FESTIVAL JUDGES
FESTIVAL JUDGES 2025
Local Judges
ALEJANDRO RIOS
Film and art critic,
Alejandro Ríos is a renowned film and art critic with extensive experience covering international film festivals in Havana, Miami, Brazil, Calcutta, and Canada. As the founder of the Cuban Cinema Series, which he launched in 1993, Ríos continues to curate compelling cinematic experiences. Currently, he programs Miami Film Festival’s Spotlight on Cuba, showcasing the best of Cuban cinema. With a career spanning decades, Ríos has established himself as a leading voice in film criticism, sharing his insights through various media outlets and publications.
CAROL COOMBES
Film Festival Programmer
As a seasoned non-profit art professional with 20+ years’ experience in project event management, grant writing and film-festival programming she has worked for a roster of dynamic Miami-centric cultural arts organizations including Coral Gables Art Cinema, FilmGate Miami, FUNDarte, Karen Peterson and Dancers, the Miami Center for Art & Design, Miami International and OutShine Film Festivals.
Carol has received awards for her work and contribution to the arts community of South Florida from OutShine Film Festival (formally Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival), Aqua Foundation for Women and the Mayor and Commissioners of the Cityof Miami Beach. You can often find her cycling in Miami Beach on her vintage green Hollywood Schwinn!
NATASHA CHAPMAN
Executive Producer
Natasha is a multi-discipline EIP/Producer and Creative Manager skilled in international production logistics and detailed production management across all multimedia platforms.
A D&AD alumna and award winner she produces worldwide for major television networks, advertising agencies, film and commercial production companies and directors; specializing in logistical & creative problem solving, financial & schedule management.
MARIA DEL MAR RAMIREZ ALVARADO
Communication and Advertising Professor
María del Mar Ramírez Alvarado is an Audiovisual Communication and Advertising Professor at the Facultad de Comunicación at the University of Seville in Spain. She was Dean of her School of Communication for eight years. She holds a PhD in Information Sciences and is currently a Counselor of the Audiovisual Council of Andalusia. She has numerous scientific publications specializing in the audiovisual field.
NELSON ISAVA
Director / Producer / Professor
Executive Producer, Director, and Screenwriter based in New York City, known for his heartfelt and emotionally resonant work in independent film, documentary series, and digital programming. Beyond his production work, Nelson is an advocate for Hispanic and LGBTQ+ creatives and has been an Adjunct Professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) for the past two years, where he teaches Production, Directing, and Screenwriting for short films.
RUPINDER NAGRA
Actor / Producer
Rupinder Nagra is a Canadian Academy-nominated actor and producer whose work has screened at top festivals including TIFF, Telluride, Venice and London. He earned critical acclaim for his lead role in Amal, winner of over 20 international awards. The remake rights of Amal were acquired by Harpo. Having worked across four international markets his screen credits include The Etruscan Smile, Omerta, Kurbaan and Bring it All Back Home. As an actor he is drawn to characters who are darkly dignified old souls, who will win at all costs. As a producer, Nagra champions stories exploring identity and belonging.
GRETHEL DELGADO, MsC
Journalist, writer, and actress
Grethel Delgado (Miami, USA) is a journalist, writer, and actress. She is a journalist for Diario Las Américas and an editor at Bravo Zulu Publishers. She holds a degree in Dramaturgy from the Instituto Superior de Arte, Cuba, and a Master’s in Journalism from Florida International University, USA. Delgado has received multiple awards for her poetry and theater, including the Centenary Poetry Contest of Hialeah (2025), the Mehdi Hajji International Poetry Prize (2024), and the David Theater Prize (2009). Her publications include Melancolía South Beach (2025), No me hablen de Cuba (2022), and several theater and poetry works published in Cuba and Spain.
International Judges
JUAN MANUEL RUIZ
Film critic
Juanma Ruiz (Madrid, 1982) is a graduate in Audiovisual Communication. He is a film critic at Jot Down and a professor of Audiovisual Communication at the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid. He teaches classes in the Cinematic Criticism Master’s Program at Caimán Cuadernos de Cine in the ECAM. He has worked as a writer and film critic for specialized magazines such as Cahiers du Cinéma – Spain (2010-2012) and Caimán Cuadernos de Cine (2012-2022). He is the author of the book “J. J. Abrams,” published by Cátedra (2021), and co-author of the book “ALCINE 50: Historia(s) de un festival de cine” (2023). He co-edited the volume “Cortografías. Mapas del cortometraje español 2010-2019” for ALCINE (2021) and has contributed to numerous collective books for SEMINCI or JotDown Books, among others.
LILIAM DOMINGUEZ PhD.
Art Curator
Dr. Dominguez is an artist, researcher, educator, and art curator. Her practice is rooted in cultural heritage and preservation, nature conservation, and social justice. Her work combines, oscillates between, and blurs these disciplines through a humanist lens..