LIFT Welcomes Summer Staff – June 2025

(L-R) Ander Barillas and Ben Compton
Photo by Renata Mohamed

June 20, 2025

Welcome to Summer 2025 Staff

Thanks to the Canada Summer Job program, supported by the Canadian Government, we are able to welcome two new summer staff to LIFT this summer, Ben Compton and Ander Barillas, who started last month. Ben is our Summer 2025 Conference and Meeting Planner. He has already jumped into a busy summer by helping Special Projects Manager Robin Riad run the Canadian Media Skills Exchange (CMSE) which happened from May 22 – 26 and will be helping to develop a couple other projects that will run this summer and fall. Ander is our Sumer 2025 Technical Assistant. Her has been assisting our Technical team, KJ Edwards and Noah Henderson in the equipment room and production facilities. It is great to welcome these staff through the busy months of the summer!

“I feel so grateful to be working at LIFT this summer! Beyond the privilege of being immersed in this hub of film production, I’m especially happy to have helped organize the Canadian Media Skills Exchange (CMSE), a gathering devoted to the handling and maintenance of analogue equipment. As a current student in film preservation, I witness firsthand the crucial knowledge that is lost as technology ages and film technicians retire. Getting to play a small part in keeping analogue film culture alive is really meaningful.”
—Ben Compton

Ben Compton is an emerging artist and archivist working in time-based media. With a grounding in music and performance art, Ben often explores the physical presence of audiovisual culture–how sounds and images are tied to objects, people, architecture, and land. He has worked at The Canadian Film Institute, The Canada Council for the Arts Art Bank, and Debaser, an Ottawa-based interdisciplinary arts and music presenter. Most recently, Ben launched Everyone Archives, a community organization supporting people in preserving their history through archiving workshops and resources. He is currently pursuing an MA in Film + Photography Preservation and Collections Management at Toronto Metropolitan University.

“Hello LIFT Community! I am truly excited to be joining LIFT as a Technical Assistant for this summer season! I care deeply and passionately about the preservation of cinema as an art form, and the hands-on experience with analog filmmaking here is absolutely exceptional. LIFT’s facilities are essential and well-curated, and the Technical team I work with are enormously knowledgeable. All of the equipment, I desire education on is here and in top-quality condition, be it the 16mm Bolex kits or the excellent Darktoom on site. It’s a treasure to be a part of the Technical Department, and I am looking forward to helping host the many workshops and other events we will hold this summer!”
—Ander Barillas

Ander Barillas is a Latin-Canadian editor and director who has worked extensively in post-production. A graduate of Sheridan College’s Bachelor Of Film And Television, Ander is the co-director of the short documentary “First Steps”, which was licensed by CBC for Toronto Reel Shorts and Toronto Docs 2019, as part of the “Absolutely Canadian” independent film showcase. Recently, he has also graduated as a Trainee Assistant Picture Editor from the Directors Guild of Canada’s DGC Guild Apprenticeship Program. Ander loves the history of filmmaking, and continues to grow upon his skillset with physical film. Based in Oakville, Ander has a collection of vintage cameras, as well as a historic 9.5mm PathéBaby projector he and his brother restored. Ander also enjoys photography with his wife, writing, and experimenting with 3D animation. He has extensive experience producing and assisting on independent short projects, and loves to collaborate with new filmmakers. https://www.abarillasmedia.com