Ethan van Thillo, Executive Director/Founder
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.
Ryan Kuratomi, Director of Video Production
ryan@mediaartscenter.org
Ryan joined MACSD in 2009, where he leads the Video Production team in producing content for the YMCA, San Diego Natural History Museum, KPBS, and SDG&E, and others. His extensive background in all aspects of the production process comes from years of working directly with clients from ideation to final delivery in video projects.
Moisés Esparza, Exhibitions Manager
moises@mediaartscenter.org
Moisés is Exhibitions Manager for MACSD where he is responsible for the curation of film-related initiatives, including the San Diego Latino Film Festival and the Digital Gym CINEMA. He graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies with a concentration in Psychology. He is a Master of Arts candidate in the Television, Film, and New Media Department at San Diego State University.
His past professional experience includes internships at Summit Entertainment and other companies, where he assisted development and acquisitions departments with a multitude of tasks.
Javier Tirado, Director of Marketing, Special Events & Sponsorships
javier@mediaartscenter.org
Javier Tirado joined the organization as the Director of Marketing, Special Events & Sponsorships. He is an experienced marketing professional and special events manager, with years of expertise.
Javier is responsible for the marketing and communication strategy of the organization; along with directing managing media relations, branding, advertising and digital marketing. He manages and oversees sponsorships, charitable contributions and special events such as our annual flagship event – The San Diego Latino Film Festival, the largest Latino film festival in the country.
A University of San Diego graduate, with over 15 years of marketing, high-profile event management & entertainment industry experience, he has held the roles of Director of Marketing; Director of Promotions; Regional Assistant Marketing Director and National Marketing Associate for global retail owners – Westfield Shopping Centers and radio stations in our San Diego/Baja CA binational market.
Juan Lopez, Exhibitions Coordinator
juan@mediaartscenter.org
Juan is MACSD’s Exhibition Coordinator. He attended The Los Angeles Film School where he participated with film crews working on various short films and TV shows. Juan returned to San Diego upon graduating, joining MACSD as a marketing and PR Program Associate for the Digital Gym CINEMA. Juan is responsible for managing our Digital Gym CINEMA as well as curating all of the short films for the annual San Diego Latino Film Festival.
Mark Madero, Cinema Manager
mark@mediaartscenter.org
Mark Madero is the newest member of the team and has over 23 years of managing movies theatres both here in San Diego and Los Angeles. He has a long history with the former Mann Theatre chain which managed the world famous Grauman’s ChineseTheatre in Hollywood.
He also was the Area Manager for the onetime CinemaStar Theatres in San Diego and Riverside County. Mark has a 12-year history with San Diego Theatres, Inc., beginning as the Assistant Front of House Manager and then shortly promoted to a new department in Programming as Contract & Client Service Manager. Mark’s responsibilities include the day-to-day management of the cinema and concessions, including the cinema staff and patron services. A University of Redlands graduate, with a BA in Business Management.
Amanda Barcena, Operations Manager
operations@mediaartscenter.org
Amanda has been a full charge bookkeeper for 12 years. She has over 15 years of bookkeeping experience, with the last 7 years performing day-to-day financial operations at MACSD. Her previous experience includes financial management for the San Diego Muscular Dystrophy chapter as well as a local post-secondary vocational school. She’s served Presidents, Executive Directors, Senior Accountants, and CPAs during her career. Amanda recently graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University.
Shanna Trenholm, Consultant/Grant Writer
Shanna is a writer, consultant, and creative strategist who has worked closely with MACSD since 2010. A San Diego native, Shanna understands the needs of our community and our organization. She assists us with prospect research, fundraising strategy, writing, and grant writing.
Larry Da Silveira, Education Coordinator
Larry is a veteran educator and avid cinephile. He holds a BA in Social Science from San Diego State University and an MA min Education from Point Loma Nazarene University. Before joining MACSD, Larry taught high school for twelve years before seeking a better work-life balance to care for his son with autism spectrum disorder. Coordinating the Youth Media programs at MACSD combines his love for education with his passion for cinema.
OUR TEACHING ARTISTS:
Carly Lujan, Teaching Assistant
Carly Lujan is an artist and SoCal native. She attended CSU Monterey Bay to study film production and graduated with a BA in Cinematic Arts and Technology. Starting off her career, she spent a number of years in the Los Angeles film industry, enjoying her role as Prop Master and Set Decorator.
