Meet our esteemed panel of jurors for the 2022 Ida B. Wells Short Film Fund. Each juror is a member of the chromatic black™ collective. Check back regularly for updates.
2022 SHORT FILM JURORS
PAULA J. GIDDINGS is a writer and an African-American historian. She is the author of When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America, In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement and Ida: A Sword Among Lions. She is currently[when?] the Elizabeth A. Woodson 1922 Professor Emerita of Africana Studies at Smith College, subsequent to her 2017 retirement. Prior to joining the faculty at Smith, she was on the faculty at Spelman College, where she was recognized as a United Negro College Fund Distinguished Scholar. She also was a faculty member of the Douglass College at Rutgers University where she held the Laurie Chair in Women's Studies. Giddings has also taught at Princeton University, North Carolina Central University and Duke University. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. During her career, she made contributions to American history, Women's Studies, and African American Studies that center African American women in order to offer greater inclusion and representation. These works have been foundational in the study of African American women's feminism, history, and activism, as the number of accolades Giddings has received and the books and journal articles citing her body of work show.
Portrait by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Gloria Steinem is an American activist, journalist, and leader in the global feminist movement. Steinem contributed to feminism internationally as a writer, lecturer, organizer, and media spokeswoman on the issues of equality. At the age of 87, she continues her work towards a more just world through her support of seasoned and budding activists and organizations, such as the Women’s Media Center, the ERA Coalition, and Equality Now. She is a co-founder of Ms. Magazine.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana Kors currently resides in Los Angeles by way of Atlanta. It was in Georgia where he took a serious interest in filmmaking after he served as an apprentice to a local director. Eventually, he would receive some serious mentoring advice from director Spike Lee that fueled his hunger to take his talents to the next level. Now, as an educator and award-winning filmmaker with his original footing in the Atlanta music industry, Kors brings over 12 years of experience in the film/TV industry as a writer/producer/director and over 10 years of experience in education. His scripts have landed attachments and interest from actors such as Ryan Gosling, Idris Elba, Skylan Brooks, Nate Parker, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and even Oscar-winners such as Mahershala Ali. As well as studios, producers, agencies and management such as Sony/Columbia, David Goyer's Phantom Four, Kevin Turen, Tyler Perry's 34th Street Films, Anonymous Content, ICM, CAA, WME and more. As a BTS and documentary producer for the Sundance winner "The Birth of a Nation" Kors also contributed to script notes for the film. He has produced projects with creatives such as Issa Rae, Lena Waithe, Omari Hardwick, Armie Hammer, and more. His work has been showcased and purchased by companies such as Fox Searchlight, ABC, 60 Minutes, HBO, National Geographic, Tiny Giant Studios, and VH1 just to name a few. Kors recently wrapped his directorial debut feature film "Gym Rat" and as a co-writer, he is currently producing "12" chronicling the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by Cleveland Police. He is also teaching a screenwriting workshop at Morehouse College via a partnership with the Morehouse Human Rights Film Festival. Kors and his wife and producer partner Kimberly are always working towards creating meaningful projects that will have a worldwide impact, we believe our project; '12' will be that exact kind of film.
Ken Sunshine’s unconventional career began as a community organizer, helping troubled teens. He soon started working in the political arena as an advocate for progressive change, and in 1972 he was elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. He has advised on communications strategies, messaging, and celebrity involvement in local and national campaigns ever since. Later, he served as Chief of Staff to New York City Mayor David Dinkins. Before starting his own communications firm, Sunshine worked in the entertainment business where he headed the public relations department of ASCAP.
In 1991, he founded Ken Sunshine Consultants (later to become Sunshine Sachs) and over the past three decades his firm has represented clients ranging from leading corporations, nonprofits, and unions, to some of the most prominent names in entertainment. Sunshine Sachs has 200 employees, with offices in with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. Atlanta and Austin, and specializes in media relations, corporate image programs, crisis communications, reputation and issues management, event promotion, and communications skills training.
Ken Sunshine currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York, the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Community Service Society, the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, the Type Media Center, the Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC and is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In addition, he has recently been appointed to both the Governor’s and Mayor’s Task Forces on Economic Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the course of his career, Sunshine has received many accolades for his achievements, which include the City and State Responsible 100 Lifetime Achievement Award, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the National Action Network’s Presidents Award and its Dream Keepers Award, the Amsterdam News Friendship Award, the Bella Abzug Leadership Institute’s Bella Fella Award, among other honors for his leadership in the civil rights movement.
Max is a filmmaker and producer of feature films like Bring It On, she works as an architectural photographer, a personal finance writer, a beekeeper, and is founder of
handmade food company, Sticky Acres.
handmade food company, Sticky Acres.
