2026 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 and Best Live Action Short. 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.

coming soon

Current and Former Jurors

John Canemaker
Hsiang Chin Moe
Peilin Chou
Melissa Cobb
Sofia Coppola
Jarelle Dampier
Geena Davis
Hope Davis
Keith Dawkins
Jonathan Demme
Kim Díaz
Madeline DiNonno
Amy Friedman
Ilana Glazer
Adam Gopnik
Elizabeth Ito
Peter Lord
Kyle MacLachlan
Julianna Margulies
Guillermo Martinez
Frances McDormand
Lynne Mcveigh
Rob Minkoff
Matthew Modine
Julianne Moore
Tomm Moore
Ramsey Naito
Chris Nee
Michel Ocelot
Mark Osborne
Richard Peña
Rosie Perez
Bill Plympton
Dana Points
Jorge R. Gutiérrez
Peter Ramsey
Huda Razzak
Benjamin Renner
Karen Rupert Toliver
Ira Sachs
Zoe Saldaña
Susan Sarandon
James Schamus
Henry Selick
Evan Shapiro
Phillipa Soo
Ellen Su
Uma Thurman
John Turturro
Nora Twomey
Christine Vachon
Gus Van Sant
Taika Waititi
Jeffrey Wright
Nadine Zylstra