TEAM
Lilly Han (Festival Co-Organizer)

Lilly is the Founder of HYPHENOVA (HYP). She has two decades of experience across public, private, and startup ecosystems and is a committed leader in expanding opportunities for underestimated and underrepresented communities. She is an alum and prior lead of Startup Leadership Program as well as the Founder of Propel Program, an incubator for underestimated early stage founders. She serves on the advisory board of POWRPLNT, which is committed to providing digital arts education, resources, and mentorship to thrive in the creative economy.



Sherry McCracken (Festival Co-Organizer)
Sherry is a producer based in Atlantic City, NJ and an innovator at heart. With a background in both technology and filmmaking, Sherry is leading several Web3 film initiatives, including a community film incubator called NAx @NeverAloneNFT where she is proving out innovative ways to monetize filmmaker content. In 2018 Sherry dove into the Blockchain world and began building models to support the creator economy. She signed her first smart contract and KYC to put The Suspect on Breaker.io in early 2019. She’s produced three feature films with her partner Dina Engel, and production partner, Modoc Spring — The Suspect (This is Us’ Sterling K. Brown, ER’s Mekhi Phifer), Natural Selection (The Breakfast Club’s Anthony Michael Hall, Shawdowhunter’s Katherine McNamara), and American Gothic (Grand Theft Auto’s Ned Luke). Most recently, her love of Atlantic City, took her to producing several pieces focused in and around the area, including a short film called Atlantic City and tv show called 48 Blocks.

Ruth Deveraux

Ruth has always been extremely passionate when it comes to the entertainment industry, originally moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. She soon realized that her passion lay in the creative storytelling done behind the camera. This led her to a career at top studios (such as CBS and Sony), where her roles included Business Affairs, Publicity and Event Planning. She has worked on major box-office hits such as Ghostbusters, Jumanji, Men in Black International and Charlie’s Angels. In addition to her major-studio work, she recently produced the indie feature film Low Low, released by Gravitas Ventures.



Xan Grant

Xan is a proud graduate of South Carolina State University. His love for drama and directing started at the early age of 7 while playing a lead character on stage directed by his parents. Growing up with 2 parents as directors inspired him to understand all aspects of the entertainment business. Working for Fortune 100 companies such as Apple and American Express Xan brings industry leading ideas to the production table on how to finance and execute the vision for every project he works with. Xan's passion for the craft has lead to his children being starred in national commercials and tv shows. 



JUDGES
Dina Engel

Dina is an Associate Casting Director (CSA), Indie Producer, and Actor. She has appeared in dozens of feature and short films, television, print ads, and commercials. Dina’s feature film producer credits include The Suspect (This is Us’ Sterling K. Brown, ER’s Mekhi Phifer), Natural Selection (The Breakfast Club’s Anthony Michael Hall, Shadowhunter’s Katherine McNamara, Stranger Things’ Mason Dye), and the thriller American Gothic which are all available on various streaming platforms. Most recently, Dina & her partner Sherry McCracken, produced a proof-of-concept, one-hour narrative drama pilot, 48 BLOCKS, which is currently being shopped to various streaming platforms. Dina loves to teach casting seminars where she gets the opportunity to meet actors and watch them showcase their talent.



Jean-Luc Julien

Award-winning filmmaker, Jean-Luc Julien, is an American director of narrative films, documentaries, television and music videos. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in directing from California State University, Los Angeles. His films have screened around the world and won numerous awards. He also serves as a jury member of the New York City Independent Film Festival and the Blackbird Film Festival in New York.



Lem Collins
Lem Collins is an actor, writer, and director, known for Real Logic (2018), Stockholm (2019) and Valerie Morgan: TV Qualified (2018). Lem has a true passion for creating content for all screens large and small. In Atlanta he has gained valuable industry knowledge working with networks such as BET, MTV, HBO and Netflix and YouTube. His knowledge of all aspects of the business are respected through out the industry. 

Lindsay Eberts
Lindsay is a British-Canadian film producer based in Quebec. Inspired by her filmmaker family and time spent at film festivals all over the world, Lindsay believes a great story well told can change perspectives rapidly and create lasting emotional impact on global audiences. She is madly in love with short films and what they can do for emerging filmmakers, is a loudmouth supporter for underrepresented voices, and is unapologetically enthusiastic about the miracles found in nature. She is the EP of For Love, a feature documentary about Indigenous culture and resilience coming to a major streamer in the fall of 2022.