University of Arizona

Jurors

Cedar Sherbert

Cedar Sherbert

Cedar Sherbert is an enrolled citizen of the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, one of the communities that make up the Kumeyaay Nation of San Diego and northern Baja California. He earned both his BA and MFA at the University of Southern California and currently works as a writer, teacher and features programmer for Tribeca Festival, Urbanworld and AFIFest. His film work has screened at multiple venues including Sundance, MoMA, etc., and he is currently developing the series pilot for BUNNY with executive producer Bridget Bedard.

Vinessa Vidotto

Vinessa Vidotto

Vinessa Vidotto graduated with a BFA in Acting from the University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television in 2018, having signed with manager Brady McKay at Haven Entertainment at her Senior showcase. Soon after, she moved to Los Angeles, and within two months had booked her first television role as a recurring guest star on Lucifer. The news came just as she had completed her training as a waitress at Olive Garden. Early into her next waitressing job, she landed a ‘New Coke’ commercial in conjunction with the release of the third season of Stranger Things and a guest star role on Hacks. In her third year in LA, Vinessa was working at her third waitressing job when she received the call during a lunch break that she had booked a lead role on FBI: International. Safe to say, in order to book a role, get a new waitressing job! She has been living/filming in Budapest, Hungary and all over Europe for three years now, and recently accomplished a dream of establishing a BFA Acting Scholarship for School of Theatre, Film & Television students.

Jeff Yanc

Jeff Yanc

Jeff Yanc is currently the Program Director at The Loft Cinema and co-director of the annual Loft Film Fest. He holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Media Arts from the University of Arizona, where he also served as an adjunct professor in film history. His writing on cinema has appeared in film journals such as The Velvet Light Trap and Cinemad, and he is co-producer/co-host of the podcast, The Many Rules of Film Club. He In 2015 he was the recipient of the David Hoyt Johnson Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts, presented by the Tucson Pima Arts Council.

2024 Films

Circling Back

Circling Back

Dear Addie

Dear Addie

Fish

Fish

Freakout

Freakout

In the Market

In the Market

Lovesick

Lovesick

Out of the Box

Out of the Box

Reporters

Reporters

Ricardo Rivera and the Mines of Montezuma

Ricardo Rivera and the Mines of Montezuma

Something Blue

Something Blue

The Bri Incident

The Bri Incident

The Last Crawl

The Last Crawl

Wandered Away

Wandered Away