2025 Jury & Speakers
All editions →Jury
Carlos Franklin
Carlos Franklin Visual artist, video and filmmaker XR artist mistercarrot.org Paris, France Carlos Franklin is a visual artist who focuses on documentary and archive-based forms. He combines new media, video, installation, and drawing, as well as engaging in protean performative projects. Franklin is interested in how artistic practice reveals historical and political discourses. He explores semiotics to study aesthetics and representation paradigms and their role in the construction of meaning and the restitution of testimony. His work has been exhibited at numerous festivals, museums, and art centres, including the Centre Georges Pompidou and Grand Palais in Paris, the Saatchi Gallery in London, the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma – MACRO, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, among others.
Carlos Smith
Carlos Smith Animator Chair of Animation School Veritas University San José, Costa Rica Carlos Smith is an audiovisual director and producer, founder of SMITH & SMITH and HIERRO ANIMACIÓN. He has been professionally dedicated to animation since 1993. In this field he has alternated the development of content for television, film and other platforms with the making of short films and experimental pieces. He has extensive experience in teaching. He has been a professor at the National University of Colombia, the Javeriana University, the University of the Andes and for eight years he was professor and academic coordinator of the Master in Animation at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. Now is the academic director of the DIgital Animation School of Veritas University in Costa Rica.
Deirdre Brenner
Deirdre Brenner Creative Producer/Writer/Line Producer South Pasadena, CA, USA Deirdre Brenner grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, and headed straight for Los Angeles after graduating from Northwestern University. She’s worked in the animation industry for over twenty-five years, producing hundreds of hours of animated entertainment for studios such as The Walt Disney Company, Nickelodeon, and Six Point Harness. She was the Creative Producer on two CURIOUS GEORGE films for Universal Animation Studios and is currently a Producer on the popular adult animated series RICK AND MORTY. Deirdre resides in South Pasadena, California, with her cat, Benny.
James Leming
James Leming Filmmaker Assistant Teaching Professor University of Tampa Tampa, FL, USA James Leming is an established independent filmmaker and educator who focuses largely on the world of underground and cult films. In his personal work, he has addressed hefty topics such as mental health, the human condition and existential crises through the lens of absurdist satire. Leming's expertise ranges from writing, directing, editing and film criticism with a premium placed on teaching young filmmakers how to express their unique individuality through the art of filmmaking. Leming's most recent film, #toxic_positivity, was shot in the virtual production studio on campus with an almost exclusively all-student crew. The film is currently on its festival run, already winning Leming a best director award and a best cast award from the Couch Film Festival. The film will also have its international premiere in the UK with the Lytham International Film Festival. Leming is currently at work drafting another film, which he aims to shoot with FMX students as an extra-curricular activity.
Jen Rudin
Jen Rudin Writer. Casting Director Adjunct Professor. Author:CONFESSIONS OF A CASTING DIRECTOR published by HarperCollins NYC, NY, USA jenrudin.com Photo Credit: Douglas Gorenstein JEN RUDIN is an award-winning casting director and author of Confessions of a Casting Director, published by HarperCollins. Jen began her career as a professional child actor in New York City. She spent seven years as casting director/executive at The Walt Disney Company, casting such beloved animated feature films as The Incredibles, Chicken Little, The Princess, and the Frog, and overseeing the Broadway casting and domestic tours for The Lion King, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid and High School Musical. Some recent casting credits include the Netflix animated series Arcane and Dead End: Paranormal Park. She also wrote and executive produced the short film Lucy in the Sky, starring Whoopi Goldberg, under her previous banner, Purple Glasses Productions, and cast the late Peter Bogdanovich’s final film, She’s Funny That Way. For more info, visit www.jenrudin.com and follow her on Instagram @rudinj.
Jenna Levine
Jenna Levine Creative Development Assistant at Warner Bros. Animation & Cartoon Network Studios Animation | Live Action | Gaming, Los Angeles, CA, United States Jenna Levine is a junior creative executive and lover of all things animation from Boca Raton, Florida. After graduating from Northwestern University, Jenna has worked at Cartoon Network Studios & Warner Bros. Animation as a creative assistant, supporting project development from pitch to greenlight across TV and feature for all age demos and genres. Jenna is passionate about championing new voices and bringing stories that are innovative, bold, and meaningful to life.
