A diverse jury of authors, actors, news media personalities, and cultural ambassadors awards the Best Documentary Short and Student Visionary Award prizes. Learn more about the jury, which includes Ahmed Ahmed, Agnes Gund, Zoe Kravitz, Nicole Lapin, Lisa Shields, Christine Vachon, Patrick Wilson.
Ahmed Ahmed
Ahmed Ahmed was born in Helwan, Egypt. His parents immigrated to the U.S. when he was one month old, and he grew up in Riverside, California. He moved to Hollywood when he was 19 years old to pursue a career as an actor and stand-up comedian. He attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Ahmed can be seen in such films and television shows as Iron Man, You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour, Swingers, Tracey Takes On, Roseanne, JAG, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, and MTV’s PUNK’D. He has also appeared on CNN, The View, and NPR, and was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal in December 2001. He can be seen in the recent film City of Life, the first feature film to be shot entirely in Dubai. He was the recipient of the first annual Richard Pryor Award for Ethnic Comedy at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival. Ahmed tours all across America and the globe with his stand-up comedy. His directorial debut Just Like Us premiered at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival.
Agnes Gund
Agnes Gund is President Emerita of the Museum of Modern Art and Chair of its International Council. She is also Chair of MoMA PS1 Contemporary Art Center. Gund joined the MoMA Board in 1976 and served as its president from 1991 until 2002. She is the founder and a trustee of Studio in a School Association, a nonprofit organization she established in 1977 in response to budget cuts that virtually eliminated arts classes from New York City public schools. She is Chair of the Mayor’s Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission of New York City, and currently serves on the boards of Chess in the Schools, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies, The Frick Collection, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and Socrates Sculpture Park, among others. A civic leader and staunch supporter of education, women’s issues and environmental concerns, among other causes, Gund has served on the boards the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and the Fund for Public Schools. She earned a BA in History from Connecticut College and a MA in Art History from Harvard University.
Zoe Kravitz
Zoe Isabella Kravitz was born in 1988 in New York City. Her love and interest in acting developed from classes she began taking while in school. She worked on two films during her senior year in high school: No Reservations and The Brave One. She recently appeared in the Joel Schumacher film Twelve, co-starring Kiefer Sutherland, 50 Cent, Chace Crawford, and Emma Roberts. Her first lead roles were in Beware the Gonzo, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2010, Yelling to the Sky, and It’s Kind of a Funny Story. She has been cast as Angel Salvadore in X-Men: First Class, co-starring January Jones, James McAvoy, and Kevin Bacon. She is also set to co-star along Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy in Mad Max: Fury Road. Outside of her film endeavors, Kravitz has kept busy with various projects. She is lead singer and co-writer of the band Elevator Fight and is the face of Vera Wang’s Princess Perfume. She was also featured with several other celebrities in Will.I.Am’s “We Are the Ones” video during President Obama’s campaign. Zoe is the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet. She currently resides in New York City.
Nicole Lapin
Nicole Lapin is the anchor of CNBC’s Worldwide Exchange, the only global show on the network. She also contributes to NBC’S Today Show; MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Daily Rundown, and Jansing & Co; and Golf’s Morning Drive. Lapin writes on business topics for the Huffington Post and CNBC.com. Previously, Lapin was an anchor at CNN based in Atlanta, where she reported breaking news coverage on prominent national and international stories and interviewed CEOs, celebrities, and politicians including an extended sit-down interview with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Additionally, Lapin wrote a weekly column for CNN.com. Prior to joining CNN, Lapin worked as a business and technology reporter for First Business Network on the floor of the major stock exchanges in Chicago. Lapin began her career as a general assignment and investigative reporter at local CBS affiliates in Palm Springs, Lexington, and Sioux Falls. Lapin studied European Union politics at L’Institut d'Études Politique de Paris. She graduated summa cum laude as valedictorian of her class from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, also earning honors for a second major in political science. Lapin also serves as a global ambassador for the children’s charity Operation Smile.
Lisa Shields
Lisa Shields is Vice President of Communications & Marketing at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the leading nonpartisan U.S. foreign policy think tank, publisher, and membership organization. In this role, she heads media strategy, branding, and marketing for all of CFR’s scholars and content, including its award-winning website CFR.org, and Foreign Affairs. A CFR member for more than a dozen years, Shields launched the organization’s online presidential election franchise with “Campaign 2000” and “Terrorism: Questions & Answers.” More recently, she rebranded CFR’s visual identity, produced the institution’s video short, and now actively directs its social media outreach. Prior to her tenure at CFR, Shields was an editorial producer for ABC News. She received her BA in international affairs from the American University in Paris, and her master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Christine Vachon
Christine Vachon is an American movie producer who, along with partner Pamela Koffler, founded indie powerhouse Killer Films in 1995. The company has produced a number of the most acclaimed American independent films over the past two decades, including Far From Heaven (nominated for four Oscars®), Boys Don’t Cry (Oscar® winner), One Hour Photo, Kids, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Happiness, Velvet Goldmine, Safe, I Shot Andy Warhol, Camp, Swoon, and I’m Not There (Oscar® nominated). Over the past year Christine produced Dustin Lance Black’s What’s Wrong with Virginia and Benoit Philippon’s feature debut Lullaby for Pi. She is currently executive producing Todd Haynes’ five-episode HBO mini series Mildred Pierce. Among Vachon’s many honors are the Frameline Award for Outstanding Achievement in Lesbian and Gay Media and the prestigious Music Award for Outstanding Vision and Achievement by New York Women In Film And Television. Christine is the author of two books: A Killer Life: How An Independent Producer Survives Deals And Disasters In Hollywood And Beyond (Simon and Schuster, 2006) and Shooting To Kill: How An Independent Producer Blasts Through The Barriers To Make Movies That Matter (Avon, 1998).
Patrick Wilson
Patrick Wilson is a critically acclaimed and award-winning theater and film actor who was most recently seen on the big screen in James Wan’s Insidious, which was featured at the Toronto Film Festival and released in April 2011. He can also be seen in The Ledge, which is schedule for release in June. Patrick recently wrapped Young Adult, which was written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman and co-stars Charlize Theron. He is currently shooting a pilot with Susanna Grant for CBS. Wilson’s film work includes Little Children, The Switch, Barry Munday, Morning Glory, The A Team, Evening, Lakeview Terrace, Passengers, Life in Flight, Purple Violets, Running with Scissors, Hard Candy, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Alamo. On TV, Wilson received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his role in the HBO miniseries Angels in America. He has received two consecutive Tony Award nominations for Best Actor in a Musical, for Oklahoma! and The Full Monty, for which he also won a Drama League Award. Additional Broadway credits include Barefoot in the Park, All My Sons, and Gershwin’s Fascinating Rhythm.
