Judging Team 2024-2025
- Top Shorts Team
- Aug 14
- 9 min read
MEET THE TEAM
Jeff Melman
Six time Emmy nominated Director, Jeff Melman has directed nearly 500 television series - both comedy and drama.
He graduated from San Diego State University and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in directing.
His first job was as the production assistant during the first season of the iconic series, “Barney Miller”. He ascended quickly on that series, stage-managing the second season, then associate directing during seasons three and four.
He started directing on the multi-camera comedy series, “Night Court”, producing and directing 76 episodes. He transitioned to single-camera comedy on the Emmy awarded “Malcolm in the Middle”, directing 26 episodes over four years and earning two Emmy nominations for “Excellence in Comedy Direction”.
He transitioned to hour drama, directing several episodes of “Desperate Housewives” as well as directing multiple episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy”, for which he earned a Director’s Guild nomination for “Best Directing in a Drama”.
Over the course of his career he has also directed episodes of “Brothers and Sisters”, “Private Practice”, “Frasier”, “Two and a Half Men”, “Everybody Loves Raymond”, “Community”, and “Arrested Development”.
Shaw Jones
Shaw Jones was born and raised in Memphis, TN. He majored in Psychology and English at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, and began acting after he landed a talent scholarship at KD Studio Actors Conservatory. Following that, he starred in the feature Dust to Dust alongside Wille Nelson and Robert Vaughn, then continued his journey by relocating to Los Angeles.
Shaw has worked on NCIS, Shooter, Criminal Minds, Always Sunny in Philadelphia, 911, Snowfall, All My Children, The Young and the Restless and many others. He can be seen in the upcoming feature film End of Sentence with Academy Award nominee John Hawkes.
Shaw can be seen as a lead in the sci-fi feature Proximity with two-time Emmy winning director Eric Demeusy.
Photo: Brian Parillo
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shawzyjones/
Jarek Marszewski
Jarek Marszewski is a multi-award winning director and screenwriter who has gained recognition throughout the world for his innovative approach to filmmaking and unique visual style.
He studied directing at FAMU, Czech Republic’s prestigious Film and TV Academy in Prague, before graduating from the Kieslowski Film School at the Silesian University, Poland. Jarek went on to receive his PHD in Film & Theatre from the Silesian University in 2023.
His films have won over 50 awards at festivals worldwide, including Best Foreign Film at Beverly Hills Film Festival, Best Picture at: Lost Angeles Film Awards, New York Film Awards, Festigious Film Festival (Los Angeles), London Eye Film Festival (UK), Fabrique du Cinema Awards (Rome, Italy), Directors Cut IFF (Vancouver, Canada), La Paz International Film Festival (Bolivia), Troia International Film Festival (Setubal, Portugal) and Maracay International Film Festival (Venezuela) to name but a few. His latest feature Bikini Blue is distributed in Europe, USA, Canada, Latin America and China.
In addition to his work in film Jarek has also directed a number of high-profile international dramas such as The Conspirators (Poland, 2018/2019 - Birmingham IFF - Best TV Pilot, Santa Monica IFF - TV Series Honarable Mention) and The Murder Commission (Poland, 2016) as well as acclaimed operas such as Aida (Italy/Qatar for Al Arabia TV, 2002), Madame Butterfly (Italy/South Africa for SABC TV, 2000) and The Magic Flute (Opera Podlaska, Poland, 2014).
BIKINI BLUE - a feature film trailer
2018 - 2019 - CONSPIRATORS (aka MŁODY PIŁSUDSKI) - a tv series trailer
2015 - THE MURDER COMMISSION (aka KOMISJA MORDERSTW) - a tv series trailer
2014 - THE MAGIC FLUTE (aka DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE) - a stage opera trailer
Nami Melumad
Recipient of the SCL's David Raksin Award for Emerging Talent in 2023, Nami Melumad is an Israeli-Dutch film composer, based in Los Angeles, California. Recent projects include Marvel's Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), Netflix's The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window (2022), and the Paramount+ Series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022) as well as Star Trek: Prodigy (2021), making her the first female composer for the Star Trek franchise. Nominated for Breakthrough Composer of the Year (2020) by the International Film Music Critics Association, Nami won the BMI award for her score for the Oscar-winning documentary short, Colette (2020), as well as the Hollywood Music in Media Awards for her work on Passage (2018) and Best Short Score at Fimucite (2017). Her works have been performed by the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra, Haifa Symphony Orchestra, The Israel Sinfonietta Beer Sheva and Helix Collective Ensemble. An alumna of the ASCAP Film-Scoring Workshop, Nami graduated the Scoring for Motion Pictures and TV program at the University of Southern California. She holds a B.A. in multi-style composition from the Jerusalem Academy of Music, where she was admitted directly to sophomore year. She is a board member of the Alliance for Women Film Composers and a voting member at the Television Academy. Nami is represented by Maria Machado at the Gorfaine-Schwartz Agency.