Judy Kriger
Judy Kriger Program Director + Professor University of Redlands School of Media : Culture : Design Animation + VFX Burbank, CA Judy Kriger is an independent filmmaker and animator and has been a professional CG artist for two decades. Her credits include: Cats and Dogs, Antz, South Park, Ren and Stimpy, and Doughboy, Kraft and Keebler commercials. She teaches senior thesis, introductory through advanced 3D animation and visual effects production courses. Her book, “Animated Realism: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Animated Documentary Genre,” was published by Focal Press, and she is currently working on a CG animated PSA and her second book focusing on lighting for CG animation. She is Program Director and Professor of Animation + VFX at the University of Redlands Los Angeles | Woodbury campus.
Kailyn Bondoni
Kailyn Bondoni Assistant to SVP Warner Bros. Discovery Los Angeles, CA, United States Kailyn Bondoni is a member of the jury for the Tampa Animation Festival 2025. She works as assistant to SVP in the Adult Animation division.
Karma Masselli
Karma Masselli Director at Shorts Movie Theater, Brooklyn, NY, USA https://www.karmamasselli.com/ Karma Masselli is a Brooklyn-based producer, director, and theater creator known for her work in independent media, specifically short films and experimental theater. She is actively involved in the New York City arts scene, producing independent theater and, as of 2023, developing "Shorts Movie Theater" to showcase short films.
Max Catu
Max Catu Digital Producer Paris, France
Megan O’Neill
Megan O’Neill Senior Associate Shorts Programmer Tribeca Film Festival, NYC, NY, USA Megan is currently a consultant to film festivals, including the Tribeca Film Festival, where she is the Associate Shorts Programmer/Animation. She originated and curates an animated program with Whoopi Goldberg that has premiered two Academy Award-winning shorts – Kobe Bryant’s DEAR BASKETBALL and Pixar’s BAO. Megan has 25 years experience acquiring, developing, producing and distributing short-form content. As the head of AtomFilms Studio, she worked with emerging artists and animators on original web productions. She has acquired and/or developed content with Academy Award nominees PES, Jason Reitman, Adam Elliot, Lisa Cholodenko and Bill Plympton, as well as commissioning animation series from Aardman Animation and the JibJab Brothers. She co-founded one of the first US short film distribution companies, Forefront Films, and negotiated the sale of the company to AtomFilms.
Patti White
Patti White Founder/Director Annapolis Film Festival Patti White is the Co-Founder and Principal at FILMSTERS, a production and development company, operating in Annapolis, Maryland and Los Angeles. White’s credits have appeared on CBS, ABC, Lifetime, Discovery, Turner, and others, and is known for producing and directing feature-length documentaries and producing a docu-reality series -ABC’s Extreme Makeover as a Producer & Senior Producer. She is also the Co-Founder and Festival Director of the Annapolis Film Festival.
Sheila Sofian
Sheila Sofian Professor of Cinematic Arts, USC, Los Angeles, CA, USA Sheila M. Sofian has produced, directed, and animated seven independent animated films. Sofian has received grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, Rockefeller Media Arts Fellowship, and the Pew Fellowships in the Arts, among others. Her award-winning films have been exhibited internationally. Awards include a Lifetime Achievement Award from the CineToro Film Festival in Colombia, Best Animated Film and Grand Jury Prize, New Orleans Film Festival, Best Animated Film, Humboldt International Short Film Festival, Best Animated Film, Ojai Film Festival, First Prize, World Animation Celebration, First prize, Animation, Central Florida Film & Video Festival, a CINE Golden Eagle Award, Grand Prize, International Festival of Non-Professional Cinema, France, a Student Academy Award, and Best of Show Award, New England Film Festival. In addition, Sofian’s films have exhibited internationally, including MoMA, Annecy Animation Festival, the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Hiroshima International Animation Festival, Zagreb Animation Festival, and CaixaForum in Barcelona, Spain. Her films are distributed educationally and in streaming markets. Collections include Harvard University, the California Institute of the Arts, and the Walker Arts Center, among others.
Shoko Takegasa
Shoko Takegasa Festival Director Asian Shorts Film Festival After working in finance, she joined the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA). In 2016 she became the programming manager and has participated in screenings and markets at international film festivals to promote the festival as well as the Japanese short films. She has also been involved in public relations for the SSFF & ASIA, including radio appearances and contributing articles about the festival to film magazines. From February 2021, she began working as Festival Director at SSFF & ASIA. She also worked for the Tribeca Film Festival as a short film screener, and participated in several festivals including Teheran International Short Film Festival, an Oscar qualified film festival as a member of the jury.
