The Tribeca Film Festival has set the members of 10 juries, reflecting the tone and texture of the annual cultural showcase, which celebrates storytelling in film, television, virtual reality, music and games. The jurors will be tasked with honoring the new works of emerging and established members of the creative community with unique art awards and cash prizes as they present their works at the annual Festival. Mirroring the breadth of Tribeca’s programming, the team of jurors include acclaimed filmmakers, award-winning actors, noteworthy producers, and cultural leaders. The Festival takes place April 18-29 in New York City.
Over 35 industry professionals have been selected to award work covering both feature-length and short film categories comprised of narratives and documentary films as well as Storyscapes, the juried section of the Virtual Arcade. The jurors will also present the Tribeca X Award, celebrating branded storytelling at the intersection of advertising and entertainment.
The Festival will announce the winner of the sixth annual Nora Ephron Award, which will be selected by a jury composed of women firmly entrenched in the entertainment industry. The award was created to honor the spirit and vision of the legendary filmmaker and writer Nora Ephron.
“Each year we engage some of the most seasoned members of the creative community to collaborate with us on our juries,” commented Jane Rosenthal, co-founder, Tribeca Film Festival and executive chair, Tribeca Enterprises. “Whether it’s the Nora Ephron Award for a women filmmaker, the Albert Maysles Award for a new documentary director, or the Storyscape Award for immersive storytelling, we continue to grow and expand our Tribeca family with the help of the acclaimed artists and creators on our jury.”
The winning films, filmmakers, actors, and storytellers in each category will be announced at the Tribeca Film Festival Awards ceremony at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center on Thursday, April 26.
Following is a list of all 2018 Festival jurors and their respective categories.
Feature Film Competition Categories
The jurors for the 2018 US Narrative Competition section are:
Actor Justin Bartha has co-starred in two be-loved billion dollar franchises: The Hangover and National Treasure. Some of Bartha’s other notable film credits include White Girl, Holy Rollers, Dark Horse, The Rebound, opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Failure to Launch with Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker. Upcoming films include Nick Hamm’s Driven and Collin Friesen’s Sorry for Your Loss. Bartha can currently be seen co-starring in the acclaimed drama, The Good Fight for CBS All Access.
Bilge Ebiri is the senior film critic for the Village Voice.
Jenny Lumet is the author of Rachel Getting Married for which she received the 2008 New York Film Critics Circle Award, 2008 Toronto Film Critics Association Award, and 2008 Washington D.C. Film Critics Association Award and NAACP Image Award.
Actor Chris Messina will next be seen in Sharp Objects with director Jean-Marc Valle opposite Amy Adams for HBO.
Actor Lakeith Stanfield stars in Netflix’s Come Sunday opposite Chiwetel Eijofor, which premiered April 13th on Netflix and in Boots Riley’s Sundance hit Sorry to Bother You, out July 6th from Annapurna Films. On the small screen, Lakeith has gained critical acclaim for his role as ‘Darius’ in Donald Glover and FX’s series Atlanta. He is currently shooting The Girl in the Spider’s Web opposite Claire Foy, out November 2018.
The jurors for the 2018 International Narrative Competition section are:
Florence Almozini is currently the Associate Director of Programming at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
Martha Coolidge is an award winning director, and the only female president of the DGA, so far. Her work ranges from Indies to studio films, TV and documentaries. She has been on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Pictures, the DGA, the AFI and has directed many actors to Academy, Golden Globe, Emmy and Spirit Awards.
Andre Holland’s film credits include Moonlight (Academy Award® for Best Picture), Selma (Academy Award Nominee), 42, Miracle at St. Anna, and the acclaimed 2008 independent film Sugar. He’ll next be seen in the Stephen King inspired series, Castle Rock (Hulu/Bad Robot), and can currently be seen in Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time alongside Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon, and Oprah Winfrey.
Ray Liotta has become a prominent figure in entertainment appearing in film, TV, Broadway, and even lending his talents to production. He currently stars on the NBC drama Shades of Blue as Lieutenant Matt Wozniak.
Haifaa Al Mansour is the first female filmmaker from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the director of Wadjda, the first full-length film ever shot inside the Kingdom.
The jurors for the 2018 Documentary Competition section are:
Dan Cogan is the Academy Award-winning and BAFTA Award-nominated producer of Icarus and the executive director and co-founder of Impact Partners, a fund and advisory service for investors and philanthropists who seek to promote social change through film.
Kirsten Johnson is a cinematographer and director. Her most recent film Camerperson premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, was released by the Criterion Collection, named one of the “Top Ten Films of 2016” by The New York Times and The Washington Post, and was shortlisted for the 2017 Academy Awards.
Brett Morgen is an award-winning director, producer, writer and editor.
The jurors for the 2018 Best New Narrative Director Competition section are:
Josh Charles is an Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG award nominated film, television and stage actor.
Joshua Leonard is a filmmaker, writer, and actor. His notable credits as an actor include the lo-fi sensation The Blair Witch Project, the Independent Spirit Award winning Humpday and Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane which was recently released in theaters. His credits as a director include The Lie (Sundance 2011) and the upcoming Behold My Heart.
