Taryn Joffe has worked in film since 2010, with a focus on film programming, film criticism and film distribution. She is the Festival Programmer and Coordinator at Encounters South African International Documentary Festival, a Film Programmer for France-based African streaming platform Cinewax and a Content Writer and Editor for UK World Cinema distribution company New Wave Films. Taryn is also an Advisory Panellist for the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa and she was an Evaluator for the Netflix-UNESCO African Folktales Reimagined Short Film Competition in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her previous roles have included Distribution Coordinator at Pan-African film production company Big World Cinema and VR specialists Electric South and Programmer at the Shnit Worldwide Shortfilmfestival. Taryn is an alumna of Talents Durban Press and Berlinale Talents, where she was selected as an Audience Designer in the Market Studio. She has also participated as a film critic in the training programme organised by the Federation of African Cinematographic Critics, Africiné Magazine and NO’O CULTURES as a prelude to the 27th edition of FESPACO. Taryn has been a Student Juror for the Federation of Commercial Audio-Visual Library awards in the UK and she is a Juror for the South African Film and Television Awards. In 2021, she curated the inaugural 3-month youth internship programme in Festival Management and Film Curation for Encounters South African International Documentary Festival, with the support of the NFVF’s Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme. Taryn received her Bachelor of Arts and Honours degrees in Film and Television Studies from the University of Cape Town in South Africa and her Masters degree in Film Studies, Programming and Curation from the National Film and Television School in the UK