Cherie Federico, York’s first International Film Festival

Cherie Federico came to ‘old’ York from New York, moving to the UK in 2002 to study for her Masters Degree at the University of York St Johns.  She subsequently became Editor of  Aesthetica Magazine, now one of the leading British art and culture publications with readers across print, digital and social media. 

In 2011, the magazine launched York’s first international film festival, the Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) with Cherie as Director. The festival runs in the City of York every year at the beginning of November, screening films from over 40 countries. It attracts key industry practitioners and professionals from across with sector and the film industry including Channel 4, BAFTA and Ridley Scott Associates. In 2014, the ASFF was awarded York Festival of the Year by York Press

The Aesthetica Short Film Festival was awarded BAFTA accreditation in 2014, and is widely regarded as having helped to ‘put Yorkshire on the map’ culturally.

Cherie regards the setting up of ASFF as “a career highlight”.

Sources: ASFF, York Press