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Video Awards Judging Committee

Chair:                                                           

Kalin Ivanov, Co-owner/Director/Producer 
Art Vanguard Creative LLC, Brooklyn, New York, United Sates

Kalin Ivanov is a Bulgarian-born award-winning filmmaker and video artist who has lived in Brooklyn, New York, since 1998. He is a Co-founder, Producer, Director and Cinematographer of Art Vanguard Creative – an independent creative firm that produces Film, TV and Art programming. Art Vanguard is based in Brooklyn.  

Kalin has many film and television credits as a director of photography, director and producer. He is the recipient of 4 EMMY® Awards for his work at the cultural magazine show Nueva York (CUNY TV), the educational program Study With The Best (CUNY TV), and Black America (CUNY TV). His work was also distinguished with a Telly Award and several Communicator Awards. He is a member of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and Film Independent. He has served as a judge at Early Bird Film Festival (Sofia 2015), the EMMY® awards (2015 - ongoing) and Film Independent Spirit Awards (2016 - ongoing).

As a video artist, Kalin has created original video artwork for numerous contemporary dance-theater productions, presented at illustrious NY venues such as BAM, NY Live Arts, Brick, Alvin Alley etc.  His photographs have been selected for various exhibitions (Soho 20, NY) and private collections. His 9/11 photographs are included in the permanent exhibition of the 9/11 Memorial. Kalin’s latest exhibition, “The Floating Piers of Christo,” has traveled to Berlin, Rome, Ljubljana, and Sofia.

Kalin holds an MFA in Cinematography (Sofia, Bulgaria) and MFA in Television Production (Brooklyn College, New York).

Committee:

Israel Bonequi, Creative Director, Producer & Principal
IND Films, Montreal, Québec, Canada

Kim Cortese, Head of Production
Huge, New York, New York, United States
Kim is Head of Production at Huge and brings over 15 years of agency experience to the team. At Huge she has produced work for clients such as Realtor.com, Canada Goose, Il Makiage, Zelle, and Google. She manages a team that creates high-impact creative out of Huge’s in-house studio, as well as maintaining vital third party relationships. Throughout her career she has produced commercial and integrated campaigns for Uniqlo, Mercedes-Benz and Unilever working on both national and global campaigns. Prior to Huge, Kim spent time at agencies such as Razorfish, Arnold Worldwide and Digitas.

Milda Goodman, Assistant Vice President, Consumer Brand Advertising
Pacific Life, Newport Beach, California, United States
Milda helped create the iconic whale brand for Pacific Life Insurance and continues to manage the company's consumer brand storytelling that includes advertising on TV, digital, and social media channels.  A UCLA graduate, she has also managed several brand-side sports marketing engagements for college basketball and football, and professional tennis events.
 

Judah Houser, Senior Marketing Project Manager
Lockheed Martin, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Judah has been a creative force at Lockheed Martin for over 16 years. He's been a part of many award-winning marketing campaigns. He graduated with a Masters in Digital Design from NYU and he has been a Project Management Professional since 2008.

James Johnson, Chairman
The Standish Group, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Vanina Kondova, Producer/Filmmaker
BookVa Films, New York, New York, United States
Vanina Kondova is a producer, entrepreneur, content creator, and filmmaker. Her company  produced the Lost & Found, NY series, airing on Amazon Prime Video. A graduate of the Theater and Film Academy in Bulgaria and Atlantic School in New York, she has 10 years of experience in media and film production.

 

Vincent Lin, Director/Executive Producer
Valiant Pictures, New York, New York, United States
Vincent Lin is an award-winning director, writer, and producer. He is the founder of Valiant Pictures, one of the fastest growing minority-owned commercial production companies in NYC.

Aakanksha Mirdha, Senior Product Designer
Cruise, San Francisco, California, United States

Keith Stoeckeler, founder
HEARTLENT Group, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States
Keith Stoeckeler is Founder at HEARTLENT Group, and has over 15 years of experience across various advertising holding companies including Dentsu, Interpublic Group, Omnicom, and Publicis. In his career, Keith has influenced the creative work of brands such as AT&T, Citi, Harley-Davidson, IBM, Procter & Gamble, and Subaru.

Jody Sunna, Director, Corporate Communications
Philip Morris International, Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland