Special Guests and Jurors
-
Special Guests
-
Tippi Hedren
From her young dreams of becoming a professional ice skater, to her iconic role in one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most classic films, The Birds, to being champion on behalf of the big cats at the Shambala Preserve, Tippi Hedren’s life has been unpredictable and extraordinary.
From 1950 to 1961, Tippi Hedren’s successful modeling career resulted in her appearance on the covers of national magazines. When Tippi then appeared in a television commercial for Sego, a diet drink, Alfred Hitchcock spotted her and discovered a new star. Tippi possessed the sophistication, self-assurance, and cool-blonde sex appeal that he was looking for. It was from this beginning that he then cast her in the lead role in The Birds (1963), and Tippi’s life changed forever. In addition to starring in Hitchcock’s The Birds, for which she was awarded a Golden Globe Award for “Most Promising Newcomer – Female,” she also starred in his next film, Marnie (1964). In response to Hitchcock’s obsession with her, Tippi made a brave and bold decision to get out of her contract, and Hitchcock promised to ruin her career. For two years he did just that, but Tippi’s fearless determination to move on in her personal and professional life has now made her one of the most recognized stars in motion picture history.
Following the Hitchcock classics, Tippi co-starred opposite Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren in Charlie Chaplin’s The Countess from Hong Kong. She is the only actress to have worked under the direction of both Hitchcock and Chaplin. She has been honored with Lifetime Achievement awards worldwide. In 2000, Tippi was honored as Best Actress in a Comedy Short for the film “Mulligans!” at the Method Fest Independent Film Festival, and in 2002, she won Best Actress for the short film “Tea with Grandma” from the New York International Independent Film Festival. In 2009 and 2010, audiences and critics alike responded positively to her television roles on 4400, Fashion House, and CSI, for which she received Emmy® consideration.
More recently, Tippi was the subject of a stunning new HBO biopic about Hitchcock’s obsession with her, entitled The Girl, starring Sienna Miller as Tippi and Toby Jones as Hitchcock. She also appeared in the season’s opening episode of the FOX hit Raising Hope. Co-starring as her daughter in that episode was Tippi’s real life daughter, famed actress Melanie Griffith.
Alongside her dramatic on-screen career, Tippi Hedren has always made time to help others. As a volunteer International Relief Coordinator for “Food for the Hungry,” she traveled worldwide to set up relief programs following earthquakes, hurricanes, famine, and war. Tippi also recognized the need for women from Vietnam to have a profession and employed her own manicurist to teach these women the skills of the trade. Now it is widely known that Tippi is the pivotal figure in the modern development of Vietnamese-owned nail salons throughout the United States. As President and founder of The Roar Foundation, Tippi is now “den mother” to over 40 abandoned, abused, and unwanted big cats at the Shambala preserve. Her efforts in Congress to effect new laws regarding big cats has now resulted in the “Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act,” which will prohibit the breeding of exotic big cats to be sold as pets and/or for financial gain.
Tippi Hedren’s life and career has continued to be eclectic and engaging, purposeful, and passionate, and with so much more to accomplish, whether onscreen or off, Tippi Hedren is one actor and activist who will always make a difference.
Click here to learn more about An Evening With Tippi Hedren.
Photo by Bill Dow.
-
Zoë Bell
Native of Waiheke Island in New Zealand, a born gymnast and martial artist, Zoë Bell began her career as the stunt double for Lucy Lawless in the cult sword-and-sorcery television show Xena Warrior Princess. Shortly after the show was cancelled, Zoë made her way to Los Angeles and appeared in a documentary about stunt women called Double Dare. It was during this time that she was spotted by talent scouts for Quentin Tarantino and invited to audition to be Uma Thurman’s stunt double on Tarantino’s Kill Bill Volume One and Two. Zoë won the role.
After nearly a year shooting in California and China, where most days consisted of sword fights, body burns, karate, and all-out pugilism, Zoë emerged as one of the most sought after and respected young stunt women in Hollywood. This resulted in stunt work in such movies as Catwoman, Poseidon, and The Kingdom to name but a few.
During this time, unbeknown to Zoë, Quentin Tarantino became very aware of her natural and very instinctive acting talents and devised other plans for her. In 2007 he cast her as herself in the grind house movie Death Proof and, of course, she did her own stunts. Her performance was hailed by critics and fans alike, and Hollywood had a new leading lady in addition to one of the world’s greatest stunt performers.
