2024 Grand Jury
Bill Farmer - Chairman of the Board
Bill Farmer is an award winning voice actor, comedian and impressionist. He 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.
Chuck Akin
Chuck has been telling engaging visual stories for more than 25+ years. He writes, produces and directs story-driven content across multiple platforms. Chuck has produced award-winning feature films and feature docs as well. He also produces many regional commercials, high-visibility music videos, as well as a handful of the acclaimed Masterclass series.
He is in development on a Biopic Docu-series based on the life of Hall of Fame Basketball Coach, Jerry Tarkanian and a Feature Drama starring Nic Cage, set to shoot at Vū Studios.
For the last year and a half Chuck has donned the General Manager’s cap at Vū Studios in Las Vegas; a 42,000sf studio with a 130ft long LED Volume screen that specializes in Unreal Engine virtual environments.
Jeff Arch
Jeff Arch is the writer of a quirky romantic comedy where the two lovers don’t even meet until the very last page, and “Sleepless in Seattle” became a surprise megahit worldwide.
For his screenplay Jeff was nominated for an Oscar, as well as for Writers Guild and BAFTA Awards, among others. His other credits include the Disney adventure film Iron Will, New Line’s romantic comedy Sealed With a Kiss, and the independent comedy Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys.
Jeff’s script for Saving Milly, based on Mort Kondracke’s searing memoir, earned the 2005 Humanitas Nomination, an honor Jeff treasures.
Jasmeet Baduwalia
In 2013, Jasmeet competed in the IMTA talent competition, and went on to sign with Momentum Talent Agency. At the age of 16 , he decided to make the move to Los Angeles, California to pursue his dreams. There he had the opportunity to train with Anthony Meindl, Howard Fine, and Marnie Cooper.
Since then, he has been featured in a commercial for Nike and co-starred in Easy Waltz, led by Al Pacino & Vince Vaughn, as well as being a lead in productions such as Werewolf World, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, and many more productions.
Jodi Binstock
Proud to be one of the 7% of female “Helmers” in Hollywood, Jodi is as comfortable with comedy as she is with drama. Her romantic Christmas comedy A Snowglobe Christmas is an annual favorite starring Alicia Witt and Donald Faison. Her comedy, Call Waiting, was the Official Selection of 9 major film festivals and was lauded as the WINNER for BEST COMEDY at the Santa Barbara and Tiburon International Film Festivals and was just released worldwide on Amazon Prime.
Most recently, Jodi directed the biopic story, Prisoner of Love (Tubi), the story of the upstanding corrections officer who broke her convict boyfriend out of prison and went on the run for 11 days in the spring of 2022. In 2023, Jodi directed the whodunnit: Below Deck Deceit starring Shelley Sterling and Sarah Jane Morris and is currently in post production on her film Fit For Murder, the true story of Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan, body-building royalty who got caught up in the murder of their assistant.
Dawn Gilliam
Dawn is a 33-year Script Supervisor in the entertainment business. Her first movie, Boyz In The Hood, was the catalyst that launched her career.
Her credits includes an iconic list of movies and television shows, such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Hunger Games, Lost, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Dawn also penned an online course, The Art of Continuity| Filmmaking as a Script Supervisor. It is in its 10th year.
Favorite Dawnism: "A closed mouth, don't get fed. Speak up!"
Bill Guentzler
Bill is Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Operations for Gravitas Ventures, which is recognized worldwide as one of the largest all rights distributors of independent films and documentaries. After spending a summer studying in Berlin in 1998, he joined the Cleveland International Film Festival as an intern, ultimately being named Artistic Director in 2005, a position he held for 15 years.
During his time at CIFF, he was part of the leadership team making the festival one of the largest and most well-respected film festivals in the US and one of the first in the world to transition to an online format in 2020. In 2021, a brief hiatus from the film industry led him to Medworks, a Cleveland-based nonprofit organization linking people who are uninsured and underinsured with vital healthcare services, where he served as Program Director. He holds a BA in Communications from Cleveland State University, which named him one of its inaugural 50 Fascinating Alumni. He also proudly serves on the Board of Directors for Collaborate Cleveland.
