We’re delighted to present our jurors for our various awards this year!

BEST FILM JURY

graham reid juror Edinburgh Short Film Festival

Grahame Reid

Grahame is Film Programmer at Macrobert Arts Centre and Head Curator for Central Scotland Documentary Festival. For the past 9 years he has worked on a variety of different solo and collaborative film based projects as well as working with Stirling based young people to develop film making skills. He graduated with a First Class BA (Hons) in Film and Media Studies and an MLitt in Film Studies with Creative Pathway from the University of Stirling. Grahame was shortlisted for the ‘Rising Star’ award at the 2016 Screen Awards.

 

Aleks Dimitrijevic juror Edinburgh Short Film Festival

Aleks Dimitrijevic
After working in content and film across 3 continents over 12 years, Aleks Dimitrijevic joined The Smalls in 2016, where she has put together 3 editions of their short film festival in London and Singapore.She has also led the launch of The Smalls Film Fund, a £25K grant for filmmakers to create groundbreaking short films.

 

Nick Moss
Nick Moss is Creative director of film at Ph-Creative, in Liverpool. He has worked extensively in television and film as actor and more recently as director for 17 years. He directed the late Sir John Hurt’s multi award winning last British film, “Break” which was featured in last years ESFF programme and has just worked British Mike Leigh’s latest feature based on the Peterloo massacre. Nick has just set up a production company – Reckless Kid films and is working on a slate of both interesting commercial projects including 360 degree video, an independent feature and ground breaking 6 part web serial drama. Nick is also an educator and teaches film studies and acting.

 

BEST ANIMATED FILM JURY

Simon Hart juror Edinburgh Short Film Festival

Simon Hart

For the past thirty years Simon has enjoyed a busy, successful and varied career in the arts. Initially working as a classical singer following studies at the University of Glasgow and the Royal College of Music, Simon also taught singing at RADA, and Queen Margaret and Aberdeen Universities. After also completing acting training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Simon appeared in many leading roles at, among others, Bristol Old Vic Theatre, Wolsey Theatre, Scottish Opera, the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Dundee Rep Theatre, as well as on TV.

At present Simon is the artistic director of Puppet Animation Scotland, championing puppetry, visual theatre and animation nationally and internationally primarily through the organisation’s s two national festivals, the manipulate Visual Theatre Festival and the Puppet Animation Festival.

Melanie Purdie juror Edinburgh Short Film Festival

Melanie Purdie

Melanie Purdie has worked as a producer, programmer and event manager in Leeds and Edinburgh. Her background is in performance art, contemporary dance and theatre. After graduating from Leeds Beckett University in 2014 in Art, Event, Performance Melanie spent a year between Yorkshire Dance and West Yorkshire Playhouse as the BBC Performing Arts Fund Fellowship Creative Producer. In January 2015, she became an Independent Producer; focused on working with artists, festivals and venues to produce work that directly engage audiences in progressive and innovative ways.

Claire Lamond juror Edinburgh Short Film Festival

Claire Lamond

Claire is a stop motion animator based in a dark cupboard in Edinburgh. She is drawn to small stories that reflect a wider political society and often weaves tales together with thread and textiles. Her films have screened at festivals around the world and have received three consecutive BAFTA Scotland nominations in animation.

Dee Isaacs juror Edinburgh Short Film Festival

Dee Isaacs

Dee is a senior lecturer in Music in the Community at the University of Edinburgh. Dee is passionate about the creation of music and its wider value. For the past 20 years she has worked predominantly in the area of Community Music throughout Scotland and the UK. She has been commissioned by a wide range of professional arts bodies including: Opera North, London Symphony Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Live Music Now, and Creative Scotland. In 2003 & 2006 she was nominated by the British Academy of Composers for Festus and Suppose Life. In 2012 she was awarded the Principal’s Medal by the University of Edinburgh for her work in music education and outreach.

Phil Adams juror Edinburgh Short Film Festiva

Phil Adams

Phil is Planning Director at Cello Signal, a digital marketing a gency. He advises clients on marketing strategy and the use of marketing technology. His team provides consultancy on content strategy, SEO, social media, user experience, data planning and CRM to clients such as RBS, Nando’s, Royal Mail, Marriott Hotels, Baillie Gifford and National Galleries of Scotland. Phil has worked in advertising and digital marketing for nearly 30 years. He was previously Managing Director of The Leith Agency, arguably Scotland’s leading agency,where he worked on famous campaigns for IRN-BRU (including The Snowman), Tennent’s Lager (including Pintlings through Aardman), Grolsch, Standard Life and Honda.

RISING STAR AWARD

Paul Bruce juror Edinburgh Short Film Festival

Paul Bruce

I have been the Festival Director of the Edinburgh Short Film Festival since 2011, responsible for programming, curation, project management and also visiting lecturer on festival programming and film exhibition at Screen Academy Scotland and Queen Margaret University. I was a Grand Jury member for the 2016 Sardinia Film Festival and the 2017 Smalls Film Festival.  I was also head co-ordinator for the Leith Short Film Festival which ran 2005-2010.
As a short film-maker, I was interviewed by Mark Kermode on BBC2s the Culture Show in 2012, selected for Hansel of Fim (2012 London Cultural Olympics). I have 7 awards for short films and around 40 + festival appearances.

Carys Evans

Carys is the ESFF Festival Coordinator, working in both our programming department as well coordinating our other juries and wonderful team of volunteers. She graduated in 2016 with a MSc in Film, Exhibition, and Curation from the University of Edinburgh having written a thesis that focused on Edinburgh ‘The Festival City’. She has worked for film festival’s across the UK, most recently completing a post as Project Manager of the unDependence Film Festival, which she successfully took over to Stirling in April 2017. Have your questions ready as Carys will be moderating our post-screening Q&A’s with visiting local and international filmmakers.

Yulia Kovanova juror Edinburgh Short Film Festival

Yulia Kovanova

Yulia is Edinburgh Short Film Festival’s Artistic Director since 2015, responsible for film programming, curation and international projects development, including collaboration with ShortShorts – Academy Awards® accredited festival and one of the largest film festivals in Asia. She is also an independent film curator and a visiting lecturer on festival programming at Queen Margaret University and international educational projects.
She is currently running a film project at the Film & TV Department at the Edinburgh College of Art, the University of Edinburgh.

Federica Pugliese Edinburgh Short Film Festival

Federica Pugliese

Federica is Assistant Director, project coordinator and member of the selection committee; she first joined ESFF in January 2016, while studying for her Masters degree in Film, Exhibition and Curation at the University of Edinburgh. She has worked for several festivals across Italy and Scotland, and she currently lives in Inverness where she works for Eden Court, the biggest cultural hotspot in the Highlands.