Frank Calo is an independent producer and director whose film The Believer, starring Ryan Gosling and Billy Zane, won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. That film won at many festivals that year, including The Berlin Film Festival. It was shown nationwide and had a great box office run. His film Here & There with Cyndi Lauper and David Thornton won the Best New York Narrative In World Competition 2009 at Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival in NYC and had its official New York premier played to audiences domestically and overseas. Calo has worked with Robert De Niro (Godsend), Demi Moore, Mike Myers, Shelly Winters, Marlon Brando, and many more. His film The Cookout, distributed by Lionsgate, with Queen Latifah also had a great box office run. He also worked for two years with The Motion Picture Bond Company under Robert Bordiga, as a producer working on films throughout the tri-state area. He was one of the few and only directors who studied privately under Mr. Elia Kazan.

Homayra Sellier is the founder of Innocence In Danger (IID), is a international child protection organization, operating in nine countries (France, United Kingdom, Colombia, Germany, Switzerland, United States of America, Austria, Iran, and Morocco). Because Sellier is multilingual — fluent in Spanish, French, English, and Farsi — she selects all films submitted to TRIFF’s Human Rights and Dignity category. She has devoted her life to human rights issues. Throughout the years, Sellier’s organization has utilized television documentaries, billboard campaigns, and other media platforms to help raise awareness on human abuse. A number of the French, Swiss, and German films and visual works that she and her offices have been involved with have been nominated for the Prix Olivier Debouzy, one of France’s most prestigious awards, and short films/ spots at Cannes Film Festival. Sellier was the primary inspiration for Illegitimate Advantage, a 2016 novel written by Kirk Gollwitzer, the cofounder of TRIFF. They are now actively working together to adapt the novel into a major motion picture.

Dr. Samuel Waymon joins the Tryon International Film Festival as a distinguished judge for the Human Rights & Dignity performance category. An inspiration in the music realm, Sam enriches the festival with his vast experience and distinctive perspective. With a career spanning decades, Sam has left an indelible mark as a pianist, composer, singer, and performer. He is celebrated for his pioneering approach to the piano, seamlessly blending diverse musical genres. As the brother of the iconic Nina Simone, Sam co-authored many of her chart-topping songs and served as her manager, confidante, and organist for the initial 25 years of her illustrious career. He has graced the stage with legendary artists such as Miles Davis, Odetta, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Quincy Jones, Donny Hathaway, Phyllis Hyman, and Max Roach. Beyond his musical feats, Sam has made notable contributions to the film industry as a composer and actor. He composed music for Jonathan Demme’s Academy Award-winning film “Philadelphia" and appeared in “Weeds” alongside Nick Nolte. His work in Bill Gunn’s “Ganja & Hess” garnered acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival and is enshrined in the Museum of Modern Art’s Library Archives. Recently, his composition “You’ve Got to Learn” was featured in Spike Lee’s “Da Sweet Blood of Jesus.” Sam Waymon’s extensive background in music and film, coupled with his profound understanding of human rights and dignity, adds immense value to the judging panel of the Tryon International Film Festival.

Over 25 of Bernhardt’s screenplays have resulted in produced films, attracting such Academy Award winners and nominees as Donald Sutherland, Michael Caine, John Lithgow, Nick Nolte, Charlize Theron, Sylvester Stallone, and Dennis Hopper. Other prestigious notables on his projects have included Orlando Bloom, Chris Rock, Wesley Snipes, Ben Foster, Patrick Swayze, Dolph Lundgren, Michael Shannon, Charlie Sheen, Kevin Bacon and many other star names. While building a career as a writer, Bernhardt supported himself as an actor—with years-long contract roles on General Hospital and Dynasty, and bad-guy roles in films such as Clive Barker’s Hellraiser. He was brought back to that side of the camera again by another Tryon alumni Steven Esteb in Hate Crime, then again most recently in Ben Foster's 2022 Medieval. But it starts and ends with writing.

