Kate Taylor is Festival Director of Abandon Normal Devices, Festival of New Cinema and Digital Culture. AND is a new annual festival in the North West, taking place in Liverpool and Manchester on alternate years, with an extended programme in Cumbria, Lancashire and Cheshire, and is based on a collaborative partnership between FACT, Cornerhouse and folly.

Kate has been Co-Director of the Halloween / London Short Film Festival for the past six years, winning the Fringe Report Award for Best Festival Director with her colleague Philip Ilson in 2008.  Working in short film distribution and exhibition since 1998, Kate has screened filmmakers' work in both traditional and alternative venues such as strip joints, numerous bars, music festivals, a barge and a disused tube station. A self confessed film festival addict, she has worked for the British Council, Kinofilm, onedotzero, and over a dozen other festivals in various roles.

Recent projects include programming live music and film for the Latitude festival, freelance lecturing at Cornerhouse in Manchester, and editing the Northern Film Network, an e-newsletter dedicated to the independent film scene in the North West of England.  Her film journalism has appeared in the North West Enquirer and Time Out Manchester.

FACT 

FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) is the UK's leading organisation for commissioning, exhibiting, promoting and supporting artists' work and innovation in film, video and new media. Founded in Liverpool in 1988, FACT has commissioned and presented over 200 digital media artworks with artists including Pipilotti Rist, Vito Acconci, Mark Wallinger, Tony Oursler, Isaac Julien and Orlan.

FACT is housed in an iconic building in the historic Ropewalks area of Liverpool, and has two galleries, a Media Lounge, cafe, bar, shop and cinemas in which you can experience a range of FACT activities from exhibitions and events, to workshops and conferences. As well as commissioning and exhibiting projects by internationally renowned artists, we work collaboratively with a wide variety of local organisations and communities, and our Media Services department supports artists and exhibitors through the Moving Image Touring & Exhibition Service (MITES). FACT Online Archive and FACT TV.