Meet the Team
Top Shorts 2026-2027
Guided by a shared passion for bold storytelling, our judging panel is dedicated to celebrating the raw art of cinema. We are independent film lovers at heart, here to honor your vision, champion fresh perspectives, and uplift the brave artists who push the boundaries of filmmaking.
Jeff
Melman
Director
Casey
Ruggieri
Actress, Writer and Director
Shaw
Jones
Actor and Writer
Nami
Melumad
Film Composer
Anup
Kulkarni
Cinematographer and
VFX Supervisor
Beate
Malkus
Actress
Jean
Vincentelli
Actor
Rui
Yao
Writer and Director
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Mor
Cohen
Actress and Producer
Polaris
Banks
Writer, Director and Actor
Benjamin
Schnau
Actor and Author
Roy
Zafrani
Screenwriter, Director and Author
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”.
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.
IMDB http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3113166/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/caseyruggieri/
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 Willie 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
IMDB https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0429236/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shawzyjones/
Nami Melumad
Nami Melumad is an acclaimed Israeli-Dutch composer whose remarkable rise and versatile body of work have established her as one of the leading voices in contemporary film and television music. Based in Los Angeles, she has composed music for more than 150 film and television projects, collaborating with many of Hollywood's most celebrated filmmakers and studios.
Her recent work includes the Emmy-nominated Pixar Animation Studios series Dream Productions, Tony Gilroy's Behemoth!, Lauren Miller Rogen's Babies, and the upcoming Pixar Animation Studios animated short Loving Dory. Melumad is widely recognized for her groundbreaking work on the Star Trek franchise, serving as the composer for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, following her acclaimed score for Star Trek: Prodigy. Her other credits include Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder (co-composer), EA's VR title Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, Columbia Pictures' An American Pickle, Netflix's The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, the Academy Award-winning documentary short Colette, Amazon MGM Studios' One Fast Move, Griffin in Summer, the Oscar-shortlisted The Ice Cream Man, and the Spanish thriller Estación Rocafort.
Her work has earned widespread recognition, including a Children's & Family Emmy Award nomination for Dream Productions, the Society of Composers & Lyricists' David Raksin Award for Emerging Talent, BMI and IFMCA honors, and membership in both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Television Academy.
An alumna of the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop, Melumad graduated with a degree in Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television from the University of Southern California. She also holds a B.A. in Multi-Style Composition from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.
Beyond composing, Melumad serves on the boards of the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC) and the Alliance for Women Film Composers (AWFC), where she initiated and coordinates the mentorship programs and is a trustee of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.
IMDb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5628950/
Website https://www.namicomposer.com/
Anup Kulkarni
Anup Kulkarni is an award-winning Hollywood cinematographer and VFX supervisor who has brought stories to life on films such as Life of Pi, Thor: The Dark World, Percy Jackson, and R.I.P.D. Along the way, he has earned seven Best Cinematography awards, with his work screening at renowned festivals including SXSW, Cannes, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, the Pan African Film Festival, and Dances With Films. He has also served as a jury member at respected film festivals across the United States.
His work spans feature films, television, documentaries, music videos, and commercials, with productions filmed in nine languages across multiple countries. He is also exploring new frontiers in immersive storytelling, creating 180° VR experiences for Apple Vision Pro.
In addition to his production work, Anup serves as a visiting lecturer and cinematography coach, mentoring emerging filmmakers in cinematography, color theory, and visual storytelling. Drawing on a background that combines cinematography, photography, and visual effects, he brings technical excellence, cultural sensitivity, and a passion for storytelling to every project.
Film: https://anupkulkarni.com/
Wildlife Photography: https://www.akwildlifephotography.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/anupk15/
Beate Malkus
Beate Malkus is an award-winning German actress and dedicated human rights advocate. Before training at the Hannover School of Dramatic Arts, she completed legal studies across Germany, Turkey, and the Netherlands. She subsequently specialized in physical theatre and clowning, studying under renowned master instructors Philippe Gaulier and Pascale Ben.
Malkus has cultivated a dynamic international career spanning stage and screen. Her notable feature film credits include Kivmars Bowling’s Afterwards (2009), Canadian director Paul Donovan’s Blissestrasse (2011), and the Swiss sci-fi feature Alekto (2015) - a role that earned her multiple accolades for Best Lead Actress. In 2014, she made her Canadian television debut starring in Donovan’s drama series Clay’s P.O.V.
She lives in Berlin with her son.
IMDb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3090643/
Jean Vincentelli
Jean Vincentelli is a French actor whose career has seen him collaborate with acclaimed directors and share the screen with renowned performers, including Catherine Deneuve, Jean Dujardin, and Guillaume Canet.
