Jury

Adam Benish is a versatile filmmaker who has been active in the Canadian film industry since 2006, taking on roles as a Director, Producer, and Assistant Director. Some of his major credits in the industry include:"Suicide Squad" (2016), "The Witch" (2016) & The Academy Award Winning "Spotlight" (2015). In addition to his work on these major productions, Adam has a strong passion for filmmaking, which has driven him to direct and produce multiple short films. Some of his short film projects include "Holdout" (2021), "Generations Under Sail" (2021), and "War Games!" (2023). Adam's dedication and passion for filmmaking have led him to pursue his upcoming directorial feature film debut, showcasing his ambition and creativity in the world of cinema.

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Angelica (Angela Johnson) is a highly accomplished and versatile musician, renowned as a pianist, singer-songwriter, composer, and producer. With an impressive collection of six original music albums, Angelica has made a significant impact in multiple music genres, including pop, classical, country, blues, and dance. Her work is widely available in stores worldwide, reflecting her extensive background in recording studios.

President of AMP Talent Group Inc, a multi award winning Toronto based talent agency since 2004, Anne Marie represents leading talent in Film & TV Canada. In addition, Anne Marie is the President of the Canadian Actors Symposium, a mentorship and educational event in support of actors in the Film and Television Arts.

Art Nefsky began his own performance career in 1973, at the Ryerson Theatre Program in Toronto, studying theatre, acting, voice, and mime. Within three years, he hit television and nightclub stages as “Igor” on City TV’s monster movie. Identifying a great need among novice and experienced performers alike, Nefsky launched Showoffs Studio for Performers in 1987 to help others improve their voice and performance skills as well as reduce or overcome performance anxiety, shyness and self-consciousness.

In 1991, Butch Kaplan began producing both feature films and television. His fluency in foreign languages (French, Hebrew, Spanish) and understanding of local customs has enabled him to work in many different parts of the world including Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia and Canada. His credits include Babylon A.D., John Q, Pamiętnik, Devs, The Mosquito Coast, Fear The Walking Dead.

In 1990, Frank transitioned into filmmaking with Caruso Visual Productions and went on to act, write, produce and direct feature films, shorts, documentaries, music videos and commercials.Frank Caruso was a founding member and head programmer for the Toronto Italian Film Festival (1999 to 2005). He has been on award & selection juries for film festivals such as: Toronto Polish Film Festival, Vaughn Film Festival, the Canadian Gemini awards and has recently been on the jury for the Macedonian Film Festival (2015-2018) and the Film for Peace Festival (2019 - 2021)

Kat blends the worlds of film production, psychology, and marketing. She’s focused on the business side of filmmaking, producing documentaries and narrative films, and enhancing her knowledge of feature film financing and distribution through the CMPA Screen Content Production Mentorship. She’s dedicated to creating and sharing stories about themes like womanhood, sexuality, longevity, and mental health while also promoting Polish Cinema on a global scale.

Katie Uhlmann is an award-winning actor, writer and director. She is best known for her role as Candy Kemper on NBC/Global's hit medical drama, NURSES. She is also known for her talk show, KATIE CHATS, where she interviewed over 3000 professionals working in film and tv.

B.A., LL.B., is a retired lawyer, writer, film and video critic and a film festival consultant.

Dr. Margaret P. Bonikowska is an award winning journalist (press, radio, TV), podcast producer (English language POLcast, linguist, English teacher, author, educator, and community & human rights activist. She is the editor-in-chief of the daily "Gazeta" (www.gazetagazeta.com), which for nine years organized the annual Toronto Polish Film Festival, several Canadian Polish film premieres and many Polish film promotion projects, all co-organized and hosted by Margaret.

Ottie Lockey has lived in Toronto since 1978 with her Poland born spouse Eve Zaremba. Her short films, shot in Poland, have screened in Toronto, Vancouver and at the University of Warsaw. For several years Ottie has served Ekran - Toronto Polish Film Festival - both as a board member and as Jury Chair.

Language scientist, born and raised in Szczecin, Poland, home of the world's oldest continuously running cinema.