Website https://www.namicomposer.com/
Benjamin Schnau
Benjamin Schnau is an internationally acclaimed actor and author of the book 'The Reality of Hollywood'. He speaks native American English, German and French and is a professionally trained boxer and experienced in stage and weapon combat. He is widely known for his role 'Minion' in the Academy-Award Winning movie ‘Mank’ alongside Academy-Award Winner Gary Oldman, directed by David Fincher, released on Netflix, 'The Current War' opposite the protagonist George Westinghouse portrayed by actor Michael Shannon and for his lead role 'Jupp Klein' 'Megastructures' produced by National Geographic available on Netflix. In addition to acting in movies and television roles, Benjamin has been acclaimed for his “live” acting expertise, as manifested by his serving as the on-air “host” for prestigious Hollywood events like the red-carpet events at the American Heart Association.
He won the award for 'Best Actor' for his role of Leon in the movie 'Against All Odds' at the Oniros Film Awards and New York International Film Awards and also 'Best Supporting Actor of the Year' at the Top Shorts Film Festival for his role of Gunther Wolfgang in the movie 'The Little Picture".
Due to his multilingual ability, he is an established voice-over actor as well who has given his voice for movies like “American Animals” and “Nothing to Lose” which have been released in 2018.
Benjamin's book 'The Reality of Hollywood' was released worldwide in 2021 to educate and guide upcoming actors to establish themselves in the film industry in Hollywood long-term.
The Feature Film “Silent Night in Algona” shows him besides Hollywood Actor Taylor Nichols known for his roles in “Metropolitan” and “Jurassic Park III “which was released theatrically at the beginning of 2023 and won Best Picture and Screenplay at the Red Letter Awards. Silent Night in Algona is now available on streaming services AppleTV, Amazon Prime and DVD.
His latest feature film Righteous Thieves playing the critical role 'Mauren' was recently released by Lionsgate in movie theatres throughout the U.S. and will be released on Apple+ Amazon Prime in Fall 2023.
He was also cast as the President of the United States 'Steven Chambers' in the upcoming feature film "Unpresidented" that is set for filming in Summer 2024.
Book 'The Reality of Hollywood': https://www.amazon.com/Reality-Hollywood-Success-Through-Actors-ebook/dp/B09WQD71YF/
Jean Vincentelli
Jean Vincentelli is a French actor, and the winner of the Best Actor award at Festigious International Film Festival and at Best Supporting Actor award at the Actors Awards, for his challenging role in “Memories of Time”.
Always fascinated by Cinema and storytelling, Jean has worked in a wide range of genres, performing a variety of rounded characters. He has worked with great French filmmakers, including Nicole Garcia (“A Way Of Love”), André Téchiné (“In The Name Of My Daughter”, opposite Guillaume Canet and Catherine Deneuve), Pascal Chaumeil (“Heartbreaker”) and more.
Jean has been playing in TV movies, such as the popular “Plus belle la vie”, “Dommages collatéraux”, “Sous le soleil de Saint Tropez”, “Les enquêtes de Laviolette”, “Section de Recherches”, “Camping Paradis” and “Mission sacrée”, as well as in the American TV series “Royal Pains”.
Additional movies:
- " Un balcon sur la mer", directed by Nicole Garcia,
- " L'homme qu'on aimait trop", directed by André Téchiné,
- " Mascarade", directed by Nicolas Bedos.
TV Series:
- "Plus belle la vie"
- "Demain nous appartient"
Also known for: “Kosmodrom” (winner at the Hollyfestival 2014), “Impie”, “Résurgence commode”, “Le Périple”, "Les Chiens", directed by Julie Stunault, "Les Précieuses", directed by David Arnaudo, and many others.
Mor Cohen
Mor Cohen is a multiple-award-winning Israeli actress and filmmaker. She began her career as a child, taking roles in Israeli television and regional theatre. After graduating from The Academy of Performing Arts in Tel Aviv, Mor relocated to work in Hollywood and later New York, committing herself fully to acting and producing. She is a festival director and lead curator at the New York Film Awards which has been running since 2017.
On screen, Mor can be seen in Natalie Portman’s directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness, Altrac Productions’ The Leshiy, and Kate Espada’s most recent film This Is Our Home. Her producorial credits include the Off-Broadway production Scoop, the German-American co-production Klaviermann, and multiple award-winning short films such as The New Galileos and Over the Wall, both starring her as well.
