I am Tom van Arsdale —
Musician, Managing & Operations Director, Producer, and Programmer.
When I am not creating for myself, I am working with groups like the Chicago Underground Film Festival, Independent Filmmaker Project Chicago, Cucalorus Film Festival and Kuma’s Corner.
I have run media organizations, nonprofits, and hospitality groups and led departments in administration, operations, development & finance, communications & public relations, screenings, membership, and ticketing.
My professional passion is in supporting artists and organizations that use radical creativity to tell invaluable stories.
I have chromesthesia; my favorite color is orange and my favorite key is B minor.
Below is a synoptic, visual resume.
I am a programmer and Operations Director for the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF), the longest running underground film festival in the world. I first joined as Assistant Director and Festival Producer in 2016 in preparation for the 24th anniversary, and helped the festival significantly scale in attendance, sponsorship, and submissions. The 30th annual film festival will be held June 7-11, 2023 at the Gene Siskel Film Center.
Since 2018, I have served as Director of Operations for Kuma’s Corner.
At Kuma’s, I manage all departmental directors, and front of house and back of house staff, and coordinate the hiring, training, progress tracking, and disciplinary action of company personnel in conjunction with the General Managers.
I oversee the administration of the three stores, prepare daily and weekly sales reports, item trend reports, manager activity reports, and credit card batches, reconciling period financials and maintain strict P&L goals and am in constant communication with our owners.
Critical to our continued success, I continually track, report, and manage inventory, manage purchasing, ordering, and COGS for food, non-alcoholic beverage, bars and catering, manage vendor accounts, and steward relationships with reps and community partners.
Using my passion for music and friendships in media, I have thoroughly enjoyed coordinating with artists to collaborate on menu pairings and cross-promotional events as well as programming nightly live music programs (DJ’s, bands, solo artists), and curating playlists for service.
My background in hotels and banquets has helped me in working with our catering manager to book and execute special events, catering, and private rentals.
From 2016-2018 I served as Assistant Director of the Independent Film Project Chicago.
The Independent Filmmaker Project Chicago (IFP) was a 501(c)3 nonprofit that supported artists directly, created programming that grew and strengthened the local film industry, and attracted thousands of audience members through year-round programming and member services.
I managed the administration, operations, development, and memberships of the nonprofit, oversaw its fiscal sponsorship program, and helped produce its programming including the Chicago Underground Film Festival, Illinois Film Tour, PA Bootcamp, Rough Cut Screenings, 75 Minutes With… series, and Pitch Sessions. I wrote press releases and newsletters, and edited bumpers, sizzle reels, and the website.
I also co-produced collaborative programming with partners like the Illinois and Chicago film offices, Film Independent/Spirit Awards, SAG-AFTRA, Cinespace Chicago, Chicago International Film Festival/Industry Days, 2112, AbleCine, and Tribeca Flashpoint College.
In 2019, the Independent Filmmaker Project Chicago merged with Stage 18 to become the Independent Film Alliance.
I joined the staff at the Cucalorus Film Festival and served as served as Development and Operations Director from 2014-2016.
Now I am a festival judge with a focus on documentary and experimental films.
Cucalorus is renown for its annual film festival and foundation in historic downtown Wilmington, North Carolina where for five days, more than 20,000 attendees have access to an explosively colorful program of 300+ film screenings in addition to panels, parties, midnight brunches on riverboats, stage performances like Dance-a-lorus, and immersive exhibits like The Bus to Lumberton — designed uniquely each year — inspired by David Lynch’s Blue Velvet (filmed in Wilmington).
In 2016, I helped to design and launch the inaugural Cucalorus Connect: Business and Entrepreneurship Conference in collaboration with the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the accelerator tekMountain. Cucalorus Connect is now an annual staple and runs congruent to the film festival. Cucalorus is fundamental to independent film in the Southeast.
I ran the operations and all departments of the
foundation, produced the annual festival and year-round programming including the Surfalorus Festival, Cucalorus Community Cinema, residency program, and community engagement programs like Pop-Up Cinema. I spearheaded the nonprofit’s development — writing grants and stewarding sponsors — and lobbied for independent film at the North Carolina General Assembly.
I graduated from East Carolina University
with a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Political Science.
I hold TEFL / TESOL certification.
