Meet Our Team

2026 STAFF MEMBERS

MI-JEONG LEE
Artistic and Executive Director

Mi-Jeong Lee is the Founder and Artistic Director of Arts East-West/Korean Film Festival Canada. An independent artist and scholar on Asian film, media and visual arts, she also holds a PhD in Arts Studies and Practices of the Faculté des arts at l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Lee teaches Korean visual and media arts at l’Université de Montréal. Her recent research focuses on Korean arts, Asian Canadian diaspora arts, along with women’s rights, labours, body, environments in a gaze of aesthetics and film philosophy.

Smiling woman with black hair wearing a black sari with dangling earrings, standing on a city street with brick buildings and parked cars.

Jinwoo Park
Communications Director

Jinwoo Park is a Korean Canadian writer and literary translator based in Montreal. He obtained his master’s in creative writing at the University of Oxford in 2015. In 2021 he won the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writers’ Award. He has also been actively working as a literary translator after winning the Emerging Translator Award from the Literature Translation Institute of Korea in late 2023. Oxford Soju Club is his first novel.

Arismita Ghosh
Coordinator

Arismita Ghosh is a writer and arts administrator with a deep love for Montreal's cultural scene. As a journalist, they have written for multiple publications across Canada and India. They hold a BA in Honours English Literature from McGill University.

13th MAiFF 2026 TEAM

Stacy Jung
‍McGill AIO Intern

Stacy Jung is an undergraduate student at McGill University studying Psychology and Economics. She is interning with Arts East-West as an emerging programmer and graphic designer.

Madeleine Le
McGill AIO Intern

Madeleine is an undergraduate student at McGill University studying Canadian Studies, Political Science, and History. This summer, she is interning with Arts East-West as an emerging cultural worker, supporting initiatives that engage Montreal’s Asian diaspora and arts communities. As the daughter of a Vietnamese refugee to Canada, Madeleine is passionate about preserving and sharing Asian histories and stories. Through her academic pursuits and community involvement, she is committed to creating spaces for dialogue, reflection, and cultural understanding.

Hasna Kone
Intern

Hasna Kone is an industrial design student at UdeM, contributing as a graphic designer for the 11th and 12th editions of MAiFF. She is passionate about Korean culture and design, and finds the experience enriching for expanding her practice and understanding.

Gayeon Song
Programmer

Gayeon Song worked as an Assistant Programmer and Translator for the 9th Korea Film Festival Canada (now MAFF) in 2022. She majored in Korean Language and Literature and Media Studies at Kyung Hee University in South Korea. She has a strong interest in diverse cultures and languages. Currently, she lives in France, where she is studying French.

Viola Picicur
Intern

Viola Picicur is an undergraduate at McGill University, currently completing a degree in East Asian Studies with a Minor in Linguistics. She is interning with Arts East-West as part of the media relations and translations team, working across 3 languages in English, French, and Korean.

Sarah-Maude Lemieux
‍Volunteer

Sarah-Maude Lemieux is a student at Université de Montréal, currently pursuing Film/Cinema/Video Studies. She has volunteered with Arts East-West for two years, at KFFC 2025 and MAiFF 2026. As an emerging filmmaker, she is currently working on her own short film.

Malado Sow
‍Volunteer

Malado Sow is a third-year economics student at McGill University with a minor in East Asian studies. She finds the intersection between language, culture, and economic development in Asia fascinating, whether explored through films, history, books, or travel experiences. This is her first time volunteering with Arts East-West.

Samantha Chan
‍‍Volunteer

Samantha Chan is a student at Concordia University, currently pursuing film studies. She has volunteered with Arts East-West for two years, and in 2026, she joined the team as a video editor and festival volunteer. Samantha designed the programming and logo trailers for the 13th MAiFF 2026.

McGill AIO Interns: Madeleine Le, Stacy Jung
Volunteers & Interns: Sarah-Maude Lemieux (UdeM), Samantha Chan (Concordia), Malado Sow (McGill), Viola Picicur (McGill), Shin Wah (McGill)
Festival Volunteers: Kurt Wang, Romina Arrieta, Taewoo Kim, Kayla Nguyen, Sara Behravesh
Returning team members: Sarah-Maude Lemieux, Hasna Kone, Samantha Chan, Gayeon Song

MAIFF 2026 team!
(From left to right: Samantha Chan, Madeleine Le, Claudia Tuyet Scheffel (film director), Nadja Furth (Goethe-Institut), Mi-Jeong Lee, Sarah-Maude Lemieux, Arismita Ghosh, Malado Sow, Viola Picicur, Stacy Jung.)

