The 2026 Awards Jury
Lani Akande
Lani Akande is an Assistant Professor in the Film Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington(UNCW). He teaches courses in Nigerian cinema, African cinemas, postcolonial cinema and film aesthetics and style. His interests include exploring the formal and aesthetic characteristics of African cinemas as a site for formulating
Lani Akande is an Assistant Professor in the Film Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington(UNCW). He teaches courses in Nigerian cinema, African cinemas, postcolonial cinema and film aesthetics and style. His interests include exploring the formal and aesthetic characteristics of African cinemas as a site for formulating newer and more indigenously informed theories. His articles have appeared in Film Education, Journal of African Cultural Studies and Quarterly Review of Film and Video.
Caitlin Brown
Originally from Boston, Cinematographer Caitlin Brown moved to Los Angeles to kick off my camera department career. After joining Local 600 and Caitlin began working as a film loader and camera assistant and is now an underwater & action camera operator and Director of Photography. Recent credits include underwater tech and cam operator
Originally from Boston, Cinematographer Caitlin Brown moved to Los Angeles to kick off my camera department career. After joining Local 600 and Caitlin began working as a film loader and camera assistant and is now an underwater & action camera operator and Director of Photography. Recent credits include underwater tech and cam operator on HBO’s The Idol, Perry Mason, Amazon’s Expats, Showtime’s Dexter: Original Sin, and upcoming Neon release The Wrong Girls. Caitlin was Director of Photography on promos for Netflix series Emily in Paris, K Pop Demon Hunters and Queer Eye. “I can’t wait to watch all your films! I’m always interested in connecting with new filmmakers - feel free to reach out on instagram: @caitwithacamera.” Caitlin has an undergraduate and graduate degree from Emerson College.
Casey Carter
Casey Carter
Casey Carter is a filmmaker and interdisciplinary designer whose work engages nonfiction storytelling in film and video, photography, data visualization, and cartography. His work centers on themes of governmentality, geography, environmentalism, and personal subjectivities. His debut feature documentary, To Use A Mountain, premiered at V
Casey Carter is a filmmaker and interdisciplinary designer whose work engages nonfiction storytelling in film and video, photography, data visualization, and cartography. His work centers on themes of governmentality, geography, environmentalism, and personal subjectivities. His debut feature documentary, To Use A Mountain, premiered at Visions du Réel in 2025 where it was awarded the special jury prize. His work has been supported through grants and fellowships from institutions including Sundance Documentary Film Program, IDA, UnionDocs Center for Documentary Art, New York Foundation for the Arts and others. He serves as the project director for Maya Lin’s What Is Missing? Foundation, which seeks to raise awareness about habitat and species loss through science based artworks, as a multi-sited memorial to the 6th extinction.He holds a B.S. in Physics and B.S. in Photography from Middle Tennessee State University and a Master of Architecture from the University of Michigan. .