NewFest Staff

David joined NewFest as Executive Director in August 2019. He has spent his career amplifying and elevating the mission and programming efforts of non-profit arts organizations, serving for 11 years in a senior leadership role at NYC’s Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre. He was an integral part of Signature’s transition to its permanent home, the 75,000 square foot, Frank Gehry-designed Pershing Square Signature Center, and the growth of the company, which more than tripled its budget, staff and programming during his time with the organization. David studied in the MA program at New York University’s Gallatin School, with a focus in LGTBQ Studies. He has a deep passion for queer culture and a strong desire to create spaces for queer storytelling.

Having been with NewFest since 2016, Nick curates and manages the annual New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival in addition to NewFest’s year-round programming. Nick previously served as the Film Curator at The Tank and worked in academic publishing & international media, serving as a Production Coordinator of the MENA-region talk show NIDA’A. Nick received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Writing, Literature, and Publishing and Visual Arts / Media Studies from Emerson College. Nick has written about film & media for publications including Slant Magazine, Time Out New York, NBC News, and the Boston Phoenix, and has served on multiple domestic and international film festival juries, including GAZE in Dublin, Columbia University’s CUFF in New York City, and Inside Out in Toronto.

Madeline (she/her) is the Senior Marketing and Communications Manager and leads NewFest’s marketing, community partnerships, public relations, and communications. She attended New York University where she received a B.F.A in Film and Television Production from Tisch School of the Arts and a B.A. in Anthropology. She received her M.A. in Museum Studies and Non-Profit Management from Johns Hopkins University. She recently received an Award of Excellence and an Award of Distinction from Communicators Award for the original content series for the Museum of the City of New York. Madeline is a filmmaker and producer and has worked in the film and television in both Los Angeles and New York City. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and currently lives in Fort Greene with her partner and their tuxedo cat, Fred Astaire.

Monisha Gandhi joined NewFest in 2019 as Festival Producer. With a background in event production, film distribution, and public programming, Monisha has supported programming initiatives within the film, media, arts, and entertainment industry for over 15+ years. She has contributed to the success of 30+ festivals including the Tribeca Festival (formerly Tribeca Film Festival), World Science Festival, Doha International Film Festival, CAAMFest, and Nantucket Film Festival, to name a few. She has worked on the delivery and exhibition of 300+ films including Oscar nominated theatrical releases Cartel Land, Life Animated, and The Music of Strangers along with Box Office Hits such as What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Finally, she has played a central role in curating and producing a wide variety of programmatic events serving NYC’s media arts community including IFP Week (now Gotham Week), The Mile Long Opera, AMP NYC, LIFT Labs: Lift Your Story, and co-produces The Moving Image Awards, in partnership with Museum of the Moving Image.

Natalie currently serves as NewFest’s Production & Operations Manager, overseeing all production logistics for screenings, sponsor activations, and events year-round.

Prior to joining the NewFest team in October 2023, she studied Arts Management at SUNY Purchase College, and Film & Video Production at the Academy of Arts University. She then gained several years of experience managing digital media campaigns for companies like HBO, Adidas, Red Bull Media, Lionsgate, Wieden+Kennedy and more.

Natalie then became deeply passionate about going back to her roots supporting independent filmmakers, and is committed to creating rewarding and memorable experiences for the community. Natalie enjoys building inclusive and innovative production environments, aligning with NewFest’s mission to celebrate and support LGBTQ+ storytelling.

Rachel (she/her) joined NewFest as a Social Media Manager in 2021 for NewFest33. Rachel has played various roles across marketing and screening departments during her festival work, including the Seattle Queer Film Festival, North Bend Film Festival, SeriesFest, and recently the Nantucket Film Festival. She received a BA in Sociology and Film Studies from Western Washington University, and made the cross-country move to New York in 2022. If Letterboxd ever asks, her top four favorite films are (probably) A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE (1974), MAMMA MIA! (2008), MAGIC MIKE XXL (2015), and ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED (2022). She loves living in Brooklyn with her partner and their orange cat, Leon.

Anton Astudillo is a Lenapehoking/New York-based filmmaker, performance artist, and curator originally from Wallmapu/Santiago, Chile, working with 16mm film, video, and performance. With a background in theater and film, Anton has taught film production at Massachusetts School of Art and Design, Emerson College and Keene State College. In 2015, Anton joined the AgX Film Collective, programming experimental film internationally. As an independent curator, he has worked at Performance Space New York, Anthology Film Archives, Maysles Documentary Center and the international film festivals Go Shorts in the Netherlands and Uppsala Kort in Sweden. From 2023 to 2024, Anton was the lead programmer and festival director of TRANSlations: Seattle Trans Film Festival. In 2023, Anton joined the New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival NEWFEST as a festival programmer. That same year he took on the role of Program Director of Millennium Film Workshop. Anton’s appreciation for cinema extends beyond programming films, which is why you’ll often see him acting, directing and collaborating with independent artists as a 16mm cinematographer. This love for both film and its community inspired Anton to co-found Trans+ Film Social, a monthly gathering for TGNC artists hosted at Millennium Film Workshop.

