2018 Film Festival Judges

PAMELA SEGGER

Pamela Segger is executive director and lead programmer of Lunenburg Doc Fest, a 4-day documentary festival and conference in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. Pamela came to film through her first passion: screenwriting. She completed the UCLA Feature Film Writing program then explored acting in numerous screen-based projects. Pamela believes film and cinematic stories have the power to engage, incite and change individuals, communities and cultures — that the moving image and ever-evolving cinematic evolutions are relevant to and even shape our communication, ethics and perceptions. Pamela leads the LDF Atlantic Canada Delegation, a year-round initiative that promotes and creates opportunities for Atlantic Canadian film producers and directors, and serves as a board member and programmer of Women in Film and Television Atlantic. Pamela is a member of the Documentary Organization of Canada, Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative, and Centre For Arts Tapes. As a screener, juror and panel moderator Pamela shares her love of story and screen arts with various festivals and organizations such as Digi60, WIFT-At, Halifax Independent Filmmakers Festival, Screen Nova Scotia, and of course Tupelo Film Festival!

JOI TRIBBLE

Joi Tribble is the Short Film Programmer Director for Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham, Alabama. With over a decade of film festival experience, she has also served on multiple juries and screening committees. Additionally, she promotes film education and festival knowledge by traveling to speak to undergraduate and graduate students. Joi is a contributor to the forthcoming Where Is Adaptation? from John Benjamins Publishing Company.

JOHN GANN 

Jon Gann is the a force in the film festival world, having created, consulted with and fostered dozens of events around the globe. In the past year, he has worked on AFI Docs, Key West FF, DC Environmental FF, Bermuda International FF, Port Townsend FF, SF IndieFest and the Woods Hole FF. He is a founding Board Member of the Film Festival Alliance, the first organization to professionalize the festival space, and sits on the Advisory Board at George Mason University’s School of Film & Video Studies.

Jon is the Founder of DC Shorts, a non-profit organization championing short filmmaking, and the creator of the DC Shorts Film Festival, one of the country’s premier short film showcases. He has also served as the Executive Director of CINE, a 60-year old organization that honors the best in film, TV and digital media with the prestigious CINE Golden Eagle Award.

His book “Behind the Screens: Programmers Reveal How Film Festivals Really Work” examines how programmers and organizers curate, collect, watch and select films for their festivals, with frank insights reveal the inner-workings of an industry that is often misunderstood. Published in 2015, his second book “So You Wanna Start a Film Festival,” explores the trials and tribulations of starting a new festival.

MELANIE ADDINGTON

Melanie Addington has worked with the Oxford Film Festival since 2006 in various capacities and became Executive Director in August 2015. She also directs, writes, and produces films and serves on the Mississippi Film Alliance as President. She co-founded OxFilm, the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council’s program to lend equipment to Oxford filmmakers.