MEET THE JURY

MEET THE INTERNATIONAL JURY

NATASHA

LUIS BARRETO

"I dream about exploring all over the world telling stories through my lens and also to get inspired by empowered communities." Colombian born photographer/filmmaker, Luis Barreto, quit his advertising career to move abroad for photography studies in London. In 2009, during his course, he was commissioned to travel to Ghana as photographer for a British NGO and since then has traveled around the world with his wife and partner, Dur Montayo, helping community-based organizations and NGOs spread their message using multi-media, videos, photography. They also develop online/print advertising material through their consulting company Zoom In Projects (www.zoominprojects.com) and their Blog (http://colombiajeros.com).

Luis Barreto’s photography project Faces of the Road has been featured multiple exhibitions including Kensington and Chelsea College, London – UK 2010, Botanical Garden of Medellín, Colombia 2011, Café Zorba – Medellín, Colombia 2012, and as part of a collective exhibition in New York – Art Takes Time Square 2012. View Luis' work at: www.luisbarreto.com.

BRENDA CAMPOS

Brenda Campos is a filmmaker, photographer, and a global leader in communication for development and behavior change communication. She is co-founder of Local Project, an arts space in New York City, and for two years she led a documentary project with Latin American immigrants in New York. She is currently the Country Director for Sesame Workshop in Mexico and the Director of Programs for PCI Media Impact where she has been designing and managing Entertainment-Education and social marketing strategies for ten years. In her role at PCI Media Impact, she has developed and implemented programs across the US and in over 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Her documentary films and photography have been screened and exhibited at el Museo del Barrio New York, King Juan Carlos I Center at NYU, the Queens Museum of Art Biennial, and the Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia, Mexico.

DORIAN FRANÇOIS

French photographer, Dorian François, has a passion for travel and exploration that has become firmly linked with a need to share his stories through texts and photography. His work celebrates the value of connection, immediacy, and intimacy in long-term visual storytelling. Whether he's living for a year with the disappearing island community in India's holy Brahmaputra River, recording the rapid rise of Mongolian urban culture and isolation in Ulaanbaatar, or documenting the sublime communion of love and loss on the death of his beloved grand-mère, Dorian honors the dignity and humanity of his subjects and their stories he works on long term projects.

His work has been shown at multiple galleries in Paris, at the Phnom Penh Photo Festival, at the Angkor Photo Festival, and also at the Delhi Photo Festival. He has been short-listed twice for the “Bourse du Talent Reportage Award” and recently for the “Roger Pic 2015 Award”. Dorian has also shared his skills and vision with the next generation as a photography mentor at Anjali House NGO in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

CLAUDIA KOMMINOTH

Claudia Komminoth is a professional photographer at CKPhoto and financial executive from Switzerland, who co-founded the charity Eyes Open in 2012. After volunteering with and researching education and youth development programs in Cambodia, Claudia and her partner established Eyes Open to provide both a sustainable source of targeted funding for effective NGO programs in the region while responsibly raising awareness of development issues among the donor community.

Since 2012, Eyes Open has partnered with Ponheary Ly Foundation to address food security and geographic and gender parity in education by funding for over 500 pupils to receive a substantial balanced breakfast six times a week and regular school lunches as well as providing bicycles for over 330 children in rural areas. Claudia has also been a friend and supporter of PhotoForward since 2013 and has helped make many of our projects possible.

LAUREN KLESCH LANCY

Lauren K. Lancy is a fashion designer and trend forecaster from Brooklyn, New York who has been based in Southeast Asia since 2012. Over the past four years, Lauren has researched and collaborated with makers from a broad range of textile and heritage crafts and has shared her skills and experience with sustainable livelihood development programs, including a year of consultation with the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre in Luang Prabang, Laos.

In 2014, Lauren founded The Kindcraft, an online magazine celebrating the makers of traditional arts and contemporary craft. The Kindcraft is also an online shop featuring Lauren's collaborations with global makers and a curated collection of handmade goods + slow fashion.

NATASHA MBABAZI

Natasha is originally from Washington D.C. She is a Global Health Corps alum pursuing her masters at the University of London. While an undergraduate, Natasha conducted field research for Uganda’s Finance Ministry, where she monitored budget efficiency and sustainability of national health sector projects. Upon graduating, Natasha worked as a U.S. Senate staff member on John D. Rockefeller IV’s Commerce Committee, where she aided counsels with consumer protection policy development and legislation. Natasha returned to international work with a local women's organization in Cambodia and provided monitoring and evaluation, program management, and logistical support to their rehabilitation centers, health clinic and HIV/AIDS outreach to sex workers.

