Film Mentors: Programming: Narrative - Karen Arikian

Karen Arikian is a consultant to international film festivals and markets. She is currently the US representative for the Berlin International Film Festival as well as North American representative for European Film Promotion (EFP). Over a 25 year career in the film business in both the US and Europe, she was the Executive Director of the Hamptons International Film Festival, Co-Director of Berlin's European Film Market, Artistic and Executive Director of the Perugia International Film Festival, and Market and Executive Director of the Independent Feature Project. As Project Director for EFP, Karen created and ran programs for European films at festivals in Buenos Aires, Pusan, Toronto, and San Francisco among others. In the production area, she ran the US office for German film financier,Time Production, and while there developed and produced a number of international co-productions. She also managed development and production for Bruce Weber's Little Bear Films. In addition to Berlin and EFP, her current clients include BAFTA, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinelan and Thought Engine.