Adam Karm
Adam is a co-founder of AKA Prod Co, a new Reno based production company. He’s held various positions within the independent film space and has extensive experience in development, production, post-finishing, marketing and distribution.
In his capacity as storyteller, he’s produced a variety of commercials, short form content, unscripted and scripted TV as well as feature films. In his most recent stint with MarVista Entertainment he oversaw a pipeline of 250+ films from greenlight through final delivery.
Adam is particularly drawn to stories that inspire hope and change.
Philip Kruener
Producer/writer Philip Kruener began his television career working behind the scenes at HBO on a series of comedy documentaries and specials, including the Emmy-nominated A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman. A crossover to scripted led to stints as VP Development/Production for multiple TV production companies, working in both one-hour drama and long-form.
As a Show Runner, Kruener has made multiple two-hour holiday-themed rom-coms for FreeForm; overseen a live-broadcast from Easter Island for Nat Geo; exec-produced and written a 10-hour series on The Kennedys; and show-run a two-hour documentary special on the once-silent family of polygamist Warren Jeffs. His most recent credit is as Executive Producer of It’s A Dog’s Life, with Bill Farmer, for Disney+.
Edd Lukas
Edd launched his career in the camera department on high profile films such as Casino Royale and Atonement.
With now more than two decades of experience as a Cinematographer, Edd currently splits his time between London and Los Angeles. His credits include more than 35 Feature Films (Nancy Drew, The Gallows, The Party's Just Beginning), Documentaries (David Crosby: Remember My Name), Short Films (Whiplash, Triggered), Music Videos and Commercials (Budweiser, Chrysler, Newsweek, GQ).
Edd has filmed on all 7 continents, including being the first DP to film a major Motion Picture in Antarctica.
Bilali Mack
Bilali Mack is a Filmmaker and VFX Supervisor based in NYC. Born in Accra, Ghana, and based in Brooklyn, Bilali has spent the better part of the last decade honing his craft at visual effects.
Bilali is best known for his work as the overall VFX Supervisor for Lionsgate’s Power Book III: Raising Kanan and Power Book II: Ghost. Bilali has had an extensive and varying career working in commercials, episodic, and film. His most recent work was with Darren Aronofsky on the Oscar award-winning film, The Whale with Brendan Fraser.
In his spare time, he produces the Legends of VFX podcast and is passionately directing films and commercials.
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 2023 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. Hehas 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.
Sandrine Faucher Cassidy
Sandrine grew up in Morocco and France. She joined Unifrance in 1996 and discovered the world of festivals. The relationships she built with programmers gave her a specific insight into each festival and their subtle differences of style and mission. She moved to Los Angeles and since 1998, serves with passion as USC’s Senior Director of Festival, Distribution & Talent Development. She advises students and alumni on strategies for their student films and independent features in the festival circuit and reach their career goals. She is responsible for the licensing of the large catalogue of USC shorts.
She has recently taken a creative role on screenplays, or films in post production as Producer on independent features. Sandrine is often invited to participate in juries, panels or to give individual mentoring sessions. She has been on the Tribeca Festival screening committee since 2015.
Kelly Ward
Kelly Ward is a past V.P. at Metro Goldwyn Mayer and Universal Studios. He has a Humanitas Prize for writing children’s animation and a Daytime Emmy for directing. He co-authored the animated feature films Once Upon a Forest, and All Dogs Go To Heaven 2, the latter of which he co-produced.
Ward began his career as an actor, co-starring in the movies Grease, Samuel Fuller’s The Big Red One, and Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit. Ward currently writes for film and television, and directs voiceover for Disney Television Animation, among others. For more than 20 years, Ward was a part-time faculty member of the USC School of Dramatic Arts, where he directed and choreographed dozens of stage productions ranging from Shakespeare to Sondheim.
CIFF Invited Guests
These are just a few of the special guests joining us this year! Stay after each screening for a chance to meet the filmmakers
and cast during the Q&A sessions!
Kelly Ward
Actress
House,The Kominsky Method
Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce
Erik Griffin
Comedian & Actor
Workaholics, Murder Mystery
I’m Dying Up Here
Kevin Lima
Director
A Goofy Movie, Aladdin
Enchanted, Tarzan
James Wolk
Actor
Mad Men, Lonestar
Billions, Watchmen, Zoo