Professor & Archivist (Australia)

Dr. James Lowry is an Associate Professor of information studies at the City University of New York, and director of the Archival Technologies Lab. He has worked extensively in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean as an archivist and curator, and has an interest in displaced and diasporic collections.

Alexis Mendoza

Artist, Writer & Curator (Cuba)

Alexis Mendoza (born 1972) is a Cuban artist, writer and independent curator, based in New York City. His multidisciplinary work focuses on painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing and installation. His art explores the transitioning and overlapping of colors as a metaphor for the Afro-Cuban customs, rituals and traditions. Mendoza was born in Habana City, Cuba. His past education includes the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes (1988), he graduated in Art History from Havana University (1994). Mendoza has exhibited his artworks in museums and galleries in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, England, France, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Romania, Spain, Switzerland and United States.

Jely Reátegui

Actor & Director (Peru)

Jely Reategui is a Peruvian actress, director, and TV personality based in New York, known for Aj Zombies! (2017), Backpackers (2022), Hotel Paraíso (2019), Las Buenas Familias (2021). She has worked extensively in television, theater and film. Jely is best known for her role in the 2016 film Siete semillas and in popular  soap operas such as Ven Baila Quinceañera. Popular on social media, she has amassed over 330,000 Instagram followers

DOCUMENTARY & ANIMATION

Álvaro Baquero-Pecino

Professor & Film Specialist (Spain)

Álvaro Baquero-Pecino is an Assistant Professor at the College of Staten Island, CUNY. He obtained a double degree in Hispanic Philology, and Literary Theory and Comparative Literature from the University of Granada (Spain). He also earned a M.A. in Spanish from New Mexico State University, and received his Ph.D. in Literature and Cultural Studies from Georgetown University. His main research interests include Contemporary Peninsular and Latin American Literature and Culture, Film Studies, Immigration, Violence, Crime Fiction, and Trauma Narratives. 

Catalina Santamaria

Filmmaker & Photographer (Colombia)

Catalina Santamaría has been a producer at ITALICS– CUNY TV since 2015. She has worked with award-winning directors, including Alan Berliner in New York and Caridad Sorondo in Puerto Rico. She has directed, produced, photographed and edited the following short films: UMBRELLA HOUSE, LUMINESCENCE, EXCEPT MY SOUL…, and DERAIL. SQUATTERS, 2021,  is her first feature documentary, and has been selected in MIDBO (International Documentary Encounters), FICCALI  (Cali International Film Festival), Chicago Latino Film Festival and The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival.

Wilson Reyes

Producer & Editor (Colombia)

Wilson Reyes is a NY Emmy Award-winning director, producer and editor. He has produced and directed films and documentaries in the U.S. and overseas, and also has several years of experience in commercial as well as not-for-profit television. He is the executive producer of CUNY TV’s Twilight Talks  and segment producer for Nueva York.