Wendy Levy, MFA

 

Programming, Producing, and Arts Management

 

DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE PROGRAMMING

BAY AREA VIDEO COALITION, CA  January 2007 - present

Responsible for new and ongoing content initiatives for BAVC’s Media Arts, Broadcast, Innovation and Preservation programs; development of new and continuing partnerships in media production, exhibition, and distribution, programs for new media innovation technologies, grants and residencies for independent producers and public broadcasters, and programming for BAVC’s national Video and Audio Preservation Center.  Director of the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies, a national initiative funded wholly by the MacArthur Foundation.  Responsible for the oversight of a 1.5 million program fund budget.

 

DIRECTOR OF MEDIA ARTS AND EDUCATION

BAY AREA VIDEO COALITION, CA  March 2004 – January 2007

Responsible for educational and digital media earned-income program development and management, executive production, corporate and community partnerships, workforce development programs,  screening and exhibitions at BAVC, the largest, industry-certified, nonprofit media technology training center in the country. Responsible for programming and marketing, curriculum development, budget oversight and financial reporting, supervision of key program staff and new business development for BAVC’s training programs in digital media arts and related technologies.  Increased workforce development revenue subsidy from $350,000 to 1.6 million in 2 years.

 

 

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER

GIRL TROUBLE, 2002 - present

Associate Producer for award-winning feature documentary GIRL TROUBLE. Premiered on PBS Independent Lens January 2006, winner BEST DOCUMENTARY, SF INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. Rsponsible for editorial consultation, fundraising and grantwriting, program planning, special events, curriculum and interactive project development, publicity, broadcast contracts.

 

 

DIRECTOR, FILM ARTS FOUNDATION 

FILM ARTS FESTIVAL OF INDEPENDENT CINEMA   San Francisco, CA  2001, 2002, 2003

Responsible for program selection, administration and fundraising, event coordination, marketing, design, writing of program book, press releases and promotional materials, all aspects of staffing and production of four-day, multi-venue festival, including film screenings with live performance, music and spoken word. Attendance over 10,000. Artists include: Amanda Micheli, Caveh Zahedi, Kota Ezawa, Ellen Bruno, Karen Holmes, Sam Green, Charlotte LaGarde, Leilani Abad, Curt McDowell, Michael Wilson, Dominic Angerame, and others. Curated and produced all special events, receptions, screenings and panel discussions; supervised volunteers, foundation staff and independent contractors; managed print traffic, venue contracts, ticketing, and publicity. Press and Program Books available upon requests

 

 

PRODUCING DIRECTOR

GALFILMS, INC. Oakland, CA  1994 - 2003

Responsible for the fundraising, marketing and promotion of four award-winning independent short films. Developed marketing and distribution strategy, all pr materials, press releases.  Turned four small, personal films into international media programs that screened at festivals, commercial theatres, broadcast venues, national conferences and academic markets. Student Academy Award, Princess Grace Award, Best of Women Make Movies at Lincoln Center, PBS Women of Vision, Sundance Film Festival and Sundance Channel. See filmography.

 

 

CHAIR, DOCUMENTARY FEATURES PANEL

SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2003, 2004

Responsible for pre-screening narrative feature entries and administration, selection and award recommendation for feature length documentary category for the San Francisco International Film Festival.

 

 

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER

KQED TELEVISION, San Francisco, CA  1993 - 1994

Responsible for pre-screening and final selection of programming, administrative support to producers, writing of program notes and promotional materials for national series VIEWPOINTS and local series DOCS OF THE BAY.

 

 

DIRECTOR

SAN FRANCISCO CHILDREN’S OUTDOOR THEATER FESTIVAL  1987 - 1989

Developed and directed three Children’s Outdoor Theater Festivals under the auspices of the San Francisco Artists-in-Schools program. Translated and scripted Afro-cuban folktales for live performance at San Francisco city schools and after-school programs. Responsible for all directing and rehearsal of students, staging, scoring, marketing and publicity.

 

 

ASSISTANT PROGRAM DIRECTOR

NEW PERFORMANCE GALLERY  1984 - 1986

Responsible for curatorial, development and marketing support. Wrote & administered major grants to NEA, CAC, and private foundations. Assisted Executive Director with national programming of new dance, theater and multi-media performances including Mark Morris, Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane, Tim Miller, Charles Moulton, Jane Comfort, Eiko and Koma, among others.  Curated “black box” series of emerging bay area performance artists. Wrote press releases & brochure copy for special events and season premieres.  Coordinated activities of two resident dance companies, box office, dance school, guest artists and volunteers. Assisted with Board activities and development.

 

 

 

University Teaching & Related Experience

ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR, 2005 - present

CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO

Responsible for teaching and developing in-person and online courses in American Cinema, Film Aesthetics, Documentary, and New Media Studies

 

 

LECTURER, 1994 - present

SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY

UC BERKELEY EXTENSION PROGRAM

Responsible for teaching courses and curriculum development in cinema studies and production at the undergraduate and graduate levels -- detailed curriculum vitae available upon request

 

 

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

COLLEGE OF SAN MATEO 1995 - 1998

Responsible for teaching courses and curriculum development in cinema studies, screenwriting and production at the community college level -- detailed curriculum vitae available upon request

 

 

Recent Panels and Presentations

 

National Alliance of Media Arts and Culture  2007(NAMAC)

Next Generation Artists and Audiences: New Stories, New Platforms

 

National Black Programming Consortium Technology Conference 2007

New Media Opportunities and Mentorship for Producers of Color

 

Los Angeles International Film Festival 2007

Content Creation for New Media Platforms

 

Women in Film and Television International 2007

Alternative Distribution for Independents, Global Education and Training Opportunities

 

Sundance Film Festival 2006          

New Media Opportunities for Independent Producers

 

QMECON Queer Media Conference 2006

Queer Media for New Digital Platforms

 

 

Filmography

 

If I Were A Rich Man, feature documentary, in progress

Three Days on Pineapple Street, feature script, Sundance Institute Finalist, 2000

“swim, swim…” talking to sperm and other desperate acts, 1996

Naomi’s Legacy, 1994

Birthday Party at Repetition Café, 1992

Suspenders, 1990

Union Rescue: Stories of Renovation and Recovery, 1989

 

Awards and Special Screenings

 

Sundance Film Festival, “swim, swim…”

Best of Women in the Director’s Chair World Tour, “swim, swim…”

Best of Women Make Movies Screening at Lincoln Center, “swim, swim…”

PBS Women of Vision Series, Naomi’s Legacy

Award Winner, National Jewish Video Competition, Naomi’s Legacy

Princess Grace Foundation Award/The Cary Grant Film Award, Naomi’s Legacy

First Prize, National Poetry Film Festival, Suspenders

Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Prize, Best Graduate Experimental Film, Suspenders

Los Angeles Art & Humanitarian Award, Union Rescue

 

Articles

“Culture Feed: a feeding frenzy”

National Alliance of Media Arts and Culture, November 2006

 

“Admitting Her True Calling”

San Francisco Chronicle, September 2000

 

“The Screenwriting Life: David & Jan Peoples”

in CREATIVE SCREENWRITING, Spring 1996

 

 

Education

San Francisco State University, MFA, Cinema, 1994

Oberlin College, AB, Folklore and Ethnopoetics, 1982