2021 JUDGES
- Willy Hartland – is an animator, award-winning filmmaker and teaches animation at Parsons School of Design and CUNY.
- Elizabeth Seidman – is a Producer at Warner Bros. Animation, currently working on Little Ellen.
- Yvette Kaplan – was co-director of Beavis and Butthead Do America, Head of Story on Ice-Age, and is an adjunct in writing for animation at Cal State Long Beach.
- Walter Santucci – is an animation filmmaker and Cal State Long Beach faculty member.
- Robyn von Arx – award-winning actor, director, and producer.
- Ron Myrick – is a showrunner and supervising director.
- Tracy Hall – independent writer/producer of children’s entertainment.
- Cheryl Davis – Founder of LA based production company Red Toolbox Productions, and the chat show “Everything Entertainment.”
- Jerry L. Brice – was an animator at Disney Features, long-time teacher at the Art Institute in San Diego and currently animation producer for Al Roker Entertainment.
- Kim Yaged – award-winning writer with a background in theater, television and film. Her one-woman production Hypocrites & Strippers was nominated for a Best Actress Artsie.
- Polina Grinberg – NY based animator and artist. A graduate of SAIC and Calarts, teaching animation and film in both the US and abroad. Currently working on a hand drawn animated short.
- Otis Brayboy – s an episodic director and showrunner.
- Sara Mossman – writer and producer.
- Bill Weber – graphic designer and theatre reviewer for Discover Hollywood magazine.
- Phil Condit – independent film producer/director.
- David Harper – poet/writer whose works have appeared in Altered Reality Magazine, Flash Fiction Magazine, The Haven, Mystery Tribune and Front Porch Review, among others.
- Aptil Zhang – concept/visual development and background design artist at Rough Draft Studios, currently working on Futurama and independent animation
- Chenglin Xie – award-winning filmmaker and director, currently represented by The Gotham Group and working at Netflix Feature Animation.
- Paul Harrod – animation director, production designer, and art director with a special emphasis on stop motion.
- Leslie Ezeh – associate director at ASIFA-Hollywood, a nonprofit member organization that champions animation and its creators. President of Legends Animated, a nonprofit for independent animation.
- Rita Street – award-winning animation executive producer, creator and writer. Credits include Disney EMEA comedy, “Space Chickens in Space” and feature film and TV series, “100% Wolf.” Founder of the international non-profit, Women in Animation.
- Marlene Sharpe – head of IP Strategy and Acquisitions for Rainshine Ent. And Executive Producer of their forthcoming animated feature trilogy Young Captain Nemo.
- Adam Sartain – actor and voice actor, projects incl. English dubs for Japanese Films, animation pilots, and narration for the One Minute History channel (YouTube). Hosts Inside Animation podcast – Instagram (@sooperadam).
- Giulia Governo – Internationally renowned cinematographer.
- Delton Davis – creator of the series Dunner the Drummer, is the founder and director of Kids Drumming, creating multi-cultural content for children.
- Amy Amani-Goddard – American screenwriter specializing in lighthearted stories with supernatural elements.
- Katrina Nahikian – creative development & production leader creating, developing & delivering innovative TV for FoxTV, Saatchi & Saatchi, Lionsgate, Oxygen, Omelet, and Zambezi / FIN Studios.
- Lily Patel – Los Angeles based actor/writer and animation scholar.
- Trish McCall – Writer, Producer and Actress. From New York City – now relocated to Los Angeles. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564690
- Kyle Bond – Artist Manager at Disney Television Animation.
- Koushoik Chattopadhyay – Film and TV actor who specializes in creating comedic characters.
- Joseph Palladino – Academic Advisor, UCSB Film and Media Studies Department.
- Jared Nigro – animation writer and producer with a background in improv and sketch comedy from The Groundlings and Upright Citizens Brigade.