Who We Are

Anna Feder – Head of Film Exhibition and Festival Programs

Anna has been at Emerson College since 2007 and running the Bright Lights series since it was established in 2012. Anna has over twenty years experience in curating and creating cinema environments at several festivals including the Boston Underground Film festival, SFIndie and Wicked Queer. She speaks on audience building, the power of communal experience and hosting a thoughtful discussion about movies at national conferences including the University Film and Video Association, the Arthouse Convergence and SXSW. She is an evangelist for #cinemaculture and believes that everyone needs to see their stories reflected back to them on the big screen and to share that experience in community.

Zaryah Qareeb – Student Assistant

Zaryah Qareeb is a Media Arts student with a minor in philosophy from Boston, Massachusetts. She is an aspiring filmmaker and interdisciplinary artist who explores a range of mediums, from experimental shorts to narrative dramas, with a focus on community-based arts and storytelling. Additionally, she is an occasional writer, specializing in personal essays, flash fiction, and screenplays. Zaryah enjoys horror films and documentaries, long walks through the city, and is a chai latte enthusiast.

Fabiola Liano – Student Assistant

Fabiola Liano is a second year Video & Media Art MFA student, filmmaker, and creator and co-host of the podcast It’s Giving Camp. She hopes to finish the two feature-length screenplays she has begun to write. Her work explores themes of femininity, camp, and the grotesque.

Zayan Agha – Student Assistant

Zayan Agha is a filmmaker from Pakistan, based in Boston. His body of work ranges from music videos to documentaries and narrative fiction pieces with themes of climate change. His short film “The Round Lake” has screened at the Austin Film Fest, Tasveer South Asian Film Fest amongst others and has been featured on the likes of Forbes. Currently Zayan is working on his first feature documentary which will enter the festival circuit next year.

Cherie Rivers – Screening Room Manager

Cherie Rivers has managed film exhibition venues at the Museum of Science and Liberty Science Center, as well as works as a projectionist for many film festivals including the Telluride Film Festival, Sedona International Film Festival, Traverse City Film Film Festival and the Turner Classic Movie Film Festival.