2012 Jury

Oscar-Nominated and Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Tom Neff has over twenty-five years of experience in the film industry with over 25 national and international awards. He is a member of both the Academy of Motion Pictures and the Television Academy. Neff founded the Documentary Channel™, the nation’s first 24/7 channel dedicated exclusively to showing independent documentaries. Neff Executive Produced all original documentary films and product created by the Channel, including the feature length and the Emmy-winning SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL, among many others.

Andrea Krauss has been with Here Media/Regent Entertainment in the Distribution and Acquisitions division for seven years, screening and evaluating submissions for potential acquisition. She also coordinates domestic and international film festivals for all of Here/Regent Films theatrical titles including the Academy Award® winning film DEPARTURES. Andrea is currently producing on a new LGBT series called FABULOUS HIGH. Prior to joining the Here/Regent Entertainment team, Andrea served as Director of Operations and Theatrical Sales for Scanbox Danmark in the International Sales office based in Los Angeles and has been in the film industry for over 15 years.

Rachel Raimist is a filmmaker who is best known for producing and directing the first documentary about women in hip-hop NOBODY KNOWS MY NAME in 1999, which screened at South By Southwest, the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, San Jose Cinequest, Women in the Director’s Chair, and numerous other festivals. Raimist was also the videographer and co-editor of FREESTYLE: THE ART OF RHYME, which aired on VH1 and was widely popular in global hip-hop communities. Currently, she is the head of A/V at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, a 7,500 seat venue where her students produce all in-house IMAG video. She is an assistant professor in the department of Telecommunication and Film at the University of Alabama.

Skizz Cyzyk has held positions at MicroCineFest, the Maryland Film Festival, the Slamdance Film Festival, and the Atlanta Film Festival, as well as serving on the juries of many other festivals. He has been an annual juror for Sidewalk since its first year (1999), was added to the Advisory Board in 2003, and juried the Sidewalk Scramble in 2005 and 2007. He has been a filmmaker since 1983. His latest film, FREAKS IN LOVE, is a documentary about underground band Alice Donut. His current project, HIT & STAY, documents religious anti-war activists and their efforts to stop the draft during the Vietnam War.

With a comedic voice described by the Associated Press as having “the laser incisiveness of Chris Rock and the knowing graciousness of Garrison Keiller,” whose first feature, SOMEBODIES, which he wrote, directed, and starred in premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival as one of only 16 films in the Dramatic Competition. After the success of SOMEBODIES the film, Hadjii developed SOMEBODIES the television series for Black Entertainment Television (B.E.T.). It was the first scripted sitcom in the network’s history. Most recently Hadjii has written on Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne”. He also wrote and produced a television pilot for Adult Swim with Nick Cannon. Currently, Hadjii is writing for “Politicats,” an animated web series, and developing new projects for both film and television.

Becca Greene is a TV and screenplay writer currently based in Los Angeles. She got her start writing and performing sketch comedy in New York City with her Second City trained group “The Royal We”. In addition to performing live shows across the country, the group produced a pilot for TV Land in 2006. Becca is currently a staff writer on David Gordon Green’s animated series “Good Vibes”, which premieres this Fall on MTV. In addition to TV work, her feature film script THE BEARD is making the rounds in Hollywood and hopefully coming to a theater near you in the foreseeable future.

Aaron Hillis is the NYC-based curator of the reRun Gastropub Theater, editor of GreenCine Daily, and an ongoing contributor to The Village Voice, LA Weekly, Time Out NY, Variety and Spin. He is also the vice-president of Benten Films, the first distribution label curated and run by critics, designed for cinephiles to uncover lost masterpieces and future classics. His co-directorial feature debut, FISH KILL FLEA, screened at Sidewalk ‘07.

Zach Clark is the director of MODERN LOVE IS AUTOMATIC and VACATION! His films have played festivals and theaters across the United States and Europe, winning awards and stuff. He lives in Brooklyn, NY where is currently editing his new feature film, WHITE REINDEER.

Alison Bagnall is best known as co-writer of the classic auteur film BUFFALO 66. She co-wrote and directed PIGGIE (Sidewalk 2003) and THE DISH & THE SPOON (Sidewalk 2011) which stars Greta Gerwig. Alison attributes her continued involvement in filmmaking to Sidewalk Film Fest. She is currently preparing to shoot the serious comedy FUNNY BUNNY, starring Kentucker Audley, Kate Lyn Sheil, and Olly Alexander.

Morgan Jon Fox has been named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine (2009), and is a Memphis-based filmmaker/producer who has directed 4 feature films which have screened at over 60 film festivals worldwide, and have been honored with over 15 best of fest awards. His debut film, BLUE CITRUS HEARTS was named “One of the top 20 films of 2003′′ by The Chicago Reader, and his 2009 feature, OMG/HaHaHa, took a record breaking 6 awards at the Indie Memphis Film Fest, Best Feature honors from Chicago’s 27th Annual LGBT Film Fest, and was a Best of Fest selection for NewFest, New York. In 2011 he premiered a documentary 6 years in the making, called THIS IS WHAT LOVE IN ACTION LOOKS LIKE, which won several awards around the country and in Europe, including the Jury Award and Audience Award for Best Documentary at SHOUT in 2011. A three time SHOUT/Sidewalk veteran, this is Morgan’s virgin role as a Juror.

Quentin Lee’s first feature SHOPPING FOR FANGS premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1997 and opened to critical acclaim during its limited theatrical release in the U.S.. The film was produced in 1997 by the company Margin Films, which he founded. ETHAN MAO, Lee’s third feature as a writer/director, praised as a “perceptive illumination of Asian American life… at once a tender love story and a psychological suspense drama,” had its world premiere at AFI Fest and sold to many territories, winning the Audience Award at the Torino Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Quentin’s fourth feature THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH, a sex comedy and festival hit, was sold to Viacom’s Logo and Maya Entertainment. He is currently on postproduction of his latest feature WHITE FROG, an emotional teen drama. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he went to high school in Montréal holds a B.A. in English from UC Berkeley, an M.A. in English from Yale University, and an M.F.A. in Film Directing from UCLA.