PTAFF'S 2025 JUDGES   

Eric Bear is an actor, writer and producer who created and starred in the award-winning performance capture series “Belonging” on Apple TV.  Bear played a recurring role in Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel “1883” on Paramount+ and began as a child actor with a memorable line in Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall.”  Born in New York City, Bear grew up performing in theater and dance, deeply influenced by Deborah Hay.  This early training in embodied movement established a foundation as a kinesthetic artist, tapping emotion and relational awareness to inform performances and ways of being in the world.

In addition to filmmaking, Bear is a tech entrepreneur known for creating award-winning interactive media; hailed as “one of the most thoughtful and provocative interface and interaction designers working in the field.”  Bear's patented innovations have been licensed by all major movie studios in the USA, and products based on other of his 100+ inventions are used every day by millions of people.

​Anita M. Cal is a versatile Emmy award-winning film and TV storyteller who’s had the

opportunity to write, produce, and line produce with a diverse range of talent and brands in the entertainment industry from Showtime, Inc. to BET. Currently, she is a 2024 Emmy- winning Producer for PBS 10 Days in Watts, which was nominated for five Emmys. She is also the Co-Writer/Co-Producer of Undercard, a feature boxing film produced by Catalyst Studios starring Wanda Sykes in her first dramatic performance.  Anita has written and consulted for staffed comedy writers as well as penned scripts for TBS’s Tyler Perry's "House of Payne," "Meet The Browns," and Colours TV’s “The Chin Chinns.”

Additionally, Anita Co-Created, Produced, and Wrote the half-hour comedy Pilot Chico’z Kids, starring Chico Benymon (Half & Half) and Essence Atkins (Ambitions, FirstWives Club). In 2019, Anita’s cop TV Pilot drama, Beyond the Badge, starring Karimah Westbrook (All- American) was a SeriesFest and DTLA Finalist selection, as well as an Emerging Drama Writer Caz Mathews Grant Winner.

As a multi-faceted filmmaker with strong Producing skills, Anita has managed crews and talent for feature movies with budgets ranging from $250,000 to $10 million. She won Women in Film honors for her drama screenplay Fathers of God, which also

garnered a Garry Marshall Award, prestigious Academy Nicholl Fellowship semi-finalist recognition and Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project quarterfinalist recognition.

Karl O’Brian Williams is a Jamaican-born, award-winning actor, writer, director, and producer whose work spans theatre, film, and education. His acclaimed film Caribbean Queen earned the 2025 Newark LGBTQ Film Festival’s Local Voices Award and the 2024 Emerging Black

LGBTQ+ Filmmaker Award at NewFest.

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A 2021 Audie Award nominee for These Ghosts Are Family, Karl’s published works appear in Out & Allied Volume 2 and We Are Not Neutral. He served as Artistic Director of Braata Productions for 15 years and currently teaches theatre and communication at BMCC, NYU, and Randolph College’s MFA Program.

Jamie Burton-Oare is an award-winning writer, director, and actor whose debut feature Doing The L.A. Thing premiered at the American Black Film Festival, earning the HBO Best Feature Award at MVAAFF and a Best Director nomination at PAFF. Her short film The Bully won Best Short at the Boca Black Film Festival, and her documentary

Soulful Steps premiered at the 16th Annual MVAAFF.

A native of Flint, Michigan, Jamie holds an MFA in Screenwriting from Cal State Northridge and a BBA from Howard University.  Her recent Academy-qualifying short, Breathe, starring Stephen Hill (Magnum P.I.), reimagines the final day of Eric Garner’s life and has toured nationally from 2023–2025. Through her company Jomaja Films, Jamie continues to create bold, socially resonant stories that fuse art and

activism.

Gordon Greene is a Jamaican-born, Brooklyn-raised actor with over 30 years of experience across film, television, and theatre. He’s best known for his Gemini Award-winning performance as Sheriff Wood Jackson on Disney’s The Famous Jett Jackson.His recent credits include Ten Cent Daisy, Shameless, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Real Husbands of Hollywood, and the acclaimed podcast Blood Ties.

As a creator and producer, Gordon has developed several award-winning projects including The Coconut Hut, Xxenos, and

the action sci-fi series Lufalo Rising. A true multi-hyphenate, Greene continues to expand his storytelling through acting, writing, and producing dynamic, character-driven works.

Actor/Director/Producer/Teacher/Activist Who happens to be Jamaican has been in the entertainment industry for the past 50 years in various aspects of the business. Founder and Artistic Director of The Caribbean American Repertory Theatre, West, Jeff hails from the Broadway stages of New York, transitioning into Film and Television after relocating to California in 1986!! He curated “ Target Sundays” at the California African American Museum for 12 years, offering opportunities for upcoming local artists, many of whom are luminaries today!! Jeff is currently in Pre-Production for the Docudrama, “Justice Delayed” a project chronicling a trial that took place in Jamaica with Marcus Garvey, whose attorney Lewis Ashenheim, defended Marcus and won the case, fostering a great friendship between both Jamaican men. Talks after that trial led to the independence of the island nation of Jamaica! The project will be filmed completely on location in Jamaica. He is the unforgettable dreadlocked face on Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” video, Jeff also currently teaches at-risk gang members in the California prison system!!

Kaci M. Fannin is an activist and multidisciplinary artist whose work spans film, theatre, puppetry, animation, and performance. With over 25 years in acting, producing, and directing and more than three decades in social services, Kaci bridges creative practice with community healing.

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She holds a BS in Film Production from the University of Texas at Austin, an MFA in Social & Environmental Arts Practices, and an MA in Social Justice and Community Organizing. Her work integrates art, activism, and ministry to cultivate spaces of cultural memory, resilience, and liberation.

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Now based in Tucson, Kaci is developing The Kamili House, a community-rooted initiative advancing Black self-determination, sustainability, and collective healing.

Saskia Garel is a Jamaican-born, Toronto-raised singer and actress whose career spans music, theatre, and television. A graduate of York University’s Fine Arts program and recipient of the Oscar Peterson Award, Saskia first rose to fame as half of the duo Love & Sas, earning two Juno Awards for Best R&B Recording.

She went on to star as Mimi in RENT and later as Nala in Disney’s The Lion King, captivating audiences in Toronto, Chicago, and Los Angeles. On screen, Saskia has appeared in numerous television series, including One on One, She Spies, and Nightman, and continues to shine in both dramatic and comedic roles.

A versatile performer and songwriter, Saskia blends her Jamaican roots with a global artistic sensibility, creating work that celebrates passion, resilience, and cultural pride.