Yunah Chung
Yunah Chung Originals Development Content Acquisitions Astoria Film Festival Board Member NYC, NY, USA Of Texas provenance and a bicoastal upbringing in California and New Jersey, Yunah Chung is a Korean American creative executive. After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts as a film & TV major, she cut her teeth at CAA followed by MTV where she witnessed words on a page turn into pixels on a screen as a scripted series development and current programming assistant. Her lifelong love of Korean cinema naturally led her to blogging about it online over at Dramabeans.com where a global community of K-drama fans continue to engage in thoughtful and enthusiastic discourse. In early 2017, Yunah was selected for an inaugural comedy screenwriting fellowship from Whoop Inc. (Whoopi Goldberg’s production company) and Mana Contemporary. Unable to shake her interest in global cinema, she also developed series and analyzed scripts at Infinite Studios (local producer of Crazy Rich Asians) while completing her dual international MBA degrees in Singapore (Nanyang Technological University) and Tokyo (Waseda University). She wrapped a 3-year stint as a Development Executive at 9 Story Media Group in New York where she developed kids & family animated and live action content. Currently, Yunah is the VP, Content and Executive Producer at SAMANSA, a Tokyo-based SVOD platform for high quality short films from all around the world; she oversees content acquisitions and originals.
Speakers
Rebecca Crose
Rebecca Crose began her career at Iron Galaxy Studios, working on console ports for Dreadnought and 7 Days to Die, gaining hands-on experience in production and cross platform development. She is now Senior Manager of Developer Relations at Roblox, where she helps developers connect with internal engineering, product, and operations teams to accelerate projects. Rebecca has also produced large-scale events, supporting creative, technical, and production roles, and is passionate about helping creators turn their skills into careers in gaming and interactive media. Your Skills, Your Path: Building a Career in Games Rebecca's talk explores how the skills you gain in animation and other disciplines can lead to exciting careers in gaming. Rebecca Crose shares her journey from digital arts student to working in traditional video games and supporting tools for developers at Roblox, highlighting creative, technical, and production roles. Learn how to build your portfolio, strengthen soft skills, and discover opportunities beyond traditional animation. RICARDO BERNARDINI Tentara Studios https://tentaradigital.com/ Saturday Nov 8th 5:00-6:00pm, Charlene Gordon Theater Reserve your seat here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1898654539839
Ricardo Bernardini
Ricardo Bernardini is a Creative Director, Animator and Motion Designer with over 25 years of experience creating award-winning content for Disney, Netflix, HBO, EA Sports, and Discovery. His work bridges storytelling, design, and visual effects to craft emotionally driven experiences across film, television, and themed entertainment. He is also the founder of Tentara Studios, writer and director of the award-winning live-action short film 9-2 Mars , and creator of Angal Tentara , a transmedia saga blending mythology, philosophy, and fantasy with human emotion. Framing the Invisible Lessons from Live Action That Breathe Life into Animation In this session, Ricardo explores how years of directing and designing for live action have profoundly influenced his approach to animation and motion design. From lighting and camera movement to emotional pacing and performance, he reveals how the language of cinematography can transform animated stories into living, breathing experiences. Attendees will gain insight into bridging both worlds—learning how to animate not just motion, but intention, rhythm, and feeling. SHENGWEI ZHOU Assistant Professor, University of South Florida (USF) Sunday Nov 9th Reserve your seat here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1899032279669
Shengwei Zhou
Shengwei Zhou is an assistant professor in animation in School of Art and Art History in College of Design Art and Performance in University of South Florida. He combines organic materials with a wide variety of digital forms to create multi media animation and films. His representative work are SHe, Art Is Dead, Let's Fall In Love, and Perfect City series. His animation and films has been selected and screened in many prestigious film and animation festivals including Hong Kong International Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, POFF shorts Black Night Film Festival, Florida Film Festival, Dallas International Film Festival, London International Animation Festival etc. Presentation : The speech mainly focuses multimedia animation practice combining tactile animation with visualization of dreams and memories. And how tactile animation & installations could be a representative form to process individual and collective trauma. Shengwei Zhou will mainly use his on going animation series Perfect City as an example to illustrate his methodologies of animation creation.