Team

  • A woman with tousled brown hair wearing a navy and white polka dot sleeveless top with tied straps, standing against a plain light-colored background.

    Maayan Laufer

    FOUNDER/FESTIVAL DIRECTOR

    Maayan Laufer is the founding partner of Palms for Life, a global nonprofit dedicated to social development for marginalized populations, and the creator of the Ceres Food Film Festival. With a mother who worked for the UN, Maayan grew up in developing countries, shaping her commitment to being a responsible global citizen.  She went on to study Environmental Biology and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. Passionate about storytelling, Maayan’s background in acting and filmmaking nourish her work with Ceres, which challenges audiences to rethink food and their relationship to it. Maayan lives in Brooklyn with her two magical children, loves rain, dark mornings, and drinks copious amounts of tea.

  • A woman with curly dark hair, wearing a black blazer and patterned blouse, smiling outdoors with large green and yellow foliage in the background.

    Sarah Bex Rice

    PRODUCER

    Sarah Bex Rice is a footage manager, film programmer and experimental filmmaker with an MSc in Film, Exhibition and Curation from the University of Edinburgh. She has worked in various capacities within festivals both local and worldwide, including most recently with Brooklyn Film Festival. Passionate about the preservation of media, she has also worked hands-on within several archives, including the Moving Image Research Collections, Ralph Lauren, NBC News and Bridgeman Images. She is excited to expand her work in festival coordination with Ceres Film Festival and their mission to bring awareness to food-related issues through the power of storytelling. 

  • A woman with shoulder-length hair smiling while sitting at a table with a glass of wine, with a brick wall in the background.

    Sari Kamin

    PRODUCER

    Sari Kamin is a New York City–based culinary event producer and food writer whose work explores the intersections of food, culture, and community. She has led public programming at the James Beard Foundation’s Platform and at MOFAD, the Museum of Food and Drink, and previously worked as Senior Publicity Manager for Culinary and Lifestyle at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. A longtime voice in food media, she co-hosted The Morning After and created and hosted Food Without Borders on Heritage Radio Network. Her debut cookbook, Honey and Schmaltz, will be published by Clarkson Potter in Fall 2027. 

  • A young woman smiling in front of Mount Fuji with a cityscape below and a blue sky with scattered clouds.

    Camila Yanzaguano-Bravo

    PROGRAMMER/COMMUNICATIONS

    Camila Yanzaguano-Bravo is a recent graduate from the M.A. in International Affairs with a concentration in Cities and Social Justice at The New School, New York. Her passion for urban development and rights lead her to travel to Barcelona, Spain and Cape Town, South Africa, where she contributed within the nonprofit sector in areas such as employment and housing policy, respectively. Today, she expects to continue developing her knowledge within the nonprofit sector and help fundamental human rights as part of everyone's lives. 

  • A woman smiling outdoors with trees in the background.

    Sarah Sewell

    COORDINATOR

    Sarah Sewell (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist currently based in New York City. Her background ranges across theatre, music, and live event management, and as a recent graduate of The New School's Media Studies master's program, her focus is now turned toward film production. Moving forward, Sarah hopes to forge a career path in filmmaking while continuing to hold her interdisciplinary experience at the forefront of her artistic practice. 

  • A young woman with long black hair, wearing a black long-sleeve top, gold hoop earrings, and a gold necklace, standing outdoors on a balcony with trees in the background, smiling at the camera.

    Noor Kaur

    PROGRAMMER

    Yashnoor (Noor) Kaur is a Global Business major at the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University. She has been involved with local community service projects and social justice work at her home in New Jersey. She plans to continue her service and social justice related work in her New York community. Noor joined the Palms for Life Fund to continue to make positive change and to get more involved with the global community.