Steven Esteb is a versatile filmmaker who has worked as an actor and a Hollywood screenwriter, and director of commercials, music videos, documentaries, and features. His film Hate Crime won both Best Feature and Human Right & Dignity categories in the 2016 Tryon International Film Festival. Other films include Dirty Politics, a dark comedy starring Judd Nelson, Beau Bridges, and Howard Hesseman; and Baller Blockin, a rap film for Universal starring Lil Wayne that hit #1 on the Billboard charts in DVD and video sales eventually going quadruple platinum. Esteb has been represented by top agencies like ICM and Paradigm as a screenwriter and has worked as a script doctor, coach, and screenwriting teacher. He is currently teaching film and screenwriting at Loyola University in New Orleans. He lived and worked at an AIDS hospice for two years while making the feature length documentary Living With... A Film About Love and AIDS. It premiered at the Santa Barbara Film Festival and traveled the world, contributing to the opening of new AIDS hospices, his proudest accomplishment. Esteb studied film production in the graduate program at Boston University and has a degree in political science. He now lives in rural Louisiana, his adopted home, with his wife and two children.

Jeff L. Lieberman is an Emmy & WGA-nominated Director, Writer, Producer, Filmmaker and Journalist and the founder of Re-Emerging Films. His newest Oscar-qualifying documentary, “Bella!” profiles the trailblazing congresswoman, Bella Abzug and is a 2024 Writers Guild of America Nominee for Best Documentary Screenplay and the 2022 winner of the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film. Bella Abzug’s inspiring story and crusading work on behalf of women, the working class, and the LGBTQ+ community is told through brand new interviews with Barbra Streisand, Shirley MacLaine, Hillary Clinton, Lily Tomlin, Nancy Pelosi, Gloria Steinem, Maxine Waters, Phil Donahue and many more. Using never-before-seen home movies, audio diaries, and a vast trove of newly-discovered news footage, the film is not just a story about one woman, but takes viewers into a colorful and gritty era with deep similarities to events of today. The film opened in theatres in August 2023 and made its television debut on PBS's "American Masters." Lieberman's previous films include the documentaries: “The Amazing Nina Simone” and “Re-Emerging: The Jews of Nigeria” which have been seen in more than 100 theatres in 21 countries and currently stream on Amazon, iTunes and a number of other streaming services. "The Amazing Nina Simone” (2015) has been called the best of the three Nina Simone films by The New Yorker Magazine, and “The Nina Simone film we should all be watching” by Blavity. It was nominated for Outstanding Documentary by The Black Reel Awards and heralded by The New York Times, BBC News and The Hollywood Reporter for its in-depth research into the often misunderstood singer and civil rights activist. It followed Lieberman’s Academy Award-Qualifying documentary film, “Re-Emerging: The Jews of Nigeria” which was proclaimed as “one of the must-see documentaries of 2013” by New York’s Amsterdam News. Lieberman has previously held roles as a Co-Executive Producer on Vice's "Sex Before The Internet", a Senior Producer at CNN, a CBS News National Producer and a Video Reporter for The New York Post. At CNN, Lieberman led a team through the production of the Emmy-nominated film: "Taking on Taylor Swift" which had a 2022 primetime broadcast on CNN. Lieberman has also directed many short films including “In the Mix: 25 Days and Not a Minute More” starring Usher, and the viral election video, “Call Your Zeyde”. Lieberman is next set to direct the feature narrative entitled “My Harlem” based on his recent screenplay.

E. Vincent Martinez is a Cuban-born filmmaker and visual artist based in Tryon, North Carolina. He holds an MFA in Photography from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and is known for directing Iron Pearls (2025), which he also executive produced, and Bringle: A Tale of Two Makers (2023). His work explores craft, identity, and cultural storytelling through a visually driven lens. Martinez maintains an IMDb profile and continues to build a body of cinematic work centered on artists and makers. He co-owns Mirrorball Gallery, a fine art and contemporary craft space in Tryon, with his husband, Alex Page, extending his commitment to art, community, and narrative beyond film.

Sam Sokolow is a two- time Emmy-nominated television producer and founder of Nice Media Studios, an independent TV studio based in Los Angeles and Toronto. He oversees development and production of scripted television and films, including acquiring and packaging IP, managing physical production, and guiding projects from concept to screen. He is best known as the Executive Producer of GENIUS, the acclaimed National Geographic series he developed from book to screen. Each season explores the life of a different icon—Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, and Aretha Franklin—and has earned multiple Emmy nominations. Sam is also a dedicated mentor and educator, teaching at Boston University’s LA program and guest lecturing at top film schools.

