Meet The Judges

Michael Phillips has been producing films and television in Hollywood since 1971. His films have garnered 23 Academy Award nominations, winning him a best picture Oscar for The Sting, a Palme d'Or Prize for Taxi Driver, and Italy's David di Donatello award for best picture for Clsoe Encounters of the Third Kind.

Phillips graduated from Dartmouth college with an A.B. in History in 1965 and from NYU Law School with a Juris Doctor degree in 1968. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1969. He serves as a Trustee Professor at Chapman University's Dodge College of Film & Media Arts, and has taught classes there on Cinema of the '70s, Science Fiction in cinema, and on the films of Akira Kurosawa.

Barry Braverman is a veteran cinematographer with over thirty years experience in television documentaries, music videos, and feature films. Notable credits include 2nd Unit Camera for MOONRISE KINGDOM and THE DARJEELING LIMITED, LETHAL WEAPON 4 (HBO FIRST LOOK), long-form television and educational programs for National Geographic, ABC News 20/20 and CBS News SUNDAY MORNING, and music videos for KELLY CLARKSON, BON JOVI, STEVIE WONDER and TANGERINE DREAM.

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Braverman is a member of Hollywood’s cinematographer guild and regularly conducts camera workshops worldwide. Since 2006 he has led training in 29 different countries, from Mexico to Bangladesh. As a journalist and author he contributes regularly to leading industry publications like Studio Daily (US) and Red Shark News (UK).  His latest book VIDEO SHOOTER 3rd Edition from Focal Press explores the art of visual storytelling with the latest 2D and 3D cameras.

Peter B. Ellis is a film editor of television shows and feature films. He’s also served as a series co-producer, and has directed multiple TV episodes.  He's best known for Extraction (2020), Big (1988), Community (2009-2012) and You, Me and Dupree (2006).  His work on The Following (2014) was nominated for a OFTA Television Award and on Community (2011, 2012) was nominated for an HPA Award and OFTA Television award.

Annie Sundberg is a filmmaker, director, and screenwriter known mostly for her documentarian work including The Devil Came on Horseback (2007), The Trials of Darryl Hunt (2006) and Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010).  She has 16 awards and 17 nonimations from renowned film festivals such as Sundance Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival, and from the Emmy Awards and Critic Choice Awards.  She often works alongside fellow Dartmouth alumna Ricki Stern.

Ricki Stern is a director, screenwriter, and producer mostly known for her work in documentarian work including The Devil Came on Horseback (2007), The Trials of Darryl Hunt (2006) and Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010).  She has 16 awards and 17 nonimations from renowned film festivals such as Sundance Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival, and from the Emmy Awards and Critic Choice Awards.  She often works alongside fellow Dartmouth alumna Annie Sundberg.

Grant Moran is a producer and screenwriter.  He is well known for WordGirl (2007), Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo (1978) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2015). His first project was collaborating with Warner Bros. and with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment on “Tiny Toon Adventures.” His work with Warner Bros. led to projects with nearly every major animation studio producing children’s programming, including Nickelodeon and Marvel Entertainment. While at Nickelodeon, Moran was head writer and co-producer of “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.” Under  Global Monster Media, his creative consultancy, Moran has produced, developed or written such shows as “The Wild Thornberries,” “Marvel’s Spider-Man” and “WordGirl,” a PBS KIDS show that earned him a writing Emmy in 2015. He even helped iconic Barbie make her animated series debut, developing and serving as head writer on “Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures” for Mattel Television.

Randi Barnes was born in the USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Girl Meets World (2014) and Prince of Peoria (2018).  She has received 1 award and 5 nominations from the Daytime Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards, and Writers Guild of America. She has been married to Lisa Anne Dickey since 28 August 2010.

Hank Rogerson is an award winning actor, director and producer. As an actor he has worked on Sicario, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and Flamin' Hot, as well as Breaking Bad, The Girlfriend Experience, Preacher and Outer Range. Hank was born in Boston, raised in Massachusetts, and after graduating from Dartmouth College, spent 15 years in Los Angeles working in TV (Murphy Brown/Judging Amy/Melrose Place) and theater (The Odyssey and Company of Angels), and training in Meisner with The Laura Henry Studio.

As a Producer/Director, Hank made Shakespeare Behind Bars, the award winning and critically acclaimed Sundance documentary. He has also worked as a professor of film at USC, The College of Santa Fe and the University of New Mexico. He resides in Santa Fe, NM and is married to Jilann Spitzmiller.

Jilann Spitzmiller is a Director, Cinematographer and Writer whose work has won more than 20 awards and has been shown around the globe. She directed, wrote, shot and edited the feature documentary MEOW WOLF: ORIGIN STORY, which premiered at SXSW and won 3 Best Documentary awards. She was recently a segment director on Trevor Noah's WORLD ACCORDING TO FOOTBALL, on which she also worked as a cinematographer. She directed two fiction shorts for the MEOW WOLF exhibit in Las Vegas, as well as several mini-docs on the exhibit artists. Jilann is currently writing and directing a comedic web series based in New Mexico featuring all NM talent and crew. Additional credits include the cult favorite Shakespeare Behind Bars, which premiered in competition at Sundance Film Festival, and was funded by Sundance Institute, BBC Storyville and ITVS. It went on to win 11 awards, play on Sundance Channel, Starz/Encore, PBS and widely internationally. Jilann also directed the award-winning features Still Dreaming and Homeland, which aired nationally on PBS.