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Kate Lemberg

@kllemberg

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I program films, produce markets & fellowships, run venues, sell tickets, + so much more at a film festival near you

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Sappy post incoming... While on my trip, I found out that, after our most successful festival in years, David and I had our roles cut at RiverRun, with a replacement plan that I question. But this post isn't about that...

Never when I was sent to Winston-Salem in 2021 to help RiverRun with their transition to Elevent did I think this festival, this team, and this city would become so important to me. My multi-faceted workaholic self loved having a contract where I co-managed the programming, programming ops, artist relations, and also managed the ticketing build and virtual festival. I got to stretch so many muscles here because of the magic of the tight-knit, collaborative nature of this team.

Even after some of these folks (Nate, Mary) left the team, they were extremely supportive when I asked for their help. My programming partnership with David in particular was truly one of the best working relationships I have ever had. My cocktail tours of WSNC with Tiffany (and plenty of guest appearances by others) were something I looked forward to every year.

I am really so very devastated (and frankly frustrated) that I no longer get to work with these incredible people, and I am also so grateful for all the filmmakers I got to be in conversation with and who trusted their work with us over the five years I was a programmer here.

Lastly, this does mean I have a pretty big opening in my schedule... Festival/event/doc friends, please keep me in mind! taken in Winston-Salem, North Carolina by @kllemberg

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2 months ago

My wild streak of onsites is officially concluded! Wrapped it up with my dual role at Bentonville as print traffic manager and Q&A moderator, and then headed straight to Chicago to attend IND/EX for the first time, accomplishing my goal of highlighting, through collaboration with treasured colleagues, just how much work this industry needs to do to support and protect seasonal film festival workers. I simultaneously totally fell for Chicago, a city I hadn't been to before, in the process. Can't wait to return! by @kllemberg

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3 months ago

As I write this at my next fest in Arkansas, still in shock that I just completed my 10th year with Tribeca. Never without its very serious complications, I do value working with some incredible people and lovely filmmakers (and this year, with my category switch, talented musicians as well), and I am always grateful for the opportunity to grow and learn. I have a lot to say (as always) in my wrap report about how this organization has much room to grow in how it treats its seasonal workers, but because of said seasonal workers, my heart is still feeling very full. by @kllemberg

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3 months ago

It's basically a universally known fact how obsessed I am with the @siffnews Downtown. It's truly the perfect theater. Even when there were communication issues elsewhere, or crazy ROS's thrown our way (looking at you, closing night), our little DT management bubble remained intact. While it definitely makes my life a little crazy to go to Seattle to do this, I wouldn't have it any other way. Plus the breaks for concerts and baseball were the cherry on top. 2/4 fests of this streak ✅ taken in Seattle, Washington by @kllemberg

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4 months ago

During my final Q&A of the fest, a patron raised her hand and said how she'd seen five doc features at the festival, and most of them made her angrily motivated. She thanked the filmmakers currently on stage for their work, and then she turned to me and thanked me for my curation of these docs, which the full theater applauded.

I'm proud of how I as a curator have grown individually, and within a team (the biggest shoutout to one of the people I text the most for eight months a year, my programming partner in crime, the man who knelt on the ground to take the first photo, @iamhrothgar ), and this year really felt like proof of that. Moderated 20+ Q&As in 8 days. More filmmakers on the ground than we'd ever had in my five years here; higher ticket sales, too.

I have so much love for this staff (particularly my long-time coworkers in the last photo), this festival, this town. The nights that ended at 3am screaming into a void in a car and the ones that ended DoorDashing Taco Bell to Fair Witness. It's been one of the biggest honors of my career to be adopted into this community @riverrunfilm. taken in Winston-Salem, North Carolina by @kllemberg

