Jury Bios
Eris Qian
Eris Qian is an award-winning writer/director/producer based in New York City and considers herself a global nomad. debut short film MOTHER TONGUE had its NY premiere at the academy-qualifying Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival in 2020 and screened at 15 prestigious festivals globally. Her first feature PULLING SEEDLINGS was selected for 2021 Sundance x Women In Film Financing Strategy Intensive and the Mubi-sponsored Wscripted Cannes Screenplay List. Eris is also a Raindance Screenwriting Fellow for her short LAST SHIP EAST, and a member of the Stars Collective by Starlight Media. As a natural multi-hyphenate, Eris holds MBA/MFA dual degrees from NYU's Stern and Tisch.
Jesse Trussel
Jesse Trussell is the Director, Film Program and Strategy at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music). Before that he programmed at festivals across the country, from SXSW to the Philadelphia Film Festival, and worked in distribution at IFC Films.
Roni Wheeler
Roni is an Entertainment and Management Professional with the ability to manage large staffs; negotiate contracts; schedule and budget filmed projects; manage productions from conception through Post and pass audits. My, Namaste’ Productions, performs numerous Line Producing skills for large and small productions. ON TIME! ON BUDGET! ON POINT!
Schawannah Wright
Schawannah Wright is a community engagement strategist, utilizing cultural arts as a vehicle to generate and facilitate engagement initiatives that foster dialogue and understanding in our multicultural communities. Her experiences are varied, presenting the BAM Black Comix Expo at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a two day conference on the acclaimed HBO series, The Wire at Columbia University School of the Arts in partnership with the Heyman Center for Humanities. As Community Involvement Manager for the Brooklyn Museum, Schawannah managed the West Indian American Day Carnival festival programs, served on the selection committee for the Reel Sisters Film Festival and a focus roundtable with theTenement Museum on an African American Walking Tour.
Sola Bamis
Sola Bamis is an actress, writer, performance artist, and filmmaker committed to high-quality artmaking across media platforms. A SAG Award nominee, she has appeared in several television shows, performed in regional theatre world premieres, and lent her voice talents to video games and radio and television commercials. She produced and starred in two short films shot in Nigeria, and the script for her next film project Crocodile tied first place in the 2021 Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series Short Narrative Screenplay Competition and placed finalist and semifinalist in the 2018 Film Daily Screenwriting and Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competitions. Her one-woman show The Tutorial, a multi-part solo piece and social media installation, incorporates the magic of transformative storytelling, performance art, and Revolutionary Theater to deliver a vital prescription for blac women’s self-love and expression. Ms. Bamis received her MFA from the California Institute of the Arts.
Prof. Larry Banks
Prof. Larry Banks teaches at Long Island University, Chairing the Media Arts Dept. and running their new BFA in Film program on the Brooklyn campus. As a filmmaker, Larry has been in the industry for over 4 decades. Known for his cinematography in feature films like Juice, Strapped, Fly by Night, and Substitute II. And documentaries like Sembene: The Father of African Filmmaking and John Henry Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk. He has also shot, Produced, and Directed numerous Commercials and Music videos. For 16 years, He was the Director of the Big Mini Media film festival and two Blockchain and Media summits.