Raamla Mohamed was born and raised in Los Angeles. After graduating from Columbia University (CC ’03), Raamla went on to receive her MFA in Writing for Film and Television at the University of Southern California. Not long after graduating, Raamla worked on Grey’s Anatomy and Off the Map. She then went on to become a fellow in the Disney/ABC Writing Program. As a writer on the show Scandal, Raamla penned eleven episodes for the series, including the seventh-season crossover episode with How To Get Away with Murder. She is currently co-writing a half-hour pilot for HBO with Issa Rae about black teenagers in the affluent L.A. neighborhood of Windsor Hills. She also has an overall deal with ABC studios and was a Writer/Co-Executive Producer on the Emmy-nominated Little Fires Everywhere for Hulu. Her other projects include a one-hour legal drama for ABC Studios produced by Kerry Washington and Larry Wilmore, a romantic comedy feature for Universal Pictures with Malcolm Lee, and a comedy feature for Amblin starring Tiffany Haddish.
Raamla will be judging the Finalist round of the Drama Pilot category.
Faraday Okoro is a New York City based Nigerian American filmmaker. In 2017, he received a $1 million grant from AT&T to direct his debut feature Nigerian Prince(2018), which was Executive Produced by Spike Lee and distributed by Vertical Entertainment and DirectTV. He was included in MovieMaker Magazine’s inaugural 25 Screenwriters to Watch. In 2020, Faraday received a fellowship to participate in HBO’s TV Directing program. He attended Howard University and NYU Graduate Film School.
Faraday will be judging the Finalist round of the Short Screenplay category.
Annie Silverstein is a filmmaker and educator based in Austin. Her films have screened at international festivals including Cannes, SXSW, Silverdocs and on PBS Independent Lens. After earning her MFA in Film Production from the University of Texas, Annie’s short film, SKUNK, won the jury award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival – Cinéfondation. Annie was named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine and was selected for the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs for Bull, her feature debut. Bull premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival – Un Certain Regard, and went on to screen at the Deauville American Film Festival where it won the Grand Prize, Revelation Prize, and Critics’ Prize.
Annie will be judging the Finalist round of the Short Screenplay category.