meet cinekink

lisa vandever

Co-founder and director of CineKink, Lisa Vandever oversees and curates the organization’s annual film festival and touring series, currently in its 20th anniversary season.

A producer and consultant in film and communications, Vandever was formerly the director of programming for a regional network of public television stations, worked as a development executive for two New York-based independent production companies, and was associate producer of the Sundance award-winning feature film, Songcatcher.

Seizing the unique opportunity to combine two of her overriding fixations, film and sexuality, Vandever previously co-founded the New York S/M Film Festival, which ran 2000-2002. Over the years she has also consulted with media distributors on how to best reach sexuality communities, and has advised filmmakers on how to present their works to a wider market.

In addition to serving on the board of directors of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, she also volunteered on its media committee, alerting community members to media presentations of alternative sexuality, and encouraging feedback. She has spoken several times on the intersection of film and sexuality at the prestigious SXSW conference, with additional appearances including the International Film Festival Summit, Film Festival Academy, DIY Convention, Sex 2.0, MomentumCon, CatyalystCon and Leather Leadership Conference. She is proud to have once stumped the panel as a guest during a round of “What’s My Fetish?” on the Radio Chick Show…and she probably watches a lot less porn than everyone seems to think she does.

photo credit Stacie Joy