Board Members
CIFF’s Board of Directors would like to acknowledge and offer it’s appreciation to the Rosza Foundation for generously supporting its endeavors to strengthen it’s organizational foundation and processes.
Dominic Venturo, President
Dom has been a CIFF Director since 1999, and President of its Board of Directors since 2000. He is a noted film lover and lists Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Godfather, The Third Man, The Long Good Friday, and Mediterraneo as five of his top 1000 films. Dom sits on a number of other charitable and cultural boards - most notably he is also the President of the Calgary Italian Sportsman’s Dinner Association. He is very proud of his involvement with CIFF and the strides the festival has made since its inception. Dom is thrilled to work with his fellow directors, CIFF staff, and especially the hundreds of volunteers who have made the Festival the success that it is.
James Pettigrew, Treasurer
One of the newest board members, James is a Partner in the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), and Calgary leader of PwC’s Entertainment and Media practice. A lifelong film enthusiast and supporter of the Calgary arts community, James is excited about working with the staff and board of CIFF as the festival grows.
Peter Wallis, Secretary
Peter Wallis is the President and CEO of The Van Horne Institute for International Transportation and Regulatory Affairs, an international leader in public policy research related to the transportation industry. Actively involved in Calgary organizations Peter is the Past President of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and past vice-Chair of the Calgary Homeless Foundation and serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Calgary Airport Authority.
Teresina Bontorin, VP Operations
Teresina Bontorin, LLB, is a long time Director on the CIFF board. Teresina brings exceptional organizational skills and knowledge of board process to her role as VP Operations – where she keeps the board and staff in line and on track! If Teresina were in the film industry she would make an excellent producer, and given her traditional Italian upbringing and love for gangster films, she would surely find a way to cast herself as the first female mob-boss to go down in movie history.
Luke Azevedo, Director
With an extensive background in film, television, and new media, Luke Azevedo brings a great deal of experience and expertise to his most recent role as Film Commissioner with Calgary Economic Development (CED). Before joining the ranks of CED Luke spent over 20 years in the industry, including a vibrant tenure as the director of creative electronic environment at The Banff Centre. His involvement will bring the Festival new opportunities to engage and celebrate the film industry.
Murray Ord, Director
Murray’s career in film and television spans over 30 years in every aspect of the industry. From 1996 to 2001, Murray was the President of the Alberta Film Commission. During this term he raised the profile of the industry not only in Alberta, but throughout the world. He was responsible for bringing numerous film and television projects to Alberta. Murray’s production credits include films such as Unforgiven and Legends of the Fall. Recently, he co-produced Brokeback Mountain and the Emmy nominated television movie The Ron Clark Story. Murray is a partner in the successful Calgary-based production company Alberta Film Entertainment.
Alex MacWilliam, Director
By day (and often by night), Alex MacWilliam practices environmental law as a Partner with the firm of Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP. He joined the CIFF Board in March 2007 and is thrilled to be part of this great organization. A devoted film fan, he describes his cinematic epiphany as occurring at a midnight showing of Pink Flamingos at the Plaza in 1975. Raised in Calgary, he is old enough to remember the Capitol, Strand, Tivoli and Palace Theatres and the Sunset, Cinema Park, Corral and 17th Avenue drive-ins – but not old enough to have been allowed in to see the original release of The Exorcist. Alex also sits on the board of Alberta Theatre Projects and is a Past President of the Calgary Bar Association.
Gary Davies, Director
Gary oversees the operations of all RedPoint products and serves on the senior management team. He is also publisher of up! magazine, WestJet’s in-flight publication; and publisher of RedPoint’s various cultural and corporate magazines. In the past, Gary served as president of the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association and of the Word on the Street Book and Magazine Fair. He is currently involved with the Communications Committee of the United Way (Calgary) and has recently returned to the board of the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association.
Brent Buechler, Director
Brent Buechler is committed to establishing the Calgary International Film Festival’s reputation among Canada’s best and beyond. Personally, Brent loves discovering world cinema and has a tough time singling out favorite films - except maybe Lawrence of Arabia and The Godfather I and II. When pressed, he might also admit to such cinematic guilty pleasures as popcorn movies featuring craggy archaeologist adventurers, dinosaurs eating people, and costumed crime fighters.Brent invites Calgarians to explore the many diverse, quality cultural experiences in their own backyard – CIFF being one of these ‘must do’ activities!
Nollind Van Bryce, Director
Nollind van Bryce is the Manager, Communications and Resource Development at the Calgary Food Bank. He has worked in the non-profit sector since 1992 with organizations ranging in size from local grassroots to international. He’s married to Teresa and has a dog, two cats and a few horses.