Here in San Diego she has broadened her portfolio as a Visual Merchandiser, Mixed Media Artist and Summer Camp Director. Carly is still active on film projects but is enjoying more time to explore teaching and other creative opportunities, such as joining the MACSD team.
Anjalika Sharma, Teaching Artist
Anjalika studied film at the Satyajit Ray Film & TV Institute in Kolkatta, India. Her thesis film, Meena Jha, received the National Award for the Best Debut of a Director at the Indian National Awards in 2001. She received a scholarship to attend HFF at Potsdam, Germany to direct a short film, Fourth World, for the German Festival of India in Berlin. Since moving to the US in 2001 she has made both narrative and documentary films including two documentaries for PBS and 6 shorts for the U.S. Air Force. Her most recent short film “Mae,” about two estranged sisters, was on Amazon Prime. When she’s not on a film set she is taking pictures and writing. She is currently working on a children’s book series on contemporary social-emotional themes. She is passionate about the Arts and South Asian representation in mainstream American media. She lives in San Diego with her husband, two children, two cats, and a dog. You can find her at www.anjalikasharma.com, @indienari on Instagram and @indienari on Twitter. Also check out Shoutout SoCal’s write up about Anjalika.
Devone Jones, Teaching Artist
Devone is an independent filmmaker from New York who enjoys hiking and traveling. Devone found his spark in filmmaking while serving in the United States Navy,working on suicide prevention films for fellow sailors. Devone attended San Diego City College and became a jack of all trades, taking film classes such as screenwriting, television production, art direction and editing. Devone has won awards for a short film, in which he was the screenwriter, actor, director and editor. Devone is currently working on a few screenplays in between media camps.
Jacqueline Domi, Teaching Artist
Jackie Domi is an aspiring filmmaker and photographer and a native of San Diego. Born and raised in Escondido, she developed a passion for filmmaking and enrolled in film courses at Palomar College during high school to get a head start on the curriculum. She studied at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Media Arts where she earned a BA in Film Studies and pursued an emphasis in cinematography. She has been active in the film industry since 2015, crewing on hundreds of productions such as narrative, music video, documentary and live performances. She also enjoys photography, creative writing, poetry and collage. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with youth filmmakers and impart her educational and professional expertise on their fertile minds.
Edwin Cruz, Teaching Artist
Edwin is a film producer and editor based in San Diego, California. He holds a BA in Visual Arts: Media from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). In 2014, he co-founded the Buenpaso Collective, a group of filmmakers who sought to address social issues. Alongside this collective, Edwin produced the feature length documentary, Letters from Our Elders, which addressed topics surrounding immigration. He also produced “Del Manantial Del Corazon,” (From the Spring of the Heart) an adaptation of a stage play that documents women’s issues in Yucatan, Mexico. Edwin is currently the creative director of a digital marketing agency and he continues to support the production of content that brings awareness of pressing social issues in his communities.
Mizar Martin, Teaching Artist
Mizar is a visual artist and anthropologist from Tijuana. Her work includes paintings, cartoons, photography, and sometimes tattoos, of the absurd and dark daily life, with hints of optimism. Teaching art to youth restored her faith in humanity. Mizar is a firm believer in punk rock and social justice. Mizar has been part of the Media Arts Center team since October 2018.
Noah Kalal, Teaching Assistant
Noah Kalal is a writer and producer who loves films as much as he loves his two dogs. Noah recently graduated from California State University, Northridge, where he got his Bachelor of Arts in Screenwriting. He’s written two short films – Accrescent and Hard to Run – and is currently producing a web series pilot titled WAVE, a coming-of-age drama centered on a young surf rock singer trying to break out on his own while dealing with school, family, and addiction.
Noah also loves working with kids. In 2019 and 2021, he worked as a camp counselor at Camp Fiesta Island and Camp Big Horn respectively, where he taught filmmaking and animation to hundreds of Scouts. Noah enjoys teaching his students the power of storytelling even when resources are limited.
Need to contact us? Please contact: 619-230-1938 x 101 / ethan@mediaartscenter.org / 2039 29th Street, San Diego, CA 92104.
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