CIFF 2022 Grand Jury
Peter Menzies Jr., ACS - Chairman of the Board
Australian Cinematographer, Peter Menzies Jr., is known for his diverse and critically acclaimed body of work spanning feature films, commercials television movies and mini-series - including the recent HBO limited series, The Time Traveler's Wife for Director, David Nutter.
Peter's films include; Shooter, A Time to Kill, The Incredible Hulk, The General’s Daughter, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Four Brothers, The 13th Warrior, Peter Rabbit 1 & 2, The Great Raid, Disney's The Kid, Clash of the Titans, All Eyez on Me, and Die Hard with a Vengeance.
Peter is a member of the Int'l Cinematographers Guild, the Australian Cinematographers Society and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Bruce Beresford
Bruce Beresford is an award winning Australian Film and Stage Director, Producer, and Writer and has directed operas in Italy, the USA and Australia.
Bruce has directed more than 30 feature films including Driving Miss Daisy, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1989. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Director for Tender Mercies and a Best Screeplay Oscar for Breaker Morant. Other films include The Robe, Crimes of the Heart, Double Jeopardy, Bonnie and Clyde, Paradise Road, Mao's Last Dancer and Mr. Church.
Bruce is a Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is a former film advisor to the Arts Council of Great Britain.
Benny Boom
Director, Benny Boom exploded onto the music video scene in the mid 90's and has brought his innovative storytelling and edgy visuals to over 200 music videos for artists such as Nicki Minaj, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Ciara, Akon, Keyshia Cole, 50 Cent, John Legend and Busta Rhymes. Benny is a five time BET Award nominee.
In addition to directing music videos with more than a billion views, Benny directs commercials, TV Movies and episodic dramas including The Equalizer, City on a Hill, Black Lightning, NCIS: Los Angeles, All American, Tales, Ambitions and Empire. Benny directed the feature films Next Day Air and the long awaited Tupac Shakur Bio-pic, All Eyez on Me.
Alexandra Derbyshire
Alex is a leading film producer based in London, UK, dedicated to diversity and equality in the film industry. As a female producer and a longstanding member of the BAFTA Film Committee, Alex supports the reshaping of BAFTA, to set a more inclusive, fair and higher standard for the UK film industry.
Accomplished over 30 years as a freelancer with creative attention to detail and a passion for storytelling, Alex’s previous credits span a wide range of genres, including a number of highly successful films such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Anna Karenina, Paddington, Paddington 2 and Jurassic World: Dominion. Alex is currently in post production for Wonka, an original musical feature for Warner Bros. Studios, due to release Christmas 2023.
Howard Deutch
Director, Howard Deutch started his career shooting movie trailers and commercials and then moved into major motion pictures, television and music videos. Film credits include My Best Friend’s Wedding, My Best Friend’s Girl, The Whole Ten Yards, The Replacements, Grumpier Old Men, Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful. Howie received a Director’s Guild of America nomination for the television film, Gleason.
Howie’s extensive television credits include the pilot for Melrose Place, and episodes of Young Sheldon, Empire, True Blood, Jane the Virgin, CSI:NY, Outcast, Caroline in the City, BH90210, Harry’s Law and Tales from the Crypt. Howie has a long association with the Beverly Hills Playhouse and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute as a teacher and stage director and also works with the the non-profit NFAA YoungArts, the DGA and SAG. Deutch is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Warren Drummond
Warren Drummond was born and raised in Jamaica Queens, New York and attended the High School of Art & Design and The School of Visual Arts.
Warren's storyboard career began in the early '90s with films like Above. the Rim and 2nd Unit work on Die Hard with a Vengeance and The Devil's Own. Now based in LA, Warren is one of the industry's premier storyboard artists whose credits include A Beautiful Mind, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Nightcrawler and Ad Astra. His TV work includes NCIS: New Orleans, Marvel's Agents of Shield and Grey's Anatomy.
Warren made his directorial debut in 2018 with the short film, Unknown Caller, starring his son Josh Drummond. Warren is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Bill Farmer
Bill Farmer is an award winning voice actor, comedian and impressionist. Bill is best known for being the voice of Disney’s Goofy since 1987. In addition, Bill has voiced the characters of Pluto, Horace Horsecollar, Practical Pig, and Sleepy as well as numerous other character voices in tv shows, video games and feature films including Space Jam, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, A Bug's Life and A Goofy Movie.
Bill was named a “Disney Legend” in 2009, and is the on-camera host of the Disney+ original series, It’s a Dog’s Life with Bill Farmer.
Will Gluck
Will Gluck is a Los Angeles based Director, Producer and Writer, and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Will's production company, Olive Bridge Entertainment has partnerships with Sony Pictures Entertainment and One Television.