JEFFREY KUSAMA-HINTE is an Academy Award® and Emmy Award® nominated,
Golden Globe® winning Producer working under the banner of Antidote Films, the
company he founded in 2000. He has also directed two documentaries.
Kusama-Hinte's latest production was John Turturro's FADING GIGOLO, starring Mr.
Turturro, Sharon Stone, Sofia Vergara, Liev Schreiber, and Vanessa Paradis. Prior to this,
his most recent production was Lisa Cholodenko's THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT,
starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo. This film received four
Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture, and four Golden Globe®
nominations, winning two Golden Globes® for Best Actress (Annette Bening) and Best
Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy).
Kusama-Hinte directed and produced the documentaries CHARLOTTE: A WOODEN
BOAT STORY and SOUL POWER, which screened at the Toronto and Berlin
International Film Festivals, and won the Los Angeles Film Festival Audience Award.
Kusama-Hinte also produced the documentary THE DUNGEON MASTERS, directed by
Keven McAlester, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and
Marina Zenovich’s ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED, which received
five Primetime Emmy® Awards nominations, winning two Emmys® for Outstanding
Writing and Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming. Kusama-Hinte’s other
productions include the critically acclaimed eco-horror thriller THE LAST WINTER
directed by Larry Fessenden, the Jon Reiss-directed graffiti documentary BOMB IT,
Julian Goldberger’s THE HAWK IS DYING, Gregg Araki’s MYSTERIOUS SKIN,
Catherine Hardwicke’s THIRTEEN, Lisa Cholodenko’s LAUREL CANYON and HIGH
ART, and Larry Fessenden’s WENDIGO.
Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte resides in Brooklyn New York, with his spouse and two children.
He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and serves as
Chairperson of the Board of Trustees for Type Media Center and as Treasurer of Board of
the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival.
Golden Globe® winning Producer working under the banner of Antidote Films, the
company he founded in 2000. He has also directed two documentaries.
Kusama-Hinte's latest production was John Turturro's FADING GIGOLO, starring Mr.
Turturro, Sharon Stone, Sofia Vergara, Liev Schreiber, and Vanessa Paradis. Prior to this,
his most recent production was Lisa Cholodenko's THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT,
starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo. This film received four
Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture, and four Golden Globe®
nominations, winning two Golden Globes® for Best Actress (Annette Bening) and Best
Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy).
Kusama-Hinte directed and produced the documentaries CHARLOTTE: A WOODEN
BOAT STORY and SOUL POWER, which screened at the Toronto and Berlin
International Film Festivals, and won the Los Angeles Film Festival Audience Award.
Kusama-Hinte also produced the documentary THE DUNGEON MASTERS, directed by
Keven McAlester, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and
Marina Zenovich’s ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED, which received
five Primetime Emmy® Awards nominations, winning two Emmys® for Outstanding
Writing and Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming. Kusama-Hinte’s other
productions include the critically acclaimed eco-horror thriller THE LAST WINTER
directed by Larry Fessenden, the Jon Reiss-directed graffiti documentary BOMB IT,
Julian Goldberger’s THE HAWK IS DYING, Gregg Araki’s MYSTERIOUS SKIN,
Catherine Hardwicke’s THIRTEEN, Lisa Cholodenko’s LAUREL CANYON and HIGH
ART, and Larry Fessenden’s WENDIGO.
Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte resides in Brooklyn New York, with his spouse and two children.
He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and serves as
Chairperson of the Board of Trustees for Type Media Center and as Treasurer of Board of
the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival.
Rising actor and Neighborhood Playhouse Graduate Ian Duff can currently be seen starring as aseries regular in The CW's THE REPUBLIC OF SARAH which debuted on June 14th. He was last seen on the big screen in Shaka King's Oscar-nominated film JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH opposite Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield. He recently completed a recurring arc on NBC's hit show NEW AMSTERDAM. In 2017, Duff starred in UP NORTH, for which he received SeriesFest's award for Best Actor. On stage, Duff starred in the Atlantic Theater Company’s NOMAD MOTEL and made his first NYC stage appearance in Andre Holland’s directorial debut Dutch Masters at The Wild Project. A native of Jamaica, Queens, Duff currently resides in New York City.
