Max Ryerson

IEFTA Founder and Creative Director

Belgium-born Max Ryerson is a passionate filmmaker and promoter of cinematic art. He shot his first stop-action animated film as a pre-teen, followed soon after by experiments with short narrative film. His interest in the moving image led next to journalism. By his late teens, he had directed his first commercial. After studying theater and acting at school, he moved to Monte-Carlo to attend university.

After graduation, Max moved to Los Angeles where he studied at the New York Film Academy and the Hollywood Film Institute. In addition to directing and producing films and music videos, he has worked on various TV series (CSI, The West Wing, NYPD Blue, Ally McBeal, Felicity, Becker) and for major film studios including Walt Disney Pictures and 20th Century Fox. Frequently mentioned in reviews by Variety, Screen Daily, The Hollywood Reporter and IndieWire.com, Max returned to Monte-Carlo in 2004 with the goal of creating a new film festival. He is currently involved in film financing with Robyn Klein and Andreas Cerdan.

Noriko Katayanagi-Bonafede

Treasurer

Noriko has leant her business consulting expertise to dozens of international organizations and events. A specialist in luxury marketing and exclusive entertainment (music, TV, magazines, fashion, cinema, motor sports, mega-yachting, technology and event sponsorship), Noriko currently runs the "Monaco Luxury Network."

Formerly a professor of business psychology at the International University of Monaco, Noriko’s extensive consulting practice includes Television and Motion Picture companies (Fuji, Pajamanation, NHK TV) the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, ADDICTUM, L'OFFICIAL JAPON, IBM, TBS, Avex, Green Energy Japan, and NTT DoCoMo among others.

Mitch Levine

IETFF Festival Producer

Mitch is the founder and principle of the International Film Festival Consulting Group. IFFCG offers a full range of professional consulting and production services to film festivals and distribution companies around the world, specializing in startup strategy, strategic planning, industry relations, executive recruiting, systems, administration and operations, special events and technical production.

Mitch founded IFFCG after serving as the Executive Director and CEO of the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Past and present clients include the Toronto International Film Festival Group, Film Circuit (Canada), Film Independent, Los Angeles Film Festival, American Film Institute, AFI Fest and the Puerto Vallarta Film Festival.

Marco Orsini

President

Marco Orsini is an award-winning writer, director and producer as well as a co-founder of the International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA) of Monaco. He began his career in 1995, producing, writing and directing live and prerecorded programming for English and Spanish Language network and cable television.

Moving to film in 2001, Marco's first short, "Mari-Conita De Jesus", toured the festivals before being included in Princeton's Latin American Studies curriculum. In 2002, the National Association of Latino Independent Producers recognized Marco as an "Up and Coming" filmmaker.

Inspired by his own life, Marco's script, "American Way", earned a place in Tribeca's inaugural All Access Program. Soon after, his 35mm short film, "Un Dia en la Vida" premiered at Sundance, prior to being named Best Dramatic Short at the International Festival of Cinema and Technology in 2006.

In 2007, Marco traveled through Ethiopia documenting its extraordinary cultural history. His wry account of that expedition, "The Reluctant Traveler", (Winner of the Audience Award at the Jacksonville International Film Festival) has just been sold and awaits broadcast.

Marco currently leads the IEFTA's Global Film Expression initiative in Ethiopia, focusing on filmmaker training and industry development.

Angela Van Wright

IEFTA Secretary

Born in Baltimore Maryland, Angela Van Wright received a Bachelor of Arts from Hampton University before starting a career in television as a news reporter for ABC affiliates in Hampton, Norfolk and Newport News Virginia. She then worked in production at the Children’s T.V Workshop, producers of Sesame Street & Electric Company. Today, Angela is a well-known figure in Monaco, where she serves on the board of directors of Outward Bound Monaco, Monaco Humanitarian and Monaco Asie (Tsunami relief). Angela is committed to environmental awareness and the arts, serving as the Vice President of the Arty Ecology Association and as a founding member of the Friends of the New Museum.