience. On top of that, it sounded like a lot of fun, doing something with her friends.

What she hopes to get out of this experience is a chance to get to know new people, have fun, and learn more about behind the scenes of making a film festival.

Her hope for the film festival is that it will be a success, something that will continue to grow each year into something great. She also hopes that it will give colleges, other than the ones of Boston, MA, a chance to show their work, alongside new and experienced professional artists and filmmakers.

Kerri Desmond:
Media Designer

Kerri Desmond has been making art as long as she’s been able to hold a pencil. Massachusetts College of Art claimed her in 1997 and kept her till 2001 where she majored in Illustration and Communication Design. Since then she’s had various jobs, some in design, some not. Trader Joe’s scooped her up for just over 3 years as an in-house artist and muralist creating ginormous pieces and painting the windows of their Newton Store (which you can see from the Mass Pike even now). Returning to MassArt in the summer of 2007 she’s attending the night certificate program for Graphic Design while during the day freelancing in design and creating both housewares and individual art pieces for sale under her company label “EVILBUNNYMAYHEM ink.”

Caitlin Hay:
Liaison Coordinator
neff.liaison@gmail.com

Caitlin, a native of "Somewhere in the Middle" (or more specifically, Columbus, Ohio, where she swears there really is more than just cows and corn), moved to Boston three years ago to pursue a Film/Video degree at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She has since come to love the city and its blossoming film industry. Mainly an art director and script supervisor, Caitlin also has experience organizing shoots and screenings, and is a demon when it comes to pre-production. She likes shooting slow outdoor film stocks, writing short screenplays and flash fiction about her daily life, characters named after songs, and the power of the montage. The first 20 minutes of a movie are usually her favorite. Caitlin hopes this festival will bring together talented film and video makers from all over New England, so that they may all bounce ideas off of each other and team up for even more creativity and production. She can't wait to see all of your work!