Michael Feighan is an International insurance executive whose real avocation is cinephile. Movies are his true obsession (seeing more than 200 theatrically-released films each year), though he is also a culture-vulture of opera, theater, music and the visual arts. An experienced head of jurors for four years, he has branched out of attending festivals in the Northeast, going across country to the Santa Barbara Film Festival and, then global, to festivals in Venice and Transylvania. Recently, he has begun writing online columns about movies and will launch his own movie blog by the end of this year.
Nancy Colman began her passion for films in elementary school, watching movies on TV instead of going outside to play. That passion continued when she enrolled, then graduated with a degree in film at Wesleyan University where she studied under the renowned scholar, Jeanine Basinger. She earned a master’s degree in film studies from UCLA. She has written about film for numerous publications and has served on selection committees for the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival and One Film Philadelphia.
Joe Kim is the Festival Director for the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (PAAFF) and also an independent filmmaker that help found the festival in October 2008 as a way to celebrate the works of Asian American filmmakers, bringing new and emerging films to the Philadelphia audience. He earned a degree in film from Temple University. His films have been previously screened at the Philadelphia Film Festival. Now in its fourth year, PAAFF will take place October 2011.
Tim McGlynn is a computer operator for a large retail company and a native Philadelphian. But he’s a rabid movie fan, consistently attending over 250 theatrically released films per year. Recently he attended the Cleveland and Rehoboth Beach Film Festivals. When you don’t see him at repertory screenings at International House, Bryn Mawr Film Institute and Ambler, he's probably busy following our local sports teams, another obsession! He is excited and honored to be serving as a first time juror after years of film going.
Nancy Resnick works as an employee benefits consultant for a firm in King of Prussia. A native Philadelphian, her addiction to movies started early, seeing countless matinee double features on Saturdays, growing up right next door to the Jackson Theater. She still enjoys seeing films, the old-fashion way, in the dark, in theaters, sharing the communal experience. In the past few years, she has gone beyond being a regular at film festivals in Philadelphia, venturing to several International film festivals.
Marilyn Schaffer is professor emeritus at the University of Hartford, Connecticut. She has studied the history of film, specializing in International cinema. She is a member of the Film society at the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford. She participated in various International film festivals, and attends one of her favorites, the Palm Springs Film Festivals annually. Now retired from teaching, she attempts to surpass her yearly viewing of more than 150 feature films and plans to expand her film festival experiences.