The 2016 Judges
CHECK OUT THE 2016 JUDGES BELOW:
TARA FELDSTEIN BENNETT, CSA moved to “Hollywood East” in 2006 and she quickly landed in a casting agency working with three casting directors. With over 7 years experience in southeastern principal location casting she has worked on more than 60 projects to date. Her keen eye for talent and tireless devotion to her craft has allowed her to become one of the youngest and most successful casting directors in the region.
CHASE PARIS, CSA got his start in Atlanta in 2007 as a theatrical agent and has seen the entertainment industry grow exponentially since. Making the jump to casting he’s hit the ground running with such projects as Need For Speed, Max Steel, Revolution, and Sleepy Hollow. He hopes to continue to be a big part of the growing southeastern market for years to come!
JACK Z. ZHAO is the Senior Vice President of EDI Media Inc.
Eagle Dragon (EDI) Media Inc. is a U.S. based media company with a mission to build relationships between the United States and China through cultural exchanges.
Jack's duties include hosting the very successful "From East to West" talk show on G&E Television, which is broadcast in over over 30 countries in North, South and Central America, which includes the United States of America, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chili, Panama, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Jamaica, Ecuador, Uruguay, Haiti, Honduras and more.
Jack is also on the Executive Committee for the Chinese American Film Festival - the only Chinese American cultural event in the United States that is officially recognized by both the U.S. and Chinese governments.
Emmy Award winning makeup artist, Adam Brandy comes from a showbiz family. His father, Howard Brandy, was one of Hollywood's top press agents and his mother was a Las Vegas showgirl. Makeup became the path for Brandy due to his childhood obsession with Universal's movie monsters and the artists who created them.
Knowing that makeup was more than monsters, Brandy attended the Westmore Academy of Cosmetic Arts where he trained and excelled in salon, photo, fashion, film and character makeup. He then completed a yearlong apprenticeship at Makeup Effects Laboratory where he was schooled in the art of special makeup effects before starting his career as a film and television makeup artist in 1989.
During his career, Brandy has been nominated for Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Guild Award for his work on "Three Kings" and awarded an Emmy for his work on HBO's "Deadwood". He also has been a personal makeup artist for Samual L Jackson, Val Kilmer, Kevin Spacey, David Keith and Eminem. He has contributed his no-limit artistry to numerous other notable film and television projects, such asThe Other Guys, The Sunset Unlimited, Meeting Evil, Savannah, The Samaritan, Shrink, Seven Below, ESPY Awards, Black Snake Moan, MTV Music Awards, Basic, Man in a Chair, C'mon Man, Dark Skies, Fading of the Cries and Star Trek Voyager.
JANA VANDYKE is the owner of the Jana VanDyke Agency, a SAG franchised agency located in Atlanta. Along with being an accomplished agent, Jana is also a signatory agent for the Writers Guild of America. She is a 28+ year veteran of the entertainment industry with extensive knowledge of various divisions within the business.
TIA POWELL is publisher and sole owner of Oz Publishing, Inc., the award-winning voice for the film and television industry in Georgia and a trusted resource for productions across the nation for nearly 27 years.
Born in England in 1953, Peter Care has been constantly working in various film media for over forty years. Beginning with dramatic and experimental shorts, and documentaries at art school, and then a non-profit film company that he helped to found, he became a leading pioneer in music videos. Over the years, he has worked with musicians including (the industrial cult band) Cabaret Voltaire, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Tina Turner and Depeche Mode. Care moved to Los Angeles in 1986, where he met his wife, Lorraine, and they’ve been working together ever since – primarily in television commercials. In 2000, Care directed “The Dangerous Lives Of Altar Boys”, which received an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. He also directed an episode of Six Feet Under. For the last few years, as well as continuing with commercials and music-based projects, he has also returned to working on short documentaries.
BARBARA MORGAN co-founded Austin Film Festival in 1993 and has served as the sole Executive Director since 1999. As a filmmaker, Morgan developed and produced the film NATURAL SELECTION, which has aired on Showtime, the Sci-fi channel, and was released internationally. Morgan also co-produced the feature documentary ANTONE’S: HOME OF THE BLUES, which as also released internationally. Most recently, Morgan produced the documentary feature, PORTRAIT OF WALLY, now screening in selected theatres throughout the country, and the narrative feature SPRING EDDY, soon to be released. She developed and produces the Lone Star Emmy award winning TV and radio series “On Story: Presented by Austin Film Festival”, currently airing on Austin’s KLRU and other PBS stations across the country.