CHARLOTTE HORNSBY 2023 ISFF NARRATIVE JUROR
Charlotte Hornsby is a cinematographer whose work has garnered attention at festivals such as SXSW, BAM Cinemafest, BFI London Film Festival, and the Sundance Film Festival where the short "Lucia Before and After" she shot for director Anu Valia and the short "Hair Wolf" she shot for director Mariama Diallo won The Short Film Jury Award for U.S. Fiction in 2017 and 2018. She filmed additional photography on Josephine Decker's Madeline's Madeline which was nominated for a 2019 Independent Spirit Award for Cinematography. American Cinematographer featured MASTER, the film she lenses for Amazon Studios, in their 2022 Sundance Standouts and the film also earned her recognition by BAFTA who named her a 2023 BAFTA Breakthrough.
COLIN WEST 2023 ISFF NARRATIVE JUROR
Colin West is an award-winning writer & director from the Midwest now based in LA & NYC. His feature film credits include LINOLEUM starring Jim Gaffigan & Rhea Seehorn (2022 SXSW Film Festival Grand Jury Prize nominee) and DOUBLE WALKER (2021) co-written by and starring Sylvie Mix. He was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Science in Cinema prize at SFFILM in 2022, and a New York Times critic’s pick in 2023. He also heads up the free film reference section, Public Film Archive, as well as his production company, Sub_Sequential.
ERICA HART 2023 ISFF NARRATIVE JUROR
ERICA A HART, CSA, was born and raised in Washington, DC (the actual 202...not 301 or 703.) She graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied film and television. She has been casting for over a decade and has loved every minute of it. Some of her TV/Streaming credits include BLACK MIRROR (SEASON 6 US CASTING - NETFLIX), A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW (SEASON 4 - MAX), THAT DAMN MICHAEL CHE (MAX), JODIE (PARAMOUNT+), BLACK DON'T CRACK (ABC), BUST DOWN (PEACOCK), and THE GIRLS ON THE BUS (MAX). Her Broadway credits include CHICKEN & BISCUITS, PASS OVER, DEATH OF A SALESMAN, and the upcoming production of JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING at MTC. Erica is an Artios award winner, on the Board for Casting Society (CSA), a member of the Television Academy, and an educator at institutions like Harvard University, Yale University's David Geffen School of Drama, and NYU's Grad Acting program.
QUENELL JONES 2023 ISFF DOCUMENTARY JUROR
Quenell Jones, SOC has photographed "Public Discourse" a film about the birth of Street Art that have screened internationally, ESPN, "Joe Frazier: When the Smoke Clears" an autobiographical documentary journey about the late boxing champion Joe Frazier. "My Brooklyn" a feature documentary examining the social impact of gentrification that was featured on PBS and "Hustler's Convention" a film that explores the origins of rap featured on Starz Network.
Quenell Jones is a member of the International Cinematographers Guild, Local 600 and The Society of Camera Operators (SOC). Get Out, The First Purge, The Perfect Find, Young Rock S3.
SAMAH ALI 2023 ISFF DOCUMENTARY JUROR
Samah Ali is a distributor and film programmer based in New York City. She is the Video Programming Manager at Stellar Entertainment, putting movies and television shows on airplanes around the world. She also programs for Academy Award qualifying festivals Seattle International Film Festival, DOC NYC, and Hot Docs Film Festival. After running her startup Sisterhood Media for five years, she now sits on the Board of Directors at The Black Screen Office in Canada. You can interact with her on Twitter @sistersamah.
SAM PLAKUN 2023 ISFF DOCUMENTARY JUROR
With over a decade of experience in the documentary film space, Sam Plakun focuses her work on public programming, film festivals, marketing and outreach. Sam served as the Program Manager at The DC Environmental Film Festival for seven years, aiding in all aspects of the programming process and serving as the main point of contact for the Festival’s filmmakers, partners and special guests. Sam began her career in New York City as an Associate Producer for social-issue documentaries, working on such films as Young Lakota, Care, and Bill Nye: Science Guy.
