Team
Founded in 2017, the HDS Film Fest is an annual student-led festival that explores the intersection of film and faith.
These are the people that help make it possible:
Mario Cader-Frech – Festival Director
Cader-Frech worked as SVP at ViacomCBS producing 30 global campaigns and 20 award-winning documentaries reaching nearly a billion cumulative subscribers in 160 countries; complimented with events, consumer products, digital offerings, recreation, books, and educational components. He spearheaded the ideation of the DeeperDive.org—bringing together media professionals and scholars of media, religion, and business to foster critical reflection and collaborative relationships to improve religious literacy of the American public. He serves on numerous boards including MoMA NYC; Reina Sofia Museum Madrid; and Y.ES Contemporary Art—an art program of his namesake foundation. Enjoys car racing and boxing.
Alexandra Potter – President
Alexandra (Lexi) Potter (She/They) is a second-year Master of Divinity Candidate at the Harvard Divinity School. At the Divinity School Lexi is interested in movement chaplaincy (care and guidance for political organizers) because healing and feeling are important for effective activism. Lexi has always found immense joy in watching movies and also has experience doing tv production work. Lexi loves to review films on Letterboxd and is a big fan of animation. Lexi is honored to help steer the film fest and support religious literacy in media. Fun fact, Lexi is also the HDS Trivia host!
Armond Dorsey – Vice President
Armond is a second year MDIV at HDS.
Gus Kellerman – Treasurer
Gus is an MDiv III studying Christian Mysticism, acting, and religious literacy in media. He is excited to bring his background as a performer and amateur filmmaker to the HDS Film Fest!
Jeremy Barber – Chair, Studio & Talent Relations
Jeremy Barber is a partner in the Motion Picture Literacy and Talent departments at UTA. Prior to UTA, he was president of Catch 23 and Catch 23 UK, the production and management company which he helped found. During his tenure, Barber executive produced One Hour Photo and King’s Ransom. Barber was also head of production and acquisitions at Artisan Entertainment, where he oversaw films such as Requiem for a Dream, The Blair Witch Project, and Buena Vista Social Club. Barber began his entertainment career as an attorney at Loeb & Loeb (after working for Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, clerking on the Ninth Circuit, and working in the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia). Prior to Hollywood, Barber had a career in politics, where he worked on the Dukakis/Bentsen campaign, for Congressman Chuck Schumer, Senator Herb Kohl, and on Bill Clinton’s Chicago convention. Barber serves on the Georgetown Law School Board of Visitors, the Telluride Film Festival’s Esteemed Council of Advisors, the board of The People Concern, UTA’s Advisory Council and Leadership Council, Campbell Hall’s Advancement Committee, the Independent School Alliance Board of Directors, and served as chairman of the board of the UCLA lab school, where he now maintains an emeritus position. Jeremy holds a law degree from Georgetown University, and a MA and BA from Cambridge University. He is a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. He lives in Beverly Hills with his three teenage children.
Robbie Rhodes – Chair, Internal Relations & Social Media Manager
Robbie is the academic technologist in the IT & Media Studies department at HDS, where he specializes in audiovisual support and media production for the campus. When not at HDS, he is pursuing a certificate in Digital Storytelling at Harvard Extension School. Robbie received his bachelor’s degree in film studies from Rhode Island College in 2017 and has since been involved in many independent video and music projects in the Greater Boston area. He is an avid fan of classic and foreign cinema, and his three favorite films are Inland Empire, Santa Sangre, and Agnes Varda’s Vagabond.
Lorenny Diaz – Board Member
Lorenny Diaz is a PhD student in the Committee on the Study of Religion at Harvard University focusing on the representation of ancient women in material culture and early Christian literature. She bridges her affinity for antiquity, textuality, and materiality with her interest in the intersection of religion and media. Since 2024, her involvement in the HDS Film Festival corresponds to her view of the need to critically analyze media for its power in reproducing and/or subverting certain narratives. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Lorenny enjoys visiting museums and local coffee shops, watching movies and television shows, and spending time with her family and friends.
Hank Yang – Board Member
Hank Yang joined Harvard Divinity School to study Comparative Religions in the Master of Theological Studies program. He has directed an Asian American short film as a Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotion of Mental Health Via Cinematic Arts Fellow in 2024. He also worked on student documentaries on the college encampments in 2024 and the Chicago Polar Bear club.
Catherine Carmody – Board Member
Catherine Carmody, a Screenwriter and Producer, was originally a trial lawyer in business and products liability litigation. With multiple degrees and Spanish fluency, she found her way from west Texas to tumbleweed-free New York City and parts beyond. She is devoted to the arts and is interested in social justice. Currently, Carmody serves on the Board of Trustees of the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, NY, is a board member of the Interfaith Alliance in Washington D.C. and is a past board member of the New York City Opera. Her latest film projects include “Hollywoodgate”, where she joined the Oscar Winning Team of “Navalny” and “It Doesn’t Matter” which premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 2024.
Jerusha Achtenberg – Chair, External Communications
Expository Writing Professor at Harvard Extension School and Harvard Medical School.
Geralyn Dreyfous – Chair, Film Festival Submissions
Award-winning American film producer and Co-Founder of Impact Partners and Impact Gamechangers Films, producers of narrative films focusing on social justice issues. Dreyfous is a Harvard Alumni in Sociology.
Armando Fumagalli – Chair, Film Festival Panels
Director of the Master's degree program in International Screenwriting and Film Production at the Catholic University of Milan.
Past Film Fest Members
Past Student Organizers
(alphabetized)
2025
Tristan Angieri, MTS '25
2022
Ariella Gayotto Hohl, MDiv '24
2021
Amy Greulich, MDiv ‘21
Prince Jenkins, MDiv '22 (documentarian)
Maisie Luo, MTS '22
2020
Amy Greulich, MDiv ‘21
Jason Hoelzel, MDiv ‘20
Charli Pence, MTS ‘20
Bridget Power, MDiv ‘19 (documentarian)
Lindsey Smith, MTS ‘20 (assisted)
2019
Amy Greulich, MDiv ‘21
Charli Pence, MTS ‘20
Bridget Power, MDiv ‘19 (documentarian)
Laura Ryan, MTS ‘20
2018
Seth Castiglione, MTS ‘20
Rutdow Jiraprapasuke, MTS ‘18 (co-founder, documentarian)
Bridget Power, MDiv ‘19 (co-founder, documentarian)
Past HDS Staff Member Supporters
Leslie MacPherson
Katie Caponera and Office of Student Life
Nancy Birne
Sheila Dennis
Sydney Bayer
IT team: Dan Hawkins, Kama Lord, Naohito Miura
Bok Center team: Katie Gilligan, Casey Cann, Mike Oliveri
Harvard Web Publishing team: Kate Brodofff, Richard Clinch
Previous and current HDS-affiliated Supporters
Dudley Rose and the Office of Ministry Studies
Kerry Maloney and the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life
Lauren Kerby and the Religious Literacy Project
Ann Braude and the Women’s Studies in Religion Program
The Hemptons
The Swartz Family
Geralyn White Dreyfous
Mario-Cader Frech, Dean’s Council, formerly of Viacom/CBS