Meet The Board
Richard VanNess
President
Black Hills Film Festival
Rick recently retired from his own business, Crow Ridge Productions. He is an experienced sound mixer/recordist, often recording concerts for South Dakota Public Broadcasting in addition to his film and TV work. Rick worked on the Walt Disney production National Treasure: Book of Secrets as an Assistant Location Manager; was a sound recordist for the Full Throttle Saloon reality TV series and has many contacts in the film industry. Rick co-founded Open Stage in 2008 - the Hill City Arts Council’s winter program for emerging performers - and the Black Hills Film Festival in 2009. Rick continues to help train students to run sound and projection for these activities and his expertise in the technical realm greatly benefits the Film Festival
Richard VANNESS
Richard Vanness
Egija Hartmane-Salem
Vice President
Black Hills Film Festival
Egija was born in Latvia and spent much of her childhood, and later her summer breaks, in the film, culture, and art house that was run by her grandparents for more than 40 years. That’s when she fell in love with films and many different art forms very early on. She worked as a freelance feature writer for one of the leading newspapers in Latvia but developed a passion for documentary filmmaking after moving to America in 2006. Egija received her MA in broadcast journalism from the University of Colorado Boulder and has been working on various documentary and educational projects since then. Egija has worked on the media crew for the Boulder International Film Festival for 10 years and joined the Black Hills Film Festival Board of Directors in 2019.
Egija Hartmane-Salem
Egija Hartmane-Salem
Molli Cameron
Secretary
Black Hills Film Festival
Molli was born in Indiana. Her maternal great-grandfather was from South Dakota and her great-grandmother moved to the state to teach. Molli is the director, co-producer, screenwriter, video editor, and costumer for the feature film Lakota Girls, shot in the Black Hills and at Pine Ridge. Her film won the People’s Choice Award at the 2016 Black Hills Film Festival at the US Premiere. An official selection at twelve festivals in the US, Canada, and Europe, it is currently streaming. Molli has a BS in Business - Marketing from Indiana University and a Teacher’s License in Secondary Education in Social Studies. She owned a yarn shop, which won Best Arts & Crafts store four times. Molli’s husband is from Custer, and her son and daughter enjoy time there. Molli continues to travel the world and is currently working in documentary film. She joined the BHFF Board in 2024.
molli cameron
Molli Cameron
Brian Ellis
Brian Ellis
Treasurer
Black Hills Film Festival
Brian has a Bachelors of Arts majoring in animation. He has a basic knowledge of filmmaking, loves being behind a camera, and working with technology. Brian enjoys learning about 3D modeling and studying animation frame by frame. He wants to learn more about the process of filmmaking to help bridge his gap in knowledge about making a good film/animation/video game.
BRIAN ELLIS
Ryan Hall
Ryan Hall
Board of Directors
Black Hills Film Festival
Ryan portrays the face of the Black Hills Film Festival in advertising and as the MC. He also helps with the website, marketing, and social media. After deciding to pursue his love of film in South Dakota, Ryan produced a low-budget feature called Dust of War which gained international distribution. He is a producer on the feature film Tater Tot and Patton which opened the 2018 BHFF and won Best Feature Film. In addition to features, Ryan has produced 5 award-winning short films. He works for a Marketing and Design company, Evergreen Media in Rapid City.
RYAN HALL
Ryan Hall
Randal Iverson
Board of Directors
Black Hills Film Festival
Randal owns Iverson Productions LLC - a small production house located in South Dakota. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communications from Black Hills State University and years of experience with commercial and documentary production in both still and motion. He is used to wearing many different hats, producing, directing, cinematography, sound, editing, and stills. Some of the companies he has worked for include ABC, PBSNews Hour, McDonald’s, and Walmart. Randal loves telling unique stories and sharing them with the world.
randal Iverson
Meet The Panel Moderator
ALICIA GARCIA
Lawyer and Emmy Nominated News Anchor/Executive Producer/Reporter
Meet The Staff
Richard VanNess
Executive Director of the Black Hills Film Festival
A founder of the Black Hills Film Festival in 2009 and its Executive Director, Chris helps manage and fund the growing event located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Chris holds a BA degree from the University of Minnesota in theatre arts and has experience in event
planning from Sled Dog Races to Art, History and Music experiences. She was also the coordinator/director for Heart of the Hills Economic Development Corp. for 6 years. Chris recently retired from Crow Ridge Productions, a film production company she started with her husband, winning multiple National Telly awards and American Advertising Federation awards for television and cinema commercials. Chris demonstrates the ability to initiate new programs, develop/manage tight
budgets, and fund raise.