This panel of artists reviewed our cinematic arts students' work.
They provided artistic feedback and selected the Best of Festival Winner.
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), O.C.D. (Obsessor Coercio Deus) (2024) and the music videos of Miles Wesley.
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) and is currently working as Visual Effects production Manager on Mercy (2026).
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 a 2025 graduate of the USC School of Dramatic Arts where he received a Theatre Bachelor of Arts Degree with a Minor in Cinematic Arts.
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). In 2024 and 2025 he won a Creative Arts Emmys for his work with Disney.
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 studying Film Production. She is currently working on her senior film Down in New Orleans to be released later this year.
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. He is currently teaching in Algeria and continues to make movies.
Ben Holiday is a composer and music editor who won an Emmy for his work on HBO's The Penguin, and 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.
Ryan Krall graduated from St. Margaret’s in 2021 and majored in Animation with a minor in Interactive, Gaming, and Immersive Media at Loyola Marymount University. His animations can be viewed on his Instagram @ryananimatesstuff
Xander Lawson is an independent filmmaker and production assistant working in Los Angeles. He is currently working on the film Mercy due out in 2026.
Jonah Mazer is a director, cinematographer, editor, and producer based in New York and Los Angeles. As the CEO and Co-Founder of 02 Projects, he has directed campaigns for Adidas, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Calvin Klein, Macy's, Puma, and Drew House, blending cinematic storytelling with sharp brand strategy.
Teddy Alvarez-Nissen was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts for Cinematic Arts in 2020 and a recent graduate of USC in Film Production. His film Love Bugs (2023) won Best Experimental Short at the Santa Fe International Film Festival. He is currently working as assistant to legendary writer/director Judd Apatow.
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 documentary Faded Ink told the terrifying story about the fires in Maui. She continues to create science related documentaries.
Chloe Reder graduated from St. Margaret’s in 2020 and graduated in screenwriting from 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.
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.
Desiree Staples is a former St. Margaret's alumni currently living in Los Angeles and working as a producer and actor. In her recent film My Divorce Party (2024) she stars opposite Rumer Willis. Her new film The Blue Diamond won the Jury Award for best short film at Grimmfest and she was nominated for best Lead Actress at Filmquest.
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 his newest film Tenderness premieres at the Ojai Film Festival on November 7th.
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.