Nicole Touzien is a lifelong arts advocate and cultural worker based in Brooklyn, New York. For more than 16 years, she has advanced the work of New York City nonprofit organizations committed to protecting public green space, expanding access to youth development opportunities, and uplifting arts and culture as tools for equity and social change.

Nicole holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from Texas Woman’s University and brings a multidisciplinary, community-centered approach to her practice. As a facilitator, educator, guest artist, and performer, Nicole has collaborated with communities across the United States and internationally, including in Mexico, Canada, Ireland, and South Korea.

Martine Joelle McDonald is a film curator, teaching artist, and inclusion consultant, with over a decade of experience at the crossroads of social impact storytelling and anti-bias education. She is thrilled to join Newfest as the Concord Initiative Manager.

Her work as a facilitator centers on historically excluded artists, with a focus on LGBTQIA narrative leaders, in service of transforming industry pipelines in media arts. She has held leadership roles across Journeys in Film, the New York International Children’s Film Festival, and most recently served as the Director of Artist Development at Outfest. Practice Wonder, her creative studio and cultural consulting firm, continues to carve pathways for narrative inclusion with clients spanning film production, academic institutions, and nonprofit arts organizations. Martine earned an MFA in Social and Environmental Arts Practice from Prescott College and a Bachelor of Arts in Peace Studies from Naropa University. Based in Los Angeles yet with New York roots, she can often be found studying clouds as a newfound birder.

Arno Mokros (he/they) is a queer, trans film producer and arts organizer. Since 2023, he has coordinated NewFest’s New Voices Filmmaker Grant for emerging LGBTQ+ directors, a program created in partnership with Netflix. He is also co-founder and co-director of UFO, a New York City-based nonprofit filmmaker support organization guided by a culture of care. UFO supports filmmakers working across scripted, nonfiction, and hybrid genres through a Short Film Lab hosted at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), residency programs, and other initiatives. Beyond his artist support work, he works in the field as an independent producer of queer and trans stories, including the feature film Summer Solstice (2023), starring Bobbi Salvör Menuez and Marianne Rendón and distributed by Cartilage Films. He is currently a 2024 International Documentary Association (IDA) Getting Real fellow.

Abygai Peña (they/she) is a Brooklyn-based cultural worker and filmmaker serving as the Community Outreach Coordinator at NewFest, New York’s leading LGBTQ+ film and media organization. In this role, they build partnerships with local organizations, curate community-centered events, and lead efforts to amplify queer voices across the city. With a background in analog filmmaking and a deep commitment to queer cinematic expression, Abygai brings an artist’s sensitivity to their outreach work—connecting communities through storytelling, collaboration, and visibility. Their films have screened at Anthology Film Archives, Millennium Film Workshop, and DCTV. Abygai also serves on the programming committee at Millennium and is a former DCTV Film Fellow and Film at Lincoln Center intern.

Molly Grace Fulton is graphic and communication designer passionate about storytelling, change-making, and connecting engaged and inspired audiences to creators and important causes. They joined NewFest in 2020 with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit film, television, and media industry with companies such as The Gotham (previously the Independent Filmmaker Project), Doc Society, The Nantucket Film Festival, and POV. Outside of NewFest, you can find their work in the festival circuit, at bookstores, and on their mom’s fridge.

Caroline Harbour (she/her) is an events and ticketing professional with a background in hospitality and festival operations. She has worked in various capacities for the Palm Springs International Film Festival, New Zealand International Film Festival, DC Independent Film Festival, and SFFILM before joining NewFest as Audience Services Manager. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Writing from Wheaton College and a Master’s of Arts in Mass Communications from the University of Florida. As a lifelong cinephile who loves to travel, she’s passionate about using her skills to platform diverse voices and giving audiences a window into different worlds.

Jean Peters has worked in Operations and Production Coordination with NewFest since 2023. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Jean came to New York in 2015 to study film at New York University. Outside of the festival space they thrive working with groups of people on sets, projects, and community events. Currently studying public policy & administration at CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies they are fascinated by system building and sometimes system destruction. Jean is thrilled to be able to work with NewFest to bring people together one glorious night at a time. Sometimes the only good system is a sound system.