While Zoë will always be a stunt performer and is unique in her ability to combine stunt work and acting in tandem on projects, her acting career has continued to flourish. Since Death Proof, she has appeared in television shows Lost and CSI Miami as well as movies Bitch Slap, Whip It, The Baytown Outlaws, and Gamer and played the lead in the web series Angel of Death. Zoë will next be seen opposite Tom Cruise in the science fiction epic Oblivion. And since Tarantino loves to have her around, you can spot Zoë in a cameo in Django Unchained.
In addition to her many talents and achievements, Zoë has also become an accomplished producer with her debut feature Raze (in which she also stars) premiering in the Midnight Section of the Tribeca Film Festival and opening later this year.
She lives in Venice, California.
The 22nd Florida Film Festival is delighted to welcome Zoë Bell as our guest.
Click here to learn more about An Afternoon with Zoë Bell.
-
Cary Elwes
Throughout his career, veteran actor Cary Elwes has turned in an array of outstanding, eclectic performances. His recent projects include No Strings Attached with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher; Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin; and Dreamworks’s A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey, directed by Robert Zemeckis.
Elwes made his cinematic debut in Marek Kanievska’s Another Country, based on the award winning play, and followed up with a starring role in the highly acclaimed historical drama Lady Jane alongside Helena Bonham Carter. He then turned in a memorable portrayal as Westley in Rob Reiner’s classic fairytale The Princess Bride, which won over audiences around the globe. Other film credits include the hit psychological thriller Saw; the Academy Award®-winning war epic Glory; Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola; Mel Brooks’s Robin Hood: Men in Tights; Twister; Liar Liar; Kiss the Girls, Shadow of the Vampire; and Garry Marshall’s Georgia Rule with Jane Fonda.
On the small screen, Elwes recently starred in the pilot Tough Trade, written and created by Jenji Kohan and directed by Gavin Hood. He currently recurs on Psych as Pierre Despereaux and also guest starred in a gripping episode of Law & Order: SVU as a mob lawyer whose family is viciously attacked. In addition, he portrayed the young Pope in CBS’s telepic Pope John Paul II. Previous television credits include the Golden Globe Award-winning miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, The Riverman, Uprising, and a recurring role as FBI Assistant Director Brad Follmer on the final season of The X-Files.
Elwes was born and raised in London before moving to the States in his teens. He attended college in upstate New York and went on to study at the Actors Studio and the Lee Strasberg Institute. Ironically, however, it was back in his native England where Elwes began his film career. He later returned to New York before eventually relocating to Los Angeles.
Click here to learn more about A Brunch with Cary Elwes.
-
-
Shorts Jury
-
Brooke Sebold
In 2007, Brooke Sebold completed her first feature length documentary Red Without Blue, which received over 20 awards, including the audience-choice award at Slamdance and the juried award at Frameline. Red Without Blue aired on the Sundance Channel, Logo, and PBS, and is currently available on Netflix. Her short films have screened at festivals around the world, and her film “After the Snow” received the Special Jury Award at the Florida Film Festival (2011). In addition to Logo, the Sundance Channel, and PBS, her work can be seen on NBC, and Current TV, where one of the pieces she produced/edited was nominated for an Emmy (2008). Brooke recently received her MFA from Columbia University’s Film Division and is preparing to shoot her first feature this summer.
-
Justin DiPietro
Justin DiPietro is the Manager of Theatrical Sales for IFC Films’s three distribution labels, IFC Films, Sundance Selects, and IFC Midnight. In addition to this position, he is also the head of Non-Theatrical Sales for IFC Films, where he supplies films to colleges, universities, and museums nationwide. Over the past six years with IFC, he has had the privilege to work on films that include Palme d’Or Winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days; Gomorrah; Sleepwalk With Me, and the recently Academy Award®-nominated How to Survive a Plague. Prior to working at IFC Films, he worked in sales with Walt Disney’s distribution company Buena Vista Pictures, which included work on films such as The Sixth Sense, High Fidelity, and Unbreakable. He spent time studying between SUNY Purchase and SUNY New Paltz. He currently resides in Sea Cliff, NY.
-
Adam Birnbaum
Adam Birnbaum is the founder and president of the Nova Theatre Circuit, a film booking and consulting firm that represents 28 independently owned and operated movie theatres. He has served in this capacity for Enzian since 2011, handling their first run film buying duties. While he has established a niche in the specialized market by working with art house cinemas and nonprofit organizations, he dually represents commercial exhibitors, including two of New York State’s last remaining drive-ins. Adam is also the Director of Film Programming for the nonprofit Avon Theatre Film Center in Stamford, CT, a restored 1939 Art Deco movie house. He has been with the Avon from the organization’s inception in 2003, overseeing the transformation of the formerly shuttered theatre into a regionally recognized cinema arts institution. Adam has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Vassar College and holds an MBA from Hofstra University.
