2022 Festival Jury

Our Jury comprises filmmakers, actors, and academic and industry leaders who are committed to recognizing and supporting the best in innovative, diverse, and artistically excellent film for young audiences throughout the globe.

Jurors select the winners of the Festival’s Best Animated Short, Best Live Action Short (Narrative), and Best Live Action Short (Documentary). The Festival is an Academy®-qualifying event. Winners of our juried awards are eligible for Academy® consideration in the Best Live Action and Best Animated Short Film categories.
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peilin chou
Producer (Over the Moon, Abominable)
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melissa cobb
Vice President, Kids and Family, Netflix
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geena davis
Academy Award®-winning actor and founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
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madeline di nonno
CEO, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media; Chair, Board of Directors of the Television Academy Foundation
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Amy Freidman
Head of Kids and Family Programming, Warner Bros.
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elizabeth ito
NYICFF Award-winning director (Welcome to My Life), creator of Netflix's City of Ghosts
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kyle maclahlan
Award-winning actor (Twin Peaks, Dune, Inside Out)
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guillermo martinez
Head of Story, Sony Pictures Animation (The Mitchells vs The Machines), Story Artist, Laika Studios (Kubo and the Two Strings, Missing Link)
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matthew modine
Award-winning actor and filmmaker (Stranger Things, Full Metal Jacket)
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ramsey naito
President, Nickelodeon Animation; President, Paramount Animation; Academy Award®-nominated producer (The Boss Baby)
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mark osborne
Academy Award®-nominated director, writer, producer, and animator (Kung Fu Panda, The Little Prince)
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peter ramsey
Academy Award®-winning director (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Rise of the Guardians)
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ira sachs
Award-winning filmmaker (Little Men, Love is Strange); founder and Executive Director, Queer/Art
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uma thurman
Academy Award®-nominated actor (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill vol. 1 & 2); Board of Directors, Room to Grow
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nora twomey
Academy Award®-nominated director (The Breadwinner, The Secret of Kells); co-founder, Cartoon Saloon