Website
Rui Yao
Rui Yao is a Chinese writer, screenwriter, and director, and Professor of Film and
Media Studies. He was a Visiting Scholar at UCLA, holds a Ph.D. in Film Studies
from the Communication University of China, and an M.A. in Screenwriting from the
Beijing Film Academy. He has written more than 40 scripts and episodes for film and
television, including the feature films Lin Shi Yan Yuan (《临时演员》) and Angry
Kid (《愤怒的小孩》).
His script The Return of the Magician (《逃脱的遭遇》) was selected for the “Youth
Screenwriting Plan” funded by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television
of China. He has wrote and directed a number of films and television commercials,
with many of his works winning awards or receiving nominations at international film
festivals and by recognized film organizations.
As a scholar, Rui has published over 100 research articles in academic journals and
more than 10 academic books—as author, co-author, or editor—covering areas such
as film genre, narration, sound, adaptation, industry, and history. He has led three
projects funded by the National Social Science Fund of China and one project funded
by the China National Arts Fund, and has served as team leader or core member in
over 10 government-sponsored research projects.
He has served as a jury member for numerous film festivals, including the Top Shorts
Film Festival, Festigious International Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Awards, Los
Angeles Chinese Film Festival, Chinese Beijing College Student Film Festival, and
the Chinese International New Media Short Film Festival, among others.
Rui is currently a Professor at the Institutes for Cultural Industries, Shenzhen
University, and Chair of its Center for Film, Television, Drama and Media Studies. He
also serves as Deputy Secretary-General of the Guangdong Provincial Film
Association, and Deputy Secretary-General of the Film History Studies Association
under the Chinese Collegial Association for Visual Art. In addition, he is a member of
the China Film Association, China Screenwriters Association, China Film Critics
Association, and the Chinese Collegial Association for Visual Art.
Roy Zafrani
Roy Zafrani is an accomplished screenwriter, film director, author, and alumnus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). With over 20 years of experience, he has written, directed, and edited a wide range of documentaries, sports events, TV series, commercials, and narrative films.
His notable works include "The Other Dreamers" (winner of 13 awards and over 100 selections in international film festivals), "Over the Wall" (Best Short Film at the 19th annual Phoenix Film Festival), "On the Edge" (multi-award-winning documentary), "Until the End Amir" (Opening Film at the Oscar Qualifying Festival In the Palace), "Fed Cup", "Davis Cup", "Assi Dayan: Embittered" (Vienna Jewish Film Festival), "On Tiptoes", "European Beach Tennis Championships", and the American-Canadian series "The Consulting Offer" (Editor, Season 2), among many others.
Roy has also produced several films, including the American drama "Passage" (Excellence in Producing Award at Idyllwild Film Festival), the British spy-thriller "The Doorman", "Opening Serve", and "Davis Cup: Road to the Finals". Additionally, he has written several screenplays such as "Jamie's Book" (winner of multiple screenplay awards, including at the 2018 Irvine International Film Festival), "Lenny" (Austin Film Festival), and the dramatic fantasy "Mondays with Amy", which won Best Screenplay of the Year at the 21st California Independent Film Festival.
Apart from his work in the film industry, Roy has written six bestselling books, including: "Paper Wings", "Cursed", the crime-thriller series "Start Over", "The Snail Who Left His House" and "The Zebra Who Lost Her Stripes". His online series in Hebrew "The Story Behind the Story", sharing personal experiences and storytelling lessons, has garnered over 20 million views on social media.
Casey Ruggieri
Casey Ruggieri is an NY based actor, writer, and filmmaker. Straight out of Film School in NY, Casey landed in LA and has written and worked in various formats, including commercial, tv, film, theater, improv and sketch. Casey's short film “Drag” debuted in October 2021 at HorrorHaus Film Fest in Los Angeles and was Nominated for Best Actress and Best Original Score, as well as made a splash in a new horror fest Horrors 4U. Casey's production company, Fernleaf Films, is currently in development on her next film, a genre horror piece in the vein of It Follows, which will shoot in Upstate NY.
Some of her onscreen credits include Oscar nominated “Gone Girl” (directed by David Fincher), Golden Globe winner “House of Lies”, “Tales of Halloween”, “Kroll Show”, “S.W.A.T.”, and “Party of Five”, as well as dozens of national commercials that allowed her to work with directors like Rian Johnson and Gus Van Sant.
Casey is very active and passionate about her work with young students in the non-profit sector. She is currently a head mentor with Young Storytellers, an LA based nonprofit that works with elementary students, teaching them the fundamentals of storytelling and screenwriting.
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/caseyruggieri/