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Will directed Easy A and wrote, directed and produced the feature films, Friends with Benefits, Annie, Peter Rabbit and Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway. Will has directed numerous television shows including "The Michael J. Fox Show” on NBC.
Will has written and produced a number of TV series and movies including Encore for Disney, Woke for Hulu, Sneakerheads for Netflix, Moonbeam City, The McCarthy's, Grosse Point, Luis and The Loop.
Derek Hill
Texas native, Derek R. Hill transitioned from Dallas theater into television and film in the
early 80's as a Set Decorator and Art Director working with Directors including Oliver Stone, Sean Penn and Kevin Costner.
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As a Production Designer, Derek has earned Emmy nominations for his work on House, Hatfields and McCoys and Ozark seasons 1 and 2. He also earned ADG nominations for his work on Pirates of the Caribbean-Curse of the Black Pearl, Community, Hatfields & McCoys and Bonnie & Clyde.
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Additional credits include The Magnificent Seven, All Eyez on Me, Lifetime movie, Surviving Compton:Dre, Suge and Michelle, the TV series The Right Stuff and Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. Derek is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Junie Lowry-Johnson
Junie Lowry-Johnson is an eight time television Emmy Award-winning Casting Director for features and television. Her Emmy wins include Homeland, True Blood, Ugiy Betty, Desperate Housewives, Six Feet Under and NYPD Blue. In addition, Junie's work has been recognized with an additional 12 industry wins and 47 nominations. Other TV series casting credits include, Queen of the South, Deadwood, True Detective, The Killing, Big Love, In Treatment, and multiple StarTrek series.
In addition to casting more than 40 TV Movies, Junie's feature film credits include Grosse Point Blank, Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar, America's Sweethearts, Cypher, Forces of Nature and La Bamba.
Alex Kalymnios
Alex Kalymnios is an English Director, Producer and Screenwriter. Alex started her career at the BBC Director’s Academy and works Internationally.
Alex has directed episodes of Impulse, Titans, The 100, S.W.A.T., Timeless, Quantico, Once Upon a Time, The White Princess, Scott & Bailey, EastEnders, Waterloo Road, Hollyoaks, Hollyoaks Later, The Cut, Becoming Human and the TV pilot, Close Up.
Alex directed the mini-series Three Families and TV Movies, Cleveland Abduction, and Love you to Death. Recently Alex completed a spy series for Netlix starring Noah Centineo.
Hunt Lowry
Hunt Lowry has produced over 30 films and is the CEO/President of Roserock Films, located on the Warner Bros. lot.
Hunt’s feature credits include; A Time to Kill, Donnie Darko, First Knight, Revenge, A Walk to Remember, What a Girl Wants, A Cinderella Story, Instinct, My Life, The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood , Disney's The Kid, and The Last of the Mohicans.
Originally from Oklahoma, Hunt is a member of the Producers Guild of America, Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Mo Marabel
Director, Producer, Maurice Marable has worked on nearly 20 series and become a go-to choice for comedy pilots. His variety of credits includes shows such as Veep, Insecure, Entourage, True Blood and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, as well as episodes of The Last O.G., Suits, The Game, Hap & Leonard, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Mo helmed the last three seasons of IFC’s Brockmire, and received an Emmy nomination in 2006 for his work on the Big Love main title design. Marable previously served as the VP of Creative Services at BET, helping the network launch its original scripted programming.
Mo is currently a producing director on two series, Hulu’s Woke and Peacock’s Killing It, and is attached to the reboot of 'Three Men and a Baby.' His upcoming Directing projects include Grand Grew, episodes of Hulu’s The Dropout and Washington Black plus FX’s The Old Man.
David Nutter
David is a two time Emmy Award winning Director and Producer.
David directed nine episodes of Game of Thrones, winning an Emmy for Best Direction for "Mother's Mercy." His first Emmy win was for the "Replacements" episode of Band of Brothers. David directed two chapters of its sequel The Pacific and has also directed episodes of The Sopranos, Entourage, Shameless, X-Files, ER, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The West Wing, Homeland and The X-Files.
David's most recent project was the HBO limited series, The Time Traveler's Wife, based on the novel by Audrey Niffenegger.
Mitch Paulson
A Minnesota native, Mitch was always fascinated by 3D animation. His career began as a compositor on movie trailers. He fell in love with the work and his training in fine arts and compositing allowed an easy transition into color grading. Known for his ability to utilize his tools in new and unique ways, Mitch has earned a reputation as a collaborator who loves sharing his passion for color grading with his clients.
In 2005, Mitch joined Company 3 (formerly EFILM) where he is now Co-Head of Features Color. His credits include Skyfall, Blade Runner 2049, All Eyez on Me and Rogue One. Mitch is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Mitch is the recipient of the 2021 HPS Award for Outstanding Color, Feature Film for his work on Disney's Jungle Cruise.
