Karim Azimi

In the field of cinema since 1987. 

Azimi was selected in more than 500 national and international festivals and won more than 50 awards. Canada World Festival Royal Badge / Philadelphia USA World Festival Gold Statue / Ghent Belgium Gold Medal / Baku World Festival Golden Fairy / Italy asolo international Festival Special Badge / Columbus USA World Festival Statue / Poland international Festival Bronze Medal / special statue roozvelt america international Festival / 

Azimi has also participated as a jury in many national and international festivals, jury for baku international film festival/jury for tehran international short film festival/jury for start azerbayjan short film festiv. Karim won multiple awards in the 2023 festival.  

Rodney Ferrer

Rodney Ferrer is an Award-Winning Filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY.  His career began as an actor where he toured for five years with Family Life Theatre Company.  This led to Ferrer studying at New York’s prestigious Acting Studio, where he would later teach on-camera acting. For the last 20 years, he has proudly established himself as an independent filmmaker and created Sidewalk Prophecy Films Productions, focusing on the human condition set amidst a distinctly urban landscape, while unflinchingly exploring the culture and diversity of the city through cinema.. Those very aspirations compelled Ferrer, with his wife Yelena Ferrer, to create many films Films in which she has thus far produced Ferrer’s two acclaimed series, City of Mercy and Placebo Heart, his acclaimed short film The Song of Her, and the multi-award winning feature Bobby Mortal, which has since gone on to win Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor in the Roosevelt Island Film Festival, and garnered Ferrer the Vincent Spano Award for Best Director.  His latest feature, House of Waltz, received its World Premiere screening at Stuart Cinema in Brooklyn in March 2024.  The film also received numerous awards at the 2024 Roosevelt Island Film Festival. We are blessed to have him as a judge this year.

Matthew Corozine

Owner / founder of MCS Theatre, a premier acting studio training actors to "get outta your head” using the Meisner Technique based in New York City since 2000. With an expanding roster of professional artists currently working in theater, television, and film, Matthew and MCS have also been the starting board for many to begin new careers in the arts – such as directors, writers, producers, casting directors, and more – and has been the home to many original works from our students and alumni. When Matthew created MCS he had a vision for a collaborative, expansive, and supportive artistic community for artists to build their craft with honor and integrity, and now in D.C. and Miami, MCS continues to build that community to stretch beyond New York City, and to always be your artistic home away from home. RIFF is proud to have him as a new judge this year.

Jake King

Jake King has been fascinated with film since high school, and had chosen to major in filmmaking and graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2021 with a Bachelors in Arts. After graduating college, Jake had kept himself active and productive in many areas of the entertainment industry, including interning at Outpost Digital, working as an editor for CUNY Kingsborough, and collaborating on independent projects. Jake also keeps acting in the film festival circuit, having served both as tech director and judge for the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival and the Roosevelt Island Film Festival, respectively. His work can be seen on his website www.jakekingmedia.com