Yoruba Richen is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work has been featured on multiple outlets, including Netflix, MSNBC, FX, HBO, The Atlantic and Field of Vision. Her most recent film The Rebellious Rosa Parks will premiere at Tribeca Film Festival in June. Other recent films include the Emmy-nominated How It Feels to Be Free and the Emmy and Peabody nominated The Sit In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show. She was a director on the award winning series Black and Missing for HBO and High on the Hog for Netflix. Yoruba is the co-director of American Reckoning which aired on PBS's FRONTLINE this past February and The Killing of Breonna Taylor which won an NAACP Image Award. She is also a past Guggenheim fellow and a recipient of the Chicken & Egg Breakthrough filmmaker’s award. Yoruba is the founding director of the Documentary Program at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
Lisa Hayles is Director of International Shareholder Advocacy for Trillium with responsibility for engaging Trillium’s international holdings and global policymakers on environmental, social and governance topics. She is a co-founder of the Racial Justice Investing Coalition and a frequent speaker at industry events on ESG investing and the intersection between gender and racial equality and finance. She has 20 years’ experience in sustainable investing, having worked in Canada, the UK and the U.S. advising clients on incorporating ESG analysis into investment approaches. Lisa received her B.A. in Political Science and History from the University of Toronto and a M.Sc. in International Development from the University of Guelph. She also holds a French language Certificate from the University of Toulouse in France.
A native of Toronto, Canada, Lisa has lived in Boston since 2013. An enthusiastic traveler, dancer and yoga practitioner, she will be returning to live in London in 2023.
Delilah Rothenberg is a Co-Founding Partner and the Executive Director of the Predistribution Initiative (PDI), a multi-stakeholder non-profit organization designed to support investors in aligning their investment governance, financial analysis, and asset allocation practices with the principles of Universal Ownership and systematic stewardship. Delilah brings over 17 years of experience in finance across asset classes – particularly private capital markets – having worked with private equity investors, lenders, and project developers on growth financing, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) integration, and impact strategy for over 12 years. Prior to private capital markets, Delilah worked in sell side equities with Bear Stearns and investment research with Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG). Delilah serves on the Council of Institutional Investors (CII) Markets Advisory Group; has played active roles in the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) working groups; is an Advisor to For the Long Term (public treasurers focused on ESG); was an advisor to New York City Comptroller-elect Brad Lander’s campaign; is a Contributor to Rights CoLab; and, is a former Open Society Foundations Fellow.
Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Hardrict immersed himself in the arts at a young age. Local film and television projects were on the rise throughout his teens, as productions moved from LA to Chicago, which gave Hardrict the opportunity to book regional print ads, commercials, and TV movies. He began his professional acting career when he landed a role at an open call for the Oprah Winfrey film There Are No Children Here. Hardrict loved every moment of the experience and knew that in order to pursue a career in acting he needed to move to Los Angeles. With $75.00 in his pocket, he packed his bags and made the move out west.
Hardrict got his first big break when he landed a role in Fox 2000 Pictures’ Never Been Kissed. From here his career flourished appearing in a multitude of films from drama to comedy including Crazy Beautiful, Grammy nominated feature Gran Torino, and He’s Just Not That Into You opposite Justin Long and Ginnifer Goodwin. In 2011, Hardrict co-starred as Cpl. Jason Lockett in the action film Battle: Los Angeles. He has also held supporting roles in numerous high profile projects including Lovelace, Warm Bodies, and Transcendence opposite Johnny Depp.
In 2015, Hardrict starred opposite Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller in the Oscar nominated film American Sniper. Additionally, he was one of the leads in the hit independent film, Brotherly Love. Earlier this year he was seen in Summit Entertainment’s Tupac Shakur biopic “All Eyez On Me”. He will next be seen in “November Criminals” opposite Chloe Grace Moretz, the Netflix original film “Naked,” “#211” opposite Nicholas Cage, and “Labyrinth” with Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker. His film, “Destined” premiered at the LA Film Festival last summer as their Official Selection and it continues to sweep awards during its festival run winning Best Feature and Best of Festival at UrbanWorld, Best Film at the International Black Film Festival of Nashville, and was the official selection at Chicago International Film Festival. Hardrict took home the award for Best Actor at the American Black Film Festival, Peachtree Village International Film Festival, and IBFF of Nashville. Destined is set to release in theaters the fall of 2017. In 2018, you can see Hardrict in Sony Crackle’s “The Oath,” executively produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and his G-Unit Film & Television Inc. Hardrict will next be seen in the film "The Outpost" with Orlando Bloom and Scott Eastwood as well as executive produce. Hardrict also has four Completed feature films for release in the Upcoming 2023 year. The Hit TV show All American Homecoming he’s currently on is back for Season 2 Oct 10th on the CW first season on Netflix.
Hardrict currently lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and two beautiful children. In addition to working in film and television, he loves to play basketball in his down time, travel to exotic places, and explore new cultures while spending time with his family.
With wide-ranging experience in both the public and private sectors, Jewell Jackson McCabe is a business woman who serves as a director on a variety of boards, is a Presidential, Gubernatorial and Mayoral appointee, a consultant to major corporations, cultural and civic institutions and is organizer founder of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women; and an adjunct professor at NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
As a former corporate director of Reliance Group Holdings, a publicly held fortune 500 holding company; with 10 years as the first Black to serve as a Trustee on the Board of The Wharton School of Business; and as an advisor for board development for RRE an Information Technology Venture Capital firm with $1.3 Billion under management recognized and respected for building industry-leading companies; her, depth of experience and range of contacts have been key elements in her effectiveness.
