INTRO

Each participating schools nominated two IB Film alumni to be part of the jury. The alumni cannot vote for their own school. Here you can see our incredible jury: 

brenna ferden

Brenna Ferden is currently working as a Content Producer for a start-up company located in Atlanta, Georgia. She is an American School of Paris (ASP) 2016 alumni and attended the Savannah College of Art and Design where she apprehended her B.F.A in Film and Television. Through the past few years, Brenna directed a series of music videos, short films, & documentaries. On top of directing, she became interested in costume design where she designed the wardrobe for SCAD’s first pilot episode called “What’s After”.  Recently, she has found that her passion lies within producing. Within this role, Brenna helps people’s creative visions come to life through a series of organizing and understanding. She believes in also finding passions outside of her profession which include cooking, hiking & yoga. 

shanghai American school

Jacqueline Cheng

I went to Shanghai American School and I’m currently getting a BFA in Film Production at Chapman University. My team won several awards at COTT last year and it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. It’s so meaningful and exciting to me to be a part of the jury for this new edition of COTT. 

David Feng

David Feng graduated from Shanghai American School Puxi and is currently studying psychology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Despite his social science background, David recognizes the irreplaceable value of the arts - and especially film - as both a reflection and reflector of the signficant ideas of our time. He participated in Clash of the Titans 2020 and he's thrilled to be back this year. 

Tony Huang

Tony graduated from the International School of Beijing in 2019, and is currently studying film and television production at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Since his graduation, he has directed his first Chinese-language feature film, “The Spring I Long For.” He enjoys telling down-to-earth stories that explore the different relationships between people. Tony grew up in Vancouver, Canada, but considers Beijing to be his home. He currently lives in Los Angeles, CA. 

Ethan Zhang

Ethan Zhang graduated from the International school of Beijing where IB film is provided for him to be introduced to the film world early. Currently Ethan is studying Television and Film Production program at the University of Southern California. With the film “The Other Side” Ethan and his directing partner Tony Huang won the Best Film for Across Asia Youth Film Festival and now hoping to find creative and unique films works in the Clash of Titans Global Edition 2021.

Wilson Lai

Wilson Lai is a Chinese International School 2015 Film HL alumni and graduated with high honors in film studies from Wesleyan University in 2019. Since graduating, Wilson has directed and shot multiple short films and music videos, and also spent time working at the production company Big Beach Films and the animation distribution company GKIDS. He is the co-host of an upcoming film review podcast called ‘Deep/Cut’. Wilson is currently working as a video director and editor for Manifesto Media, a Hong Kong based international fashion magazine. He is very excited to be on this year’s panel of judges for Clash of the Titans.

TIFFANY NG

Tiffany is a Chinese International School Class of 2018 alumni currently double majoring in Art History and Ethics, Politics, & Economics at Yale University. Having studied Film HL at CIS, Tiffany's made films for most of her highschool career. She's garnered "Best Director", "Best Documentary Short", and "Best Editor" titles from Hong Kong-based film competitions like the IFVA Awards and HKBU Academy of Film Seeds Project, having also been featured in the Third Culture FIlm Festival. Hoping to combine her interest in film with her passion for journalism, Tiffany currently works in the multimedia journalism industry whilst making short films in her own time. 

Alexandra Short

While only just graduating from Seymour College in Adelaide at the end of 2020, Alex has an intense passion for filmmaking and wishes to further her studies at the University of South Australia in 2021. While in school she directed a music clip and was awarded Runner-Up in the South Australian Music SA Clip Combat competition. Along with fellow students, she participated in the global 48-Hour Film Festival challenge. Alex was also featured in two episodes of "South Aussie with Cosi" a South Australian travel tv show, one of which she assisted directing. Both were aired on national television. Alex is very grateful for the opportunity and excited to be a judge for the Clash of the Titans 2021!

Scarlett Scherer

Scarlett Scherer is a filmmaker based in Adelaide, South Australia. A frequent director and producer of original content, Scarlett is a well-established local artist known for creating music videos, short films and television series. In 2021, she plans to launch a creative collective to support other young female artists like herself.

Rhylan Klar

Rhylan Klar is an IB Film alumni from the American School of Doha Class of 2017. She is currently in her senior year at the University of Colorado Boulder where she is pursuing a dual degree, a BFA in Cinema Production and a BA in Cinema Studies. Most of her time is spent completing her year-long senior thesis film, but outside of classes she also has a job as a video editor. Rhylan is also in the beginning stages of starting her honors thesis! Rhylan appreciates the IB Film program and its impact on her life, as it is the reason she is passionate about filmmaking and storytelling. She is thrilled and honored to be a judge for COTT 2021, as this is her first year participating in the program! 

Clara Salameh

Clara Salameh is an IB Film Alumni who graduated in 2017. She is currently attending the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, pursuing her BFA in Film Production. Her dream of becoming a Film Director solidified after being a part of the IB Film Program in Doha. She has now directed three short films and produced two, all of which premier in Vancouver this April. This is her first time as a judge for COTT 2021 and she is very excited for this opportunity. 

regina Gutierrez

Regina is a Film IB alumni from Colegio Vista Hermosa in Mexico City, graduated inn 2020. She is currently studying Filmmaking in Los Angeles at Art Center College of Design. She has directed some short films as well as a few music videos. Regina is currently working as the creative director of a production company for a clothing brand in LA, where she films a BTS, shoots model and product photography, as well as the marketing campaign. She has participated in similar contests such as the 48 hour film project, and is pretty excited to now be able on the other side to watch COTT’s short films and vote for the best ones worldwide. 

Juan Francisco borrego

Juan Fran is a Film IB Student from Colegio Vista Hermosa in Mexico City who graduated in 2019. He finally decided that filmmaking was the way to go, so is now studying communications and film in order to become a great cinematographer. He works for a design studio and a production company as a screenwriter and editor for documentaries and event video.

Yasmin Mehboob-Khan

Yasmin Mehboob-Khan graduated from the International School of Geneva in 2017 with a 7/7 in IB Film. Her IB production ‘Ride’ went on to win the European Student Film Festival Jury Award and, in 2018, Yasmin returned to ESFF as a jury member. She is excited to assume those responsibilities again in 2021 at Clash of the Titans! After IB, Yasmin made various short films and specialised in the world of advertising, marketing, and production, holding a BA in Media Communications with Gender Studies. Her next goal is to pursue her passion for screenwriting!

Sam A. G. Rock

Sam A.G Rock is a director and director of photography from Sweden. His spark for film was lit early on at the International school of Geneva in Mr Bottorff’s classroom. As a recent honors graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design he has been freelancing due to pandemic and unstable nature of the film industry. With an interest of aesthetics and music he mostly creates content that intertwines these two elements. Sam took a quarter off his sophomore year to work as a camera assistant and video assist on the Oscar nominated film Border.