Calo is a bicoastal actor, MoCap performer, and voice actress who spent her childhood on film and television sets with her parents. She began acting at the age of seven, and has since enthusiastically followed her passion. She studied and performed with theaters such as the moscow Art Theatre Company, New York Stage and Film, as well as with acclaimed international director, Adolf Shapiro. In the voice over realm, she has worked on a myriad of animated series, anime, films, and video games. She can be heard as Salene Crow in Wasteland 3: The Battle of Steeltown, Cheng Chen in the popular mobile game, Seven Knights 2, Stella Loussier in Gundam Seed: Destiny, Pokemon, and more.

Diana De Rosa is a seasoned equine journalist, photographer, and media producer with over 40 years of experience covering the global equestrian world. She has reported from more than 40 countries and has been credentialed for ten Olympic Games, numerous World Equestrian Games, Pan American Games, and World Cups. Her work encompasses writing, photography, public relations, and media production. De Rosa is the Worldwide Equestrian Correspondent for EQUUS Television Network, which has partnered with the Tryon International Film Festival to encourage more equestrian films to be entered. She is also the owner of Press Link PR and Diana De Rosa Photography. In addition to her journalistic endeavors, she is a part-time actress and a member of the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG- AFTRA). Her contributions to the equestrian community have earned her recognition, including awards for her photography and media coverage.

Erika Arlee has always chased the lightning bolt. A critically acclaimed writer, director, cinematographer, and co-founder of Honey Head Films, she's built a career crafting grounded, character-driven stories that span genres. The author of multiple feature films, a television pilot, and numerous award-winning shorts, her debut feature, A SONG FOR IMOGENE, premiered at the Bentonville Film Festival before earning multiple Best Feature awards and securing distribution. An educator and mentor, Erika has taught screenwriting and film production at the UNCW and CFCC and co-founded Shoot Like a Girl Summer Camp to empower the next generation of female filmmakers. She is over the moon to announce her latest feature as a director JOJO AND THE FREAKS, a period piece set in 1969 which was adapted from a novel written by her mother about growing up in Eastern NC.

Kristi Ray has never been very good at waiting for permission. An award-winning actress, producer, TEDx speaker, and educator, she co-founded Honey Head Films to amplify underrepresented voices and drive meaningful change in the industry. She's spent the last decade proving that filmmakers can, in fact, build their own path. Having starred in nearly 30 films; including the award-winning A SONG FOR IMOGENE (Prime), which she also produced - she's happiest on set, bringing strong female characters to life and reveling in the alchemy of building a production from the ground up. A passionate advocate for independent film, Kristi recently led the effort to pass North Carolina's new Microbudget Film Incentive and co-founded Shoot Like a Girl Summer Camp in 2022 to inspire the next generation of female filmmakers. Honey Head's latest feature, JOJO AND THE FREAKS, will have just wrapped production in Wilmington, NC a the start of TRIFF.

Jazelle is an actor at heart, a digital marketer by trade, and an entrepreneur by nature. during her acting years, she taught herself marketing to promote herself as an actor. this was when she was recruited for Columbia University’s pilot digital marketing boot camp. with the analytic skills to match her artistic brain, she ran marketing for some of the biggest acting schools in NYC, finally building Creative Meets Marketing.

Born and raised in Queens, New York, David Sonkin (also credited as David Lowell or David Lowell Sonkin) has been immersed in creative work since grade school. His debut feature, Friends, First and Foremost, won Best Feature at the Long Island International Film Expo (1989). Alongside filmmaking, he spent nearly a decade teaching hundreds of kids on set. David went on to write, direct, and produce features, web series, and music videos. His second feature, The Empath, starred Dan Lauria, John Shea, Susan Blommaert, Paige Turco, Ronnie Farer, Chris Lemmon, and a young Sarah Hyland. His third, Why George? —produced by Joe Cacaci with cinematography by Dick Fisher-was sourced through a contest and has a trailer with over 6 million YouTube views. In 2024, David launched his passion project, 213 TV (2-13.tv), a streaming platform dedicated to showcasing emerging filmmakers. Committed to being Al-free, 213 TV provides a safe space for uniquely human storytelling.