FILMFEST JUDGES
James Breckenridge
Screenwriter, The PlayCrafters Group
James Breckenridge has worked in the entertainment industry for over 30 years. In 1995, his years of professional training and experience culminated in the founding of The PlayCrafters Group. As its Director, he specializes in helping writers from all over the country develop producible scripts for motion pictures, television and theatre. His work focuses on helping writers target the essential elements of their stories to achieve results that specifically serve their original vision. He has been rated in the Top Ten of Script Consultants from around the country and recommended as the Best of the Best Buys in Creative Screenwriting Magazine’s review of leading script consultants.
In addition to private classes, coachings and consultations, Mr. Breckenridge has been a featured speaker at The Philadelphia Writers’ Conference, The Algonquin Film Festival, The Bucks Fever FilmFest and has presented seminars at the SCREENWRITING EXPO in Los Angeles, California where he was named “Star Speaker.” Mr. Breckenridge has served on the Theatrical Motion Pictures Nominating Committee for the Screen Actors Guild Awards and as a Judge for the Freestyle Repertory Theater in New York City, Juror for The Philadelphia Film Festival’s Feature Film Competition, Juror for the American Independents category for the Philadelphia Film Festival/Cinefest as well as the Bucks County FilmFest.
Trained for the professional theatre, Mr. Breckenridge received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Temple University in Philadelphia. Over the years, he has performed professionally on radio, television, film and on stage. His work has taken him to Europe twice, once touring Germany and Italy, and a second time, appearing at The Edinburgh Festival in Scotland and in London. He currently maintains active memberships with both The Actors’ Equity Association and the SAG-AFTRA Union.
Janet Steiner
Senior Manager Of Government Affairs, Comcast
Janet has been with Comcast for more years that she can count, owing to the limits imposed by having just ten fingers. Janet has facilitated community service projects, overseen the local employee giving campaign, and organized food drives, toy drives, book drives, and blood drives. She is deftly avoided by her co-workers, due to the fact that she constantly pesters them for their money, their time, and their blood. Janet also serves as a local producer for Comcast Newsmakers, a five-minute news segment that can be found on Xfinity OnDemand and at ComcastNewsmakers.com.
Janet’s involvement with the Bucks County FilmFest dates back to 2006, when Comcast first partnered with the festival to offer winners the opportunity to be featured On Demand. To date, Bucks Fever Film Fest films have been viewed more than 22,000 times. Janet co-chaired the FilmFest for two years and continues to serve as an enthusiastic, albeit noisy and somewhat disruptive, committee member.
Janet’s areas of expertise include stating the obvious, snarky comments, and sarcastic emails. She enjoys photos of people in weird outfits who don’t seem to know any better, signs with typographical errors, and videos featuring panda’s falling down. If your film incorporates all of these elements, you are virtually guaranteed a spot in the festival.**
**Please note: Janet Steiner’s preferences do not necessarily reflect the preferences of the other judges and are subject to change at a moment’s notice. Additionally, Janet Steiner is unable to guarantee anyone a spot in the festival, no matter how important she might think she is.
Lauren Nonini
Membership Director for County Theater, Doylestown
Lauren has been with the County Theater for over six years. Along with overseeing membership for the County Theater, she oversees membership for Renew Theaters’ three other historic art house movie theaters: the Ambler Theater, Hiway Theater, and Princeton Garden Theatre. The combined membership department serves over 18,000 members. She holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts with a focus on Acting and Directing from DeSales University. Lauren has previously worked both in administration as well as costume construction and wardrobe for the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. She has also had some firsthand experience as part of an independent film crew.
This is Lauren’s first year with the FilmFest and very honored to be included among the judges.
Dennis Lewis
Owner, Mad Icarus Media, Inc. and Co-Chair Bucks County FilmFest
Bio Coming Soon!