The 2026 jury brings together a powerhouse group of artists working across film, television, and theater. The jury and members of our programming team vote on films in various categories to award the winning shorts and feature films.

Emmy-nominated actor whose credits include Jurassic World: Dominion, Elemental, Kinds of Kindness, The Burial, A24’s The Drama.

Emmy-nominated for “Succession” and known for roles in Spider-Man: No Way Home, You Hurt My Feelings, and “Nobody Wants This.” A Tony Award nominee for A Doll’s House, Moayed is also a writer and director.

Independent Spirit and Gotham Award-winning producer and co-founder of Killer Films. Her extensive body of work includes landmark independent films such as Kids, Boys Don’t Cry, Far from Heaven, Carol, and the Oscar-nominated Past Lives.

Director of the Oscar-nominated documentary The Alabama Solution, a powerful investigative film that premiered at Sundance and helped drive real-world policy change.

Filmmaker and actor whose work spans film, television, and digital media. Her short films Crimson Ties and Fish Out of Water premiered at the Tribeca Festival and Cannes Film Festival, establishing her as a rising voice in independent cinema. She has appeared in projects including We Are Who We Are and continues to build a multidisciplinary career across directing, acting, and emerging platforms.

Lucas Hedges’s credits include Sorry, Baby, Manchester by the Sea (Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Lady Bird, Mid 90s, Boy Erased (Golden Globe Nomination for Best Actor), Ben is Back, Honey Boy, Waves, Let Them All Talk, and French Exit.
He also appeared in BJ Novak’s Anthology Series The Premise in the episode entitled The Ballad Of Jesse Wheeler.
Stage credits include Yen (Lucille Lortel Nomination for Best Actor) at MCC, And Kenneth Lonergan’s The Waverly Gallery at the Golden Theater with Elaine May, Michael Cera and Joan Allen.

Actor, writer, and director known for projects including Zombieland: Double Tap, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, Prime Video’s thriller “56 Days”, and his directorial debut Door Mouse.

Mary Neely is an actor, writer, director, and producer who first captured widespread attention with her viral pandemic-era musical videos, being named “Best Theater of 2020” by The New York Times and The Washington Post. She starred in and co-wrote the offbeat indie comedy Or Something, and is currently making her Broadway Debut in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman starring Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf.

Tony Award-nominated director (Jaja's African Hair Braiding), and Obie Award winner whose work spans Broadway, international stages, and television.

Constance Zimmer is an actor and director best known for her Critics’ Choice Award-winning role as Quinn King on UnREAL. Her extensive TV career includes standout roles on House of Cards, Entourage, Boston Legal, Grey’s Anatomy, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Good Trouble, The Lincoln Lawyer and FX’s Love Story.

Kate Bornstein | Writer, Activist and Performer

Slick Naim | Writer/Director/Rapper

Mamoudou Athie

Arian Moayed

Christine Vachon

Charlotte Kaufman

Francesca Scorsese

Lucas Hedges

Avan Jogia

Mary Neely

Whitney White

Constance Zimmer

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