OUR TEAM

Our main team is a diverse group of talented young Australians who are driven and focused with the combined dream of giving opportunities to upcoming filmmakers that haven't existed prior.

Alexander Dymalovski

Festival Director

Alexander is a young Australian director, writer and producer. He has written and produced for both stage and screen with multiple plays under his belt that all received high acclaim from critics, as well as short films that have acquired awards from film festivals worldwide. He has worked at various large events across Victoria such as Futuration at the Crown Palladium and the Green Room Awards, as well as having organised his own events in the past such as the 2023 Stubby Awards.

Sebastian Catalano

Financial Director

Sebastian has produced various projects in the past few years, ranging from Music Videos to Adverts, as well as Short Films that have gone on to be selected at Film Festivals across the globe, ranging from the statuses of Honourable Mention to Award Winners. He has also produced a TV Pilot that aired earlier this year on Channel 31 called ‘End of the Line, as well as the live broadcast of the 2024 Australian Production Design Guild Awards.

Kellie Palatino

Creative Director

Kellie is an artist and production designer who has achieved success for her work in Studio Arts, which was displayed at the NGV Top Arts. She has then gone on to do work on award-winning films as production designer and has experience with graphics, costume, set, and props in all mediums including features, TV Shows, Short films, theatre, and events/concerts.

Brooke Allen

Event Coordinator

Brooke is a Melbourne-based filmmaker and JMC Academy graduate, working across locations and production in film and television. She has assistant directed on a range of independent projects and thrives in the fast-paced world of on-set problem solving. With a background in writing, directing and producing award-winning short films and screenplays, Brooke brings a love of planning, storytelling, and organisation to every stage of the filmmaking process.

Mike Fajgman

Outreach Coordinator

Mike is a Writer and Producer from Melbourne Australia. Following Covid times and his own subsequent burnout, Mike began chasing creative endeavours again in 2024, when in January of that year a script he submitted on a whim to the "international screenwriting competition" (ISC) attached to the international filmmakers festival of New York (IFFNY) and received a finalist position, in the top 15 scripts of over 1200 submissions. Mike took a break from working on this project to complete a Production development internship in 2024.

Clair Seoud

Social Media Manager

Clair Seoud is an emerging Australian-Lebanese filmmaker based in Melbourne, whose work is driven by a desire to make audiences feel less alone. Her recent documentary, Beyond the Curl, which she directed and produced, has screened at national film festivals and earned two award nominations, cementing her presence in the local film and media scene. Recently, she graduated from RMIT University with a Bachelor of Communications (Media), pursuing a career in red carpet hosting and social media management.

Molly Lee

Head Curator

Molly Lee is a professional Makeup Artist & Hair stylist with a diploma in screen & media from the Australian Academy of Cinemagraphic Makeup, and a background in journalism, creative writing & theatre. For the last 8 years she has worked across Melbourne’s film, tv, media & private client industry. Molly’s work can be found all the way from ‘Netflix’, to ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’, to local film festival circuits. Her passion lies in short films, and you can usually find her on set; either covered in fake blood, or holding something for the camera
department.

OUR YAFF JUNIOR CURATORS

James Murphy

James Murphy grew up as an expat in China, England and the USA before returning to this sunburnt country to round out his schooling. For many years James wanted to be an author, he loved writing and worked day and night on a word doc that reached 150k+ words. He has since converted his existing written stories into films. James is a director and gaffer based in Melbourne.

Michael Nowlan

Michael is an Adelaide based Filmmaker who graduated from Flinders University with a Bachelor in Creative Arts (Screen). He has a creative focus towards writing - with some independently published poetry - directing and award winning producing. In the past he gained an extensive track record of event coordination for the Darwin government and marketing coordination.

Perdita Gould

Perdita is a multidisciplinary artist currently living and working in Meanjin. Her mediums of interest include sculpture and writing for the stage and screen. Alongside being a Junior Curator for YAFF, she will be studying a Masters in Audiovisual Archiving and thoroughly enjoys all aspects of storytelling, especially those told through local and establishing artists.

Rue Miller

Rue Miller is a festival curator who had the opportunity to deeply explore and examine genre pieces of world cinema, curating them alongside films from there city of Brisbane. She has worked as as Shorts Programmer & Horror Strand Programmer for Brisbane International Film Festival, Shorts Programmer for the Gold Coast Film Festival and assistant curator at GOMA Cinematheque.

Tyson McLaughlan

Tyson is a stylish young gent who loves directing and acting in films! Tyson is a fan of any old film from the 1890s - 1970s and will always be able to give you fun facts about films that you might not even know existed. Nominated for most comedic actor and being a graduating student of ADCA (Australian Collage of Dramatic Arts) he takes great pride in making sure everything is done to the absolute highest standard.

Valerie Chidiac

Valerie Chidiac is an emerging writer and actress born in Beirut and raised on Gadigal land. While studying at the University of Sydney and Sydney Actors School, Valerie edited various publications including Honi Soit, and a study guide on Jane Austen’s Emma. In 2025, she was a theatre-making mentee in Diversity Arts Australia’s StoryCasters program, and is currently a literary editor on Issue 3 of Journals of Love and Literature.