Jury

Rajshri Deshpande is an Indian actress and activist. She gained international recognition with Angry Indian Goddesses and Sexy Durga, followed by BBC One’s McMafia, and Netflix India’s Sacred Games and The Fame Game. Her 2018 film Manto premiered at the prestigious Un Certain Regard section at Cannes Film Festival. In 2023 she starred in the limited series Trial by Fire directed by Prashant Nair, which became one of the top ten most-watched shows on Netflix in eight countries and for which she received the Best Actress prize from the Asian Academy Creative Awards Singapore. In 2024, she was part of the successful regional language film Satyashodhak. She has received nine other awards in India, including Filmfare and Film Companion Gold. Her performance in the short film Hema (IFFLA 2024) gained international acclaim at various film festivals. In 2023 she directed her first short film, Distorted Mirror, under the mentorship of AR Rahman and Mohsen Makhmalbaf. In addition to acting, Rajshri devotes much of her time to social service. She has a law degree and worked in advertising for six years. Hailing from humble beginnings, she is based in Mumbai and Los Angeles.

Priyanka Mattoo is the author of the memoir Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones (Knopf, June 2024). She is also adapting her short film The Homestay into a feature for Likely Story. Priyanka wrote What Will People Say, which originated as the Fresh Off The Boat spin-off. She also adapted Modern Lovers with novelist Emma Straub for Helen Estabrook, and is developing a detective procedural with CBS. Previously, Priyanka was an agent at UTA and WME, and Jack Black’s partner at their production company, Electric Dynamite. She co-founded Earios, a women-led podcast network, and co-hosts its critically acclaimed beauty and wellness podcast, Foxy Browns. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times and New York Magazine, and her film work in festivals from Sundance to Cannes. She was raised in India, England, and Saudi Arabia before moving to the US in high school, and holds degrees in Italian and Law from the University of Michigan. Priyanka lives in Venice, California, with her husband and kids.

Carla Renata (a.k.a. The Curvy Critic) has published reviews and op-eds in Variety, The Wrap, The Cherry Picks, Sundance.org, Sotheby’s, and RogerEbert.com. She is a highly sought-after host and moderator who hosted an evening of The Black Experience on Film for Turner Classic Movies and has been a frequent guest and film expert for Fox 11 LA, Good Day LA, NBC News, REELZ Channel, The Stream Team, ITV, BBC, BBC World Radio, and Live Now on Fox. She is a proud member of the African American Film Critics Association and The Online Association of Female Film Critics, and an approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes and the Critics Choice Association, where she serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Co-President of the Documentary Branch. Her award-winning podcast, The Curvy Critic with Carla Renata, has garnered over 14 million views and features reviews, news, and interviews with talent in front and behind the camera.

Maureen Bharoocha is an experienced and versatile film and television director with an impressive roster of projects. Raised in a half-Irish Catholic and half-Indian-Pakistani-Burmese Muslim household, Maureen focuses on stories about conflicted characters and is a master at straddling opposing worlds and blending genres. Her most recent work includes The Prank, with the legendary Rita Moreno and Keith David, and the narrative podcast Edith, with Rosamund Pike. Maureen’s theatrically released films (The Prank and Golden Arm) and her work on television (Grand Crew, Saved by the Bell, and Bumper in Berlin) have screened at festivals worldwide and streamed on HBO, Netflix, and Peacock. Most recently, she has directed an episode of Hulu’s Deli Boys.

Kausar Mohammed is a queer, Muslim, Pakistani actress and writer. Her most recent acting credits include the film Sisters, Hulu’s Appendage, and The CW’s The Flash and 4400. A prominent voice actress, she is part of the cast of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, and Monster High. Kausar wrote and starred in The Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night, directed by Fawzia Mirza. One of her first breakout lead roles was on Paul Feig’s series East of La Brea. Kausar is a recipient of the Sundance x Islamic Scholarship Building Bridges Fellowship. She is also a writer and performer in the distinguished all-South Asian sketch comedy troupe The Get Brown. Her award-winning comedic writing and performances have earned acclaim in Teen Vogue, Bazaar, Huffington Post, NBC, and Al-Jazeera. Other acting credits include Mo, What Men Want, Little, Silicon Valley, Black Lightning, and Carol’s Second Act. Kausar co-founded SHIFT, a racial and gender equity consulting group created by women of color. She is repped by Paradigm Artists, Sarah Fargo & Brad Pankosky & Tigerman Management.

Sudeep Sharma is a Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival, focusing on documentary feature films. He was Director of Programming and Interim Artistic Director for the Palm Spring International ShortFest and has worked in programming at many eclectic organizations, including the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, Aspen ShortsFest, LA Film Festival, AFI Fest, and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science. He has also served on numerous juries and grant committees including at the Toronto International Film Festival, Dokufest, Hot Docs, Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, Austin Film Society, and Cinema Eye Honors. Originally from New Jersey, he holds a PhD in Cinema and Media Studies from UCLA and has taught film and television courses at universities throughout Southern California, where he lives.