Zosia Mamet has established herself as one of the film and television industry’s most exciting young talents as both an actress and producer.
The jurors for the 2018 Albert Maysles Award (Best New Documentary Director Award) are:
Nelson George is an author, cultural critic, and filmmaker who moves between multiple disciplines.
Linda Knowlton is an Emmy-nominated director and producer, working in documentary and scripted feature films, as well as in television.
Elvira Lind created, filmed and executive produced the TV series Twiz and Tuck launched on Viceland in 2017. Her second feature documentary, Bobbi Jene, won three awards at Tribeca 2017, including best documentary, and opened in cinemas in the U.S. in September the same year.
Basil Tsiokos is the director of programming for DOC NYC, and the Nantucket Film Festival, and a programming associate at Sundance.
Derek Waters is the creator and host of Emmy-winning Drunk History on Comedy Central. Waters has also earned an Emmy-nomination for directing.
Short Film Competition Categories
The jurors for the 2018 Narrative Short Competition section are:
Steve Aoki is a two-time Grammy-nominated international producer/DJ, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of the trendsetting record label, events/lifestyle company and apparel line Dim Mak.
Amy Kaufman is a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, where she has covered film, celebrity and pop culture since 2009. She is also the author of New York Times best seller Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure.
Sheila Nevins is the former President of HBO Documentary Films and executive producer on upcoming projects. She has been responsible for overseeing the development and production of more than 1,000 documentaries for HBO, HBO2, and Cinemax.
Alex Pettyfer has established himself as a leading man by starring in such films as I Am Number Four and Magic Mike. He will soon make his debut as a feature film director when his movie, Back Roads, debuts at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 20th.
Norman Reedus is an immensely talented actor, filmmaker, and artist with a gift for taking on challenging roles and bringing dynamic characters to life on screen.
Alysia Reiner, actress and producer, is best known as “Fig” on Orange is the New Black and won a SAG award as part of the amazing ensemble cast.
Ondi Timoner has the rare distinction of winning the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival twice for Dig! and We Live In Public. Her sixth feature documentary, Brand: A Second Coming, opened SXSW ‘15 and is premiering her first scripted film, Mapplethorpe, which she wrote, directed and produced here at Tribeca.
The jurors for the 2018 Short Documentary and Student Visionary Competitions section are:
Sapphire is the author of the bestselling novels The Kid and Push which was made into the Academy Award-winning movie Precious.
Joe Daniels is the former President & CEO of the National September 11th Memorial & Museum and as of April 2018 will become the CEO of the as-of-yet-unbuilt National Medal of Honor Museum in Charleston, SC.
Amy Kaufman is an executive who shepherded productions for Good Machine International and Focus Features including Y Tu Mamá También, 21 Grams, Lost in Translation, and The Constant Gardener.
Susan Lacy is an award-winning director and producer. She recently premiered Spielberg and Jane Fonda in Five Acts – both for HBO Documentary Films, with her production company Pentimento Productions. Susan is also the creator and former executive producer of PBS’ American Masters.
James Steyer is the founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, the nation’s leading independent nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a powerful voice for kids and families in the 21st Century.
Storyscapes Award
The jurors for the 2018 Storyscapes Competition are:
Myriam Achard has been a Director of PR & Communications at the Phi Centre since 2012 where she is also responsible for the VR Garden’s programming and the immersive/interactive exhibits.
Marcie Jastrow is an industry veteran with over 20 years in the entertainment business. She currently serves as the SVP of Immersive Media at Technicolor, as well as the Head of the Technicolor Experience Center (TEC), dedicated to bringing artists, technologists, and partners together to build the future of immersive media.
Nicholas Thompson is the editor-in-chief of WIRED. Under his leadership, WIRED has launched a successful paywall, a Snapchat channel, and an AMP Stories edition; it has also been nominated for National Magazine Awards in design and feature writing.
Nora Ephron Award
The jurors for the 2018 Nora Ephron Award are:
Joanna Gleason has appeared in 15 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, winning the Tony for Best Actress in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods.
Rebecca Keegan is a Vanity Fair Hollywood Correspondent who reports on the film and TV industries and writes VF.com’s HWD Weekly newsletter.
Sasheer Zamata is a comedian, actress, writer and four season cast member on Saturday Night Live. She will be appearing in the new NBC pilot So Close, and also will be featured in Amy Schumer’s new movie I Feel Pretty, which comes out in April.
Tribeca X Award
The jurors for the 2018 Tribeca X Award are:
Brian Braiker is the editor-in-chief of Ad Age and prior to joining the magazine was executive editor at Digiday for four years.
Bonin Bough is one of the foremost-awarded marketing executives in his field, the producer and host of The Cleveland Hustles, the author of TXT Me (646) 759-1837 and chairman of Bonin Ventures.
Zachary Heinzerling is a filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY who directed the 2014 Oscar-nominated documentary feature, Cutie and the Boxer.
