Jurors & Judges
2017 Fiction Podcast Script Judges
Austin Film Festival, (AFF) is pleased to announce a distinguished panel of judges for its inaugural Fiction Podcast Script Competition:
- Jeffrey Cranor, the co-author of the novels Welcome to Night Vale and It Devours! He is also the co-creator of the podcasts Welcome to Night Vale and Within the Wires.
- Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie graduated from Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in Film & Television. In Summer 2015, they co-founded Two-Up and released Limetown, which has received over 8 million listens and was an iTunes Best of 2015.
- Kathy Merritt is VP of Content Strategies and Development for Public Radio International, where she oversees podcasting, special projects, and distributed radio programs. An award-winning producer, she develops new talent and production partners and most recently launched Playdate with Sarah Jones.
- Ann Heppermann is the founder of The Sarah Awards, celebrating and rewarding radio drama for the 21st century, and hosts its fiction podcast Serendipity. She teaches audio fiction at Sarah Lawrence College in its writing program and is also a producer with Pineapple Street Media.
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. Last year we have judges from Showtime, ICM Partners, Gravitas Ventures, POV, Gunpowder & Sky and many others. We will begin announcing jurors in our newsletter so keep an eye out!
Juror Spotlights – Narrative Feature
Dark Matters
Documentary Feature
Stay tuned for more juror announcements and submit today to throw your hat into the ring!
2018 Screenplay & Teleplay Judges
We are proud to have the following sponsors who will be participating as official judges for the 2018 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.
Scripted Digital Series Competition Presented by Stage 13
AFF is excited to partner this year with Stage 13! The company is a fearless original digital content brand, showcasing a new generation of talent and fresh creative voices, creating dynamic, unapologetic scripted and unscripted short-form series. Stage 13 will help choose the winner of the competition and, schedules permitting, will meet with each Finalist during or after the Festival.
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.
2018 SCRIPT COMPETITION JUDGES
We’re excited to announce the first group of confirmed judges who will be tasked with evaluating this year’s top scripts. Past entrants have signed with major agencies and had their scripts optioned, acquired and produced by signatory production companies. AFF judges include professional writers and representatives from major studios and companies. Here’s the first wave of confirmed judges:
- Lloyd Chrein – President, Chrein.com LLC
- Aaron Cruze – Producer, Cruze & Company
- Ryan Cunninghan – Literary Manager and Producer, Madhouse Entertainment
- Andrea Dimity – Producer and Literary Manager, Pannon Entertainment, Inc.
- Daniela Garcia-Brcek – Literary Manager, Circle of Confusion
- Lindsay Goffman – Co-Executive Producer, The Good Doctor
- Chayah Masters – Producer, Rumination Films LLC
- Casey Minella – Film Coordinator, Circle of Confusion
- 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
- Chad Snopek – Manager and Producer, Chad Snopek Management
- Rebecca Windsor – Director, Television Workshop, Warner Bros. Television
Austin Film Festival has assembled a panel of influential industry judges to read and determine the Semifinalists, Finalists, and winners of the 2017 competition:
SCREENPLAY COMPETITION FINALIST JUDGES
Amy Berg
Max Borenstein
Christine Boylan
Matthew Chapman
Bob Dearden
Sabrina Dhawan
Pat Hazell
Jason Headley
Christina Hodson
Ashley Miller
Kay Oyegun
Pamela Ribon
Jim Strouse
Oren Uziel
Herschel Weingrod
Ya’Ke
PLAYWRITING COMPETITION FINALIST JUDGES
Steven Dietz
Sarah Gubbins
Kelly Masterson
SCRIPTED DIGITAL SERIES COMPETITION JUDGES
Evan Bregman
Erin Lardy
Rebecca Windsor
FICTION PODCAST COMPETITION JUDGES
Zack Akers
Skip Bronkie
Jeffrey Cranor
John Dryden
Jocelyn Gonzales
Ann Hepperman
Tim Street
SCREENPLAY COMPETITION SEMIFINALIST JUDGES
Stephanie Bang, Nickelodeon
Elizabeth Bassin, Josephson Entertainment
Kristine Belson, Sony Pictures Animation
Molly Breeskin, Big Beach
Angelina Chen, Energy Entertainment
Lloyd Cherin, Independent Producer
Evan J. Cholfin, Stories International Inc.
Aaron Cruze, Cruze & Company
Ryan Cunningham, Madhouse
Jessie Dicovitsky, Showtime
Andrea Dimity, Pannon Entertainment
Jay Wade Edwards
Chelsea Friedland, Seven Bucks
Katie Goan, Sweetwood Creative
Chris Goble, Automatik
Lindsay Goffman, 3AD
Josh Goldenberg, Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment
Good Fear Film + Management
Ethan Helvering, Summit Talent Agency
Samantha Kern, Producer
Karen Kirkland, Nickelodeon
Adam Kolbrenner, Madhouse
Ryan Levee, APA
Jordan Lonner, United Talent Agency
Kathryn Lyn, Producer
Chayah Masters, Rumination Films
Casey Minella, Circle of Confusion
Duncan Montgomery, High Frequency Entertainment
Seth Nagel, Infinity Management
Noreen O’Toole, Associate Producer, Westworld
Hannah Ozer
Paradigm Talent Agency
Joe Pirro, Symbolic Exchange
Jeff Portnoy, Bellevue Productions
Brian Price, Village Roadshow Pictures
Joyce San Pedro, Escape Artists at Sony
Ryan Saul, APA
Ross Saxon, Braven Films
Chad Snopek, Mgmt 113
Fred Strype, Raindance Pictures
Conrad Sun, Meridian Artists
Ray Utarnachitt, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow
PLAYWRITING COMPETITION SEMIFINALIST JUDGES
Roger Bean
Liz Engelman
Daniela Garcia-Brcek
Katie Goan
Amy Rose Marsh
