Ileana Montalvo, aka the Award Queen, is known for managing complex submissions for an impressive roster of clients across the spectrum of creative advertising awards shows and festivals. For Montalvo, seeing her clients’ work on shortlists is the ultimate thrill, she said. “Winning is the cherry on top, but shortlists are the first burst of excitement.” Award Queen's clients include Aggressive, Biscuit Filmworks, Blacksmith, CANADA, Furlined, MIRIMAR, and Park Pictures.
Biscuit Filmworks shared, “We’ve had the pleasure of working with Ileana since she started her business. What was once a stressful process has become organized and incredibly efficient. Ileana has played an integral role in our major awards successes over the past decade, and we’re grateful for the expertise and care she brings to the awards submission process.”
Creative agency MIRIMAR has also benefitted from Montalvo’s expertise, “MIRIMAR has trusted Ileana with our awards since we opened. She is a great source of nuanced information, and it works! We’ve won multiple international creative awards with her guidance. Congratulations on 10 years of helping creative reach its full potential.”
Montalvo previously served as the first Director of Events for the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP). For close to 20 years, she produced two internationally acclaimed advertising award shows: The AICP Show and the AICP Next Awards, under the mentorship of Matt Miller and the AICP’s illustrious members. While producing the AICP award shows, Montalvo often saw companies with incredible work miss important chances for recognition with incomplete or incorrect submissions. Montalvo saw an opportunity to build her own consulting practice for the advertising and production industries.
“When I first heard how the former curator of MoMA’s film department described commercials as ‘small films of persuasion,’ that really romanticized the work for me. Now, I have stellar clients that make outstanding work,” shared Montalvo. “For me, my next goal is to foster a community with other awards professionals for mutual benefit and knowledge.”
Montalvo fell in love with film, especially documentaries, at a young age. She was enamored with their power to affect change. She began her film career at the Downtown Community Television Center, where she worked with renowned documentarians Jon Alpert and Keiko Tsuno on award-winning films and network news reports, and taught community video classes. She went on to produce and direct her own short documentary, A La Vueltecita, which screened at international film festivals and at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Her love of the craft led her to the New York Foundation for the Arts as Assistant Director for Artists Fellowships, where she administered a statewide grants program from entry to judging across fifteen disciplines. Before joining the AICP, she was Festival Director for New York Women in Film and Television. She produced “The Feminine Eye: Twenty Years of Women's Cinema,” an international film festival featuring acclaimed filmmakers worldwide.
Submitting to international festivals and shows remains vital for companies seeking top visibility across the marketing and advertising ecosystem, even as the awards landscape has changed dramatically. With her thoughtful, strategic expertise, Montalvo helps lead her clients to awards success. She discusses goals, provides roadmaps, liaises with agencies, wrangles credits, and navigates the various submission portals for production companies, brands, post-production companies, and independent agencies. For more information, visit https://www.awardqueen.com/.
