Our jury consists of experienced, award-winning industry professionals. They will review the finalists and select the award winners during March-April 2027.
CRISTINA PIPPA (Jury for Narrative Shorts)
Screenwriter - filmmaker
Cristina Pippa is an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker. She won the Josephson Entertainment Teleplay Award at the 2025 Austin Film Festival. Her short films have premiered at New York CineFest and the Toronto International Film Festival Kids International Film Festival and won the Golden Gateway Award at the Mumbai Film Festival. Cristina received the Story Incubator Lab Fellowship to develop a series pilot. She completed her BA at Columbia University and her MFA at the University of Iowa Playwrights Workshop, where she received the Iowa Fellowship for the Arts and the Norman Felton Fellowship. She is the Director of the MFA in Dramatic Writing at Missouri State University and an Artist in Residence at 92NY, where her work was recommended by The New York Times.
BOB KOPLAR (Jury for Animated Shorts)
Producer, Actor
Bob Koplar is an award-winning producer and executive known for revitalizing the iconic animated franchise Voltron: Legendary Defender, which became a global hit on Netflix.
As President of World Events Productions, he has overseen the expansion of Voltron into a worldwide multimedia brand, reaching millions of viewers across generations. Bob is recognized for his leadership in animation, franchise development, and international storytelling.
MIKE JONES
Producer
Mike Jones completed his BA and MFA from Missouri State University. After completing his BA, he went on to work on a number of network shows, including American Ninja Warrior, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back. When the Covid pandemic came into play and temporarily shut down the film industry, he returned to MSU to acquire his MFA in Dramatic Writing. Since then, he has written many passion projects, and continued his work in production. For the past several years, he has moved into the producing world, and is currently a Segment Producer on the History Channel's long-running hit show, The Secret Of Skinwalker Ranch.