Join us for the latest of our conversations that shine a light on the untold histories, stories and practices of some of the industry’s most respected and exciting film programmers, critics and writers.
In this discussion we welcome Kim Yutani, Director of Programming at the Sundance Film Festival, for a free livestreamed conversation with Selina Robertson. Friends since meeting at BFI Flare in the early 2000s, Kim and Selina will explore their passions for cinema, film programming and audiences, as well as sharing some reflections on this ‘post-pandemic’ moment for film festivals and film exhibition.
We will be in conversation with Kim from 6:30pm – 7:30pm GMT, Wednesday 22 March. After the live event, a recording of the discussion will be available to watch on the platform until Wednesday 29 March.
Tickets are free but you can support our partner venues with an optional donation at checkout. Click here to book your ticket.
Kim Yutani
Kim Yutani is the Director of Programming of the Sundance Film Festival; she assumed that role in 2018. She began programming short films for the Festival in 2006, and became a feature film programmer in 2009, focusing on US and international fiction feature films, overseeing short film programming, and working on the Festival’s Offscreen panels and conversations. She was instrumental in creating Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong, which has now expanded to become Sundance Film Festival: Asia.
Kim represents Sundance internationally, serving on juries, speaking on panels, and working to cultivate relationships with film commissions, industry, and artists around the world. Since 2014, she has also overseen a collaboration with the Berlinale’s European Film Market — housed within the Sundance Film Festival at EFM program — which has provided exposure and sales opportunities for Sundance films immediately after world-premiering at the Festival.
She started her programming career at Outfest Los Angeles, one of the world’s leading LGBT festivals, where she was the Artistic Director and the Director of Programming. She was also a programmer for the Provincetown International Film Festival. She is currently on the #GoldOpen Advisory Council and the Advisory Council of Vidiots Foundation. Prior to her film festival work, Yutani was a film critic and freelance journalist focusing on independent film, and got her start in the industry as assistant to the director Gregg Araki.
Selina Robertson
Selina Robertson is a film programmer, researcher and writer who has worked in cultural film exhibition for 20 years at the BFI, The Film Council and since 2005 she has been working with the ICO across programming, distribution and special projects, including the launch and programming of The Cinema of Ideas. From 2003-2005 she co-programmed BFI Flare (formerly the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival). In 2007 she co-founded the queer feminist collective Club des Femmes with Sarah Wood. She is currently finishing a practice-based PhD at Birkbeck, University of London that explores the cultural archives of feminist screening practices in 1980s London. Since 2020 she has been a trustee of the Rio cinema in East London.
Help support independent cinemas by selecting one of our partner venues at checkout and adding a donation to your booking.
The conversation on Wednesday 22 March will be live-captioned. The captions will appear automatically at the bottom of the screen during the livestream.
This event is available to view worldwide. A recording of the conversation will be available to view on the platform from 7:30pm GMT on Wednesday 22 March until 11:59pm GMT on Wednesday 29 March.
If you have any queries regarding the accessibility of this event please email us.
Please note that the video platform is not compatible with Linux based operating systems (including Chromebooks). If you need technical support please contact Eventive support. You can test your device compatibility in advance here.
Livestreamed discussion on her approach to programming on this ‘post-pandemic’ moment for film festivals
6:30pm – 7:30pm, Wednesday 22 March