Tamara Sloan
Tamara Sloan has lived in western MA for over 25 years and has been part of the Ashfield FilmFest for over a decade. She has limited filmmaking experience but loves to watch films. She is particularly interested in the power of film to educate, inspire, transport, and connect individuals and communities.
Christopher Seward
Christopher is an award winning documentary filmmaker with over 20 years experience. He has been grateful to be part of the creative team on over 30 films to date, most notably Fahrenheit 911, SiCKO, Fire in the Blood and Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. He continues to assist numerous films creatively from his home in Apple Valley.
Harry Keramidas, founder
Harry has had a long career in various aspects of filmmaking, including rols as sound editor, documentary filmmaker, and picture editor. He is a member of America Cinema Editors (ACE) as well as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and includes among his film credits Contact, About Last Night, Hoodlum, and the much belowved film trilogy, Back to the Future (I, II, and III).
Tamsen Merill, founder
Tamsen Merrill is a founding member of the Ashfield FilmFest committee. Ashfield is the birthplace of legendary director Cecil B. DeMille. DeMille’s family vacationed briefly here in August of 1881 before returning to their home in New York. In 2009, Tamsen had this idea: What could be better than to start a local festival of short films to honor the short time that the DeMille baby stayed in town? The purpose of the festival would be to develop the skills of aspiring videographers, like herself. She is especially pleased that the festival continues to offer first-time filmmakers, young and old, the opportunity and excitement of witnessing their project screened in Town Hall before an enthusiastic community audience.
Ben Tobin
Ben Tobin is a filmmaker, photographer, and disability rights advocate. After graduating from Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema with a degree in cinematography, Ben came back to Western Massachusetts to make fiction and documentary films. Ben also recently published a children's book based on his short film, The Curious Incident of Everett Wilder.
Sarah Hertel-Fernandez
Sarah Hertel-Fernandez is the librarian at Belding Memorial Library in Ashfield. She loves working in such a creative rural community. A graduate of Smith College & Simmons University, she lives in Easthampton and goes to as many late night movie showings as she can.
Bruce Lessels
Bruce Lessels started the first rafting and outdoor center on the Deerfield River 34 years ago and sold it in 2020. He is now focused on helping art and culture focused organizations in Franklin County thrive.
Brendan Leowolf
Brendan Leowolf is a teacher, musician, and occasional filmmaker. He has been with the Ashfield FilmFest since 2019 and helps manage things like projecting the films and dealing with video files. Brendan and his family live in Ashfield.
Lynn Dole
Lynn Dole grew up in Shelburne, Massachusetts and after working overseas for several years (Peace Corps and beyond), returned to the hilltowns as a teacher. She appreciates the way the Ashfield FilmFest celebrates community through creativity and collaboration.
Paul Lacinski
Paul Lacinski is a laggard at making films, but he loves watching them! He is a former organic dairy farmer, and co-owner of Sidehill Farm Yogurt.
Juliet Jacobson
A film-lover but not a film-maker, Juliet has been cutting class to go to the movies since high school. A native of Los Angeles, Juliet has been a proud citizen of Ashfield since 1998.