-
-
Documentary Feature Jury
-
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty has been writing about entertainment for 30 years and has been the movie critic and columnist for the Star-Ledger for the last 15. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, he has made short films; written fiction and features for Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, and Stanford magazine; and had his reviews, essays and profiles appear in Newhouse newspapers around the country. A frequent guest on New York radio and television programs, he is a three-time vice chair, and former chair, of the New York Film Critics Circle.
-
Dylan Marchetti
As founder of Variance Films, Dylan Marchetti and his team work directly with filmmakers to release films theatrically using an inventive “DIWO” (Doing It With Others) model, which allows filmmakers to work with an experienced partner but still retain full ownership and control of their films and all of their rights (hence DIWO, not DIY). A strong focus on in-house grassroots marketing/outreach and “event-izing” theatrical engagements allows Variance to keep release budgets at a fraction of what used to be considered the minimum, which in turn allows specialized, smaller, and less blatantly commercial films to be presented to the underserved theatrical audience that is hungrily waiting for something different and awesome. Since Variance began releasing films in 2008, they have developed one of the most diverse slates in the industry, ranging from $20,000 jazz musicals to $30 million Hong Kong action films. They’ve worked directly with legendary directors such as Spike Lee, John Sayles, and Stanley Tucci as well as exciting new filmmakers such as Terence Nance, Damien Chazelle, and Dave Grohl (!). Dylan wholeheartedly endorses Roland TR-808 drum machines and Hendrick’s gin, particularly when they’re used at the same time.
-
Sari Gilman
Sari Gilman is an award winning documentary filmmaker, whose directorial debut, Kings Point was first shown at the Florida Film Festival in 2012. Since then, it was nominated for an Oscar®, won best short documentary at SilverDocs Films Festival, screened at dozens of festivals worldwide, and aired on HBO. Prior to directing, Gilman was a film editor for over 15 years. She received a Primetime Emmy nomination for her work on Ghosts of Abu Ghraib which, directed by Rory Kennedy, aired on HBO and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The first feature documentary she edited was Judith Helfand’s Blue Vinyl, which also aired on HBO and premiered at Sundance. Other films she has edited have appeared on HBO, AMC, A&E, and PBS, including a history of Las Vegas and a history of New Orleans, both for PBS’s American Experience. Gilman continues to edit.
-
-
Narrative Features Jury
-
John Von Thaden
John Von Thaden is the Manager of Acquisitions at Magnolia Pictures/Magnet Releasing. Prior to joining Magnolia in 2011, John has worked in Los Angeles and New York at companies including New Line Cinema, Court Five Productions, and IFC Films. Now based in NYC, he is a regular attendee at festivals and markets worldwide. He graduated from Boston University.
-
Susan Seidelman
Susan Seidelman arrived on the scene in 1982 when her film Smithereens became the first US Independent film to be accepted into competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Among the highlights of her directing career is Desperately Seeking Susan (starring Madonna and Rosanna Arquette), a critical and commercial success which helped launch the screen careers of many emerging actors of that time, among them Aidan Quinn and John Turturro. The film was nominated for a French “Cesar” for Best Foreign Film. Seidelman also directed Meryl Streep in her fist comedic role in She-Devil; wrote and directed the indie hit Boynton Beach Club; and the pilot and early episodes of the HBO series Sex and the City. Most recently Seidelman completed the editing of The Hot Flashes, starring Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah, Wanda Sykes, Virginia Madsen, and Camryn Manheim as a group of middle aged women who form a basketball team and challenge the current girls high school champs to raise money for charity.
-
Amanda Lebow
Amanda Lebow was recently tapped to be VP of Digital and Ancillary Sales at Oscilloscope Laboratories, an independent film distribution company based in NYC. Lebow will also be helping the acquisitions team to find films best suited for digital platforms. Oscilloscope was founded by the late great Beastie Boys singer Adam Yauch in 2008; previous and current releases include Lynne Ramsay’s Golden Globe®-nominated We Need to Talk About Kevin; Oren Moverman’s Oscar-nominated The Messenger; Shut Up and Play the Hits, the LCD Soundsystem movie; Samsara, Ronald Fricke and Mark Magidson’s follow up to Baraka; and Todd Louiso’s Hello I Must Be Going, which received major acclaim out of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Previously, Ms. Lebow was the Manager of Sales and Acquisitions for Submarine Entertainment a boutique film sales agency; Lebow worked on the sale of such films as Winter’s Bone, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, How to Survive a Plague, Bombay Beach, Page One: Inside the NY Times, and many more.
