NHFF Announces 2016 Jurors

The New Hampshire Film Festival is pleased to announce the 2016 Jurors

Three grand juries will judge this year’s films: a Narrative Grand Jury whose jurors include Tom Bergeron, Matt Grady and Sean McDonnell; a Documentary Grand Jury whose jurors include Leigh Blickley, Nick Camacho and Caroline von Kuhn; and a New Hampshire Jury whose jurors include Katie McQuaid Cote, Ethan Gilsdorf and Michele Meek.

2016 JURIES

NARRATIVE GRAND JURY

• TOM BERGERON — HOST, DANCING WITH THE STARS

Tom is the Emmy-winning host of ABC’s longtime hit Dancing with the Stars and the author of I’m Hosting as Fast as I Can! Zen and the Art of Staying Sane in Hollywood.

• MATT GRADY — FOUNDER, FACTORY 25

Recently named “One of the Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture,” Grady is the founder of Factory 25, an independent film distribution company with recent titles including Uncle Kent 2, Stinking Heaven, and Christmas, Again.

• SEAN MCDONNELL — DIRECTOR OF THEATRICAL SALES, A24 FILMS

Sean McDonnell is the Director of Theatrical Sales for A24, the independent entertainment company responsible for such recent hit films as Ex Machina, Room, The Lobster and The Witch.

DOCUMENTARY GRAND JURY

• LEIGH BLICKLEY — SENIOR ENTERTAINMENT NEWS EDITOR, THE HUFFINGTON POST

Aside from writing and editing stories and film reviews for the Entertainment department at The Huffington Post, Leigh hosts Facebook Live streams, moderates AOL Build interviews and appears on news programs such as Entertainment Tonight and The Today Show. She has covered events such as the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, MTV Video Music Awards and Primetime Emmy Awards. Leigh graduated from Fairfield University with a Bachelor’s degree in TV and journalism and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband.

• NICK CAMACHO — DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, OSCILLOSCOPE LABORATORIES

Nick Camacho is the Director of Marketing at Oscilloscope Laboratories. Nick oversees the releases of all feature films, creating unique marketing materials and branded ad campaigns for each film. Nick also runs all of Oscilloscope’s social media accounts, which you should definitely subscribe to for a good film themed laugh every day. Nick previously has worked in marketing and publicity at Brigade Media and IFC Films.

• CAROLINE VON KUHN — MANAGING DIRECTOR, POINTS NORTH INSTITUTE

Caroline serves as Managing Director of the Points North Institute, coming from the Tribeca Film Festival where she worked in Industry and Publicity, after starting her career at the Film Society of Lincoln Center (NYFF) and the Doha Tribeca Film Festival (Qatar). von Kuhn is a narrative filmmaker – most recently producing Ian Olds’ The Fixer (Tribeca Film Festival 2016). She holds an MFA in Fine Arts from University of Manchester (UK) and a BA in Financial Economics from the University of Virginia.

NEW HAMPSHIRE JURY

• KATIE MCQUAID COTE — COLUMNIST/BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, THE UNION LEADER

Katie is a New Hampshire native and the “Scene in Manchester” columnist for the New Hampshire Union Leader. She lives in the Queen City with her husband Bill Cote and their three boys, and looks forward to a time when the bulk of her movie watching is no longer relegated to Disney and other animated films.

• ETHAN GILSDORF — JOURNALIST/FILM CRITIC

Journalist, memoirist, essayist, critic, poet, teacher and nerd Ethan Gilsdorf is the author of the award-winning travel memoir investigation Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms. A former Paris-based food and film critic and travel writer, Gilsdorf covers pop culture, film, literature, the arts, travel, the media, and technology for The New York Times, New York Times Book Review, Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, Salon, Wired, Art New England, WBUR’s The Artery, among dozens of other magazines, newspapers, and websites worldwide. He reviews movies for the Boston Globe and Art New England magazine and books for the New York Times Book Review, New York Times and Boston Globe. Gilsdorf is co-founder of Grub Street’s Young Adult Writers Program, and teaches creative writing at Grub Street, where he serves on the Board of Directors.

• MICHELE MEEK — FOUNDER, NEWENGLANDFILM.COM

Michele Meek pioneered the development of NewEnglandFilm.com, the online magazine and resource for filmmakers, and led the transition of the 30-year-old film magazine The Independent to the nonprofit Independent Media Publications where she remains a board member. She is co-editor of The Independent’s Guide to Film Distribution, has written on film in publications including MovieMaker Magazine and Indiewire, and has taught at Boston College, Emerson College, Massachusetts College of Art and University of Rhode Island.

Stay tuned for more detailed information on workshops and panels. To purchase tickets, please visit our Passes page. We look forward to seeing you at the Festival!