shots Awards The Americas: Full jury list announced and deadline extended

The full jury line-up for this year’s shots Awards The Americas has landed, bringing together more than 120 creatives, producers, editors, directors, composers, artists and all-round brilliant people ready to decide who takes home the trophies in April.

With the panels locked in, entrants now have a little extra breathing room – the deadline to submit work has been extended until Friday 20 February, giving companies additional time to refine their entries ahead of judging.

Spanning disciplines from direction and cinematography through to sound design, casting, concept and New Director, the juries reflect the diversity of modern commercial filmmaking, bringing together voices from across North and South America and a wide range of creative backgrounds.

The shots Awards are sponsored by Virtual Films and XR Pay. You can explore the full jury line-up below, or visit the official judges page for more details on each panellist. To submit your work and be in the running for a coveted shots trophy, head here to enter. Further information on categories can be found here, while pricing and eligibility details are available via the FAQ page.

The shortlist will be announced on 19 March 2026, ahead of the awards ceremony at the Avalon in West Hollywood, Los Angeles on 23 April 2026.

Above [l-r, from top left]: Head Judges Sara Worthington, Joanna Manning, Fuliane Petikyan, Sara Eolin, Diego de la Maza, Shawn Lacy, Amado Stachenfeld, Tomás Becú, Erin Sarofsky, and Michael Sagol.

Direction

• Shawn Lacy [Head Judge], Founding Partner, Biscuit Filmworks
• Aasttha Khajuria, Executive Producer/Service, Spy Films
• Alex Hoffman, Senior Producer, GUT LA
• Amanda Shirelle Azoroh, Senior Producer, Omnicom Production
• Anna Hashmi, Founder and Executive Producer, The Corner Shop
• Emily Harris, EP, Development & Representation, OPC
• Kamila Prokop, Managing Director, division7
• Leila Gage, Executive Producer, Head of Talent, Amazon XCM
• Michael 'Middy' Ofori-Attah, Senior Editor, Cartel
• Michael Refuerzo, Global Head Of Production, Beats by Dre, Apple Inc.
• Rami D'Aguiar, Senior Editor, Cabin Edit
• Sole Bottaro, Executive Producer, Labhouse

Editing

• Joanna Manning [Head Judge], Managing Director & Senior Executive Producer, Whitehouse Post
• Aitor Bigas, Editor, Hotel Concorde/Modern Post
• Dan Abraham, Editor, Lockt Post
• Edward Khoma, Editor and Co-Founder, Abandon Editorial
• Jen Passaniti, Head of Production, Highdive
• Julie Axell, Co-Founder & Executive Producer, Nimiopere
• Kayan Choi, Executive Producer, Outsider Editorial
• Mah Ferraz, Film Editor & Founder, Church Edit
• Marlo Baird, Managing Director/Partner, Work Editorial
• Natalie Wozniak, Head of Editorial, ARC Creative
• Tyler Locke, Director of Production, Scholar
• Zaldy Lopez, Editor, Exile Edit

Animation/VFX

• Erin Sarofsky [Head Judge], Executive Creative Director & Owner, Sarofsky
• Angus Kneale, Chief Creative, Preymaker
• Ben Hampshire, Executive Director, Untold Studios
• Cristian Nicolas Morales Hernandez, Chief Executive Officer, Crinimo.tv
• Daniel Duda, Motion Designer and Animation Director, Freelance
• Eri Panasci Taylorson, Executive Producer, Jelly NY
• Eva-Maria Kuehlmann, VFX Supervisor, ARC Creative
• Faga Melo, Director, Dirty Work
• Julieta Zajaczkowski, Executive Producer & Partner, Final Frontier
• Kirsten Collabolletta, Executive Producer, Buck
• Morten Vinther, Executive Creative Director, Harbor Picture Company
• Vivekananthan (Vivek) Rajasekaran, Composting Lead/Supervisor, JAMM VISUAL

Charity

• Sara Eolin [Head Judge], Partner & Executive Producer, Tinygiant
• Chau Mui, Co-Founder, Ciaooo Media
• Chinwe Chong, Editor, Consulate
• Cliff Skeete, ECD, Freelance
• Craig Cimmino, Executive Creative Director, Merkley + Partners
• David Ozier, Writer & Director, Freelance
• Ezequiel Ortiz, CEO & Partner, Rebolucion
• Jenny Lee, Director of Production, Omnicom Production
• Jessie Nagel, Co-Founder, Green The Bid / Hype
• Lorenzo Benedick, Founder & Managing Director, Vagabond Production Services
• Miranda Romero Fuentes, CEO and Founder, Brotes
• Qadree Holmes, Founder/Executive Producer, Quriosity

