JUDGING TEAM

Liaan William Ferreira Is an international multi-award-winning actor. Ferreira has become one of the most talked about actors in Hollywood and New York this past year. Calling his performance “A World Class Act” and “An Outstanding Emotional Portrayal” in the hit Indie film original drama “Visor,” the actor went on to secure one of the most coveted awards of the past festival season.

He has received several accolades worldwide throughout his career from America to Paris, including “Best Lead Actor” along side previous winner Kevin Bacon at the prestigious FilmCon Awards in Los Angeles, Top Shorts Los Angeles, New York Movie Awards - previous winner and veteran actor John Voight, FutureOfFilm Awards, Oniros Film Awards New York, Halicarnassus Film Festival located in Bodrum, Turkey, Florence Film Awards, Italy, The Actor Awards LA, New York Film Awards, New York International Film Awards, Festigious Los Angeles, Paris Film Awards and London International Film Awards as 'Mason' the lead  in the dramatic short film. His notable appearance and dedication to his craft landed him a spot on Hollywood’s film festivals “Top 10 Actors to Watch for 2021” list.

Dr. Alicia Oberle Farmer is an international award-winning film director and is known for her work on City of Salt (2020), 

Polygamy Gone Wrong (2020), and Rite of the Shaman (2021). She is from Salt Lake City, UT and has a PhD in Education. Alicia has a teaching background and also works as a project manager and instructional designer.

She has been in the entertainment industry since she was 11-years-old, starting as a cover model before discovering the film industry.

Toma Enache was born in the Black Sea city of Constanta, Romania, to a family of Aromanian/Vlach emigrants. His grandparents were all born in Greece; the cultural particularities of his roots will later reflect on his artistic work in theatre and cinema. 

After five years of university studies he earned his bachelor’s degree at the Theatre and Film Academy in Bucharest (1998) and then took his MA in Actor’s Art at the same university.

He made his debut in cinema with the film, I’M NOT FAMOUS BUT I’M AROMANIAN (2013), the first feature film in history spoken in the Aromanian/Vlach language. He then directed the documentary THE ARMANS/VLACHS, FROM THE FAMOUS MANAKIA TO I’M NOT FAMOUS, about the Manakia Brothers, the pioneers of the Balkan cinema, who shot the first scenes in the Balkans in 1905.

He launched his latest feature INTRE CHIN SI AMIN / BETWEEN PAIN AND AMEN in October 2019.

Both feature films and the documentary - all independent productions - were awarded internationally and can be watched on NETFLIX Romania. 

Lara Heller is an award-winning actress and filmmaker. Lara works in 4 languages fluently; English, German, French, and Persian. Lara was a professional figure skater for Germany and graduated with a degree in law from The London School Of Economics and an MA in Acting from Arts Ed. She was born in England and raised in a mountain village in Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg.  Lara first came to public attention as the actress alongside Tahar Rahim in The Cut, which won the Vittorio Veneto Award at the Venice Film Festival. Recent films include Stardust with Johnny Flynn and The Obscure Life Of The Grand Duke Of Corsica with Timothy Spall.

Born and raised in Florence (Italy), Massimiliano is a film director and screenwriter, and founder and director of London Movie Awards. He had a degree in film directing at the Immagina Film School of Florence. Between 1995-2003 he worked as assistant director, editor, camera operator, for more than 20 music videos and commercials (Gucci, Tim, Gas Jeans, UnoAerre Jewellery, Piaggio, Coop, etc). In 2000 he has taught film directing at Immagina Film School of Florence. Between 2000-2003 he has edited and conducted the movies column for Interpuntonet magazine. He has been a Jury member for: Roma Fiction Fest, London Indie International Film Festival, World Music & Independent Film Festival (Washington D.C), New York International Screenplay, Tulipani di Seta Nera Festival in Rome. He wrote and directed nine short films and one commercial and he wrote four feature-length screenplays. He won 143 awards (46 first places) around the world: 88 awards (30 first places) with his short films and 55 awards (16 first places) with his feature-length screenplays.

Liza Ludick is a passionate filmmaker and conceptual powerhouse. She draws inspiration from her vibrant imagination and executes her creative vision with a keen eye for detail. Liza is a director by trade and has been the main creative force behind several music videos, short films, and corporate videos. She fulfilled multiple roles beyond just directing her videos, doing what needed to be done to get the video made. Liza wrote, directed, art-directed, and produced most of her music videos and the results are stunning. Concepts pop from her imagination fully formed, she designs the whole scene in detail before shooting. 

This attention to detail can be seen in her filmmaking moniker “Spot the Garden Gnome” being a literal challenge to the viewers of her videos. Liza hides a garden gnome in every video she makes as a reminder of the magical realism she portrays. Explosive colours and eye-popping visuals 

are just some of the elements of her style.

She has experience as a creative-researcher, copywriter, producer, and director. Her work is bound to astound and will lift the value of any project she helms. Working with Liza is working towards success.

David M. Night Maire is a creative independent filmmaker – Writer, Director, Producer – who’s gritty, character-driven films have received endorsements and worldwide acclaim. With a decade of industry experience pitching, collaborating and consulting on projects of fluctuating scopes, from shoestring micro-budget music videos to nine-figure studio blockbusters, David has carved himself a niche within the genre-based film circuit. 

David Co-Founded and helmed AireBedd, a perspicacious production company banner under which he premiered music videos on MTV and Glamour, and produced content for the likes of Moët Hennessy . Louis Vuitton, Red Bull and the Leslie-Lohman Museum, amongst others. Moreover, David M. Night Maire has garnered thousands of laurels and awards for the many short films he’s Directed and Produced, including the recent Zeno Mountain Award from the Miami Film Festival for “My Daughter Yoshiko” (2019) by BAFTA-nominated director Brian Blum. His cultivated persona and visual aesthetic have also precipitated invitations to Program and Judge diverse film festivals across the United States, including Shriekfest Horror Film Festival, DC Shorts International Film Festival & Screenplay Competition, and the PA Indie Shorts Film Festival.

George Chiang wrote, composed and produced the musical and film Golden Lotus and the music video for his song A World Away (Remix). Both projects have won dozens of awards internationally. 

George is also an actor who has appeared in films such as McKenna Shoots for the Stars and Disney’s Eloise at the Plaza and he authored the book, The Railroad Adventures of Chen Sing. 

George resides in Toronto, Canada.

Isaac Ballesteros Barba is an award-winning screenwriter with over 100 official selections, finalist, semi-finalist status for his scripts, in several different film festivals across the world. He writes books, (four written already and on their way to be published on Amazon Kindle); he has experience as a film critic, columnist, and social media manager for a Mexican company called Legado Cinema, where he built up the site on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. In writing experience, he has been selected recently into festivals where some of his work will be published in two different and independent books in Latin America.