Jurors & Judges
2018 Fiction Podcast Script Judges
- Chris Bannon, chief content officer for Stitcher and its growing network of original shows including hit podcasts HEAVEN’S GATE, KATIE COURIC, LEVAR BURTON READS and WOLVERINE: THE LONG NIGHT
- John Dryden, creator of the hit BBC podcast TUMANBAY and Peabody-winning writer/director of audio drama
- Jocelyn Gonzales, executive producer, STUDIO 360
- Lauren Shippen, writer/creator THE BRIGHT SESSIONS, Since its debut in November of 2015, the podcast has won numerous awards, and was named iTunes Best of 2016. Lauren was named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 in Media for 2018
- Tim Street, Vice President, Influence & Production, Authentic
2018 Film Jurors
We’re proud to begin sharing our list of exciting jurors! Submit to the competition and have your films viewed by industry insiders. This year we have judges from NBCUniversal, Showtime, Pixar, Roadside Attractions, Gunpowder & Sky and many others. We will begin announcing jurors in our newsletter so keep an eye out!
Juror Spotlights – Narrative Feature
Narrative Short
Dark Matters
Dark Matters
Documentary Feature
Documentary Feature
Documentary Short
Documentary Short
Comedy Vanguard
Animated Short
Animated Short
Stay tuned for more juror announcements and submit today to throw your hat into the ring!
2019 Screenplay & Teleplay Judges
We are proud to have the following sponsors who will be participating as official judges for the 2019 Competition:
Comedy Screenplay Award presented by Sony Pictures Animation
The studio behind Hotel Transylvania 2 and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will supply a representative to judge for the Semifinalist round of the Comedy category and one Sony screenwriter to join our panel of judges to evaluate the Finalists. Entries in this category are open to all genres of comedy and do not need to be exclusively animated scripts.
Drama Screenplay Award presented by the Writers Guild of America, East
Drama Finalist scripts will be judged by a select panel of WGAE screenwriters and the winner will be presented by a WGAE representative at the Awards Luncheon. This year’s judges include Matthew Chapman, Sabrina Dhawan, and Jim Strouse.
The HUMANITAS Originals Award
This joint initiative is a new addition to AFF’s Script Competitions and is open to both feature screenplays and teleplay pilots that reflect the kinds of stories HUMANITAS has honored for over four decades.
A classic HUMANITAS story examines what it means to be a fully realized human being in a world struggling with racism, sexism, ageism, anti-Semitism, poverty, religious strife, and a widening political divide. By deeply exploring the cultures, lifestyles, sexual orientations, and political and religious beliefs of people who are very different from ourselves, we can dissolve the walls of ignorance and hate that threaten the our global community.
Enderby Entertainment Award
Co-founded by Rick Dugdale and Daniel Petrie, Jr. (Beverly Hills Cop, The Big Easy), the production company acquired the 2008 AFF Finalist script Stranded (now titled Dawn Patrol). The film stars Scott Eastwood and Rita Wilson and was directed by Petrie. AFF proudly presented the world premiere of Dawn Patrol at the 2014 Festival. The Enderby Entertainment Award category is open to feature scripts in all genres with an original concept and distinctive voice that can be independently produced under $10 million.
Josephson Entertainment Screenwriting Fellowship
Acclaimed producer Barry Josephson has been a longtime supporter of AFF since the very first festival in 1994 when he optioned the winning script from the Screenplay Competition. For the second year, Barry will present the “Josephson Entertainment Screenwriting Fellowship” which will provide a one-on-one mentorship for the writers of two scripts – one feature script and one teleplay pilot – selected from the Final Round of the 2019 Screenplay Competition. Finalists will be invited to apply and AFF will select the top writers for Josephson Entertainment to further review. The selected fellows will be announced and presented by Barry Josephson at the Awards Luncheon on October 26, 2019. Each fellow will be flown to LA to be mentored by Barry and take meetings with various executives from Josephson Entertainment to take their writing to the next level.
2018 SCRIPT COMPETITION JUDGES
Austin Film Festival has assembled a panel of influential industry judges to read and determine the Semifinalists, Finalists, and winners of this year’s competition. We are proud to announce the following confirmed judges:
SCREENPLAY COMPETITION FINALIST JUDGES
Wendy Calhoun
Peter Craig
Mick Garris
Felicia D. Henderson
Christina Hodson
Ali LeRoi
Kelly Masterson
Raamla Mohamed
Nicole Perlman
Alvaro Rodriguez
Scott Rosenberg
Rodney Rothman
Barry Strugatz
Oren Uziel
Herschel Weingrod
More to be announced!