Use of Music/Sound Design

• Tomás Becú [Head Judge], Partner, BAMBA LLC
• Beliansh Assefa, Senior Music Producer, Grey
• Christiane Rachel Homem de Mello, Executive Producer, Antfood
• Claudia Incio, Founder & Music Director, Agosto Music
• Damian Minckas, Co-owner, CCO, Papamusic
• Dan Zank, Executive Creative Director, BUTTER Music + Sound
• Filipe Resende, CEO & Music Director, CANJA Audio Culture
• Gloria Pitagorsky, Managing Partner, Heard City
• Jason Bonilla, Co-Founder/Creative Director, The Elements Music
• Justin Morris, Senior Music Producer, Sonic Union
• Kelly McCluskey, Executive Producer & Partner, Grayson Music
• Liz Pfriem, Music Director, TBWA\Media Arts Lab
• Marina Killion, Lead Mixer, Barking Owl Chicago
• Raphaël Ajuelos, Founder/Sound Designer, Concret Form

Casting/Production Design/Styling

• Michael Sagol [Head Judge], Managing Director, Caviar
• Andrew Hayes, Casting Director, Powerhouse Casting
• Carol Ozzi, Production Designer
• Destiny Lilly, Casting Director, Destiny Casting
• Emily de Groot, Stylist, Model Consumer Inc
• Emma Higgins, Director and Writer, Fela
• Fabiano Higashi, Creative Director, Media Arts Lab
• Fay Grande, Casting Director, Grande/Morris Casting
• Keith Wager, Costumer/Stylist, Gents inc
• Mark Snelgrove, Production Designer, Snelgrove Design Group
• Seb Boyer, Managing Director/EP, Consulat
• Tina Lam, Head of Production, Terri & Sandy

Cinematography

• Amado Parame Stachenfeld [Head Judge], Cinematographer
• Agustín Claramunt, Director of Photography
• Arianna Shining Star Smaller, Colorist, Arianna Shining Star
• Cass Surina Austin, Production Designer & Art Director
• Charlie Tyrell, Filmmaker, Independent
• Corey Cho, Video Editor
• Gabrielle Blackwood, Director/Cinematographer, Winnie Pictures
• Jules Hotz, Artist, Director of Photography, IATSE Local 600 Camera Operator
• Luísa Dalé Silva, Cinematographer
• Marc André Debruyne, Director, Open Swim
• Richard Hama, Director of Photography

Concept/Copywriting

• Sara Worthington [Head Judge], Executive Creative Director, Grey NY
• Aryan Aminzadeh, Group Creative Director, WEST BBDO
• Bee Reynolds, Group Creative Director, EP+Co
• Belén Russomanno, Associate Creative Director, TBWA\Chiat\Day NY
• Catarina Barcala, Associate Creative Director, VML Commerce
• Chams Abdelhafidh, Global Creative Director, Meta
• David Castellanos, Creative Lead, Erich & Kallman
• Fabricio Soares, Senior Copywriter, LePub
• Juliana Cobb, Chief Creative Officer, 72andSunny
• Lauren O'Driscoll, Executive Producer, Wieden+Kennedy
• Susan Mersch, Executive Creative Director, VML
• Tony O'Neill, Creative Lead, SInce It's Monday

Music Video

• Fuliane Petikyan [Head Judge], Managing Partner & Executive Producer, Fela
• André Inácio, Director, Anonymous Content Brazil
• Benson Ellis, Editor, Nomad
• Dante Pasquinelli, Senior Colorist, Ethos Studio
• Ellie Bartlett, Executive Producer, CANADA
• Gina Harrell, Head of Video Production and Content Development, Epic Records
• Lina Fridman, Director - Fridman Sisters, Stink Films
• Mike Lobikis, Head Of Sales/Executive Producer, Partizan
• Nathan Scherrer, Founder / Producer, Freenjoy
• Nazeli Kodjoian, Founder/Executive Producer, Sunset Edit
• Nicholas Lam, Director, Asymetric
• Richard Cureton, Executive Producer, Revolver Films
• Rocío Gastaldi, Film and Creative Director, Landia

New Director

• Diego de la Maza [Head Judge], Chief Production Officer, Omnicom Production
• Ana Laura Solis, Founder, Story:
• Christian Tyler, Managing Director/Executive Producer, Denim
• Danielle Kappy, Founder & Executive Producer, FRANK Content Inc
• Erin Goodsell, Head of Production, Mother LA
• Jackson Morton, Co-Founder & Executive Producer, JOJX
• Kelly Bayett, Managing Partner, Love Song
• Lauren Schuchman, Founder/Rep, Diplomat
• Mercedes Allen-Sarria, Executive Producer, Imposter
• Patrick Wood, Executive Producer, ProdCo
• Pilar Muro, Global Head of Talent, Papaya Films
• Ryan Ennis, Executive Producer, Reform School
• Sophie Gold, President & Executive Producer, Eleanor

The shots team will also be hosting another edition of shots Out of the Box on 22 April at the Bike Shed in Downtown, bringing together the community for a day of creative exploration ahead of the ceremony.

Full details on categories and entry criteria can be found here, with submissions available via the online entry portal.