Faculty Judges
Jeff Cherubini, Ph.D. (Fiction, Documentary, Bronx Tales, Student Films)
Dr. Cherubini is Professor of Kinesiology with an expertise in exercise and sport psychology, emphasizing an eco-developmental perspective to his work with physical activity motivation, health promotion, and sport performance.
Carol Ciancutti, M.Ed., LMHC (Fiction, Documentary, Bronx Tales)
Ciancutti is an Adjunct Professor of Mental Health Counseling. Her practice is grounded in a holistic, trauma-informed approach that integrates EMDR, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, mindfulness, and narrative therapy. Ciancutti also is a filmmaker who has produced and directed Shaping the Future and Absolutely Safe.
Thom Gencarelli, Ph.D. (Music Videos, Horror)
Dr. Gencarelli is Professor of Communication and specializes in media literacy. He is a Past President of the Media Ecology Association, the New York State Communication Association, and the New Jersey Communication Association, Treasurer and member of the Board of Trustees of the Institute of General Semantics, and Editor of the Institute's official journal, ETC: A Review of General Semantics. He is also guitarist and singer for the band bluerace.
Margaret Groarke, Ph.D. (Documentary, Bronx Tales, Student Films)
Dr. Groarke leads the Community Engaged Learning project with Manhattan University and The Bronx. She is involved in several Bronx-based community organizations and researches voter registration procedures and voter suppression activities and the political action of ordinary people, primarily through grassroots social movements and community organizations. She is a long-time leader of the Peace and Justice program at Manhattan University.
Deirdre O'Leary, Ph.D. (Fiction, Documentary, Student Films)
Dr. O’Leary is Associate Professor of English with specialties in Contemporary Women Dramatists, Political Theatre, and Contemporary Irish and British Theatre. Most recently, she interviewed the best-selling author James Patterson at a public event celebrating Manhattan University.
Mark Pottinger, Ph.D. (Music Videos, Horror)
Dr. Pottinger is Professor of Sound Studies and chair of the Communication, Sound, and Media Arts Department. As a musicologist, he regularly lectures for the Metropolitan Opera and their HD Live in Schools education program. He is currently serving as co-chief editor of Sound Studies Review, an international peer-reviewed music journal.
Laura Redruello, Ph.D. (Documentary)
Dr. Redruello is Professor of Modern Languages and Literature and specializes in Latin American Literature and the national and cultural identity within the literature, music and film of the Caribbean. She has published and lectured extensively about Cuban cultural production.
Evelyn Scaramella, Ph.D. (Fiction, Documentary, Bronx Tales, Student Films)
Dr. Scaramella is Chair of the Department of English, World Languages & Literature. Her current book project, Anti-fascist Archives: The Avant-Garde, Translation, and the Spanish Civil War, explores how translation forged transnational networks of antifascist solidarity and preserved literary legacies across Spain, the Americas, and Britain. She is also co-editing two volumes: Fabulous Leviathan: Visions of New York in Modern Iberian Culture, 1875–1975 and Translation and Cultural Mediation: New Critical Approaches to Women Intellectuals of Early 20th Century Spain. Dr. Scaramella teaches several courses on Spanish culture and film.
Enid Kent was born in Los Angeles into a distinguished theatrical family. Margaret Hamilton — the iconic Wicked Witch of the West from the classic film The Wizard of Oz introduced her parents at a Hollywood bingo party. Her mother, Irene Tedrow, was a celebrated character actress, and her father, William Kent, was a dramatist and producer. Immersed in the performing arts from an early age, she made her stage debut at just ten-years-old, setting the foundation for a lifelong career in theatre and television.