PLAYWRITING COMPETITION FINALIST JUDGES
Brian Yorkey
More to be announced!
SCRIPTED DIGITAL SERIES COMPETITION JUDGES
Ryan Hall – Head of Development, Rooster Teeth
Francesca Smith – Development Coordinator, New Form Digital
Stage 13
FICTION PODCAST COMPETITION JUDGES
Chris Bannon – Chief Content Officer, Stitcher
John Dryden – Creator, Tumanbay
Jocelyn Gonzales – Executive Producer, Studio 360
Lauren Shippen – Writer/Creator, The Bright Sessions
Tim Street – Vice President, Influence & Production, Authentic
SCREENPLAY COMPETITION SEMIFINALIST JUDGES
Stephanie Bang – VP, Nickelodeon Original Movies, Nickelodeon
Kristine Belson – President, Sony Pictures Animation
Angelina Chen – Literary Manager, Energy Entertainment
Lloyd Cherin – Independent Producer
Evan J. Cholfin – Head of Development and Production, Stories International, Inc.
Chris Coggins – Manager, Heroes and Villains
Aaron Cruze – Producer, Cruze & Company
Ryan Cunningham – Manager, Madhouse Entertainment
CJ Curtis – Agent, Gersh
Elizabeth Cutbirth – Department Assistant, Original Series Development, Cartoon Network
Cami Delavigne – Writer
Andrea Dimity – Manager, Pannon Entertainment
Stephan Dubreuil – Owner, Woolf + Lapin
Jay Wade Edwards – Writer/Director
Rebecca Ewing – Entertainment Consultant, Script Insider
Anna Flickinger – Motion Picture Literary Coordinator, United Talent Agency
Lindsay Goffman – Co-Head, Stampede Ventures
Good Fear Film + Management
Briggs Hatton – Miramax and eOne
Charles Hopkins – Director of Development & Production, Shoreline Entertainment
Peter Katz – Producer/Manager, Story Driven
Elizabeth Kelly – Associate Director, Production and Development Labs, Global Inclusion, 21st Century Fox
Karen Kirkland – Literary Agent, Abrams Artists
Adam Kolbrenner – Co-President/Founder, Madhouse Entertainment
Kathryn Lyn – Independent Producer
Chayah Masters – Producer, Rumination Films
Casey Minella – Feature Coordinator, Circle of Confusion
Lauren Neal – Development, Hillview 798 Productions
Noreen O’Toole – Producer
Hannah Ozer – Manager, Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment
Joe Pirro – Head of Production, Symbolic Exchange
Jeff Portnoy – Literary Manager, Bellevue Productions
Brian Price – Creative Executive, Village Roadshow Pictures
Mariel Redlin – Coordinator, Automatik
Joyce San Pedro – Producer, Caterpillar Entertainment
Ryan Saul – VP, Motion Picture Literary, APA
Ross Saxon – Head of Development, Braven Films
Chad Snopek – Manager/Producer, Chad Snopek Management
Fred Strype – Producer, Raindance Pictures
Matt Sullivan – Head Of Story Department, Paradigm Agency
Conrad Sun – Manager, Meridian Artists
Kendrick Tan – Literary Manager, Madhouse Entertainment
Yvette Urbina – VP and EIC of Production for Nickelodeon Live-Action, Nickelodeon
Ray Utarnachitt – Writer/Producer
Meta Valentic – Producer
Diana Williams – EVP of Content, Madison Wells Media Universe
Rebecca Windsor – Manager, Warner Bros. Television Workshop
John Zaozirny – President, Bellevue Productions
Nick Zigler – Vice President Development, Universal Cable Productions
Zack Zucker – Literary Manager, Bellevue Productions
PLAYWRITING COMPETITION SEMIFINALIST JUDGES
Garrett Anderson – Literary Associate, Samuel French
Roger Bean – President, Stage Rights
Daniela Gonzalez – Manager, Circle of Confusion
Kate Ryan – Playwright
Candido Tirado – Script Consultant/Playwright