2024 Jury
FEATURES, DARK MATTER
Justin DiPietro
Justin DiPietro is the Executive Vice President of MPI Media Group and Dark Sky Films. He brings with him years of extensive experience and most recently led the marketing, publicity and distribution efforts at Academy Award-winning Distributor Cohen Media Group after serving as Director of Sales and Distribution at Netflix. DiPietro managed and helped develop theatrical and Academy campaigns for several award-nominated titles, including 2023’s Best Foreign Film Academy Award nominee IO Capitano and two 2020 Best Picture Oscar nominees, Mank and The Trial of the Chicago 7. Prior to Netflix, DiPietro was the Head of Distribution at IFC Films, where he oversaw theatrical and non-theatrical releasing and worked on award-winning films such as Boyhood, Frances Ha, The Trip series, Let the Sun Shine In, and Wildlife as well as elevated genre films, The Babadook and Lars Von Trier's The House That Jack Built.
Edoardo Vitaletti
Edoardo Vitaletti is an Italian-born, NYC-based Screenwriter and Director. He is best known for his feature-length debut The Last Thing Mary Saw, a horror-drama starring ISABELLE FUHRMAN, RORY CULKIN and STEFANIE SCOTT. The film premiered at the 25th edition of Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival and was part of Brooklyn Horror Film Festival’s 2021 selection. Following the film’s release on SHUDDER, Variety singled out Edoardo as a director who “merits admiration for a debut feature whose ambitions are off the usual beaten track”, echoing Rolling Stone Italy in calling him a “young auteur to keep our eyes on.” In 2024, Edoardo was inducted into the European Film Academy as a Director and voting member for Italy.
Toby Poser
Toby Poser is a filmmaker, actress, and founder of Wonder Wheel Productions, for which she directs, writes, produces, and performs alongside her family (collectively known as The Adams Family). The family’s award-winning independent feature films include The Deeper You Dig (2019), Hellbender (2021), Where the Devil Roams (2023), and Hell Hole (2024). Toby co-directed the episode Plastic Smile for the new Screambox/Bloody Disgusting original series Tales from the Void (2024). She lives in the Catskill Mountains of New York.
FEATURES, HEAD TRIP
Jacqueline Castel
Jacqueline Castel is a director and screenwriter based in NYC. Her debut feature film, romance horror MY ANIMAL world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023, and was theatrically released and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Castel has written and directed projects for cult auteurs John Carpenter and Jim Jarmusch, and collaborated on a film with David Lynch for his Festival of Disruption. Her music video work includes collaborations with artist Alan Vega of seminal NYC duo Suicide, as well as contemporary female musicians Zola Jesus & Pharmakon. Previously, she was the NYC co-director of the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, and is a freelance programmer and artistic director for events, experiences, and screenings internationally.
Jenika McCrayer
Jenika McCrayer is a Brooklyn writer, cinephile, and competitive powerlifter. As a horror and Afrofuturism fanatic, Jenika likes to explore the complexities of race and gender through the supernatural in her writing. Her writing on the sociopolitical aspects of the horror genre is featured in Fangoria Magazine, Horror Press, and Gayly Dreadful.
Jim Brunzell III
Jim Brunzell III was born in the 70's, played sports in the 80's, went to school in the 90's, and started working on film festivals in the 2000's. He joined the Twin Cities based music + film festival, Sound Unseen in 2008 as a programmer and became the festival director in 2012, and the festival will celebrate its 25th anniversary this November. During his tenure the festival has been named "One of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World '' by Moviemaker Magazine in 2016 & 2019 and "One of the 20 Great First Time Moviemakers Festival'' in 2022. In 2023, he joined the L.A. based film distributor, Dark Star Pictures as Director of Festivals and Theatrical. He has served on numerous film festival juries and is a big sports nerd, especially a die-hard Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Dodgers fan. He is also the father to a 6-year old tabby cat named Bruce.
SHORTS
Avery Coffey
In a world that believes "it's not that deep", Avery has been challenging that since before her podcast show. She's a southern belle living and loving Brooklyn with her hellhound. With a focus on Black and queer horror, Avery connects horror fans with intersectional media of their most beloved genre.
Sophie Carroll
UK native Sophie Carroll’s passion for horror began at age 6 with Scream. Her media experience in London prepared her to lead the creative vision for Gunpowder & Sky’s ALTER (horror) and DUST (sci-fi). As Director of Creative, Sophie oversees branding and content for their YouTube and FAST TV channels, bringing innovative and boundary-pushing stories to global audiences. She’s been key in shaping these platforms, bridging the gap between visionary indie filmmakers and genre fans.
Nathan Ginter
Nathan Ginter is a writer/director/editor from Kalamazoo, Michigan, with a passion for embracing and subverting genre. Nathan graduated from Pratt Institute’s BFA Film Program, was a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and was awarded the National Board of Review Student Grant. His films have won “Best Short Film” at the BFI Future Film Festival and Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, as well as screening at Fantastic Fest, Beyond Fest, New Hampshire Film Festival, Rhode Island Film Festival, Bend Film Festival, BAM, and more. His work has been featured on Vimeo Staff Picks, Director Notes, Film Shortage, and NoBudge.