‘Straight Outta Compton’ ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ ‘Late Night With Seth Meyers’ Producers Lead Key West Film Fest Shorts Jury

Riding the wave of being named to both MovieMaker Magazine’s esteemed “Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” and “Top 20 Destination Film Festivals in the World,” The Key West Film Festival has assembled a revered group of industry leaders and artists to judge the 13th edition of the festival, which is set for November 13-17 in the Sunshine State. The collective includes Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves writer Michael Gilio, Hell’s Kitchen Producer Eric Rudnick, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit actor Mouzam Makkar,  Chicago Fire Former Co-Producer Daniele Bernstein, Straight Outta Compton producer Bill Straus, and Late Night with Seth Meyers Associate Producer Amanda Cowper. The jury will also be led by Florida industry leaders and award-winning filmmakers from across the country.

Awards include Best Comedy Short Film, Best Dramatic Short Film,  Best Documentary Short Film, and Best Florida Short Film. Two student filmmakers will receive the Kimberly Peirce Student Filmmaker Scholarship presented by the Diana King Foundation. Winners will be announced during the Key West Film Festival Awards Ceremony on Saturday, November 16th.

Florida industry leaders on the jury include Key West and Florida Keys Film Commissioner Chad Newman, Miami filmmakers Flor Portieri and Sasha Levinson, Executive Director of the Florida Keys Council of the Arts Elizabeth Young, University of Miami’s Margaret Cardillo, University of Central Florida’s Tim Ritter and Mark Schimmel, and Key West Filmmaker John Cunningham.

Rounding out the jury are award-winning director and former Sundance Film Festival Programming Associate April Wright, Omeleto Head of Programming Kat Ascharya, Australian arts advocate Augusta Supple, Second City and AMAW Los Angeles veteran Sommer Austin, Comedian Erick Esteban, and Dallas Film Commissioner Tony Armer. 

Screening Venues for this edition of KWFF include: Williams Hall, The Perry Hotel and Marina, and The Regal Key West.

Visit https://keywestff.com for full program information.

ABOUT THE KEY WEST FILM FESTIVAL

Honoring creativity, diversity, sustainability and beauty, The Key West Film Festival is an annual celebration of film and filmmakers set to take place November 13-17, 2024. 

A diverse, entertaining and artistically rigorous selection of films will be represented through a broad array of categories that offer opportunities for filmmakers, both aspiring and established, to commune and exchange ideas while showing their work to audiences in an historic and artistically vibrant tropical paradise.  

For more information, visit our website: https://keywestff.com

Follow and tag us at : @keywestfilmfest #kwff2024