JUDGING TEAM
Roy Zafrani
Roy Zafrani is an accomplished screenwriter, film director, author, and alumnus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). With over 20 years of experience, he has written, directed, and edited a wide range of documentaries, sports events, TV series, commercials, and narrative films.
His notable works include "The Other Dreamers" (winner of 13 awards and over 100 selections in international film festivals), "Over the Wall" (Best Short Film at the 19th annual Phoenix Film Festival), "On the Edge" (multi-award-winning documentary), "Until the End Amir" (Opening Film at the Oscar Qualifying Festival In the Palace), "Fed Cup", "Davis Cup", "Assi Dayan: Embittered" (Vienna Jewish Film Festival), "On Tiptoes", "European Beach Tennis Championships", and the American-Canadian series "The Consulting Offer" (Editor, Season 2), among many others.
Roy has also produced several films, including the American drama "Passage" (Excellence in Producing Award at Idyllwild Film Festival), the British spy-thriller "The Doorman", "Opening Serve", and "Davis Cup: Road to the Finals".
Additionally, he has written several screenplays, such as "Jamie's Book" (winner of multiple screenplay awards, including at the 2018 Irvine International Film Festival), "Lenny" (Austin Film Festival), and the dramatic fantasy "Mondays with Amy", which won Best Screenplay of the Year at the 21st California Independent Film Festival.
Apart from his work in the film industry, Roy has written six bestselling books, including: "Paper Wings", "Cursed", the crime-thriller series "Start Over", "The Snail Who Left His House" and "The Zebra Who Lost Her Stripes".
His online series in Hebrew "The Story Behind the Story", sharing personal experiences and storytelling lessons, has garnered over 30 million views on social media.
IMDb:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5627599/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/roy.zafrani/
Mor Cohen
Mor Cohen is an award-winning Israeli actress and filmmaker based in Austin, TX. As an immigrant creative living in the United States, her work naturally revolves around the concept of identity and explores the mental, emotional, and psychological struggles our generation faces as the fragile infrastructure of society crumbles under our feet. She believes that art plays a key role in progress and artists are here to make sure the future is beautiful and just.
Her work has been exhibited at the Cannes, SXSW, and Tribeca film festivals, including Natalie Portman’s directorial debut A Tale of Love and Darkness and the genre-defining hit And Her Body Was Never Found, which she co-wrote, produced, and stars in. Mor is also a festival director and lead curator at the New York Film Awards since its founding in 2017.
IMDB
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7160187/
Website
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Benjamin Schnau
Benjamin Schnau is an internationally acclaimed actor and author of the book 'The Reality of Hollywood'. He speaks native American English, German and French and is a professionally trained boxer and experienced in stage and weapon combat. He is widely known for his role 'Minion' in the Academy-Award Winning movie ‘Mank’ alongside Academy-Award Winner Gary Oldman, directed by David Fincher, released on Netflix, 'The Current War' opposite the protagonist George Westinghouse portrayed by actor Michael Shannon and for his lead role 'Jupp Klein' 'Megastructures' produced by National Geographic available on Netflix. In addition to acting in movies and television roles, Benjamin has been acclaimed for his “live” acting expertise, as manifested by his serving as the on-air “host” for prestigious Hollywood events like the red-carpet events at the American Heart Association.
Benjamin just wrapped the action feature film ‘Citizen Vigilante’ starring in critical role Jack opposite actor Armie Hammer and in the movie ‘Sweet Nothings’ where he plays the lead role Ethan, which both being scheduled for release in Fall 2026.
He won the award for 'Best Actor' for his role of Leon in the movie 'Against All Odds' at the Oniros Film Awards and New York International Film Awards and also 'Best Supporting Actor of the Year' at the Top Shorts Film Festival for his role of Gunther Wolfgang in the movie 'The Little Picture".
Due to his multilingual ability, he is an established voice-over actor as well who has given his voice for movies like “American Animals” and “Nothing to Lose” which have been released in 2018.
Benjamin's book 'The Reality of Hollywood' was released worldwide in 2021 to educate and guide upcoming actors to establish themselves in the film industry in Hollywood long-term.
The Feature Film “Silent Night in Algona” shows him besides Hollywood Actor Taylor Nichols known for his roles in “Metropolitan” and “Jurassic Park III “which was released theatrically at the beginning of 2023 and won Best Picture and Screenplay at the Red Letter Awards. Silent Night in Algona is now available on streaming services AppleTV, Amazon Prime and DVD.
His also played the critical role ‘Mauren’ in Righteous Thieves which was recently released by Lionsgate in movie theatres throughout the U.S. and will be released on Apple+ Amazon Prime.
He was also cast as the President of the United States 'Steven Chambers' in the upcoming feature film "Unpresidented" that is currently in development.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4250622/
https://www.instagram.com/benjaminschnau/
Book 'The Reality of Hollywood': https://www.amazon.com/Reality-Hollywood-Success-Through-Actors-ebook/dp/B09WQD71YF/
Casey Ruggieri
Casey Ruggieri is an NY based actor, writer, and filmmaker. Straight out of Film School in NY, Casey landed in LA and has written and worked in various formats, including commercial, tv, film, theater, improv and sketch. Casey's short film “Drag” debuted in October 2021 at HorrorHaus Film Fest in Los Angeles and was Nominated for Best Actress and Best Original Score, as well as made a splash in a new horror fest Horrors 4U. Casey's production company, Fernleaf Films, is currently in development on her next film, a genre horror piece in the vein of It Follows, which will shoot in Upstate NY.
Some of her onscreen credits include Oscar nominated “Gone Girl” (directed by David Fincher), Golden Globe winner “House of Lies”, “Tales of Halloween”, “Kroll Show”, “S.W.A.T.”, and “Party of Five”, as well as dozens of national commercials that allowed her to work with directors like Rian Johnson and Gus Van Sant.
Casey is very active and passionate about her work with young students in the non-profit sector. She is currently a head mentor with Young Storytellers, an LA based nonprofit that works with elementary students, teaching them the fundamentals of storytelling and screenwriting.
IMDB http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3113166/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/caseyruggieri/
Jean Vincentelli
Jean Vincentelli is a French actor who began his career later in life, after retiring. With a lifelong passion for cinema, he started as an extra in series, TV movies, and films, before quickly moving on to a variety of roles in well-known French series such as Plus belle la vie, Sous le soleil de Saint-Tropez, and Demain nous appartient, as well as the American series Royal Pains.
He also portrayed Romeo in Escort Boys, directed by Ruben Alves and available on Prime Video. His work includes numerous award-winning short films, TV movies, and music videos.
Jean has collaborated with acclaimed directors such as Nicole Garcia in Un balcon sur la mer alongside Jean Dujardin, André Téchiné in L'homme qu'on aimait trop with Catherine Deneuve, and Nicolas Bedos in Mascarade. More recently, he appeared in The Wonderful Mornings, directed by Avril Besson, where he plays Éric Cantona’s father. The film has been selected for presentation at the Cannes Film Festival.
He received three awards for his performance in Memories of Time, directed by Jean-Baptiste Pascioselli and Kyrian Rouvet, and has also served as a judge in numerous film competitions.
IMDb:
Instagram: