2024 Jury Judges
Michael Budd
Jury Judge
Michael Hamish Budd is an Australian film actor, director, and producer. Michael received nationwide International and international press as the Director/Producer for Rubys Choice, starring Jane Seymour OBE and Jacqueline McKenzie.
Michael has Directed Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and ACCTA Award Winners. He is best known as an actor for playing the Zion Controller In Matrix 2-3 and Esmael alongside Henry Cavill (Man of Steel), Bruce Willis, and Sigourney Weaver in The Cold Light of Day.
Michael is the first Australian born of African American descent to direct, produce and star in a feature film in Australia. Owner of Amazing People Pictures On the 7th of March 2022, Ruby’s Choice premiered in Santa Barbara, California, at the 37th Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where it was Nominee for Best International Feature Film.
At the Burbank International Film Festival (BIFF) on September 24,2023, Michael Budd led ‘Ruby’s Choice’ to triumph in two significant categories, winner of Best Foreign Film and Best Feature Film. The prestigious event, attended by a star-studded audience, coincided with the honouring of the legendary filmmaker Tim Burton. Despite massive logistics deviations, production cuts, and an entire state change for filming, all in the middle of the pandemic, Michael Budd demonstrated incredible strength, fearless leadership, and overwhelming resilience to see the Ruby's Choice completion.
Other notable films In 2013, he directed, produced and Starred in "Love of My Life", Michael again directs, produces and stars in "Enter Sanctum", a Sci-Fi due to release in 2024
Michael is fast proving himself to be one of Australia's leading independent filmmakers.
Michelle Askew
Jury Judge
Michelle Askew is a writer/director/actor born and bred in Staten Island, New York where Sunday dinners felt like a firehouse and storytelling consisted of shouting at the dinner table. She was most recently a staff writer on the upcoming third season of Netflix’s GINNY & GEORGIA. Her comedy feature, HOT GIRL SUMMER, was the Overall Winner of the 2020 LaunchPad Feature Competition, and subsequently a 2021 Blacklist selection. Her short film which she wrote and directed, GAY-ISH, led by an entirely female crew, won the 2023 Best LGBTQ+ Short Film Award at the Burbank International Film Festival. She also directed the one woman show, PIPING HOT through the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it claimed four stars from BroadwayWorld and The Scotsman. Michelle creates stories that explore what it means to be a woman today through a comedic lens because if you don’t laugh at it, you’ll never get through it! A voice once described as “Gen-Z chaos” Michelle’s vision balances the passion and fury of a teenage girl with the forgiveness and hindsight of her mother. She hopes to continue writing, directing, and acting, because she’d have to move back to Staten Island and become a firefighter if it doesn’t work out. She holds a BFA in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California and is currently repped by Artists First and United Talent Agency.
David O'Leary
Jury Judge
David O'Leary is a film and TV writer/producer, whose recent credits include working as Consulting Producer/Writer on Season 3 of NBC’s “Law & Order: Organized Crime". O’Leary also Created and Executive Produced the UFO drama series “Project Blue Book” starring Aidan Gillen (“Game of Thrones”), which Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis also Executive Produced. "Project Blue Book" ran on HISTORY for two seasons, aired in over 165 countries, and was the #1 new cable drama series of 2018/19. O’Leary has since sold projects to TNT, Miramax, Universal TV, A+E Studios and others. As a film producer, he co-produced the reality-hopping sci-fi thriller feature “Parallel” (2020) released by Vertical Entertainment, and the Netflix supernatural hit film “Eli” (2019), both available on streaming now.
Matt Harry
Jury Judge
Matt Harry is a writer, director, and editor. He has edited over 25 books, published four novels, created two immersive plays, and written for film and television. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two boys.
Joe Camareno
Jury Judge
Joe Camareno is an American entertainment professional who hails from Los Angeles. He is also a multi-award-winning producer, writer, director, and a producing partner and co-owner of Brodiaea Pictures, Inc. He was nominated for a 2019 Imagen Award in the Best Actor category for Tin Holiday, alongside Antonio Banderas, Andy Garcia, and Anthony Ramos.
