NashFilm Announces 2020 Jury
by NashFilm
Amy Bertram
Professor at Belmont University
A Tennessee native, Amy is trilingual cinephile/bibliophile. She teaches Film Studies in the Motion Pictures department at Belmont University, serves on the Board of Directors of the Alliance Française of Nashville, and introduces films at the Belcourt Theatre.
Andy Peterson
Principal at Docs/ology
Andy Peterson is principal at Docs/ology, a film incubator that promotes documentary films and other ‘true stories’ that authentically and thoughtfully explore the truth about the human condition and is creator of the Justice Film Festival in New York City.
Mae Moreno
Film Programmer and Social Media Coordinator for the Belcourt Theatre
Having been involved in commercial and theatrical productions as a Chicana teenager in Texas, Mae chose to study the origins & persistence of Latino stereotypes in American media at UT Austin under lauded Latino media historian Charles Ramírez-Berg. While finishing her degree, Mae was a Voice-over artist at FUNimation for the anime series Dragon Ball and began freelancing in myriad production positions between Texas, LA, and Chicago. Mae moved to LA to stunt train at NBC studios while moonlighting as a music critic for arts magazine LA Record. Love and a troubadour brought her to Nashville where she is now an associate Film Programmer and Social Media Coordinator for Nashville’s historic Belcourt Theatre.
Rebecca Fons
Programming Director at FilmScene
Rebecca Fons is the Programming Director at FilmScene, Iowa City’s art house cinema, and serves as the Development and Programming Director for the historic Iowa Theater in Winterset, IA. Rebecca previously served as the Education Director for The Chicago International Film Festival and is co-founder of Destroy Your Art, a yearly film event in Chicago. Rebecca received a Masters Degree in Arts Management from Columbia College Chicago and a BA in Cinema and Comparative Literature Studies from the University of Iowa and is a member of the Gene Siskel Film Center’s Community Council.
Eric Hatch
Film Programmer, Critic, and Consultant
Eric Allen Hatch is a film programmer, critic, consultant, distributor, tweeter, meme-er, and gram-er based in Baltimore, where he also co-owns a video store and works with musician Dan Deacon.
Brandon Harrison
Brandon is multimedia producer and programmer at Tribeca, DocNYC, and Brooklyn Film Festival.
James Choi
Filmmaker
James Choi is a prolific, award-winning filmmaker in the forefront of the micro independent film movement during the last decade including two feature film wins in competition at SXSW.
Andy van Roon
Founder of GM FILM-COM and President of TN Entertainment Alliance
Chair of Film-Com film/television business market, president TN Entertainment Alliance, founding president FilmNashville, founding producer Nashville 48 Hour Film Project, taught/lectured at Lipscomb, Watkins, Vanderbilt, and Nashville Film Institute.
Billy Brewton
Founder/Artistic Director of Scripts Gone Wild
Founder/Artistic Director of Scripts Gone Wild; Co-Founder/Co-Programmer, Sunset Junction Film Festival; Previous Programmer, Slamdance, LA Film Fest, Birmingham Shout LGBTQ Film Festival.
Nathan Thompson
President of the Nashville Filmmakers Guild
Nathan owns production company Contrast Visuals, rental house Contrast Cine, studio The Backlot, and is President of the Nashville Filmmakers Guild. He’s filmed everything from narrative films & commercials, to remote Africa and the war in Afghanistan. Nathan is a 19 time Emmy Award winning filmmaker and has DP’ed productions for ESPN, Amazon, Taylor Swift, Nicole Kidman, & more.
Stephen Lackey
Filmmaker
Stephen is a documentary filmmaker focused on regular people telling irregular stories. Stephen has directed three feature films, a docuseries in partnership with Microsoft, and over a dozen short projects.
Shelley Hay
Shelley was co producer of an award winning documentary, “Mr. Temple and the Tigerbelles.” Working in film and media, using her graduate studies and art background, she continues to create projects of social relevance.
Heather Cook
Creative Manager in Sync Advertising at peermusic
Creative Manager in Sync Advertising at peermusic since 2013. Currently serving as the Senior Music Event Producer for the Nashville Film Festival. Serve as a Mentor at the Recording Academy and Belmont University. 2019 Alumni President for SOLID (Society of Leaders in Development). Previously, founded Cookn’ Up Music Publishing & Artist Management 2010 – 2013
Brian Loschiavo
Director and Producer
Brian Loschiavo has directed and produced various film, television and commercial productions, specializing in music-based storytelling. He is the co-founder of Nashville and Los Angeles-based production company, Riverside Entertainment.
Shanna Strassberg
TV Talent Producer and Booker
Shanna Strassberg is an Emmy award winning, Nashville based TV Talent Producer and Booker. Shanna has booked celebrities, musicians, artists, sports figures and actors for television and live events for the past 16 years. Currently serving as the VP of Music and Talent for CMT (a ViacomCBS network) she is currently working on a multitude of network specials and digital content. Shanna has a great love of documentary filmmaking, both as a creator and consumer!
