Irene Soriano

Irene Soriano is a Los Angeles–based film curator, festival programmer, and writer who programs short films for the Sundance Film Festival and has curated programs for Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival, Echo Park Film Center, the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), I See You Queer Filipinx Microcinema and Venice Beach Film.

She was the first Film Independent/Project Involve Fellow to initiate a Film Programming Industry Track in 2003, and in a full-circle moment, returned two decades later as a Film Programming Resident Mentor in 2024 and 2025. Irene also moderated an industry podcast on equity and inclusion in the film programming space for DOC Leipzig in collaboration with the Programmers of Colour Collective. Through various initiatives, Irene uplifts Filipino filmmakers in the diaspora—advocating for their stories and helping to expand the platforms available for their work.

She has contributed her expertise to numerous juries, including the QCinema Project Market, Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) Market 2025, Norwegian Short Film Competition for Kortfilmfestivalen, Social Change Jury for USC School of Cinematic Arts’ First Look 2025, International Narrative Shorts Award for Outfest LA, Animation Shorts Award for the Palm Springs International ShortFest and the Music Documentary Feature Jury for the Nashville Film Festival.

At the heart of Irene’s organizing mission in the film space are the principles of community-building, collaboration, and support for the storytellers and projects she uplifts. IG @theirenesoriano