Blue Mountain Film Festival Hires Former TIFF International Programmer

Blue Mountain Film Festival (BMFF), the event held 90 minutes from Toronto in the titular mountains, has named Diana Sanchez as Co-Director of Programming.

Sanchez previously spent sixteen years as an International Programmer at TIFF, and was Senior Director, Film for the fest between 2019 and 2021, overseeing both festival and cinematheque programming.

She was also the founding Artistic Director of the Panama Film Festival. Currently, she works as a Sessional Lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Cinema Studies Institute.

BMFF, which runs June 1-5 this year, presents twenty-five international and Canadian films over five days. There will also be a Creative Forum exploring themes of dystopia and the environment through six main stage sessions.

“Diana has been immersed in the international film scene for two decades now and we are overjoyed that she is joining us to deliver on the vision for BMFF,” said Helen du Toit, Executive & Artistic Director. “Her level of professionalism, sharp instincts, and warmth are exactly the energy we are looking for as we put together our inaugural year.”

“Joining forces with someone with Helen’s breadth of experience and industry relationships is very exciting for me, personally,” said Diana Sanchez, Co-Director of Programming for BMFF. “Beyond building a strong festival lineup alongside Helen, I am equally looking forward to welcoming our industry colleagues to our Creative Forum to reignite their shared passion for great cinema in an intimate and inspiring setting.”