Tom Bancroft
Head of the Animation program at Lipscomb University
Tom Bancroft has over 30 years of experience in the animation industry, with 12 years of that as an animator at Disney Feature Animation. While there he animated in films like “Beauty and the Beast”, “The Lion King”, “Aladdin”, “Pocahontas”, and “Mulan”, the latter for which he designed and animated the character of Mushu the dragon. His two books on character design are best sellers and used at schools around the world. He has directed 7 episodes of Veggietales for Big Idea productions and illustrates numerous children’s books for Disney, Big Idea, Scholastic and others. He is the head of the Animation program at Lipscomb University in Nashville where he lives with his family.
Ron Diamond
Producer
AMPAS member, Ron Diamond has produced features, television, ads, shorts, logos and title sequences for 40 years. In the 80’s three features, his first for Roger Corman. From 1990, he turned to animation, started his production company, Acme Filmworks, identifying and working with emerging international artist animators. He annually curates feature length programs of new animated shorts, the “Animation Show of Shows,” now in its 22nd edition, he releases them in art house theaters, at universities and on VOD/DVD. Diamond is currently producing a short based on Samuel Beckett’s “The Lost One’s” with German Director Raimund Krumme.
Jen Alvares
Producer and Co-Founder of iFilm Festival
Jen is a Los Angeles based producer whose professional expertise focuses on global brand commercials, feature films and TV series. She is a Partner & EP at Hunters House Entertainment, a Co-Founder of iFilm Festival, and an advisor to a number of companies.
Motke Dapp
Writer/Director
Writer/Director Motke Dapp is a seasoned veteran of the Nashville Film Festival, screening over 10 films at the festival, including the 2018 audience award winning feature film Another Version of You. Motke loves tacos, just like you.
Zach Prichard
Film, Television and Commercial Editor
Zach Prichard is a film, television and commercial editor based out of Nashville, TN. Alongside his narrative work, Zach has cut promo and episodic projects for networks such as National Geographic, ESPN, Netflix and Discovery Channel. He serves as the Senior Editor at Evolve Studios.
Julia Kipnis
Cinema Programming Coordinator at Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY
Julia is a film festival vagabond and recent LA transplant. She is currently the Cinema Programming Coordinator at Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY and has been on screening committees for AFI Fest, AFI Docs, NYFF, Outfest, and more.
Joyy Norris
Photographer, Filmmaker, and Writer
Joyy Norris is a Chicago born and reared photographer, filmmaker and writer with a mind for storytelling across platforms. She works in documentary film, film curation and programming and as a freelance writer.
Tiffany Minton
Community Organizer and Musician
Tiffany Minton is a community organizer and musician. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and studies gender/popular culture. She is currently seeking an M.A. in Public History and works as a Manager at the Belcourt Theatre.
Jonathon Rattner
Nonfiction Experimental Filmmaker
Jonathan Rattner is an award-winning nonfiction experimental filmmaker. He has screened work internationally, including at the Whitechapel Gallery, Walker Art Center, Centre of Contemporary Arts in Glasgow, Anthology Film Archives, the Ann Arbor Film Festival, the Atlanta Film Festival, Currents New Media Festival, and the European Media Arts Festival. He holds the position of Associate Professor in Cinema & Media Arts and Associate Professor of Art at Vanderbilt University.
Zachary Hall
Programming and Education Coordinator
Belcourt Theatre’s Programming and Education Coordinator and In-House Media Producer, freelance video editor, and video artist.
Bryan Wendorf
Programmer and Artistic Director
Bryan Wendorf co-founded the Chicago Underground Film Festival while working in a video rental store in 1994 and remains its Programmer and Artistic Director.
Nancy McGuire
Adjunct Professor of Cinema, Television & Media at Belmont University
Nancy McGuire Roche is an Adjunct Professor of Cinema, Television & Media at Belmont University. She holds a Ph.D. in English with Concentrations in Film Studies and American Literature 1930-Present from Middle Tennessee State University, as well as a B.S. degree from Vanderbilt University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Brown University. She has worked as a university professor for almost two decades and has also taught film studies at Vanderbilt University and The Watkins College of Art & Design Film School.
Jonathon Waters
Filmmaker and Professor at Vanderbilt
Jonathan Waters is an experienced filmmaker and educator who teaches at Vanderbilt University, where he is the Assistant Program Director in the Cinema & Media Arts department.
Nancy McGuire
Actress
Mathilde Dehaye is an actress who’s been portraying the pivotal role of Amity in the J.J. Abrams & Stephen King series “Castle Rock” since 2018. Mathilde also finds much joy and inspiration in her writing. She won The Strasberg Works Award with her play “Snow White & The Beast,” which was tapped for production Off-Broadway, directed by Renoly Santiago (Hackers; Con Air; Daylight). She then wrote, produced, and played the lead in “Rhythm in Me”, a short film which ended up at The Cannes Short Film Corner as well as at The Palm Springs International ShortFest.
Jesse Edwards
Director, Writer, Producer, Cinematographer and Co-founder of Evolve Studios
Jesse Edwards is an award-winning Director, Writer, Producer, Cinematographer and co-founder of Evolve Studios. Evolve produces premium content for brands, networks, and agencies, and has won 5 National Emmy Awards, along with receiving 40+ National Emmy Nominations.