An avid photographer, Natasha is also an advisory board member of PhotoForward.

NEAK SOPHAL

Neak Sophal (b. 1989, Cambodia), graduate of the Royal University of Fine Arts, is considered one of the rising talents of the Cambodian art scene with a clear and determined vision. She has been actively involved in workshops and group exhibitions locally and internationally over the last three years including Angkor Photo Festival (Siem Reap, 2014), Spot Art (Singapore, 2014), Hong Kong International Photo Festival (Hong Kong, 2014), Asian Eye Culture (Thailand, 2014), Jong Jam (Bophana, 2014), KepExpo (2013), Angkor Photo Festival (Won the first prize of the the workshop, 2013), Voice of Tacitness Exhibition (China, 2013), Our City Festival (2012), SurVivArt (Meinblau, Berlin, 2012), PhotoPhnomPenh (2010, 2012), Big Eyes (Sa Sa Art Gallery, 2011) and Hey Sister, Where Are You Going (Sovanna Shopping Mall, 2010).

ELISE RASMUSSEN

Elise Rasmussen received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago on a Merit Scholarship (2007) and her BFA with Honours from Ryerson University (2004). Elise is represented by ESP | Erin Stump Projects in Toronto, and her work has been exhibited, performed and screened at international venues including the Brooklyn Museum, the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Dublin), CCS Bard Hessel Museum (Annandale-on-Hudson), Pioneer Works (NY), Night Gallery (LA), Standpoint Gallery (London), Werkschauhalle (Leipzig), ThreeWalls Gallery (Chicago), Galerie Articule (Montreal), TPW (Toronto), Gallery 101 (Ottawa) and TRUCK Contemporary Art in Calgary. She has been written about in publications such as Art in America, the New Inquiry and Esse Magazine and she has lectured at The New School (NY), School of Visual Arts (NY), OCAD University (Toronto), the Gene Siskel Film Center (Chicago), and Kuvataideakatemia (Helsinki). Elise is a 2016 Fellow of the Art + Law Program and is a current artist in residence at Pioneer Works. Originally from Edmonton, Canada, Elise is based in Brooklyn, NY.

MONIQUE SCHUBERT

Originally from Providence, RI, Monique Schubert has a BS from Skidmore College with a major in Painting, and an MFA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2000 Monique attended the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Monique works in a variety of 2-D media including painting, drawing, printmaking and large-scale paper cut-outs. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Monique has presented solo shows in Brooklyn, New York and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and has participated in numerous group shows including Garveyism at RUSH Arts, Gentrification: The Pink Elephant Speaks at MoCADA, and Fela: Life After Death at the Caribbean Cultural Center and Diasporic Institute. She recently showed new paintings in a 2-person show at the Broadway Gallery in Manhattan, as well as prints/drawings that were created during her time as a Fellow at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop at the Blackburn 20/20 Gallery. She also works as an arts educator bringing original and progressive programming to students in the NYC public school system through her work with various non-profits and cultural institutions.

THERESA WU

Theresa Wu is a Philadelphia native who spent her childhood in her immigrant parents’ Chinese restaurant, writing stories. Theresa earned her BA in Film at the Pennsylvania State University and her MFA in Film/Directing at Columbia University in New York City. While at school she was awarded the Carmen Finesta Award, the Filmmaker of Color United in Spirit Fellowship, the Digital Media Fellowship and the Columbia University Merit Fellowship. Theresa is a filmmaker who writes and directs. Her films are an emotional take on the honesty and humor within the hybrid of East and West in America.

Her latest narrative film, Smoke and Mirrors, has won the Director’s Guild of America Best Film Award (Asian American/East Coast) as well as the CINE Golden Eagle Award, the James Bridges Award, the Denali Award and much more. Smoke and Mirrors has gone on to screen across the United States including NYC, Los Angeles and Washington DC. Her other narrative films include, Fallen Yellow Tears, Going Home, Jeh-Jeh, and Silent Reminders. Her documentary works include: A Tribute to Bill Watanabe, CRCD Youth Workforce Development Program, and When the Heart Catches a Cold: Depression.

Her passion to tell stories is combined with her passion for arts education. Theresa has worked as teaching artist with at-risk students for over 8 years in both NYC and LA. She is committed to helping youth find the power within themselves and their voices.

She is currently working on a narrative feature script and resides near Los Angeles, CA. Learn more about Theresa's past and present projects at www.theresawu.com.