-
-
Visiting Celebrity Chefs
-
Martha Hall Foose
Martha Hall Foose is a daughter of the Mississippi Delta. She apprenticed at California’s famed La Brea Bakery and trained at a world-class French pastry school before opening Bottletree Bakery in Oxford, Mississippi. She has also served as a food editor for Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks and the Food Professionals Network in Minneapolis. After all these accomplishments, she returned home to Pluto, her family’s plantation. She has since received the James Beard Award for American Cooking and Southern Independent Bookseller’s Award for her first book Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook, which tells the history of the Mississippi Delta and details Foose’s personal journey through life. Martha recently released her new book A Southerly Course: Traveling Foodways Close to Home, her second collection of recipes and vivid stories.
-
Donald Bender
Donald Bender got his first experience of fine dining working for an Italian restaurant in Tucson. He moved on to a restaurant and brewery in Albuquerque and then Proud Larry’s and Bottletree Bakery in his hometown, Oxford, MS. Later, Donald worked at Susan Spicer’s Spice, Inc. and the Windsor Court in New Orleans, Franklin Street Bakery, the Turtle Bread Company, and Whole Foods Bakery in Minneapolis. After all of his travels, Mississippi was calling him home. He moved to the Greenwood area where he opened Mockingbird Bakery. Donald now bakes Mockingbird Bakery artisanal breads and baked goods for the Viking Cooking School, Giardina’s, Delta Bistro, and Turnrow Café. After great success, The Mockingbird Bakery has been featured in Delta Magazine, Leflore Illustrated, and Inc. Magazine.
-
Francine Segan
Francine Segan, noted food historian, is the author of six books including DOLCI: Italy’s Sweets, Movie Menus, Shakespeare’s Kitchen, and Opera Lover’s Cookbook, nominated for both James Beard and IACP awards. She co-edited Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Superbowl, a 2-volume encyclopedia a Gourmand World Award finalist and also contributed the chapter on Ruth Reichl for the Icons of American Cooking. Her many TV appearances include Today Show, Early Show, and Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood. In addition she has been featured on many specials for the History, Sundance, and Discovery channels as well as the Food Network and PBS. Ms. Segan is a frequent radio guest and a regular on Martha Stewart Living radio. Also, she lectures across the country for organizations such as the Smithsonian Museum, the Virginia Fine Arts Museum, Abigail Adams Museum, Norman Rockwell Museum, and Museum of Natural History. She is on the Advisory Board of the French Culinary Institute and teaches cooking classes at Eataly, the Institute of Culinary Education, and at Sarah Lawrence College.
-
-
Local Celebrity Chefs
-
James and Julie Petrakis
Since opening The Ravenous Pig in 2007, James and Julie Petrakis have garnered numerous accolades for their ever-changing menus based on seasonal ingredients and made-from-scratch items. This culinary devotion has won them a coveted James Beard nomination, along with praise from Food & Wine, Saveur, Southern Living and other publications. They are also authors of The Ravenous Pig: Seasons of Florida cookbook. Although James and Julie both grew up in Winter Park, they did not meet until they were attending the Culinary Institute of America (C.I.A.), in Hyde Park, New York. After graduation, they worked at some of the country’s most notable and innovative restaurants—James at Walt Disney World’s California Grill, Atelier at The Ritz Carlton/Central Park, The Ritz Carlton/Orlando, and on the launch team for Seasons 52; Julie at New York City’s Tribeca Grill, Union Square Café, and Union Pacific, Atlanta’s Bachannalia, Primo at Orlando’s JW Marriott, and with her brother-in-law, Brian Petrakis, helped create and launch Greens & Grille. Both James and Julie worked under Chef Brandon McGlamery to open Luma on Park. At Cask & Larder, James and Julie have succeeded in assembling another stellar team of dedicated culinarians to create a restaurant that honors foods of the region with a welcoming, neighborhood feel.
-
Brandon McGlamery
After graduating from the California Culinary Academy, Brandon McGlamery passionately pursued his culinary career, seeking exposure to both domestic and international techniques and experiences. He attributes much of his inspiration and success to time spent at notable Northern California dining destinations, including Delfina in San Francisco, French Laundry in Napa, and Chez Panisse in Berkeley. It was in these establishments that he first discovered his love for wood fired foods in the Italian tradition. Since 2006, Brandon has served as the Executive Chef at Luma on Park, where he has assisted the restaurant in achieving much critical acclaim. With the opening of his second restaurant, Prato, Chef Brandon is thrilled to enchant guests with Italian inspired plates crafted from market-fresh ingredients, and proudly prepared in their Acunto oak-burning ovens.
-
