Benjamin Bertalan
Ben has always had an interest in film. He has gone from writing term papers on the history of the Academy Awards to writing film criticism for The Allentown Times. He has been on the film selection jury since the very first year. This librarian always enjoys hearing good book and music recommendations.
It’s always hard for Ben to choose his favorite movies, but here are some of his top picks: Ed Wood, Ghost World, The Girl on the Bridge, The Big Lebowski, Nights of Cabiria, The Guatemalan Handshake, The Lady Vanishes, Swingers, Double Indemnity, Shaun of the Dead, American Splendor, Sunrise and Two Family House.
Jennifer Cotto
Festival Director
Jenn is a native of the Pocono Mountains, but 18 years ago her career in healthcare brought her to the Lehigh Valley and she’s been enamored with it ever since. In her spare time she enjoys other local festivals, restaurants, events, and going to the movies with friends. Jenn has been a member of the SouthSide Film Festival jury for eight years. 2017 was her first year as a board member, and 2021 was her first year as SSFF Director. She enjoys all types of movies – drama, action, independent, even animated family films. Favorites include JAWS, Pulp Fiction, The Princess Bride, and the MCU films.Dennis Douvanis
Dennis is a Bethlehem native announcer proud alumnus of Penn State University (B.S., M.Ed.). He is the former owner/operator of Toones Records, Molly Maid, Grandstand Sports, 40 West Nightclub, and Daredevil Productions, and previously worked with Electric Factory Concerts and served as a Building Administrator for Bangor Area School District.
A lifelong lover of films, he took every film course he could while attending PSU and went on to enroll in NYU’s legendary Film 101 course with Dr. Richard Brown.