The 2026 Onion City Film Festival Jury

Jiayi Chen (she/her) is a moving image artist and projectionist from Chonngqing, China. She works in analog film, projection performance, and time-based installation. Her work has been exhibited and screened internationally, including International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Netherlands (2026); New York Film Festival (2025); Cineteca Madrid, Spain (2025); MONO NO AWARE, New York (2024); the8fest, Toronto, Canada (2024); Light Matter Film Festival, New York (2024); Chicago Cultural Center (2023); Antimatter, Victoria, Canada (2021); Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (2019); Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago (2019); Fracto, Berlin, Germany (2018); and Anthology Film Archives, New York (2018). She has received artist residencies including Light Cone Atelier 105 (Paris, France, 2026), Open AIR (Missoula, MT, 2024), and Ucross (Clearmont, WY, 2023).

Sam Flancher (he/him) is a film programmer with over a decade of international film festival experience. He began working as a year-round programmer for Cinema/Chicago and the Chicago International Film Festival in 2014. He led the short film program from 2016-2020, and from 2021 onwards has been a part of the international feature film programming staff. He is an adjunct faculty member at DePaul University, and is a regular guest speaker at Columbia College Chicago, Loyola University, and Northwestern University. He also serves as a steering committee member for the Chicago Alliance of FIlm Festivals.

Emily Faith Martin (she/her) is a cultural worker based in Chicago. She currently works as the Distribution Manager at the Video Data Bank; additionally, she researches, presents, and programs on the history of experimental film and video art. She received a Dual MA in Contemporary & Modern Art History and Arts Administration & Policy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her past experience includes various administrative, programming, and research activities at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University, Ann Arbor Film Festival, FilmScene, Chicago History Museum, and the Chicago Park District among others.