His screen credits include Heartbreaker, A View of Love, Alibi.com, and the award-winning short film Memories of Time, for which he received three acting awards, as well as popular French television series such as Tomorrow Is Ours and Plus belle la vie.
Currently, Jean stars as Roméo in Season 2 of Escort Boys (Prime Video) and will soon appear in Wonderful Mornings, directed by Avril Besson.
IMDb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3792862/
Website https://jeanvincentelli.book.fr/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vincentellijean/
Demo Reel https://vimeo.com/1206286131
Rui Yao
Rui Yao is a Chinese writer, screenwriter, director, and Professor of Film and Media Studies at the Institute for Cultural Industries, Shenzhen University. He 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 was also a Visiting Scholar at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
Rui has written more than 40 screenplays and television episodes, including the feature films Temporary Actors (Lin Shi Yan Yuan, 《临时演员》) and Angry Kid (《愤怒的小孩》). His screenplay The Return of the Magician (《逃脱的遭遇》) was selected for the Youth Screenwriting Plan funded by China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. He has also written and directed films and television commercials, many of which have received awards or nominations at international film festivals and from professional film organizations.
As a scholar, Rui’s research focuses on film narrative theory, media culture, audiovisual communication, and cultural industry studies, with particular emphasis on sound studies and interdisciplinary methodologies. He has published more than 100 research articles in Chinese and international peer-reviewed journals, including Contemporary Cinema and Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. He has also authored, co-authored, or edited more than 10 academic books covering film genre, narrative, sound, adaptation, industry, and history.
Rui has led three research projects funded by the National Social Science Fund of China and one project funded by the China National Arts Fund. He has also served as a project leader or core researcher on more than 10 government-sponsored research projects.
In addition to his creative and academic work, Rui serves as a Council Member of the China Film Critics Association, Deputy Secretary-General of the Guangdong Film Association, and Deputy Secretary-General of the Film and Television History Committee of the China Higher Education Film and Television Association. He is also a member of the China Film Association, the China Screenwriters Association, and the China Higher Education Film and Television Association.
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Mor Cohen
Mor Cohen is an award-winning Israeli actress and filmmaker based in Austin, TX. As an immigrant creative living in the United States, her work naturally revolves around the concept of identity and explores the mental, emotional, and psychological struggles our generation faces as the fragile infrastructure of society crumbles under our feet. She believes that art plays a key role in progress, and artists are essential to making sure the future is beautiful and just.
Her work has been exhibited at Cannes, SXSW, and Tribeca film festivals. It includes Natalie Portman’s directorial debut A Tale of Love and Darkness, and the genre-defining hit And Her Body Was Never Found, which she co-wrote, produced, and stars in. Mor is a festival director and lead curator at the New York Film Awards since its founding in 2017.
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/morcohenet/
Polaris Banks
Polaris Banks is a Texas-born filmmaker and performer known for high-concept genre storytelling. He first drew online attention with the fan film, Casey Jones (2011). Banks later wrote and directed the SXSW-premiering short Reklaw (2021) and appears as Flint in the action-thriller Head Count (2023).
His directorial feature debut, And Her Body Was Never Found, had its world premiere at SXSW 2026.
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/realpolarisbanks/
Benjamin Schnau
Benjamin Schnau is an internationally acclaimed actor, author, and voice artist known for his work across film, television, and live entertainment. His screen credits include David Fincher’s Academy Award-winning Mank, in which he appeared alongside Gary Oldman, The Current War opposite Michael Shannon, and National Geographic’s Megastructures, where he portrayed Jupp Klein.
A multilingual performer fluent in English, German, and French, Benjamin is also a professionally trained boxer with extensive experience in stage and weapons combat. Beyond film and television, he has earned recognition for his live hosting work at prominent Hollywood events, including red-carpet productions for the American Heart Association.
Benjamin recently completed the action feature Citizen Vigilante, starring opposite Armie Hammer, and the drama Sweet Nothings, in which he plays the lead role of Ethan. Both films are scheduled for release in 2026. His performances have earned multiple acting honors, including Best Actor awards for Against All Odds and Best Supporting Actor for The Little Picture.
As a voice actor, Benjamin has contributed to films including American Animals and Nothing to Lose. He is also the author of The Reality of Hollywood, a guide for aspiring actors navigating the film industry, released worldwide in 2021.
Additional credits include Silent Night in Algona alongside Taylor Nichols, the Lionsgate feature Righteous Thieves, and the upcoming feature film Unpresidented, in which he portrays President Steven Chambers.
IMDb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4250622/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/benjaminschnau/
Book 'The Reality of Hollywood': https://www.amazon.com/Reality-Hollywood-Success-Through-Actors-ebook/dp/B09WQD71YF/
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 30 million views on social media.
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/roy.zafrani/