JURORS - 2023

Ms. Laufer-Rottman is the founder of Palms for Life Fund and CFFF. She is a former employee of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) where she worked for almost 30 years in several senior positions. She has traveled extensively in developing countries and has had first-hand experience dealing with impoverished communities. She has managed anti-poverty projects, large feeding programs, and humanitarian operations in Burkina Faso, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Nicaragua. Her experience includes school feeding programs, vulnerable groups’ projects, advancement of women, rural development and assets creation.

Jennifer Schiff Berg graduated from the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University with a master's degree in Food Service Management in 1996 and a PhD in Food Studies in 2006. She has taught numerous courses in the Department since 1990 and now serves as the director for the Graduate Program in Food Studies.

With a focus on the intersection of food, culture, and identity, she conducts her own research on Jewish American foodways.

Berg serves as the treasurer for the Association for the Study of Food and Society, an international organization dedicated to an interdisciplinary discourse on the role of food in culture and society and advisory board member for the American Institute of Wine and Food. She co-chair Days of Taste, a yearly farm-to-table program for 2000 New York City public school students. She is a certified Greenmarket tour guide and tour market trainer for the New York City Council on the Environment.

Sylvia Caminer is an Emmy Award-winning director and producer. She received more than 15 top awards at film festivals worldwide for her narrative feature directorial debut, FOLLOW HER (2023). She previously directed the documentaries, AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART (2012), about Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Rick Springfield; TANZANIA: A JOURNEY WITHIN (2011), an odyssey that explores beauty and suffering in East Africa; and the Daytime Emmy-winning travel show, SAMANTHA BROWN’S PLACES TO LOVE (2018-present). She has also produced more than fifteen independent features including the Harvey Keitel WWII film, CHOSEN, and THE DELI, BLUE MOON, LOVE N’ DANCING, GRACE and BREAKING POINT. Her production company, DolGer Films, is actively developing several projects for Sylvia to direct including a screenplay based on the U.K. sci-fi time travel novel, AND THEN SHE VANISHED, which is Book 1 of a 7 book series.

Jesse Ash is the Executive Producer and Co-Owner of Greener Media, an award-winning production company based in New York City. He has co-produced and directed short documentaries that have been recognized by film festivals, such as Sundance and Faces of Hunger, where his film Man in the Maze respectively won the Short Film Challenge in 2015 and the Jury Prize in 2016. He's passionate about using his skills and creativity to make a positive difference in the world through impactful storytelling.

Jenn Shaw is an award-winning filmmaker specializing in sports, comedy and coming-of-age films. She has directed over 50 commercials, documentary films and over eight narrative shorts premiering at Hollyshorts, Pan African, Cannes Short Film Corner and Tribeca Film festivals. She's got a lot of food work on her resume having filmed content for brands such as Korbel, Brach's and Pearl Milling Company. Her past Executive producers include Spike Lee and Queen Latifah. Her ESPN film $15 Kicks was executive produced by Spike Lee and earned a Black Reel Award. Currently, her first feature film is in development with tinygiant and in 2022 Break Through the Lens. Recently, she directed two shorts, I Won The Lottery… and Charlie and the Hunt starring Lauren Ridloff (Eternals, Walking Dead). Recently, she was the executive producer/director of Running While Black with Vice, and Adidas. Currently, she is a director in the 2022-23 Tribeca Studio Queen Collective with her short titled Gaps. She’s repped by Sola Fasehun (TDC) and managed by Anonymous Content.

Duffy Higgins is an international, award-winning director, producer, cinematographer and photographer, splitting his time between his hometown of Miami, FL and NYC. Between commercials, brand films, music videos, documentaries and narrative short films, his approach to storytelling is an intimate and visual affair. Whether from behind a monitor or clutching the camera himself, he crafts storylines so an audience can connect to a sentiment and ultimately evoke an option. He started A76 Productions in '06, a full service independent production company and has gone on to produce & direct over 100 commercial pieces. Non-commercial credits include La Prochaine Fois, Brooklyn Basketball, Mow Crew, and most recently Sunday Shots. He travels the seasons in a vintage Ford Bronco with his dog T.

As Creative Director (and Co-Founder) of Intimation Productions, Jesse directs and produces a diverse range of projects, including short & feature length narrative fiction films, episodic projects, music videos, commercials, documentaries, and educational content. Past films have won awards at a multitude of film festivals, including being selected for consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the 2016 Oscars. Jesse recently directed the world premiere of the one-act play 2-Faces at the Edinburgh Fringe. Jesse is the Director of Episodic Programming for the Lighthouse Int’l Film Festival, a screener of episodic pilots for SXSW (since 2018), and, most recently, Programming Director for the Climate Film Festival. A graduate of UPenn’s Management & Technology Program, he is the NYC Chairperson of Penntertainment, Co-Chair of the Wharton Media & Entertainment Group, and Vice President of PennNYC. Jesse is thrilled to support impact filmmaking as a member of the jury for the Ceres Food Film Festival.

May (Merav) Elbaz Belschner is an Israeli born filmmaker, working in the film and TV industry in NYC since 2003. She wrote, directed and produced the award winning short films Suddenly starring Terry Kinney and Elvis Nolasco, and Cocked and Locked, starring Gabriel Sloyer and Shimrit Lustig. She's worked on TV series such as Succession and Homeland and feature films such as The Greatest Showman and Doctor Strange. Most recently she worked on the upcoming HBO’s season 2 of The Gilded Age and on Bradley Cooper’s feature film Maestro. She is very excited to join the panel of Ceres Food Film Festival and discover new talent!

Myriam Pinkas is a Registered Dietitian with a Master’s degree in Nutrition Science from Brooklyn College. She currently works at Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Immigrant Health and Cancer Disparities Service where she is involved in different research and community outreach projects with NYC taxi drivers. Prior to joining the IHCD, she worked at Bellevue Hospital where she provided nutrition counseling to individuals with diverse conditions and backgrounds. Witnessing the urgent need for research and programs addressing health disparities among immigrants and underrepresented groups, she became passionate about contributing to this important work. Myriam also has a Bachelor’s degree in Gastronomic Sciences from the University of Gastronomic Sciences. The school’s unique and holistic approach to food studies gave her a wide array of scientific and social perspectives on the field.

Sebastian Sardo, a seasoned food trend scout, leads trend scouting for a Swiss startup, emphasizing top-tier products and emerging chefs. With roles at Eataly and Food52, he's an expert in the dynamic food industry. His academic foundation and hands-on experience uniquely position him to navigate evolving food trends and innovations. As a juror at the 12th 'Corto in Bra' International Short Film Festival, Sebastian gained deeper insights into gastronomy. His time at the University of Gastronomic Sciences involved a comprehensive study of food's cultural, social, and scientific dimensions, providing him with a fresh perspective on the integral role of food in everyday life.