Meet our Judges.

The 2010 Jury

Kelly Trigger (Chair/72 Film Fest Jury) has been a member of the 72 Film Fest jury since its inception and has chaired the panel for the past four years. An associate professor of English and honors faculty at Frederick Community College, Ms. Trigger teaches media studies, composition, popular culture and film as literature. Her doctoral research in the American Studies program at University of Maryland focuses on media, youth, and cyberculture.

John Healey has worked as a professional actor, director, managing director, and artistic director for more than thirty years.  He is a member of AEA, AFTRA, and SAG and has served on arts panels in Maryland and Virginia.  He has directed more than seventy-five productions and served as the Producing Artistic Director for Theater at Lime Kiln from 2000-2005. John has been the Executive Theater Manager of the Weinberg Center for the Arts since 2006.

Rona Mensah is an Ensemble Member with the Maryland Ensemble Theatre where they produce original and gutsy theatre productions.  During her early morning hours, you  can hear her as 1/2 of the “Stace and Ro” Show on Today’s Best Music Key 103, here in Frederick. When she’s not working or participating in theatre, you can see Rona finding ways to take in art in it’s many forms.  She is excited to see the talented crop of films presented this year in the 72 Film Fest. Best of luck to all participants!

Shuan Butcher serves as the executive director of the Frederick Arts Council, the umbrella arts organization for Frederick County which is charged with promoting, supporting, and advocating the arts.  He has a Master of Science in Strategic Leadership from Mountain State University.   He published “Inspiration to Serve” and co-wrote “Making Change for the Better.”  He currently serves as the Vice-President of the Community Arts Alliance of Maryland and regularly acts as a grant reviewer for the Maryland State Arts Council.  He lives in Frederick with his wife Cindy and is active in various community activities.

Caryn Clippert received her BA from the George Washington University in Electronic Media and her MFA in Sound Design from the Savannah College of Art & Design. Her graduate studies focused on surround sound, DIY recording, and studio recording/mixing. Caryn is a lecturer at Towson University, as well as a freelancer in audio and video postproduction. She has experience with production and postproduction of standard definition and high definition formats. She also has experience recording and mixing music albums, and has worked with artists in several genres.

Matt Edens - has spent almost 18 years writing for television – everything from funeral home commercials to children’s cartoons. But, for the past ten years, he’s specialized in true-crime documentaries, scripting shows such as Snapped on the Oxygen network and A&E’s City Confidential.

Lee Gardner - (City Paper) (bio coming soon)

Adam Lubkin –  (Filmmaker) Adam Craig Lubkin is a professional filmmaker and sculptor. He has directed the feature documentary “Eb” and his sculptures include “Becky” for the City of Frederick. He is currently developing a documentary about cultural influences on how we move and experience our bodies, and a comedy feature about loneliness and heartache. Originally from Kentucky via New York and Israel, Adam lives in downtown Frederick with his daughter Maili.

Guest Judges

In addition to the panel, we welcome two guest judges this year who will each be deciding a special award.

Alice Hoffman’s work has been published in more than twenty translations and more than one hundred foreign editions. Her novels have received mention as notable books of the year by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, Library Journal, and People Magazine. Her short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe Magazine, Kenyon Review, Redbook, Architectural Digest, Gourmet, Self, and other magazines. Her teen novel Aquamarine was made into a film starring Emma Roberts, and her novel Black Magic was made into a film starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. Hoffman is currently a visiting research associate at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University.

Alice Hoffman will be appearing at Weinberg Center on Thursday October 7th for “Reimagining Fairy Tales: An Evening with Alice Hoffman.” It’s a free event and Ms. Hoffman will present the award for the 72 Film Fest Category “Best Use of Fairytale Theme” following the lecture.

Eduardo Sanchez In 1997, Eduardo co-wrote, co-edited and co-directed THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT with fellow UCF film alumni Dan Myrick. The $22,000 independent feature was snapped up for distribution at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival and went on to become a world-wide cultural phenomenon, earning an estimated $250 million at the box office, thus became one of the most profitable films ever made. Since the release of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, Eduardo has co-written four feature scripts and will produce one of them, the thriller BAD MOON RISING, in late 2006. He has also directed award-winning commercials, including Chelsea Pictures Beta 7 advertising campaign for Sega ESPN NFL Football, which won Addy, Clio, Yahoo! Big Idea and Golden Pencil awards. Eduardo feature film follow up to THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, ALTERED,is the story of five men whose lives are ruined by an alien abduction. It was distributed by ROGUE PICTURES. Eduardo lives with his wife, Stefanie, and their two children, Bianca and Lucas, in Frederick, Maryland.