He co-created and produced the multi-award-winning limited series, Linked by Love; directed four of the six episodes. The single-camera series stars Michelle N. Carter (Mass, The Rookie: Feds, The Goldberg’s) and Shirley Jordan (Abbot Elementary, Most Wanted Santa, S.W.A.T.). The limited series is currently enjoying a successful run on the streamers. Prior to that, he was the series director for the highly regarded and nominated digital series, Sister President, as well as the educational digital series Fixing Paco, starring Paul Rodriguez. Joe’s work on “Paco” lead to him taking Best Director honors at the 2012 Reel Rasquache Film and Art Festival, and the series went on to receive a 2013 People’s Telly Silver Award for Best Program or Webisode, in addition to several 2013 and 2014 Imagen Award nominations, Joe was also the series director and producer for the 2010 Imagen Award-winning web series Ylse.
With a solid background in theater, and live show production, Joe has produced and directed a number of original plays at theater companies across Los Angeles, including the critically acclaimed Lost Angeles at the Lillian Theater in Hollywood. As a writer of educational children’s shows, Joe co-wrote The Environmental Defenders, produced by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (LACDPW), as a touring production for the Los Angeles County elementary schools from 1995 to 2005. Praised for its merits by educators and a fast favorite among students, The Environmental Defenders won numerous awards, including the 1999 Productivity & Quality Award of Los Angeles County; the 1999 PRSA Prism Award; a 2001 Telly Award; the 2000 National Association of Counties Achievement Award; and the 2000 Association of Visual Communicators Award of Distinction.
As an actor, Joe has a career spanning 30 years in front of the camera, having performed in more than 400 TV commercials and over 600 radio spots. He has been a campaign actor for Farmers Insurance and AT&T, as well as the campaign voice for Homeland Security, White Castle, Burger King, Taco Bell, CitreShine Shampoo, and most recently, NutriBullet Rx. He has guest-starred on many hit television shows, including memorable recurring roles on The Shield and Unfabulous. Film roles include Alone Time, Expired, Tin Holiday, and Edith & Harvey.
His latest directed feature film Tin Holiday has garnered multiple nominations and wins including Best Director, Best Comedy, and Best Story all across the globe. Tin also secured distribution with Here Media for on-demand showing on their Here TV network and for streaming on AppleTV, GooglePlay, Amazon Prime, and VUDU. He is attached to direct 3 horror films starting 2025 in Australia and Canada, the first being a novel he adapted for the screen, Dark and Broken Things by John Mulhall.
Kat Conner Sterling
Jury Judge
Kat Conner Sterling was born and raised in Memphis, TN. She fell in love with acting when she began performing in local theatre at age 10. She ventured into film and television in 2019 as she began acting in notable shows such as Marvel's The Gifted, Fox's 9-1-1, and Fox's The Resident. She went on to win her first feature film role as a lead (Presley Borvsky) in Netflix's A Week Away after sending in a self tape for a national open call. Producers and casting loved her audition so much that she booked straight from tape without a callback. She went on to perform in other major features such as Netflix's We Have a Ghost, starring alongside Cheryl Hines in the indie feature Popular Theory, and most notably as Max in the Universal/Blumhouse blockbuster film Five Nights at Freddy's.
PASCAL COMBES-KNOKE
Jury Judge
Pascal, a French American dual citizen, lives in Malibu Lake, CA. He studied film theory at the University of Pennsylvania and film production at Chapman University. Then back to LA as a Steadicam operator. He soon followed his call to become a full-time IATSE DP. He wakes up every morning to make people FEEL SOMETHING using images. He is emotionally attracted most to characters of conflict who we empathize with against all odds and uses visual language gravitating towards French impressionistic naturalism. Pascal loves Arri color science and owns both Alexa 35 and Alexa Mini LF. He loves to play guitar, drums, chess, and mountain bikes as much as he can.
Pascal just wrapped principal photography on PERFECTLY IMPERFECT (starring Dermot Mulroney) and has finished production on DARKNESS OF MAN (starring Jean-Claude Van Damme) and BOUNTY (starring Stephen Dorff & Ron Perlman). Pascal is concurrently in development on several exciting films to begin principal photography in 2024!
