LIFF
Lebanese Independent Film Festival المهرجان اللبناني للأفلام المستقلة
Team
The Lebanese Independent Film Festival LIFF Team 2024/2025
Gauthier Raad
Founder and Director
Gauthier Raad is a filmmaker, editor and producer. He graduated with two Masters in Production and Film Directing. Gauthier has participated in several festivals with his documentaries and short films and has won numerous awards. In 2017, he created the Lebanese Independent Film Festival – LIFF , despite censorship. Gauthier is the founder of the Fantasy Film Festivals – Le Festival du Film du Fantasme in Paris, CIFF the Canadian Independent Film Festival and Albuquerque Film Festival a founding member of many other festival. Gauthier has worked in many well-known companies and Festivals such as Avignon Festival and France 24 News channel.
Dineta Williams-Trigg
Director
Dineta Williams-Trigg is an American Film, and Stage Actor. She is the owner, and proprietor of Full Figure Productions, whose mission, is to positively affect every human soul that she makes contact with through her storytelling, and lots of hugs. She created her own film festival ‘A Night of Misfit Films’ in its fifth year, to provide other filmmakers the opportunity to screen unseen works. Dineta is extremely honored to be a part of The Lebanese Independent Film Festival and truly believes that as creatives, “Our Voices Can Change The World”.
John Trigg
Audiovisual Director
Charelle Abdallah
Artistic Director
Charelle is a filmmaker and researcher. Graduating with a BA in Audiovisual, she is now in the process of obtaining her MA in Arts & Culture, specializing in Contemporary literature and Art; Cultural Interventions and Social Justice. As she believes in the power of the visual arts, her mission is to make knowledge accessible through combining her love for filmmaking and for research. In her role as festival programmer, Charelle focuses on curating films for the local audience in a way that makes the screening informative, as well as engaging and entertaining.
Sandy Rakka
Audiovisual Director
Media Manager & Partnership Manager, Lebanese Independent Film Festival (LIFF)
Sandy Rakka is a media practitioner with over five years of experience in the industry. She has been with the Lebanese Independent Film Festival (LIFF) for four years, first as a Partnership Manager and now as a Media Manager. Sandy also hosted at the Official Tyre Theatre, where she raised funds for arts and culture in Tyre, South Lebanon. Her freelance work as a Social Media Manager and Brand Manager with Five Force Group further enhanced her expertise in digital strategy and branding.
As a passionate filmmaker, Sandy produced and directed a short documentary that was selected and screened at LIFF 2022 as part of her senior project from the Lebanese International University (LIU) also acted in two short films for senior film students.
Charbel Chouchany
Committee Member
Charbel Chouchany is a filmmaker, writer, and photographer who explores themes of isolation, human tragedy, and the absurd. From documenting real-life events to creating surreal fictional narratives, his films and photography merge intimate and universal stories. Charbel’s work has been shaped by experiences in Lebanon, Italy, and Georgia, and he continues to craft short films that aim to connect with a certain type of audience.
Vanessa Abdel Aal
Writer/Researcher/Filmmaker
Abdel Aal directs and produces both narrative and documentary short films, primarily focusing on themes such as family, gender, sexuality, and mental health. She is a film activist advocating for film as a free artistic form and a medium of self-expression. Vanessa has participated as a youth jury member in various film festivals, including Essex DocFest (UK), Reel Youth Film Festival (Canada), and Ajyal Film Festival (Qatar). Currently, Abdel Aal is pursuing a master’s degree in Media Studies at the American University of Beirut..
Thank you to the rest of the team and all of the people who wanted to stay private.
LIFF 