Ms. McCabe currently serves on or has been a director on the boards of: Reliance Group Holding; the New York City Investment Fund, L.I.C. (1996-2001); The Wharton School of Business; Bard College; The Deloitte & Touche Diversity Advisory Board; The New York City Partnership (founding member 1981-2001); Research America; New York City Commission on the Status of Women (1982-2002); and The Economic Club of New York. She is currently board president of The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) ifp.org.
As President of Jewell Jackson McCabe Associates – a bi-lingual (English-Spanish) management consulting firm specializing in strategic communications, executive coaching and competitiveness training -- including Diversity and Inclusion – she has advised a wide range of corporations in the private and public sector.
These corporations include: American Express; Time Warner; The Coca-Cola Company; Matsushita Electric Corporation of America (Panasonic); International Business Machines Corporation (IBM); Tyco International; The Williams Capital Group; The Royal Bank of Canada; NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc; Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and The College Board. Her strategic communications company is a full service minority owned organization, combining a broad range of marketing skill, competitiveness training on effective internal and external management capabilities.
Ms. McCabe was appointed by President Clinton to the United State Holocaust Memorial Council with oversight of the Holocaust Museum, where she was a member of the Holocaust Council’s congressionally-mandated Committee on Conscience. Governor Mario M. Cuomo appointed Ms. McCabe to the New York State Council on Fiscal and Economic priorities. She was also appointed chair of the New York State’s Job Training Partnership Council federal employment block grant, which spends $250 million dollars annually to train the disadvantaged.
Ms. McCabe is the recipient of two honorary doctorates and numerous awards. She distinguished herself in 1993 as a candidate on the “short list” for the presidency of the NAACP becoming the first woman in 84 years to be considered for chief executive officer of America’s venerable civil rights organization.
Ms. McCabe has been a featured guest on news and general interest programs including Charlie Rose and the Today Show, notably interviewed by Katie Couric, with New York Times columnist and senior writer for The New York Times Magazine, Frank Rich and former Republican National Committee Chair, Haley Barbour, analyzing, President [43rd] Bush’s State of the Union Address.
Jewell Jackson McCabe is the founder and chair of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, which has a membership of 7,000 women in 35 states and the District of Columbia. It was established in 1981 to engage professional black women in a network to meet their career needs and facilitate their access to mainstream America; her overriding objective, as noted in an article in Fortune Magazine, “Is to establish common ground for women-of-color between the public and private sectors.”
Dominique Thorne will next star as Marvel’s IRONHEART, centered on the brilliant inventor Riri Williams-a prodigy who built her own version of the Iron Man suit in her MIT dorm. In addition to being the hero Ironheart, she also succeeds Tony Stark as the Legendary Iron Man. The character of Riri Williams will be introduced into the Marvel Universe in BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER – scheduled for release this Fall, and then Dominique will anchor the titular IRONHEART series for Marvel & Disney.
Thorne made her feature film debut in Academy Award winning writer/director Barry Jenkins’ IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK, playing the role of “Sheila Hunt,” the petulant younger sister of “Fonny Hunt” (Stephan James). The film, which premiered at the 2018 Toronto Film Festival, received critical acclaim and accolades including: AFI Awards Movie of the Year, Independent Spirit Awards Best Feature, NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Independent Motion Picture and one of National Board of Review’s Top Ten Film of 2018. Thorne starred opposite Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield in Warner Brothers’ Academy Award Nominated feature JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH, directed by Shaka King, and Executive produced by Ryan Coogler and Charles D. King. The film follows the story of Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, and his fateful betrayal by FBI informant William O’Neal. Thorne plays “Judy Harmon” a fictional character who is a member of Fred’s security team.
Malcolm Spellman is an American screenwriter and producer best known for his work on Empire (2015) and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021). In March 2010, Spellman started his career by writing the screenplay for the film Our Family Wedding (2010). In February 2015, Spellman began writing for television by scripting several episodes of the television series Empire (2015).In July 2017, Spellman was producing the HBO series Confederate. In October 2015, Spellman and Carlito Rodriguez were hired by Warner Bros. to write the script for a Sylvia Robinson film biopic. In October 2018, it was announced that Warner Bros. was still moving forward with the film and Spellman and Rodriguez had been joined by Tracy Oliver in completing the script. In December 2019, he served as a producer on the Apple TV+ series Truth Be Told (2019). In February 2021, Spellman served as an executive producer on the FX series Hip Hop Uncovered (2021). In March 2021, he served as showrunner on the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). He is set to co-write a fourth Captain America film in the MCU, with Dalan Musson.