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MONTAGUE FITZGERALD
(He / Him)
FILM FESTIVAL PRODUCER
Montague is a self-taught filmmaker who made his directorial debut with Gimme One, a VR dance documentary about the Bristol ballroom community. He is a creator who has previously worked on a range of moving image projects. His work includes film, dance, performance and installation exhibits with a focus on social impact. Montague’s work centres around the themes of cultural identity and community. This interest feeds into his work in events, programming digital and cultural events that encourage wider audiences to engage with these ideas.
Email: Monty@fitzfilmz.co.uk
KATE FAHY
(She / Her)
ARCHIVE CURATOR
This is my first year at PIFF and I’m super excited to be in such a wonderful team, and such a wonderful film festival that forefronts the radical and the unseen. I’m embarrassingly happiest when organising, especially when it comes to film and arts events that champion and give visibility to the marginalised. I’m interested in archive film, and confronting the inaccuracies of film history. The potential of enabling dialogue with rippling positive impact is what drives me. My favourite queer film is unashamedly Carol by Todd Haynes, it helped me to realise myself and Cate Blanchett is just….
DANI WIJESINGHE
(They / Them)
EVENTS PROGRAMMING
Primarily a writer in psychoanalysis and philosophy of the biosciences, Dani is also a queer culture advocate working in community organising and has developed and presented workshops in developing collective direct action tactics through forum theatre for events such as In Between Time and Bristol Transformed. In photography, their work uses negative space to discuss the social utility of industrial and modernist architecture in our now-financialised cities. Their interest in cinema similarly lies in its use of absence and space to facilitate a creative dialectic between screen and audience.
Website: https://medium.com/@daniwijesinghe
Email: wijesinghedani@gmail.com
HARRY SILVERLOCK
(He / Him)
FOUNDER / CREATIVE DIRECTOR
I am the founder of The Palace International Film Festival. I am an XR producer with queer stories at my core. I believe that we can change the world through the power of queer cinema. My PIFF Pick would be Derek Jarmans' The Last of England - a passing commentary on Thatcher's Britain explored through a queer lens, about a country in decline and lost in nationalism — it could have been made today! www.harrysilverlock.com
Website: www.Harrysilverlock.com
Email: Harry@thepalacearts.com
MILO CLENSHAW
(He / Him)
SHORTS PROGRAMMING
I’m a writer, poet and curator, with previous festivals I’ve worked with including The Edinburgh International Film Festival and Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, and I’m currently working on a Masters in Film Curation in Glasgow. In my writing I often respond to the relationship between nature and living in a trans body. One of my main interests is in power structures within identity-based film festivals, so it’s so great to be part of a festival that is so open, radical and embracing of all things queer. It's nearly impossible to pick just one queer film, but a longtime favourite of mine is Céline Sciamma's Tomboy.
CLAWSON & WARD
SPECIAL PROGRAMMING
We are an artistic duo who lived & created work in Bristol for over a decade. Along the way we encountered many of Bristol’s most creative queers, some of whom we have invited to nominate short films for our Special Programme, with no parameters other than to nourish LGBTQI+ goodness. We want to use this platform as their showcase, to make space for sharing what they have been inspired by. We are keen for the screening to be an excuse to meet, chat & celebrate the thriving queer community of Bristol.
@clawsonandward
THEA HOPE
(She / Her)
THE PALACE DIRECTOR
Originally trained in performance and also a violinist, Thea has worked in theatre as an actor, director and producer; and in fashion, film and event production. Her element is wherever there are people and opportunities for collaboration with her wide breadth of skill sets coming together in the creation of The Palace Collective.
Website: www.thepalacearts.org
Email: Thea@thepalacearts.com
SANTIAGO PASTOR
(They / Them)
VIRTUAL REALITY CURATOR
Santi writes and sketch video games but never program them. It's very sad. Leipzig.