Christian Sida-Valenzuela is the Festival Director of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival in British Columbia, Canada, and the Adjunct Coordinator of the Durango Festival of Mexican Cinema. Originally from Durango, Mexico, Christian has resided in Vancouver since 2000. He founded the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia de Vancouver, for which he worked as editor-in-chief for two years. In 2008 he was invited by the U.S. Department of State to participate in the International Visitors Leadership Program, a program that each year brings together emerging young leaders from all over the world. From 2008-2012, he worked with Radio Canada International as a Vancouver correspondent in Spanish for programs broadcast to Latin America. He currently has a weekly column in the Mexican newspaper El Siglo de Durango as well as a weekly collaboration at W Radio Durango. In 2006, Christian began his career as a film programmer with the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. Since 2011, he has been invited to serve on the juries at film festivals in Guadalajara, Biarritz, Valladolid, Havana, Guatemala, and Trinidad & Tobago, among others. As Artistic Director, he has been instrumental in creating the festival’s competition sections, including playing a key role in the negotiations with the Al Jazeera Documentary Channel to support the Best Documentary Award. Other programming highlights include the development of programs of indigenous cinema and the signature Canada Looks South section, which showcases the work of Latin-Canadian directors. In 2013, Christian was appointed by the Minister of Culture from Durango, as the Adjunct Coordinator for the Durango Festival of Mexican Cinema. Christian is the Senior Programmer as well as the creator of the Youth Jury and the competitive sections. In Durango, he also serves as a guest programmer of Mexican cinema at the Cineteca Municipal Silvestre Revueltas. In 2013, Christian was given a Mention of Recognition from the Consulate General of Colombia in Vancouver for his work and activity in the promotion of Colombian cinema. In Vancouver, Christian is frequently invited to local colleges and universities to give talks on Latin American cinema. In every project he takes on, he always continues with his mission to promote and support the exhibition of Latin American cinema throughout Canada and the world.
Christian Sida-Valenzuela is the Festival Director of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival in British Columbia, Canada, and the Adjunct Coordinator of the Durango Festival of Mexican Cinema. Originally from Durango, Mexico, Christian has resided in Vancouver since 2000. He founded the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia de Vancouver, for which he worked as editor-in-chief for two years. In 2008 he was invited by the U.S. Department of State to participate in the International Visitors Leadership Program, a program that each year brings together emerging young leaders from all over the world. From 2008-2012, he worked with Radio Canada International as a Vancouver correspondent in Spanish for programs broadcast to Latin America. He currently has a weekly column in the Mexican newspaper El Siglo de Durango as well as a weekly collaboration at W Radio Durango. In 2006, Christian began his career as a film programmer with the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. Since 2011, he has been invited to serve on the juries at film festivals in Guadalajara, Biarritz, Valladolid, Havana, Guatemala, and Trinidad & Tobago, among others. As Artistic Director, he has been instrumental in creating the festival’s competition sections, including playing a key role in the negotiations with the Al Jazeera Documentary Channel to support the Best Documentary Award. Other programming highlights include the development of programs of indigenous cinema and the signature Canada Looks South section, which showcases the work of Latin-Canadian directors. In 2013, Christian was appointed by the Minister of Culture from Durango, as the Adjunct Coordinator for the Durango Festival of Mexican Cinema. Christian is the Senior Programmer as well as the creator of the Youth Jury and the competitive sections. In Durango, he also serves as a guest programmer of Mexican cinema at the Cineteca Municipal Silvestre Revueltas. In 2013, Christian was given a Mention of Recognition from the Consulate General of Colombia in Vancouver for his work and activity in the promotion of Colombian cinema. In Vancouver, Christian is frequently invited to local colleges and universities to give talks on Latin American cinema. In every project he takes on, he always continues with his mission to promote and support the exhibition of Latin American cinema throughout Canada and the world.