Jennifer Taylor
Jury Judge
Born in Hoboken, New Jersey and raised in Florida, Jennifer Taylor made her film debut
in “Wild Things” portraying Matt Dillon’s girlfriend. She then appeared in the Adam
Sandler comedy “The WaterBoy.” But she is most well known for her work on the hit
sit-com, “Two and A Half Men” where Jennifer played Charlie Sheen’s fiancée for
nearly 40 episodes before Sheen left the show. Completing Season 1, she stars in “Saved
By Grace”, an original television series by PureFlix.
Since moving to Los Angeles she has had recurring roles on numerous series such as
“Burn Notice”,“Shameless”, and "The Young and the Restless". Jennifer has also starred
in multiple Lifetime movies like “A Deadly Deed” and “Twisted Twin”. You can also
see her in “Hostage House” on Netflix.
Taylor leads a multi-faceted life when she’s not acting. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in
Social Science, enjoys do-it-yourself projects, and books. She resides in Los Angeles
with her husband and two children where she loves to cook from scratch and spend time
with her family.
Eric Conner
Jury Judge
University of Pennsylvania, BA
University of Southern California, MFA
Eric is thrilled to be joining the Burbank International Film Festival Advisory Board. He has taught hundreds of aspiring storytellers at the New York Film Academy (LA), the Writer’s Store, the Animation Guild and Starcoach – China. At NYFA, he’s interviewed dozens of entertainment professionals including Django Unchained producer Reginald Hudlin and John Wick director Chad Stahelski.
He recently produced the feature length documentary Other Voices (Aswat Acherim), available on Amazon. His work has also been featured on the Howard Stern Show, On Demand Cable, Entertainment Tonight and Ranker.com. Eric is the current chair of the Burbank Cultural Arts Commission, first appointed to BCAC by the City Council in 2019.
You may have seen Eric appear regularly on a Geekscape podcast, perform as plant victim Mr. Mushnik in Conundrum’s Little Shop of Horrors or share his true tale of being a woefully underprepared Santa Claus at JAM Creative’s Jingle Tales (the Colony Theatre). He’s also worked with HollyShorts for several years as a film judge and moderated multiple panels / Q&As at their annual festival.
A rare native Delawarean, Eric lives in Burbank with his wife Lauren, sons Alex & Judah and their chaotic canines Fezzik and Iggy Pup.
Elizabeth Blake-Thomas
Jury Judge
ELIZABETH BLAKE-THOMAS is a British award-winning director based in Los Angeles. Her romcom "Just Swipe", starring Full House/Fuller House star Jodie Sweetin is a Pluto original, she directed action/thriller "Hunt Club" starring American Beauty's Mena Suvari and The Wrestler's Mickey Rourke, available on various platforms. She recently exec produced thriller "Et Tu" starring Lou Diamond Phillips and Malcolm McDowell, and co-produced Sony AFFIRM's "Moonrise". Elizabeth is the co-founder and resident director of entertainment company Mother Daughter Entertainment. Her latest directing projects include PureFlix Original, "Shadrach", as well as Xumo's YA supernatural thriller, "Karma: Death at Latigo Springs", starring a stellar ensemble cast including Once Upon A Time's Isabella Blake-Thomas, Candyman's Tony Todd, and Disney Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 3's Terry Hu and Pearce Joza.
Israa Al-Kamali
Jury Judge
Israa Al-Kamali is a multi-award-winning LA-based director, screenwriter, and Co-Founder of the Independent Iraqi Film Festival. She has written and directed several narrative films, a music video, and a spec commercial.
Al-Kamali is a Quarterfinalist at The Academy’s (The Oscars) Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship 2023 for her feature script The Anxious Place. The script was one of only 364 entries to emerge from the 5,599 screenplays submitted from around the world. It also placed as a Quarterfinalist in Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards (2023), San Francisco International Screenwriting & Cinema (2022), an honorable mention in Big Apple Film Festival Agents and Managers Networking Lab (2023), and a finalist in Ouchy Film Awards in Switzerland (2023).
