CATHERINE WYLER - Artistic Director

Catherine Wyler's career spans the worlds of film, television and live theater. She has been a studio executive, an independent producer, and she has held leadership positions at major American cultural institutions. Since 2001, she is the founding Artistic Director of the Rochester/High Falls International Film Festival in Rochester, New York.

Her productions include the celebrated Warner Bros. film MEMPHIS BELLE, and documentaries for television: Emmy-nominated DIRECTED BY WILLIAM WYLER, released on DVD by Kino International and HOT ON THE TRAIL for the Turner Broadcasting System, both directed by Aviva Slesin. WITNESS TO HOPE, The Life of Karol Wojtyla, Pope John Paul II, is a multi-national co-production directed by Judith Dwan Hallet, which became one public television's most successful pledge shows ever.

At Columbia Pictures (1987-88), she was Senior Vice President of Production, responsible for all narrative films produced by the studio which were based on actual events rather than fiction. She was Director of Cultural and Children's Programming at PBS (1981-86), responsible for all national programming in those areas. At the National Endowment for the Arts (1978-81), she was Assistant Director of the Media Arts Program, and a key figure in the creation of The Sundance Institute.

She has served as an international film festival juror at Venice, Sundance, Berlin, Chicago and Istanbul. Wyler serves on the Film Advisory Committee of the National Gallery of Art and the Advisory Committee of Women in Film and Video in Washington, DC. She has recently been published in the Middle East Times and the Turkish Daily News. She and her husband, Richard Rymland, live in Washington, DC. They have five children.

ROSIE TARAVELLA - Executive Director

Originally from western New York and a former theater major at Nazareth College, Rosie Taravella spent 25 years in Los Angeles, acting, writing and producing. She started her career as a performer on radio, as a studio comedian and writer for the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40. This led to several appearances as an actor on situation comedies (Who's The Boss, Full House, Married with Children, Ellen, Almost Perfect, George an Leo), dramas (The Client, Brooklyn South, Roswell) and movies made for television (Are You Lonesome Tonight, Sinatra, and Norma Jean and Marilyn). Theatrical appearances included the title role in Dolores, directed by Charles Durning at the Tamarind Theatre, and performances in several of her own works produced in Los Angeles, including Rose's Bowl-O-Rama, The Wives (Directed by Charles Nelson Reilly), Pa's Funeral, and Hide and Freak.

In 1998 she wrote and starred in her own screenplay – Carlo's Wake – that ran the film festival circuit in 1999 and 2000. The film, based on her play Pa's Funeral, starred Oscar winners Martin Landau and Rita Moreno in a story about the death of an Italian-American patriarch and the effect it has on his colorful, dysfunctional extended family.

Shifting gears to a career in non-profit in 2001, Taravella turned to the arts, first as managing director of Interact Theatre Company (led by Tony winner John Rubinstein), where she grew their operating budget by 300% in two years. A position at Los Angeles Opera followed, where she worked alongside general director Plácido Domingo in securing the company's first NEA artistic grant for the world premiere opera Grendel, co-written and directed by Julie Taymor.

Taravella has a history of raising money for women's causes. The 1994 production of her play The Wives offered a portion of its proceeds to Haven Hills, an L.A. shelter for victims of domestic violence. Her most recent post was as Assistant Vice President for Advancement at Mount St. Mary's College, which educates a significant number of first generation college students from diverse backgrounds. There, she co-managed a capital campaign to improve facilities and augment scholarships, and helped raise $40 million in two years.

Taravella is pleased to be returning home in a job capacity that will allow her to use her unique combination of skills. When actress Rita Moreno signed on to play "Angela" in Rosie's film, Carlo's Wake, she told her she was attracted to the role because she was called upon to play a vibrant, sexy woman who happened to be in her 60's. Taravella recognized that as a screenwriter she had created a rare role for women over 40.

"I am thrilled to be associated with a film festival that celebrates women in film," Taravella says. "This is a festival with other relevant purposes, as well. We promote Western New York as a beautiful locale for filmmakers to shoot their stories. We acknowledge Rochester as the birthplace of film. And, we show appreciation for our intelligent, cultured audiences by giving them a sneak peek at a wide range of the hottest new films and filmmakers."

RUTH COWING - Festival Director & Co-programmer

Vice President, Picture Fest International, Inc.

Cowing brings more than 25 years of experience as a film and arts administrator to the R/HFIFF. A founding staffmember, she has run the festival since 2003. She currently also co-programs the festival's Main Program and founded the Children's and Young Adults Program, including an annual hands-on Animation Workshop for at-risk youth. In 2006 she added a juried Young Filmmakers Festival to R/HIFFF, as well as began to travel the Children's Program throughout the year so such locations as Australia.

Off season, Cowing curates a annual touring Children's Film Festival targeted to at-risk Rochester youth; over 40 screenings are held in 25+ venues each year. In her work, Cowing liaisons with many local community organizations, including the Children's Institute, the Rochester Urban Youth Film Festival, the Rochester Public Library, Rochester Association for the Education of Young Children, WXXI, UR and several social service agencies. Prior to her work at R/HFIFF, Cowing was the Associate Director of the Rochester/Finger Lakes Film & Video Office, the Coordinator of the video collective TV DINNER, as well as worked for such award-winning publications as Afterimage and City Newspaper.

Board of Directors

John Richardson
President
Director, Public Affairs, New York
Eastman Kodak Company

Stephanie Gradinger
Vice-President
Former Director of Cultural Affairs, City of Rochester

June Foster
Vice-President
Executive Director
Rochester/Finger Lakes Film & Video Office

Judy Seil
Treasurer
Acting Director
Monroe County Department of Planning and Development

Lorie Lachiusa Barnum
Secretary
Director of Cultural Affairs
City of Rochester

Tracy Armstrong
Dir. Of Community Convention Sales and Marketing
Rochester Riverside Convention Center

Anthony Bannon
Director
George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film

John Johnston
Former Regional Sales and Marketing Manager, US East, Americas Region
Eastman Kodak Company

Bob Nolan
Consultant

Barbara Pierce
Assistant Director, Corporate Media Relations, Communications and Public Affairs
Eastman Kodak Company

Nathan J. Robfogel
Senior Counsel
Harter, Secrest & Emery, LLP

Debbie Stendardi
Vice President
Government and Community Relations
Rochester Institute of Technology

Jerry Stoeffhaas
Deputy Director
New York Governor’s Office for Motion Picture and Television Development

Bobbie Wilson
Executive Assistant
Office of Congresswoman Louise Slaughter