ethan@mediaartscenter.org

Ethan van Thillo is Founder and Executive Director of the Media Arts Center San Diego (MACSD). Since 1989, Ethan’s worked in media arts, programming Latino film festivals for the University of California, Santa Cruz; Cine Acción in San Francisco; Cine Estudiantil at the University of California San Diego; and the National Latino Communications Center in Los Angeles. Ethan has curated hundreds of programs at festivals and/or special events in 45 libraries across California, Mexico City, Morelia, Las Cruces, Nuevo Laredo, San Antonio, Tijuana, Sacramento, and San Diego.

In 1995, Ethan transformed Cine Estudiantil into the San Diego Latino Film Festival. In 1999, to broaden the scope of the festival following four successful years, Ethan established the nonprofit Media Arts Center San Diego in 1999. Under the umbrella of MACSD, Ethan has developed and continues to create innovative community media programs such as the California Digital Story Station initiative, Teen Producers Project, Youth Media & Tech Camps; Mobile Stories, Speak City Heights, The People’s Post, Video Production Services Department, and the Digital Gym community technology center and CINEMA.

Ethan has served on various funding panels including San Diego’s Commission for Arts & Culture, Latino Public Broadcasting, Rockefeller Foundation’s 2004 Film and Video Fellowships; California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts’ funding panel for Media Arts. He’s spoken at the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, National Association of Latino Arts & Culture, and National Alliance of Media Arts & Culture.