Mytia Zavala

Mytia Zavala (Navajo, Pueblo of Laguna, Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde, Fort Peck Sioux) is the Executive Director of the American Indian Film Institute (AIFI), a San Francisco-based nonprofit media arts organization. Founded in 1979, AIFI is dedicated to fostering the understanding of culture, traditions and issues of contemporary Native Americans. AIFI produces the annual American Indian Film Festival® where it will celebrate its 48th festival season (November 3-11) in San Francisco. Mytia has been with AIFI for over 20 years having worked alongside her late father, Michael Smith, who established the American Indian Film Festival® in 1975. 

Mytia, a Producer and Video Editor, graduated in 2015 with an M.A. in Multimedia Communications from the Academy of Art University San Francisco and a B.A. in Journalism from San Francisco State University in 2009. Over the years, she has worked in live production with CBS Sports, Fox Sports and in the NBA Finals. She has also led a film production team for AIFI’s Tribal Touring Program-a tribal youth digital video camp, and she helped facilitate the American Indian Film Festival® over the years as lead coordinator working one-on-one with filmmakers, managing digital film content and editing promotional content.