JUDGES
Loulan Gardner
MTV VJ
Gardner enjoys writing about himself in the third person & adores the ampersand. If you're reading this aloud or to yourself in a program, take a dramatic pause once this sentence has concluded because charging unprepared into Gardner's accolades and accomplishments could cause a minor aneurism... Currently, Gardner pays his inexplicably expensive Lower Eastside rent as a writer/producer and VJ for mtvU and was voted "Most Wanted to be Seen Streaking" at the company holiday party. His cliché "passion" is filmmaking and he recently finished a feature film that he co-wrote/ acted/ produced & directed amusingly titled "Our Feature Presentation." He admits, anyone immersing themselves in a project that much is either egomaniacal or a control freak; he is both. Gardner's dream is to have a Pow-Pow-Power Wheels! He earned a degree at Fordham University in Communications and studied television and film at NYU and USC. He would like to thank the spell check function for it's contribution to this brief yet memorable biography.
The product of the Northern California skate board and rock climbing scene, Gardner Loulan has also been heavily involved in everything from student government to theater to sports. Also dedicated to serving those less fortunate than himself, Gardner attends the Jesuit-based Fordham University and leads service projects across the country. Gardner is now bringing his interests to TVs and college campuses everywhere with mtvU.
Leonard Cox
Producer, Executive Director of
Communications at Columbia University
After working on his first film, The Mark of the Maker (1991 nomination for Best Short Documentary), Cox co-founded River Films with award-winning filmmaker Macky Alston. Together Cox and Alston produced The Killer Within (premiered Toronto International Film Festival 2006, to air on the Discovery Channel 2008), and Questioning Faith (named one of the top 10 independent films of 2001 by CNN, premiered Full Frame Film Festival and the Hot Docs International Film Festival and aired on HBO 2002 -2004). Independently, Cox directed and produced, The Dwelling Place, a short documentary about a shelter for homeless women in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen (to be released in 2008). Cox is the former director of communications for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and has served as a media consultant for over 30 years.
JUDGES
Doug Ross
Producer/Writer/Director, Wang-Ross Communications.
Wang-Ross
Communications, LLP is a private consultancy that creates original content for
commercial, cable, promotional, informational, educational and corporate
television projects. Doug
Ross is a seasoned media professional
with over 25 years of extensive experience as a Producer, Director, Writer,
Editor and Camera Operator with A&E, PBS, Warner-Amex of Dallas, Saudi Aramco,
City & County of Honolulu, KWHE-14, The Chinese Channel, WLRN-17 Miami, U.S.C.
School of Broadcast Journalism, American Film Institute, ‘Olelo Community TV of
Hawaii, Eye-Square Productions of Los Angeles.
Doug
Ross graduated from the University of
Texas at Austin with a Bachelors of Radio-Television-Film in 1980. Also attended
the University of Southern California, School of Broadcast Journalism, 1986,
University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2001 and The Chinese Institute, NYC, 2005 in
Conversational Chinese Language.
He is married to Danlu Wang and has one son Sean. They live in Rego Park, NY and
travel yearly to China.
Limei Wang
Marketing Manager, NYC Media Group
Producer, Backdrop NYC
As Marketing Manager of NYC Media
Group, Limei Wang oversees marketing activities and manages all aspects of the
production of Live Event Production. Ms. Wang is also the Producer of Backdrop
NYC, the NYC TV series highlighting short films set in New York and the talent
behind them. As producer, Ms. Wang curates the film selection and is
responsible for taking ideas from inception to full creative production.
Ms. Wang was born in mainland China and grew up in Holland, and she is fluent in
Dutch, Chinese and English. Ms. Wang started her career as an interpreter at
The Hague for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, part of the government of the
Netherlands. Ms. Wang has also worked for the United Nations International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and as Marketing Manager at the
Scientecmatrix Website Asia in Shanghai, a digital meeting point between Eastern
and Western communities concerning global environmental pollution and striving
for a healthier life by developing solutions for the environment.
Before joining NYC Media Group, Ms. Wang worked in London, Paris, Milan and
Amsterdam as an Internal Operations Consultant for Burst Images Visual
Production Company. Projects included One Night & Neverland MTV, Diesel fashion
events, DMC World DJ contest Asia and Cannes Media Festival Events.
Limei Wang graduated from Haagse Hogeschool University in The Netherlands with a
Bachelor’s of Business Management.
JUDGES
Professor
Nick Proferes
Professor, Film Department of Columbia University, School of the Arts.
Professional Filmmaker
Nicholas Proferes is a director/cameraman and editor of "Free at Last," a
90-minute documentary on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., awarded Best Documentary,
Venice Film Festival, 1969. He was the director of photography and editor of
"Wanda," a feature film directed by Barbara Loden, which was awarded Best Picture,
Venice Film Festival, 1971; and was the co-producer, director of photography,
and editor of "The Visitors," a feature film directed by Elia Kazan. His textbook,
Film Directing Fundamentals: Script to
Screen, was published in early 2001.
Scott
Brock
Professional Editor
Scott Brock is an editor with
seventeen years of experience in the motion picture industry. In addition to
"Limbo," he has been principal editor on numerous films, including "The Moderns," directed by Alan Rudolph,
"Horace Tapscott: Musical Griot,"
directed by Barbara McCullogh, and recently "Two Minute Heist," directed by Dan DeLuca and Kris Arnold. He has also been film editor Thelma Schoonmaker's First
Assistant Editor on the following films: "Gangs Of New York," "Bringing Out The
Dead," "Kundun," "Casino," and Academy Award Winner for Best Editing, "The Aviator."
Scott has also been Staff Editor for Lightworks U.S.A. and was Head of Training
for Lightworks for editors and assistants. An accomplished photographer, he
specializes in fine art photographic digital printing processes. he holds a B.A.
in Motion Picture/Television Production from U.C.L.A.
Thomas Ikimi
Professional Filmmaker
Columbia University alum, completing a bachelors degree in Literature and
Writing in May 2004. Directing and the Limbo project came about quite by chance.
Primarily a writer, Thomas was half way through his Literature/Writing degree in
late 2001 when he decided to write a script on a philosophical idea he'd been
thinking about. It was a concept relating to morality, religion and free will.
With his savings, some family donations and his student credit card, Thomas
wrote, co-produced and directed Limbo
at the end of his sophomore year. His
Latest work "Limbo" screened for scores of filmmakers and professors
and filmmaking professionals at the Tribeca Screening Room in New York City.