Al-Kamali was a fellow at Warner Bros Discovery Access x Middle East Artist Advocacy Coalition accelerator lab’s first cohort. The lab is designed for mid-level Middle Eastern writers, directors, and actors with extraordinary talent. Al-Kamali was a recipient of an Artist Travel Grant (2023) by 10 Arts Foundation, this grant is given to artists who demonstrated talent in their visual or performing art discipline, grade performance, referrals from faculty and administration about their impact on the community, and the prospect of future success in their field.
Her horror film Instincts (US, 2023), which she wrote and directed, won 6 awards and was selected in 16 film festivals in US and Europe, these festivals include Burbank International Film Festival, Chicago Underground Film Festival (2 sold-out screenings), Santa Monica International Film Festival, Worldfest Houston International Film Festival (Finalist, Canadian Screen Awards Qualifying), etc. Her comedy film Ping Pong (US, 2024) won Best Short Film at World of Women Fair Middle East and is an official selection at Dallas International Film Festival Shorts (Canadian Screen Award-Qualifying), she won a finalist award for her film Who is Blind? (US 2024). In addition, her experimental film The Color of the Fireworks (US, 2024) won Best Documentary Short and Best Micro Short at the LA Underground Film Forum, it was also an official selection at Philadelphia International Film Festival.
Al-Kamali co-founded the Independent Iraqi Film Festival in 2020, the first independent film festival of its kind. The festival was featured in various international platforms such as GQ Magazine, i-D Magazine, BBC Arabic, etc. and received wide success and appreciation. She is also a jury at the Burbank International Film Festival at the heart of the Media Capital of the world.
Al-Kamali holds a Bsc. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and an MFA in Filmmaking from New York Film Academy (LA).
Seth Yanklewitz
Jury Judge
Seth Yanklewitz is an accomplished Emmy Nominated Casting Director whose award-winning body of work spans across film and television. After most recently serving as Executive Vice President of Casting and Talent for MGM Film and Television and MGM+ Network, Yanklewitz recently returned to his independent casting roots. He formed Yanklewitz/Pollack Casting. His most recent projects include the 20th Television/Hulu/ONYX series DELI BOYS, EARTH ABIDES and Steven King’s THE INSTITUTE for MGM+. Also, the indie feature INCOMING, which premiered on Netflix in August and was the number one movie for over a week, as well as the indie feature, ALMOST POPULAR, which premiered at the Dances With Film Indie Film Festival.
Before becoming the Vice President of Casting and Talent at FOX Broadcasting in 2011, Yanklewitz cast the comedy pilot for “New Girl,” which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series. In addition to “New Girl,” Yanklewitz oversaw the casting of the Emmy-Award winning “Grease: Live,” as well as the remake of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Additional casting credits include M. Night Shyamalan’s “Wayward Pines” (feat. Matt Dillon), “Rake” (Greg Kinnear), “Lethal Weapon” (Damon Wayans return to television), (Will Forte’s) “The Last Man on Earth” and “Gotham,” among others.
Prior to FOX, Yanklewitz created Juel Bestrop and Seth Yanklewitz Casting. For six years, he and Bestrop cast some of the most successful comedies in history, including Golden Globe winner “The Hangover,” for which they won the Casting Society of America Award for “Outstanding Casting of a Comedy Feature.” His additional credits include “Blades of Glory,” “Four Christmases,” “Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” and “Project X”; and the critically acclaimed HBO comedy series “Eastbound & Down for which they were nominated for a Casting Society of America award for Outstanding Comedy Series Casting."
A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Yanklewitz originally attended the university to pursue acting, but quickly discovered an interest in casting when he interned at a prestigious commercial casting company. Upon graduation, Yanklewitz landed a casting assistant position for Jon Turteltaub’s “The Kid,” during which he introduced then-unknown child actor Spencer Breslin to the producers and Disney casting executives. After moving to Los Angeles, Yanklewitz spent three years working with Casting Director Bonnie Timmermann. Together, they cast large ensembles for dramatic films, including "Pearl Harbor," "Black Hawk Down” and “Spy Game.” He then moved into comedy, working on the feature film “Stuck on You” for the Farrelly Brothers.