Kristoffer Polaha
Actor, writer, producer, author and Reno, Nevada native, Kristoffer Polaha earned a degree from the esteemed NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and quickly transitioned to professional theater in New York.
Kristoffer moved to Los Angeles and made a name for himself in TV, starring in Life Unexpected, North Shore, Backstrom and Ringer. He's appeared in more than 25 network and cable shows including Mad Men, Ballers, Designated Survivor, Get Shorty and the limited series Condor. Kris remains a backbone of the Hallmark Channel, appearing in numerous Christmas movies and the Hallmark Mystery 101 series.
Kris' feature film work includes Where Hope Grows, The Devil's Knot, Wonder Woman 1984 and Jurassic World: Dominion.
Mikael Salomon
Mikael Salomon is an Oscar-nominated and EMMY award winning Danish Director and Cinematographer.
He earned an Oscar nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for The Abyss and a second nomination for Outstanding Visual Effects for Backdraft. He is also a recipient of the Danish Academy Award. After moving to the US in 1986, Mikael went on to shoot more than 30 feature films including Always for Steven Spielberg and Far and Away for Ron Howard.
Mikael transitioned to directing and won an Emmy for Band of Brothers. Other TV credits include, Sole Survivor, The Fugitive, The Grid, & The Andromeda Strain. His feature work includes A Far Off Place and Hard Rain. Mikael is a member of the ASC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Greg Sorvig
Greg is the Artistic Director for Heartland Film and its Academy Award®-qualifying Indy Shorts and Heartland Film Festival events in Indianapolis, and is also Senior Associate Programmer for the Tribeca Festival shorts team.
Greg recently served as a 2021 International Documentary Association IDA+XRM Media Incubator Grant Reviewer and 2022 National Endowment for the Arts American Rescue Plan Media Arts Reader. Greg also regularly serves as a jury member at international film festivals and top 20 film school student festivals, including USC and DePaul University.
Wes Studi
Born in Nofire, Oklahoma, Wes is a Cherokee American actor and film producer who has won critical acclaim and countless awards. Wes has appeared in Academy Award-winning films, such as Dances with Wolves and The Last of the Mohicans, and in the Academy Award-nominated films Geronimo: An American Legend and The New World. He has also appeared in the films Hostiles, Heat, Mystery Men, Avatar, A Million Ways to Die in the West, and in the television series Penny Dreadful.
An Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences member, Wes received an Academy Honorary Award in 2020, becoming the first Native American and the second North American Indigenous person to be honored by the Academy.
Karyn Wagner
Costume Designer, Karyn Wagner is best-known for her work on the iconic films of luminary directors, such as Frank Darabont's The Green Mile and The Majestic and Nick Cassavettes' The Notebook. Other film credits include Bruce Beresford’s Mr. Church, Cake, The Last of Robin Hood, The Salton Sea, Eve’s Bayou, Underneath, Lovelace, Alice; A Jazzman’s Blues for Tyler Perry and The Asset for Martin Campbell.
Television credits include the Antoine Fuqua directed Murder Book, the Friday Night Lights series, and more recently the limited series’ Waco, Preacher, two seasons of Underground and the Netflix series Self Made.
Karyn is a third generation film industry veteran. She received a degree in Art History from UC Davis, and found her true passion for Costume Design after starting in the production and camera departments. Karyn is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Dick Walsh
In his capacity as AMC Film Chairman, goal oriented business executive, Dick Walsh managed an annual budget of $5 million for strategic marketing, $25 million for marketing and a purchasing budget of $700 million. Dick is a member of the National Association of Theater Owners.
Dick served as an advisor to the Tribeca Film Festival and worked directly with the Tribeca Operations Team, including Robert DeNiro and his business partner, Jane Rosenthal. AMC was the exclusive provider of locations to the Tribeca Film Festival. During his tenure, AMC hosted several other film festivals across the country giving Dick key insights into the inner-workings of film festivals, both from a programming and operations viewpoint.
Simon West
Simon West is a British Born Director and Producer whose film career started in the editorial department of the BBC. Simon West is the only live action Director whose first three films all grossed over $100 million at the US Box Office. His feature film credits include; Lara Croft Tomb Raider, The General's Daughter, Con Air, Wild Card The Mechanic, Stolen, Stratton, Gun Shy, When a Stranger Calls, The Expendables 2, and Skyfire.
In addition to his work in feature films, Simon has developed and directed TV series and movies and is an award winning Director of commercials and music videos. Most recently Simon completed the six part limited series, Boundless, based on the story of Spanish explorers Elcano and Magellan’s epic voyage around the world.
Simon is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.