The Points North Institute has bolstered its executive ranks with the appointment of Angelica Das as its new managing director and Samara Chadwick as an additional programmer.

In the new role, Das (pictured, left) will be tasked with managing the institutes operations, including the Camden International Film Festival (CIFF), whose 13th edition will take place Sept. 14 to 17 in Camden, Rockport and Rockland, Maine. She replaces former MD Caroline von Kuhn who stepped down from her position in October.

Most recently, Das served as a senior associate for media strategy firm Dot Connector Studio and as associate director of the Center for Media & Social Impact between 2010 and 2015. She is also a member of the steering committee for the Indie Caucus, and an advisory board member of the D.C.-based Meridian Hill Pictures.

“Angelica brings a wide range of experience working at the cross-section of filmmaker development, media impact strategy and audience engagement,” said Points North Institute executive director Ben Fowlie in a statement. “She’s an incredible addition to our growing team, and our mission to nurture the careers of diverse filmmakers and media artists, helping them develop a stronger artistic voice.”

“It’s an absolute privilege to be joining the Points North Institute team in such a meaningful way,” added Das. “Documentary filmmakers are on the front lines of challenging the public to seek knowledge and truth, and are vital to building an informed and engaged citizenry.”

Chadwick (right), meanwhile, becomes the third member of the Points North Institute’s programming team. She will work closely alongside Fowlie and program director Sean Flynn on the curation of the 2017 Festival, Forum and Storyforms, a new exhibition of interactive and immersive nonfiction media.

In addition, Chadwick will be involved in the selection process for the institute’s artist development initiatives, which include the Points North Fellowship, Shortform Editing Residency and the Camden/TFI Retreat presented by CNN Films.

Most recently, she served as curator for Doc Circuit Montréal, overseeing the festival’s market, conference, talent lab and Kino VR programs of the Montreal International Documentary Festival.

Previously, Chadwick has programmed films and conferences for Toronto-based festival Hot Docs; the 2ANNAS Film Festival in Rīga, Latvia; the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and the Kunst-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art / 7th Berlin Biennale in Berlin, Germany.

“Samara’s curatorial approach is creative and bold,” said Fowlie. “Her knowledge of film and conference programming, combined with her understanding of the artistic process, will be invaluable as we continue to experiment with our programming and define how the Points North Institute can shape the future of nonfiction media.”

An offshoot of CIFF, The Points North Institute was established in July 2016 to support and nurture the next generation of content makers across the non-fiction space, including doc makers, journalists, photographers, radio producers and other media artists.