Programming Board Members

Sophie Chevako (she/her)

Truthfully, all I want is to make art for the people I love and for myself. I am an artist, writer, director, cinematographer, and independent filmmaker of stories always near and dear to me. I graduated in 2023 from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Film and Television. As a queer woman of color, I want to connect with women and my LGBTQIA+ community through art and use my voice in the fight for representation and justice. I want my films to be there to listen to those who have not felt heard, to capture moments and people in time through the most ambiguous of emotions. Some feelings can only be portrayed through this medium. To those who listen back to my work, I am grateful to you.

https://linktr.ee/sophiechevako

Krista Bloom (she/they) is an English doctoral student at UIC who works with video art, perforance art and electronic music.

Bianca Caniglia (she/her) is a queer Midwestern filmmaker and theater artist. She attended The University of Toledo, obtaining a BS in Environmental Science and a BA in Women’s and Gender Studies. Bianca moved to Chicago in 2018 and has spent the last 6 years strengthening her writing and directing skills, and acting in plays. She has worked with The Martin, The Neighborhood Theater, and Red Tape Theater. She also studied for two years under the mentorship of Sundance juror and director Madeleine Olnek. Bianca has directed 5 shorts and plans to direct her first feature within the next five years (fingers crossed).

Charles Fox (he/him) is an artist through video, music, & specializes in pushing new formats of media. He recognizes that identity is a matter of circumstance so he attempts to create the best situations for himself & people around him. In 2020 Charles founded New England Poet Society (@newenglandpoetsociety) with Cam Barnes. NEPS currently has a recording space in Burlington, Vermont & is accepting new members. Time is all we have, Charles likes to decorate it.

Alyssa Rae Thomas (she/they) is a filmmaker and choreographer from Southgate, Michigan. She holds a double BA in Film, TV, & Media and Art History from the University of Michigan, where she was a recipient of the 2022-23 John H. and Patricia W. Mitchell Scholarship. She has written and directed several short films as well as choreographed for both the screen and the stage, and her work often focuses around issues of body image, mental health, and gender nonconformity.

Sam Tudor-Hidy is a professional Steadicam and Jib operator mostly for live television. He moved to Chicago from Seattle in order to attend Columbia College. After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Cinema Arts and Sciences he began working at a studio for Stadium in the United Center and has recently begun operating at the Big 10 Network. On the side Sam has produced some short films including Rebound with festival founder Moon Abbott. In the future Sam hopes to take his camera operating abilities further into the world of sports television as well as feature films.

Raine Yung is an interdisciplinary artist from the Southwest Side of Chicago. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she received their Presidential Scholarship. Raine has shown work at the Hairpin Arts Center, Agitator Gallery, the Gene Siskel Film Center, and Pilsen Arts and Community House.

Raine navigates her empty home with a camera, contorting and obscuring her bodily form, eating and melting her face—delicately feral. She funnels her experiences into colorfully morbid videos, images, performances, and sculptures.