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5 months ago

@aidcmelb !! Never have I felt more like a belle of the ball than last week. An honor to have met so many thoughtful filmmakers and industry peers I may never have met otherwise. And your team! Tash, Alice, Natalie, Nicole, Virginia, Tahlia, Robbie, and so many more, thank you for the warmest welcome, and really, the opportunity to truly prove to myself that I do add value as a speaker and curator in the doc industry. 3 pitch panels, 2 other panels, 1 roundtable, more pitch meetings than I can count, and a sneaky getaway to see some art, it was a wonderful whirlwind of a conference. To many more (I hope!). taken in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia by @kllemberg

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7 months ago

Feeling especially grateful, considering the hellscape that is the world right now, that my birthday month was spent with the freedom to escape the cold (although not the rain) and spend lots of time with lots of friends, most of whom aren't pictured because I'm a terrible documenter. First couple days were in warm Park City post-Sundance, then escaped to Oahu for a long weekend, escaped to LA for a week, celebrated my 30th at home post-blizzard, and spent the last days of the month flying to Australia, where I am now! by @kllemberg

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7 months ago

As per usual, I hardly have any photos on my phone from Sundance... Can't believe nine years of my working at this fest have already gone by! This was the fest back in 2019 that helped me realize that this was the work I wanted to be doing full time. Spent many long winters in Utah working here, and my nostalgic self still sorta can't believe this was the last one in Park City. Onto the next! taken in Park City, Utah by @kllemberg

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8 months ago

Because I’m a personal data nerd…: 400+ features watched. I don’t track shorts as closely, but also watched hundreds of those. 45 books read. 35 theater shows attended, as well as 8 concerts + 1 music festival. Only left the country once this year to visit Dad in SMA, but that number’s already growing in 2026. Visited 11 states this year, some of them more than once, 3 of them new to me. And the craziest number of all, working at 10 different film festivals/adjacent orgs (shout out to the Spirit Awards).

Tremendously grateful that in a world as horrible and chaotic as this one has been this past year, I am getting to lead the life that I do. There are so many wonderful people and memories (and food and cocktails) that are behind those numbers, as well as the smaller, quieter, in-between moments that are just as important.

I honestly really love reading these year-end wrap posts and seeing all of the different approaches to them; the more the merrier. I won’t be sorry for being nostalgic and appreciating y'all's sentimentality, too! by @kllemberg

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9 months ago

One more from @camdeniff because @miloguillen took one of my favorite photos of me ever (and I love that it has my GE loves in it, too!) taken in Rockland, Maine by @kllemberg

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a year ago

As I’m about to enter virtual 1:1s facilitation, @camdeniff #7 is almost officially in the books for me… wild. While on site, I spent a lot of time drafting a wrap post about a lot of shit I’ve gone through behind the scenes here over the years, and wondering why I’ve stayed silent publicly while calling in other orgs I’ve worked for in the interim. I’m still reflecting on all of that; I probably will be for a bit. I’m leaving that topic here for now.

Festivals are a team sport. That’s part of the reason why I love this work so much. I learn so much from the filmmakers I’m in workshops with, the Artist Programs and production team members I spend all spring and summer on calls with, the industry mentors who spend their week with us, and the attendees who spend their weekend with us.

But I won’t lie that finally getting the chance to be a real face of Artist Programs after six years, making remarks at our flagship pitch event, finally moderating a Q&A at the fest for one of our AP alum projects, essentially the opportunities to demonstrate publicly that I add curatorial value to this organization also, felt long overdue. The feedback I received agreed.

All of that being said, there’s really nothing like spending evenings playing ping pong at Cuzzy’s, dancing my heart out until 3am, or screaming along to friends’ karaoke performances at After Dark, after spending all day in workshops or 1:1 meetings. The amount of physical and mental exhaustion I recover from after this festival every year is unparalleled, but so is the deep, deep love I have for my friends, colleagues, and filmmakers here, too. by @kllemberg

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a year ago

Halfway into September... August was partially about producing one festival and prepping for another imminent one, but it was also about visiting best friends in LA, celebrating a childhood friend's wedding in SD, and taking a cute group trip to Vermont. Plus let's throw the Lady Gaga show I specifically came back to NYC for between VT trips because I liked my outfit 😏 by @kllemberg

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a year ago