The Winners and Top 5 Finalists for the Grand Prize in this season’s Short Film Fund will be determined by our panel of award-winning Industry Judges who read and vote on their favorite scripts.
Not every contest out there has a panel of judges as esteemed and experienced as ours. And if you’ve entered contests before, you know who serves as a judge matters – our judges know what it takes to write and make a successful short film. They are experts and practitioners who are eager to find new talent in an industry that can be difficult to break into.
Many of our judges have won BAFTAs or Oscars. Below are just a few of the talented filmmakers who will serve as judges for the Short Film Fund this season.
Elena Ruscombe-King is an award-winning screenwriter best known for co-writing A LOVE STORY, which won a BAFTA for British Short Animation, the Japan Media Arts Festival Excellence Award, and the Cilect Student Animation Award. Her first feature is due to shoot later this year.
As the Head of Development at Caviar, Libby Peterson is responsible for sourcing, curating, and managing a diverse slate of film and TV projects that usher in fresh stories from exciting filmmakers. Caviar’s critically-acclaimed, award-winning films include THE SOUND OF METAL, which won two Oscars.
Farah Nabulsi is an Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA Award-winning Palestinian-British filmmaker. Farah’s directorial debut THE PRESENT (2020), distributed on Canal+ and Netflix Worldwide, won over 50 International Film Festival Jury and Audience Awards, a BAFTA Award, and an Oscar Nomination.
Oliver Shuster is a screenwriter based in London. He has written and co-written several feature and short screenplays, including WHAT’S UP WITH FRED?, THE PLACE BEHIND HER EYES (winner of NYU’s Purple List), AAMIR (BAFTA-nominated), and TRUTH SERUM. He co-founded AnfanTerrible Productions with Vika Evdokimenko.
And as an extra treat, you can read below about the two-time Oscar-nominated producer who will mentor both the Grand Prize Winner and the Finishing Funds Winner!
Maria Gracia Turgeon will read both winning scripts and impart her years of experience and expertise to the writers to help them create their very best work. Maria has produced numerous short films including BROTHERHOOD by Meryam Joobeur and FAUVE by Jérémy Comte, both of which were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Short.
Don’t wait – your short film could be read by one of our Industry Judges!
Learn more about our Short Film Fund here.
