This panel of artists reviewed our photography, theatre, and cinematic arts students' work.
They provided artistic feedback and selected the Best of Festival Winners.
Jeremy Basset is an independent director and cinematographer working in Los Angeles. He directed and shot the music video Maniac (2021) and you can see his camera work on the reality TV show Below Deck (2022), The Valley of the Moon (2023), and the horror film Strings (2021).
Alex Brisker is a Los Angeles based trailer editor for movie trailers. He is known for his work as an editor and visual effects artist on films such as Profile (2018), Unfriended: Dark Web (2018), and Missing (2023).
Holly Amber Church is a film composer from Los Angeles lovingly nicknamed the “Scream Queen of Scoring” for her brilliant work in the horror genre. She was most recently nominated for an Emmy Award for her main title music for Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities (2023).
Adam Cohen is a film composer from Los Angeles who is known for his work on the films I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and The Family Stone (2005). He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on the Music and Lyrics for The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz (2005) and won an ASCAP Award for his score for the TV series Psych (2013).
Thomas Colglazier graduated St. Margaret’s in 2021 and is currently studying for a Theatre Bachelor of Arts degree and minoring in Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.
Cameron Covell is a director/producer/editor working as a non-scripted producer for Disney in New York City. His work includes VFX on Dear Evan Hansen (2021) and Scroll Back (2020) but he’s best known for his work at RocketJump creating the shorts Skyrim’s Back (2018) and The Greatest One Take Fight Scene Ever (2018).
Emma Evanson graduated St. Margaret’s in 2023 and is currently a student at Brigham Young University. Her most recent film Mona Lisa is an official selection of the All American High School Film Festival.
Ella Fields is currently studying film at Emerson College in Boston. Her short film Stereo (2016) reached over 10 million views on YouTube launching her as an influencer and earning her partnerships with Target and Walmart.
Neela Gerayli graduated St. Margaret’s in 2022 and now attends Chapman University, a top 5 film school studying Film Production. Her most recent film 5.13.22 is an official selection of the All American High School Film Festival.
Robbie Graham graduated from St. Margaret’s in 2019 and is now lead singer for a band with fellow SMES graduate Blake Stevenson. Robbie writes, shoots, and edits music videos for each album. Check out Huntclub_ on Instagram!
Ben Holiday is a composer and music editor who was recently nominated for a Golden Reel for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing on a Feature Film for his work on In the Heights (2021). He has worked with Martin Scorsese on The Departed (2006) and Shutter Island (2010) and with Robert Eggers on The Lighthouse (2019).
Daniel Horgan graduated from St. Margaret’s in 2015. After completing his undergraduate degree he worked on action sports documentaries in Hawaii for Red Bull and Patagonia. He now attends Chapman Dodge College of Film and Media Arts where he is pursuing a MFA in film production specializing in cinematography and virtual production.
Sunny Keller is currently studying at Paris College of Art through Emerson’s Global BFA in Film Art program. She is a writer, director and editor who has won accolades worldwide since she began making films at the age of 11.
Jennifer Klein is a professional photographer of over 20 years who is responsible for the beautiful photographs that line the halls of this Performing Arts Center. Although her specialty is capturing the essence of live performances, her professional work also includes weddings, events, sports, and portraits.
Ryan Krall graduated from St. Margaret’s in 2021 and is now majoring in Animation at Loyola Marymount University. His animations can be viewed on his Instagram @ryananimatestuff
Jonah Mazer is a director, cinematographer, editor, and producer in Los Angeles working with Adidas, Mercedes Benz, Ford, Calvin Klien, Macys, Puma, and Brand Marketing & Content Creation for a clothing company called Drew House. You can find his work at jonahskye.com.
Gianna Montesano graduated from St. Margaret’s in 2022 and is currently a sophomore pursuing photography in her spare time. Her AP photography work has been featured in FrightFEST and she is happy to lend a hand on the jury this year.
Teddy Alvarez-Nissen was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts for Cinematic Arts in 2020 and is currently studying Film Production at USC. He used his time during the pandemic to create a short film shot on a miniature set titled Bug Love starring a snail, and his upcoming short film Old Goat features some very photogenic farm animals.
Melia Norwood graduated from St. Margaret’s in 2022 and is currently pursuing strategic communications at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. She continues to pursue photography in her spare time.
Katrina Ogilvie is a screenwriter who fell in love with storytelling at a young age and went to film school in New York. Her first of three Television Movies was the award-winning Behind The Movement. She sold a pilot to CBS, has written two books, and is a writer on Apple TV’s Swagger and OWN’s All Rise.
Max Page graduated from St. Margaret's in 2022 and is currently a Film Production major at Loyola Marymount University. His favorite movies include The Truman Show, Chinatown, 12 Angry Men, Chicago, and Sunset Blvd.
Danny Policicchio graduated from St. Margaret’s in 2019 and recently graduated from NYU with a degree in film production. His work includes Ghostbusters (2024) and Wet Under the Blue Sky (Independent Feature).
Charlotte Quintanar graduated from St. Margaret’s in 2023 and is attending the University of Chicago as a Molecular Engineering and Documentary Film dual major. Her short documentary Bee the Solution was an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival, 2023 and her newest documentary Faded Ink about the fires in Maui is due out this month.
Chloe Reder graduated from St. Margaret’s in 2020 and is now studying screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University. Chloe was part of the very first 48 Hour Film Off team at St. Margaret’s that won first place for their short film Time Machine at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth in 2019.
Jordan Reder graduated from St. Margaret’s in 2023 and is now studying at the Cinema Makeup School in Los Angeles. She has created visual effects makeup for countless short films.
Darcy Rice served as the director of the performing arts at St. Margaret’s for 25 years and directed 50 shows and productions during that time. Upon his retirement our Performing Arts Center was renamed The Darcy Rice Center for the Arts in his honor.
Bo Samson studied at New York Film Academy’s Cinematic Conservatory and is an established music video and commercial director working with NYC street fashion brand Hidden. He frequently collaborates with his brother, musician Jack Samson.
Ric Schnupp is a sound mixer, designer and editor on films such as Hell Raiser (2022) and Midsommar (2019). In 2021 he won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for the Oscar winning documentary Free Solo.
Jesse Standlea is our visual arts department chair at St. Margaret’s. His ceramic and 3D artwork is shown in the Los Angeles area and straddles the line between functional and conceptual art practices.
Theo Taplitz is a writer, director, editor, & actor whose short film Gable is currently playing in the Oscar qualifying Stiges film festival in Spain and continues directing stage productions at Columbia University in New York City. You can see Theo’s acting work in the films Showing Up (A24/Cannes, 2022) and Wyrm (Hulu, 2022).
Winston Verdult graduated St. Margaret’s in 2023 and now attends New York University as a Film and Television major. Most recently Winston was a YoungArts Gold Medal winner and his film Swallowing Shadows is an official selection of the All American High School Film Festival.