MAiFF 2026 PROGRAMMING TEAM

PROGRAMMERS: Gayeon Song, Mi-Jeong Lee
INVITED PROGRAMMERS: Gabriel Rémy-Handfield (Hong Kong, UdeM), Livia Monnet (UdeM), Tatiana Braun (Goethe-Institut Montreal)
PROGRAMMING ASSISTANTS: Stacy Jung

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MARIE BOTI Film director / Co-Founder of Multi-Monde Productions / Vice-chairperson of International Women’s Alliance (IWA), (Montreal, Canada)
MI-JEONG LEE Independant Artist, Lecturer in Korean visual and media arts, Founder and Artistic Director of Arts East-West (Montreal, Canada)
ALICE IL SHIN Film Director, Writer (Toronto, Canada)
VINCENT TOI Technology and Website Development, Film Director / Production Studio and Corporate Brand Management at CBC Radio-Canada (Montreal, Canada)
SEUNG YEON HAMM Market Development Consultant and Studious of Air Canada, former volunteer at Arts East-West (Toronto)

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (2025-2026)‍

MARIE BOTI Executive Director
MI-JEONG LEE Artistic and Executive Director
MICHEL LAVIGUEUR Taxes and Accounting Director

ADVISORY BOARD COMMITTEE (2023-2026)‍

CANADA
JANET LUMB Independent Artist, Music Performer and Co-founder and former Artistic Director of Festival Accès Asie (Montreal)
YOUNGSUP CHUNG Honorary Professor at Université de Montréal, Faculty of Arts and Science, Principal at the Korean Language School of Greater Montreal (Montreal)
JACQUES DESBIENS Artist, Art Historian and Lecturer (Montreal, Canada)
LIVIA MONNET Consultant, Tenured professor in the Department of World Literature and Languages at the Université de Montréal (Montreal, Canada)
MINSIK KIM Marketing Development Consultant, CEO of Hanca Education
KOREA
CHOI, DONGHWAN Board Chair of Africa Insight, former Consul General to Montreal, Permanent Representative to the ICAO Council (Seoul, Korea)
CHOI, JUNGBONG Dr. Writer and Consultant, Former Professor of Cinema at NYU and Hong Kong University
KIM, SHIN DONG Professor of the Media School and Director of the Institute for Convergence Culture at Hallym University, Director of the Knowledge Coop for Good Governance (Seoul)
KIM, SOYOUG Filmmaker, Artist, Professor of Cinema Studies at the Korea National University of Arts, Director of the Trans-Asian Screen Culture Institute (Seoul)
LEE, JIYOUNG Professor in Philosophy and Film Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (Seoul)

2025 TEAM MEMBERS

LUCY FANDEL General Coordinator
ANUJ KHOSLA Accounting and Administration, Consultant
YUNA CHOI Assistant Program Coordinator

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT DURING THE 12TH KFFC!

Five members of the 12th KFFC team standing together against a gradient pink and blue background with their names below.

12TH KFFC CURATORS

MI-JEONG LEE
ANNABELLE KANG
MATHILDE ELIE
ALEX SEOKBIN YOON

12TH KFFC ART TALKS ARTISTS

Alex Seokbin Yoon, Mentee for the Asian Canadian Documentary Mentorship Project
Martin Dufresne, Mentee for the Asian Canadian Documentary Mentorship Project
Vincent Toi, Filmmaker and Mentor for the Asian Canadian Documentary Mentorship Project
Philippe Szporer, Filmmaker and Mentor for the Asian Canadian Documentary Mentorship Project
Crystal Chan, Media Artist

12TH KFFC VOLUNTEERS

Three young women sitting around a round table in a café, smiling and making peace signs with their fingers.

Special thank you to:
Sarah-Maude Lemieux – Volunteer Coordination
Ruotong Li – Social Media Support
Sojeong Kim – Naver Blog Management
Hasna Kone – Graphic Support

Michèle Bayard, Samantha Chan, Daphne Yu, Olivia Curry, Reginald Tan, Prépa Alam, Emily Doyle, Rin Seo, Katherine Teleyon, Julianna Yip, Serena Grolund, Junha Park, Gracie Li

12TH KFFC THANKS TO

Chaouki Dakdouki, Regional Director General, Canadian Heritage – Quebec Region
LEE, Jae-wan, Consul General of the Republic of Korea to Montreal, and Ambassador of ICAO
CHOI, Donghwan, Board Chair of Africa InsightOH Suji, Vice Consul of the Republic of Korea to Montreal
Zaynab Raza, Executive Assistant to the DG, Canadian Heritage – Quebec Region
MA Hyunjoo, General Administration of King Sejong Institute in Montreal
Tina Big Daddy Queen Power, Singer and MC
Zab Maboungou, Artistic Director, Scholar and Founder of Nyata Nyata Dance Company

Youngsup Chung, Ali Ihtyiar, Masoud Raouf, Xiaodan He, Philip Szporer, Marlene Millar, Marie Boti, Leonoa Moncada, Vincent Toi, Crystal Chan, Don Ritter, Maxime-Claude L'Ecuyer, Kichae Jung, Peter Xirogiannis, Tyra Maria Trono, Deb Vanslet, Paul Park, Young Kwon Kim, Takumi, Linda Lee, Danny Payne and all directors and artists.
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Canadian Heritage, FCCCQ, King Sejong Institute in Montreal, the McGill Internship Office, Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Montreal, Cinéma du Musée, Cinéma Moderne, Centre Création Danse Nyata Nyata, Goethe-Institut Montreal, MKFCM, Cinéma sous les étoiles, Korean Film Archive, Korea Academy for Film Arts, Dano Foods, and Ada X and many more!