Cécile Mouette Downs, Executive and Artistic Director
Before moving to Sacramento in 2001, Cécile Mouette Downs, a native of France, worked for 3 years at the Film Department of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in New York City. There she promoted French films and television programs in the United States, and helped theaters, museums, universities and various festivals feature recent and classic French films. She organized receptions, film screenings, press lunches and other events and was a press contact for the French films selected at the New York's French Film Festival, Rendez Vous with French Cinema, and at the New York Film Festival. She also curated experimental video shows at the Knitting Factory in Manhattan. From 1992 to 1998, Cécile worked as a Press Officer for the Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel (the French FCC) in Paris. She holds a Master of Arts in History from the University Paris X, on French Catholics and Cinema. She is a member of the board of directors of the Alliance Française de Sacramento and a regular contributor to the monthly magazine "France Today". Cécile is co-founder of the Sacramento French Film Festival.

-littlececile@gmail.com

Connie Georgiu, Administrative Director
Connie Georgiu was the co-founder of All Test Inc. in the Chicago area and co-owner of Alldata Corp. in Elk Grove. Since her retirement she has volunteered for several non-profit art organizations and charities. Connie holds a Bachelor of Arts in French and English Literature from Luther College. She is a member of the Board of directors of the Alliance Française de Sacramento. Connie brings her broad experience in marketing and fundraising to the service of the festival. Connie is co-founder of the Sacramento French Film Festival.

-georgiu@hotmail.com

Mark Herzig, Short Films Program Director
Californian Mark Herzig works as a cinematographer (and sometime director) on commercials and independent features. His first short film as director, Scherzo, screened in over twenty festivals worldwide, notably at Clermont-Ferrand, where it attracted the interest of the French TV channel, Canal+, and was subsequently selected to participate in Une Nouvelle veine de Cineastes (The New Filmmakers), a select showcase in Paris, in 1999. His short film et cetera won best cinematography (short film) at the 2001 New York International Independent Film Festival, and Robert Ovetz, director of the Den Haag Film Festival, called it "a much more real, honest account of the life of an addict than Requiem For A Dream". His most recent short film, Lunch, has screened in competition at Slamdance and at Clermont-Ferrand, and has secured a worldwide distribution deal through BritShorts.

-markherzig@surewest.net

John Downs, Technical Director
John Downs, a native Californian, moved to Sacramento in 2000. He is a Biologist, specializing in wildlife surveys and wetland delineations. He is a member of the American Whitewater Association and the Alliance Française de Sacramento. He is an avid swimmer and cyclist and enjoys snowboarding, kayaking, kinetic sculpture, France and French cinema.

-filmfest@afdesacramento.org

Raphaël Hitzke, Marketing Coordinator
Raphaël, a native of France, moved to Sacramento in 1999. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Marketing from the University of Strathclyde (UK). He is currently a marketing professional at Intel where he has held various international marketing and sales positions.  His personal interests include new technologies, film making, films, music and arts in general. He is a member of the Association Internationale des Médias. In 2005, he directed his first short film Jacques (Just a little tenderness) that was shown on the 2005 opening night of the festival at the Crest Theatre. The film received the Audience Award for Best Short Film.

-hitzke@sbcglobal.net

Jane Thomson , Volunteers Coordinator
Jane's day job is as a career advisor at McGeorge Law School.  She has worked in career services for law students and graduates since 1984, first at Golden Gate in San Francisco for two years, then at UC Davis, and now at McGeorge since 2004. Her previous jobs include teaching English to secondary school students in Wellesley, Massachusetts, London, and Redwood City; directing a community service sentencing program in Alameda County; and administrative management at the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and the Lighthouse for the Blind, both in San Francisco.  She grew up in the Boston suburbs, received a B.A. in English from Swarthmore College outside Philadelphia, and a M.A. in Teaching from Harvard. Jane is Vice-President of the Alliance Francaise de Sacramento and a member of the Ciné Club committee. She is an avid lover of all things French, not least of all, French movies!

-janegthomson@sbcglobal.net

Tracy Milner, Volunteers Coordinator
Tracy Milner, a native Californian, has lived in Sacramento most of her life.  She works for the State of California as an Accounting Systems Analyst.  To offset that technical side, she enjoys all things creative such as music, art, and movies.  She also loves to travel, a trip to Paris a few years ago made her fall in love with France and all things
French.  Tracy has worked as a volunteer for several organizations and has been a volunteer with the SFFF since 2005.

-temilner@comcast.net

Melissa Cirone, Special Events Coordinator
Melissa Cirone is an arts consultant specializing in fundraising, communications, and strategic planning.  A native of Massachusetts, Melissa has worked for the last several years as director of communications at the Williams College Museum of Art, in Williamstown, MA. Previously, she served as Executive Director of Small Press Distribution in Berkeley, CA and as Director of Circuit Network, a nonprofit management organization for performing artists in San Francisco.

-melccirone@yahoo.com

Lisa Csicsek, Catering Coordinator

-cheechl2000@yahoo.com

Christine Rodrigues, Catering Coordinator

-kingvale1@comcast.net

Pierre Asmar, Reception Coordinator
Pierre, born in Lyon, France, lived in Lebanon for a few years before heading for Davis, California where he established residence and obtained a Mechanical Engineering degree in Sacramento.  He was an active member of the real estate industry practicing in Davis before moving to the Sacramento area opening a retail business (home decorating) in Roseville.  His passion has always been movies, traveling, socializing and meeting progressively minded new friends!

-thefrenchman6998@yahoo.com

The SFFF Planning Committee also includes:
Guy Michelier
Joan Taylor

In Sacramento:
Cécile Mouette Downs
Mark Herzig
John Downs

In Los Angeles:
Jane Berner
Jane, a native of Sacramento, has been a volunteer with the Sacramento French Film Festival from the beginning.  She worked for 6 years as a programming associate for the Chicago International Film Festival and now uses that experience to advise the SFFF on film selection.  While she currently works as an urban planner in Los Angeles, she always enjoys coming up to Sacramento for the festival, you’ll likely find her selling tickets at the box office!

- FilmFest@AFdeSacramento.org