Jury

Producer/Writer

Ramzi was a producer, writer and director for the award–winning program ‘Salam Cafe’ initially screened on Channel 31 then later produced for SBS. During that production Ramzi also completed his Masters in Film and Television at the Victorian College of Arts. Ramzi taught film production at SAE in Amman, Jordan. Where he continued working in the short film and corporate video industry.’

Co-founder Planet Broadcasting

Claire is a capable public speaker, interviewer, community builder and collaborator who began her career as a primary school teacher and worked as an ESL teacher and in remote community schools. It is through these settings that Claire found a special interest in developing a student’s emotional well-being through creativity and the arts. Co-founding media company Planet Broadcasting with her partner James Clement in 2015, Claire began innovative work monetising podcasts and YouTube content for the highly successful ‘Mr Sunday Movies YouTube channel.’ Experienced in audio production and delivering content Claire grew her company to be one of the largest independent YouTube and podcast networks in Australia. Now she hosts two podcasts, including the award-winning arts and culture recommendations show ‘Suggestible and ‘TONTS’ interviewing writers, experts, thinkers and deeply feeling humans about their stories. Claire is in awe of the talent displayed through this year’s Melbourne Webfest. 

Writer-Director

Andy is a short story fiction writer, film director and producer with a passion for travelling around the world. He has studied a BA degree in Filmmaking at U de Cuenca and an MA degree in Media at RMIT in Ecuador, and is currently undertaking an MBA degree. Andy has written and directed two web-series: Santa Dictadura (2009) and Seguros Anónimos S.A (2011) and produced music videos for well–known groups in Ecuador. Now he judges national and micro film contests with the most recent achieving 120K views, with more than 50 participants from 20 different cities.

Writer, director, producer

Andy studied at JMC Academy from 2013 – 2015, and then at RMIT undertaking a Masters of Media in Audio Engineering and Sound Production from 2015 – 2017. He is currently a video editor and Creative Manager for a production company, travelling across Australia and filming for touring/adventure television shows. With a passion for all things-post production, Andy appreciates quality sound design and great storytelling.     

Artist/Lecturer

Gendhy Dwi Harlyan is an audio–visual artist, lecturer and educator from Riau, Indonesia. He studied a Master of Arts in Film, Cinema, Video Studies at Institut Kesenian in Jakarta, and a Bachelor of Arts in Design and Visual Communications at Universitas Negeri Malang. Gendhy has taught for 11 years as a lecturer in film, video and sound at Politeknik Batam and holds an Adobe Creative Educator Certificate.  

Lecturer

James is a student-focused lecturer and instructor with 12 years teaching experience in undergraduate courses in cinema studies, media studies and film production including RMIT University, Monash University and SAE Creative Institute as a Film Department Coordinator. He is committed to delivering an exceptional student experience along with high level student engagement and educational outcomes. As a hands-on producer, director, writer, and editor, James has exhibited work in film festivals across the globe and publications in major international academic journals passing peer review. 

TV personality

Nazeem Hussian is a Television and Radio personality, Comedian and Writer starring in comedy series, stage performances and podcasts. Nazeem’s first comedy podcast Burn Your Passport won iTunes Best Comedy Podcast of 2016 and is ranked in the 20 most listened to podcasts in Australia. In 2020 he launched his latest podcast Survivor’s Guide to Corona Virus, teaming up with some of Australia’s most loved comedians, entertainers and personalities. In 2018, Nazeem’s prime time TV comedy series ‘Orange Is The New Brown’ aired on Channel 7 that he both created and starred in. Among his greatest achievements includes 2019 Netflix Special Nazeem Hussain: Public Frenemy that featured at the Just for Laughs Festival. This year Nazeem’s touring show Hussain That?, sold out nationally.  

Producer, videographer

Hamish Leslie-Kelly has been working in screen and broadcast for over ten years, with many personal projects that he has developed on the side. Graduating from RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology), Hamish immediately succeeded in television and now works as a videographer, editor and 2nd Assistant Camera. Currently, he focuses on Producing; one of his primary passions and looks forward to seeing what the next generation of screen story-tellers can amaze us with.