Orly Yadin, executive director of the Vermont International Film Festival, will step down from that position at the end of June, the organization announced on Thursday. Yadin, a former board member, has been its executive director since 2012. As she prepares to leave, Yadin said she's pleased that the organization is in a "solid position."

"I'm very happy with where we have come, and I feel it's time for some new voices to be heard," Yadin, 73, told Seven Days. "It's always good to leave when people still want you to stay."   

VTIFF was founded in 1985 at Marlboro College in southern Vermont and is now based in Burlington. Under Yadin's leadership, it has increased its annual budget to about $300,000 and grown to include year-round programming, monthly screenings and three film festivals. In total, the organization presents about 100 films a year to Vermont audiences, Yadin said.



VTIFF's next event is the Global Roots Film Festival, running February 16 through 19 at the Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center in Burlington.

Yadin moved to Burlington 20 years ago from London, where she was a film producer. When she became executive director of  VTIFF, it "was in danger of shutting down" due to precarious finances, according to a press release from the organization. As its leader, she “rebuilt and expanded its programs and community support to become a vibrant participant in Vermont’s cultural life,” Arnie Malina, VTIFF board president, said in the release.

Yadin will help with the transition to a new executive director and serve as acting program director for October's Vermont International Film Festival. She hopes to remain involved with the organization in other capacities, as well, after she completes her tenure as executive director, she said.

In particular, Yadin is interested in focusing on the Made Here Film Festival, a juried springtime fest that screens works by filmmakers from New England and Québec. The festival is presented in partnership with Vermont Public. Yadin also wishes to help VTIFF establish a film house or film center — a place that would not compete with commercial cinemas, she said, but would exist "for people to come to speak and hang out."

The search for Yadin's replacement is "an opportunity for the VTIFF Board to rethink its organization's staffing needs and its programming and educational thrust," treasurer Holly Cluse said in the release.