Highbridge Film Festival announces judge panel
WILMORE, KY—For the sixth annual Highbridge Film Festival, contestants will have their films sized up by the three film professionals including media guru, Phil Cooke; top animator (Open Season 2, Alvin and the Chipmunks) Sean McComber; actor/speaker/writer/government executive Colmon Elridge III; screen writer Beverly Holloway; and filmmaker Jamey Durham.
Phil Cooke is a writer, speaker, filmmaker, and media consultant. His work focuses on creating cultures that foster change and platforms in which creative ideas become reality.
A man whom Christianity Today magazine calls a "media guru," Cooke owns and runs Cooke Pictures—advising many of the largest, most effective churches and media ministries in the world.
As a founding partner in the commercial production company Thomas Winter Cooke (TWC) Films, he produces national advertising for some of the largest companies in the country, including two TV commercials for the Super Bowl 2008.
His books and online blog are changing the way religious organizations use the media to tell their story. Cooke, who also holds a Ph.D. in theology, has lectured at universities including Yale, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of California at Los Angeles. In addition, he serves as an adjunct professor at The King’s College and Seminary and Biola University in Los Angeles.
Sean McComber has traveled everywhere from Dallas, Texas to Mumbai, India for work, focusing in animation.
He attended Asbury University 1998-2000 and traveled with the media communications program to the Sydney Olympics, after which he transferred to the Savannah College of Art and Design (S.C.A.D.). After graduating S.C.A.D. with a B.F.A. in 2004, he became part of the AnimationMentor.com program where he was selected for an apprenticeship at Rhythm and Hues Studios, working on Alvin and the Chipmunks.
His animation career has soared since Alvin and the Chipmunks and has worked on other well-know productions Open Season 2 and Land of the Lost.
In December of 2007, Colmon Elridge was appointed Executive Assistant to Governor Steve Beshear and Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Faith Based Initiatives. At 27, he is the youngest Executive Director for the White House Faith Based Initiatives in the nation.
Colmon is from Cynthiana, Kentucky and attended Transylvania University where he obtained a degree in history with a minor in education. He pursued a master’s degree in Public Administration at Eastern Kentucky University, and he secured a Master of Business Administration at Sullivan University.
A highly decorated speaker, Colmon has traveled across the nation delivering a message of strength in our moments of weakness and humility in our moments of strength. In the summer of 2009, Colmon was elected Vice-President of the Young Democrats of America by the largest margin of victory in the 77-year history of the organization, which was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Colmon has been fortunate to perform in a host of plays and musicals including Neil Simon's Rumors, in which he played the lead role of Lenny, and Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado, in which he played the lead role of KoKo. He has also shared the silver screen in the independent film The Detail, in which he played the lead role of Tommy, and in the major motion picture Seabiscuit. Colmon, his wife Victoria, and their son Col, live in Lexington.
Beverly Holloway has worked in Los Angeles as a casting director for television and feature film projects for more than 13 years. Focusing primarily on independent films, Holloway has had the opportunity to work with some of the best actors in the industry. Her credits include the David Zucker comedy An American Carol (starring Kelsey Grammer, Jon Voight, James Woods, Dennis Hopper, Kevin Farley), The Ultimate Gift (Starring James Garner, Abigail Breslin Drew Fuller, Brian Dennehy), Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (Starring Jim Caviezel, Claire Forlani, Malcolm McDowell, Jeremy Northam), and the soon to be released award winning film Like Dandelion Dust (Starring Mira Sorvino, Barry Pepper, Cole Hauser). (For a full list of credits go to http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0391291/)
Jamey Durham is an award winning filmmaker and video producer. His first feature-length film The Prairie Pirates won Best Children’s Film at The Creation Arts Film Festival. His second feature length film Winning Favor, starring Matthew Ashford, was released in February. Jamey earned his MFA in Screen and Script Writing from Regent University. He resides in Orange City with his wife of 16 years and their three awesome children.
