NARRATIVE COMPETITION JURY
Wyatt Cenac
Wyatt Cenac is an Emmy Award-winning comedian known for the HBO late-night comedy docuseries Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas. Additional credits include aka Wyatt Cenac, People of the Earth, and The Daily Show. He’s released four stand up albums; his 2014 album and Netflix special Brooklyn was nominated for a Grammy. Wyatt was a writer for Mike Judge’s King of the Hill, served as a consultant for South Park and wrote an animated musical starring Steve Urkel… yes that Steve Urkel. Every now and again he pops up in a film, most notably Barry Jenkins’ MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY.
Genevieve Villaflor
For over three decades, Genevieve Villaflor has worked in the film industry, including with non-profit organizations such as Film at Lincoln Center, where she spent 15 years; specialty publicity firms; and film festivals, including serving on the Sundance Film Festival’s Advisory Committee, as senior programmer at the Hamptons International Film Festival, and at the Virginia Film Festival, where she started her career and is now on its Advisory Board. She has been the Executive Director of Sag Harbor Cinema since 2021.
Joanna Arnow
Joanna Arnow is a filmmaker and actor based in Brooklyn. She recently finished her first fiction feature THE FEELING THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOMETHING HAS PASSED (HIFF 2023), which screened at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, TIFF, and NYFF. Her other films include personal documentary feature I HATE MYSELF :), as well as narrative shorts LAYING OUT and BAD AT DANCING, which won the Berlinale Silver Bear Jury Prize. Joanna has participated in development programs including Berlinale Script Station, Gotham Week, When East Meets West, and NYFF Artist Academy, and was nominated for the 2024 Someone to Watch Indie Spirit Award.
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION JURY
Ebs Burnough
Ebs Burnough is a filmmaker, writer, producer, and marketing and communications executive, who is the former White House Deputy Social Secretary and Senior Advisor to First Lady Michelle Obama. With nearly two decades of strategic leadership in politics, public policy, the private sector and the arts, Burnough serves as the CEO of Hatch House Media, a production company focusing on film, television, theatre and gaming.
In 2019, Burnough made his directorial debut with the documentary THE CAPOTE TAPES (HIFF 2019). The film explores the impact of iconic writer Truman Capote’s explosive unfinished novel Answered Prayers, using never before heard audio archive and interviews with Capote’s friends and enemies. THE CAPOTE TAPES received its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019. Greenwich Entertainment released THE CAPOTE TAPES globally in 2021.
Prior to founding Hatch House Media, Burnough served as Director of Communications for AERIN, a global lifestyle brand founded by cosmetics entrepreneur Aerin Lauder. Burnough is a graduate of Northwestern University and serves as Chair of the board of the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival. Additionally, he is on the board of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Hudson Pacific Properties, the Northwestern School of Communication and Mrs. Wordsmith. Burnough is also a visiting scholar at Oxford University.
Rachel Fleit
Award-winning director and writer Rachel Fleit is known for her intimate and cinéma verité storytelling. Her documentary feature, BAMA RUSH, became Max’s #1 documentary launch and earned widespread acclaim in 2023. Her first documentary feature was the critically acclaimed INTRODUCING, SELMA BLAIR (HIFF 2021), which received several accolades including the HIFF NYWIFT Award for Excellence in Documentary Directing. Next up from Fleit is the documentary feature, SUGAR BABIES, which follows a group of teenagers as they navigate the realities and challenges of growing up poor in America.
Tomris Laffly
Tomris Laffly is a film critic and entertainment journalist based in New York, with bylines across Variety, RogerEbert.com, W Magazine, Vanity Fair, Elle, TIME, Harper’s Bazaar, TheWrap and others. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC), Tomris covers various prominent film festivals around the world, and frequently moderates awards season panels and opening-weekend Q&As. Previously, she has served as part of the Gotham Awards nominating committees several times and the narrative competition jury of SXSW in 2023. Prior to launching her film journalism career, Tomris spent a decade in marketing and advertising production after earning her MBA. She lives in Harlem.
