At Raindance, the public face is often the films, the festival, and its famously outspoken founder. But behind the scenes sits someone whose job is to make the entire machine run: David Martinez, Executive Director of Raindance.
If the founder is the spark, David is the circuitry.
Working alongside a tight team that includes Anna Taborska (Programming), Olly Herman-Taylor (CEO), Nina Menon (Marketing), Dean Goldberg (Brand Ambassador), Ziggy Bannock (Programme Coordinator), and Harvey Puttock (Website & Filmmaker-in-Residence), David’s role is equal parts strategist, mediator, organiser, and professional fire extinguisher.
We asked David ten questions about how he sees the roles of his team — and the challenges that come with steering one of the world’s most independent film festivals.
And yes… we asked the inevitable question about dealing with the founder.
Ten Questions with Raindance Executive Director David Martinez
1) Anna Taborska – Programming
Q: Anna has to narrow thousands of submissions down to a small programme. How do you see her role?
David:
Anna is the guardian of the festival’s taste. People think programming is about picking films you like, but it’s actually about shaping a voice. When you reduce thousands of films to about seventy features and documentaries, you’re effectively defining what Raindance stands for that year. Anna’s challenge is balancing discovery, craft, diversity of voices, and audience experience — all while saying “no” far more often than she gets to say “yes.” It’s a brutal but incredibly important role.
2) Olly Herman-Taylor – CEO
Q: What does Olly bring as CEO?
David:
Olly sits at the intersection of vision and reality. The founder dreams big, which is wonderful, but somebody has to build the operational structure that makes those ideas sustainable. Olly’s job is translating ambition into business: partnerships, budgets, growth strategy. The challenge is that Raindance moves fast and often unpredictably. Olly has to keep the organisation stable while still allowing it to remain creatively rebellious.
3) Nina Menon – Marketing
Q: Festivals live or die by their audience. What is Nina’s role in that?
David:
Nina’s role is making sure the world actually knows what Raindance is doing. Independent film can’t rely on the marketing budgets that studios have, so our marketing has to be clever, authentic, and community-driven. Nina has to cut through an ocean of digital noise and make people care about independent cinema. The biggest challenge is attention. Audiences today have more options than ever.
4) Dean Goldberg – Brand Ambassador
Q: What does a Raindance Brand Ambassador actually do?
David:
Dean represents Raindance in rooms we’re not physically in. He connects filmmakers, partners, and industry professionals to the festival. A brand ambassador protects the spirit of the organisation while helping it grow. The challenge is making sure the brand remains authentic as it expands internationally.
5) Ziggy Bannock – Programme Coordinator
Q: Programming sounds glamorous, but the logistics must be intense. Where does Ziggy fit?
David:
Ziggy is the operational backbone of programming. Once films are selected, someone has to manage schedules, communication with filmmakers, technical requirements, and dozens of moving parts. If Anna curates the vision, Ziggy makes sure the machinery runs smoothly. The challenge is scale. Every year there are more submissions, more filmmakers, and more expectations.
6) Harvey Puttock – Website & Filmmaker-in-Residence
Q: Harvey wears two hats. How do those roles intersect?
David:
Harvey sits in a fascinating place between creator and communicator. As filmmaker-in-residence he understands the challenges filmmakers face. As the person overseeing the website, he helps translate the festival’s mission into something accessible and useful online. The challenge is keeping the digital experience as dynamic as the real-world festival.
7) The Entire Raindance Team — Our Orchestra
Q: Q: Beyond the people we’ve named, Raindance relies on a huge number of team players. How do you see their role in the Raindance orchestra?
David:
They’re the music. The people we’ve named are just the visible section of the score, but it’s the wider team that turns notes on a page into a living performance.
Raindance exists because all of you choose to give your talent, your patience, and frankly, your stamina to something that is much bigger than any one of us. To every member of the Raindance family: programmers, producers, marketeers, publicists, hospitality, media team, technical crew, interns and volunteers, thank you for being part of the Raindance orchestra. You’re the reason the festival doesn’t just happen, it sings.
8) Supporting Filmmakers
Q: What is the team’s most important shared responsibility?
David:
Supporting filmmakers. Everything we do, programming, marketing, partnerships, education, ultimately serves the people making the films. The challenge is that independent filmmakers face enormous barriers: financing, distribution, visibility. Raindance exists to lower those barriers wherever we can.
9) The Hardest Part of the Job
Q: What’s the most difficult part of being Executive Director?
David:
Balancing creativity and sustainability. Festivals are emotional spaces. Filmmakers have invested years of their lives into their work. At the same time, the organisation has to remain financially and operationally healthy. My role often involves making difficult decisions that protect the long-term future of Raindance.
10) The Founder Question
Q: Be honest: how do you deal with the founder?
David:
(Laughs.)
Working with a founder is both inspiring and challenging. Founders are driven by vision, instinct, and sometimes chaos. My job isn’t to contain that energy, it’s to channel it. Elliot’s passion is part of what makes Raindance special. But the organisation also needs structure and continuity. The trick is making sure the vision keeps moving forward without the wheels coming off.
The Invisible Architecture of a Festival
Film festivals may appear glamorous from the outside: premieres, red carpets, and packed cinemas.
But the truth is that festivals are built by teams.
Curators, organisers, marketers, programmers, technologists, and connectors — all working behind the scenes to bring stories to audiences.
At Raindance, that orchestra is conducted by David Martinez.
And if the founder is the thunder, David is the calm that keeps the lightning from hitting the wrong place.
Raindance promotes and supports independent filmmaking and filmmakers.
From new and emerging to industry pros, Raindance connects, trains, supports, and promotes visual storytellers through every step of their career.
The Raindance Film Festival runs each Summer in London’s Leicester Square.
Raindance has been delivering film training since 1992. A wide range of Open Classes to a 2 year HND Level 5 BTEC in Moving Images to a Postgraduate Film Degree are delivered to students on five continents, both in person and online.
