Meet the KFS staff
Colette Abbott
Executive Director
Over the past 20 years, Colette has seen first-hand the way film can change the world — particularly when it comes to community-building. A huge fan of cinema and documentary films, she had the good fortune to work alongside film greats on many meaningful projects. For example, she was part of the core grassroots marketing team for The Corporation — one of the country’s top grossing documentaries of all time. From there, she led impact campaigns for Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein’s powerful documentary film, The Take, before working as distribution lead for the film, 65_RedRoses, helping create awareness for Cystic Fibrosis and organ donor registration.
As a publicist, Colette has worked throughout Canada supporting events like the Toronto Film Festival, the Whistler Film Festival, and the Banff World Media Festival, as well as working for Entertainment Tonight Canada.
She has also managed media relations campaigns for several indie and National Film Board releases, and worked as communications lead for conferences like Toronto’s Fail Forward, as well as supporting Vancouver’s Projecting Change Film Festival as executive director for the four-day event. Most recently, Colette worked for the Thompson-Nicola Film Commission.
Originally from Vancouver, she is more than thrilled to call Kamloops home, and she looks forward to drawing on the Kamloops Film Society’s 50-year legacy of collaboration and community — bringing together local arts, culture and business, and more. She admits, she just can’t choose a favorite film. “That’s impossible. Isn’t it?” But the self-described cinephile has a few on repeat, including Amelie, Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, Manufacturing Consent and The Sweet Hereafter.
Radhika Maira Tabrez
General Manager
Radhika Maira Tabrez is a writer, editor, L&D specialist, and radio show host. Her debut novel ‘In The Light Of Darkness’ won the much-coveted Muse India – Satish Verma Young Writer Award in 2016. Radhika’s stories and essays have appeared in over a dozen anthologies since then, including most recently in The Bridport Prize 2023 anthology. In 2018, she became the first Indian ever to speak at a TEDx event in Bangladesh. She won the Rising Stars India Award (2017), and 100 Most Inspiring Writers by Indian Awaaz (2018). She was one of the Program Mentors for the Chevening Writers Series held in Malaysia in 2020.
Radhika is an MBA from SIBM (Pune, India) where she went on to become the first and to date the only female president of the Students’ Council in the almost fifty-year history of the institute.
After short stints in Dhaka (Bangladesh), and Penang (Malaysia), Radhika is now building a new nest in sunny Kamloops. Her family fell head over heels for Kamloops within her first month and decided to drop anchor. She holds Director positions on the Board of Western Canada Theatre, and the Kamloops Sexual Assault Counselling Centre. She also hosts a show on CFBX 92.5. She joined the Kamloops Film Society in July of 2022 as Operations Manager and was promoted to General Manager in November 2023.
Radhika is an avid film buff and one of her screenplays (based on her debut novel) won a national-level competition in India. Her all-time favourite movies are Little Miss Sunshine, The Terminal, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Lagaan, and Rang De Basanti (amongst a zillion others!). Some of her favourite T.V. series are House MD, The West Wing, The Newsroom, and Everybody Loves Raymond. Radhika is always up for a discussion on travel, politics, economics, philosophy, or movies. She is pathologically incapable of ever saying no to kettle chips, chocolate ice cream, or a cup of piping hot Indian masala chai.
Kaitlin Vander Wal
Marketing and Design Coordinator
Kaitlin, is a Graphic Designer and Illustrator who graduated from Thompson River University with a diploma in Digital Art & Design in 2012.
Born and raised in Penticton, Kaitlin has been a resident of Kamloops since 2006. Her diverse interests include gaming with her husband, outdoor adventures like hiking with her dog, camping with her family, and a strong affinity for cinema and the world of media. She is a dedicated advocate for animals, particularly dogs.
Her creative spirit is driven by a desire to share and discuss the art of animation and film.
Her favourite movies are, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Exorcist III, & The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Sam Theriault
DCP & FOH Coordinator
Sam was born in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1999 but has lived in Kamloops for around 10 years. He is currently attending Thompson Rivers University pursuing a Bachelor of Journalism degree. His love of film has led him to many film sets where he’s volunteered for the past year in the sound department, as a grip and as a production assistant. He also spent a summer at Joy Factory Films as a PA.
He is very proud to have his own IMDB page.
Sam’s favourite movies include Dog Day Afternoon, Call Me By Your Name, In Bruges, Blindspotting, Moonrise Kingdom, and What We Do in the Shadows.
Des Geddes
FOH Coordinator
Des has recently graduated in the Bachelor of Arts program at TRU with a Theatre Major. In their free time they love to play with their ferrets, snuggle their cat, tidy their house, and play D&D. They were born and raised in Creston, BC and moved to Kamloops for school in 2017. Des misses Creston sometimes, and reminisces about working along side their mom at their theatre in Creston when they were growing up. Des is excited to once again be cleaning bathrooms in a theatre, just like the old days.
Des’ favourite movies are Beetlejuice, Pulp Fiction, Heathers, Labyrinth, and Get Out.
Jorja King-Jones
FOH Coordinator
Jorja is a TRU student studying general arts with an interest in film studies. In her spare time, Jorja likes performing with other musicians, playing the drums or singing! She also enjoys painting.
Her favorite films are Clue, Nope, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off .
Regha Varghese Mattamana
FOH Coordinator
Regha is an international graduate from Thompson Rivers University and works as an Early Childhood Educator. She has completed her masters in Marketing from Bangalore university. Kamloops has been home to her since 2019. She enjoys baking and organising during her spare time.
She is really excited to be a part of the Kamloops Film Society family. She enjoys rewatching old movies and prefers realistic movies over fictional ones. Her favourite movies are 2018, The Pursuit of Happiness, and Bohemian Rhapsody.
Her friends describe her as hardworking, determined and fun person to be around.
Bin Monteith
FOH Coordinator
Bin was born and raised in Kamloops. He studied theatre at Thompson Rivers University as well as business and science briefly. He loves to watch, re-watch and analyze all things Survivor and also enjoys playing D&D.
Bin’s favourite movies are Big Trouble, Shrek 2, The Court Jester, Vampire’s Kiss, and Get Out.
Ashik George Thomas
FOH Coordinator
George was born and raised in Mumbai (India), but is currently living in Kamloops to pursue his Post Baccalaureate Diploma in Finance from Thompson Rivers University. His love for Cinema has led him to interact and work on a few short films with other cinephiles, with his main interests being cinematography and writing. George also enjoy reading.
George’s favourite films are The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Taxi Driver, The Killing, M, and The Red Shoes.