FICTION FILMS JURY
Karen Robinson is a multi-award-winning Jamaican-Canadian performer with a career spanning over three decades. Best known as Ronnie Lee in the Emmy- and SAG-winning ‘Schitt’s Creek’, she has starred in ‘The Calling’, ‘Echoes’, ‘Pretty Hard Cases’ (CSA nominee), ‘Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent’ (2025 CSA nominee), ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ and ‘Narc’. Film credits include ‘Ghett’a Life’ (Best Actress, Salento IFF), ‘Lars and the Real Girl’ and ‘Trigger Point’. A Dora and NAACP Theatre Award winner, Robinson is among Canada’s most acclaimed actresses.
Amanda Smyth is Irish-Trinidadian. Born in Ireland, she is the author of Black Rock; A Kind of Eden and Fortune. Black Rock won the Prix du Premier Roman prize, was shortlisted for the McKitterick Prize and was selected as an Oprah Winfrey Summer Read. Fortune was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize in 2022. Look at You was published in April 2025.
Amanda teaches creative writing at Arvon, and Skyros in Greece.
Carmen Thompson is a film programmer and cultural producer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is head of distribution and special projects at We Are Parable, leading UK and international releases including ‘Banel & Adama'(2023). A programme consultant for Sheffield DocFest and former Sub-Saharan African programmer at Red Sea Film Festival, she is also deputy chair of BIFA. Previously, with Aya Films, she worked on the UK releases of films such as ‘The Gravedigger’s Wife’, ‘Rafiki’ and ‘Sprinter’. A Screen International Future Leader, Carmen is a BAFTA and EFA voting member.
DOCUMENTARY JURY
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Julian Carrington is the executive director of the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC), leading advocacy and research to build a sustainable, equitable documentary sector. Formerly managing director of the Racial Equity Media Collective and senior industry manager at Hot Docs, he oversaw key funds such as Hot Docs CrossCurrents Doc Fund, as well as the Distribution Rendezvous pitch programme, and the Doc Shop. He founded For Viola, the Hot Docs Cinema’s BIPOC-focused screening series. Julian has also programmed for TIFF and Planet in Focus, and consulted on distribution for DOC.
Ahisha Ghafoor is a BAFTA-winning filmmaker, producer, writer, and polyglot with a background in journalism. She produced ‘State of Rage’ (2025), winner of the BAFTA for Best Current Affairs Film, the BAFTA CRAFT Award for Best Factual Photography, the New York Film Festival Social Justice Award, and nominee for the Grimme Preis. Formerly at the BBC, her experience spans ‘BBC Eye’, BBC Arabic documentaries, to international development, and the charity sector. She is NCTJ-qualified and studied Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies.
Keisha Nicole Knight is a researcher and cultural organiser based in Los Angeles, California. Formerly the director of funds and advocacy at the International Documentary Association, Keisha is well known for her field-building work and filmmaker centered approach to funding. Keisha is a doctoral candidate in Film and Visual Studies at Harvard University. She holds an MA in Media Studies from Pratt Institute and a BA in Comparative Religion from Barnard College. She is the founder of Solidarity Media Network, a hub for anti-carceral anti-racist media organising.
T+T FILMS JURY
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Kevin Jared Hosein is the author of Hungry Ghosts, fiction winner of the 2024 OCM Bocas Prize and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. It had also been longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. He is a two-time winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, regionally in 2015 and overall in 2018. His previous novels include The Repenters, which was shortlisted for the Fiction OCM Bocas Prize, and The Beast of Kukuyo, which received a Burt Award for Young Adult Caribbean Literature. Both were also longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. He has been published in numerous anthologies and outlets, including Esquire, Wasafiri, Granta and BBC Radio 4. He lives in Trinidad and Tobago.
Lesley-Anne Macfarlane is a narrative and documentary producer committed to inclusive storytelling. She produced the 2023 feature ‘Little English’, a British South Asian family comedy backed by the BFI Audience Fund, which screened on 700+ UK screens before digital release. Her work spans shorts, features, and workforce development, strengthening links between education, employers, and industry. A BAFTA Connect member and BIFA Springboard alumna, she has juried BAFTA-qualifying festivals, assessed funds for Ffilm Cymru and BFI Doc Society, and co-founded the Caribbean Alliance of Film + Television Practitioners.
Dr Bruce Paddington is a filmmaker, academic and film festival curator. He was a senior lecturer in film at the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and the co-founder of the Bachelor of Arts Film Programme. He is the founder of Banyan Productions, the New World Film Centre and the trinidad+tobago film festival and was the festival director from 2006–19. He was recently awarded the Chaconia Gold medal for his contributions to Media and the Film Industry.
STUDENT FILMS JURY
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Nadean Rawlins is a Jamaican creative producer, director, and cultural advocate whose work centres marginalised voices. She is developing two features: ‘Fallen Angel, Devil Concubine’ and ‘Raised by Goats’, the latter was selected for Locarno Open Doors, La Fabrique Cinéma (Cannes), and the Sørfond Pitching Forum. She serves as president of JAFTA, vice president of WIFTJA, board member of WIFTI, and co-founder of TenTastic Festival. An alumna of EAVE, Rotterdam Lab, and Locarno Open Doors, she champions sustainable Caribbean storytelling.
Aiko Maya Roudette is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, and creative consultant, and the founder/director of the Hairouna Film Festival in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Her 12-year career spans roles from director to cinematographer, with collaborations including Soho House Group, Warner Music, Questlove’s OkayPlayer, and Oscar-winning Little Monster Films. Her work has screened across North America, Europe, and the Caribbean. In 2024, she was appointed Chairperson of the Creative Sector for the Prime Ministerial Youth Advisory Council in St. Vincent.
Marianna Vargas Gurilieva is the film commissioner of the Dominican Republic and head of DGCINE, leading the country’s audiovisual public policy strategy since 2021. She helped create the Dominican Film Law and formerly served as director of business and legal affairs at Pinewood Dominican Republic Studios. At DGCINE, she oversees tax incentives and the FONPROCINE fund, driving modernisation through data-driven reforms. She has served on international juries, Latin American coproduction committees, and represents the DR in IBERMEDIA and CAACI.