ADFF TEAM

Kyle Bergman

Kyle Bergman

Festival Director & Founder  

Emma Bergman

Festival Manager  

Jessie Merritt

Public Relations  

Fred Schmidt-Arenales

Technical Director  

Ruth Samalo

Ruth Somalo

Senior Programmer  

Ian Stewart

Ian Stewart

Box Office Manager  

Jean Orlebeke

Jean Orlebeke

Graphic Designer  

Chris Mecham

ADFF:NY Venue Manager  

Anne Pearson

ADFF:Vancouver Co-Producer  

Leah Mallen

ADFF:Vancouver Co-Producer  

Gabrielle DeCaro

ADFF:LA Venue Manager  

Higgin Ko

Higgin Ko

Webmaster  

Kyle Bergman

Architect Kyle Bergman founded the Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF) in 2008 and serves as its festival director. He has always recognized the strong connection between architecture and film and ADFF provides a unique opportunity to educate, entertain and engage people who are passionate about the world of architecture and design. Mr. Bergman also serves as vice president on the board of Pacific Rim Parks Organization whose mission is to use the process of designing and building parks as a tool to connect communities around the Pacific.

Kyle Bergman has been involved with design/build education since 1994 when he created and moderated an architectural lecture series about the design/build process for the Smithsonian Institute. An entrepreneur at heart, Mr. Bergman founded Alt Spec in 1999, a publishing company that produced a visual resource of unique and alternative products for architects and designers. He also produced a play entitled The Glass House, about the design and construction of two famous homes, Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House and Phillip Johnson’s Glass House.

Emma Bergman

Jessie Merritt

As Novità Communications’s Associate Vice President, Jessica Merritt is a strategic communications and content expert who specializes in architecture and culture. She has a proven track record of designing and executing strategic, multichannel public relations programs for North American and global audiences, working with internationally recognized architects, artists, designers, and cultural organizations. Jessica is passionate about promoting the value and impact of design and showcasing the stories and visions behind projects.

Fred Schmidt-Arenales

Fred Schmidt-Arenales is an artist, filmmaker. His projects attempt to bring awareness to unconscious processes on the individual and group level. He has presented films, installations, and performances internationally at venues including SculptureCenter and Abrons Arts Center, New York; Links Hall, Chicago; The Darling Foundry, Montreal; LightBox and The Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; The Museum of Fine Arts, and FotoFest Houston, Künstlerhaus Halle für Kunst und Medien, Graz, and Kunsthalle, Vienna. Fred is a 2022-23 Core fellow at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.

Ruth Somalo

Ruth is a Spanish programmer, curator and filmmaker based in NY. She is a Senior Programmer at DOC NYC and ADFF who also curates independent non fiction programs. She was the co-director of Impugning Impunity Human Rights Film Festival and worked for international festivals like DocumentaMadrid and Cuéntalo for several years. Ruth is the President of The Flaherty Board of Trustees and works as mentor and instructor at the UnionDocs summer documentary labs. As a filmmaker, her documentary and experimental work has been shown in theaters, festivals and museums internationally.

Ian Stewart

Ian Stewart is an event and ticketing specialist in the music and film festival industry. Hailing from GA, he has traveled around the US and internationally to deliver exquisite service and lasting experiences. He has worked with various companies like Netflix, HBO, SFFILM, and SXSW to name a few.

Jean Orlebeke

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Chris Mecham

Anne Pearson

Anne Pearson is a co-producer of ADFF: Vancouver and also the owner of the design shop “Vancouver Special”. She is highly active in the Vancouver design community: as an alumna of the School of Architecture at the University of British Columbia, where she often participates as a guest critic and thesis committee member, and also an ongoing guest critic in the department of Industrial Design at Emily Carr University. Anne is passionate about all facets of design from architecture, interiors, and furniture, especially the design traditions of Scandinavia and Japan. She is constantly researching, teaching, and traveling in order to provide an inspiring and constantly evolving product mix.

Leah Mallen

Leah Mallen is a producer of over 20 years of internationally acclaimed content. Her films have screened all over the world, and she has seen much success in documentary, scripted and kids content.  She heads up the Vancouver-based production company All in Pictures in Vancouver.  Her content has garnered several international awards as she continues to develop, finance and produce critically acclaimed films and series.  She is on the board of Vancouver’s Cinematheque and continuously mentors many emerging filmmakers through her position at Crazy8s Film Society and her work with Telus Storyhive. She is passionate about stories that feature innovation, design, and unique perspectives on the world.

Gabrielle DeCaro

Gabrielle DeCaro is an actress, writer, and multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. Gabrielle is a skilled storyteller and facilitator with credits spanning across theatre, network productions, and ad campaigns. As a performer, she has appeared on billboards, in national TV commercials, films, and award-winning music videos. She holds a dual BFA from the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance and School of Art & Design.

Higgin Ko

Higgin is the web developer / webmaster of the Architecture and Design Film Festival. He has been supporting Mr. Bergman’s projects including Pacific Rim Parks and The Glass House Play. He has developed numerous commercial websites, non-profit organizations sites, and social network sites. He has worked with every web and multimedia technology such as HTML, DHTML, CSS, XML, PHP, JavaScript, Ajax, web broadcasting, etc. He is specialized in developing dynamic and interactive web pages. Lately, he’s been developing websites with “Mobile First” design concept using responsive/adaptive frameworks.

ADFF Team