EIPMA Judging Panel
VFF & EIPMA
The Vaughan International Film Festival has not only offered a platform for independent creators to share their films and further excel within the industry, but has also solidified itself as a leader in supporting the arts and education at the grassroots level. Through student film screenings, seminars, bursaries, and scholarships, VFF has served as a steppingstone to opportunity for high school students across the province of Ontario.
Another way VFF continues to bridge the gap between industry professionals and up-and-coming artists is through their partnership with the Entertainment Industry Professionals Mentorship Alliance (EIPMA). VFF had been a partner organization of the Los Angeles association since the beginning of EIPMA’s conception in 2018, but formally became the first Canadian member organization in 2021. EIPMA is a non-profit organization made up of experienced, working professionals dedicated to supporting the future talent of the entertainment industry. EIPMA members include: Cinema Audio Society (CAS), American Cinema Editors (ACE), Avid Technology, Hollywood Professional Association (HPA), and The Recording Academy.
VFF is thrilled to unveil a further collaboration with the mentoring alliance, as the student film judging panel was composed of EIPMA members. This award-winning judging panel is made up of the following industry professionals:
Bernard Weiser
Sound Supervisor, Designer, Editor & Educator,
President of EIPMA
Richard Wollrich
EIPMA Treasurer & Webmaster
Elizabeth "Libby" Hinson
Writer, Sound Editor & Educator
Cecelia "Cece" Hall
Sound Designer, Oscar Winner
& Educator
Bernard Weiser is a professional Supervising Sound Editor working in ADR/Dialogue and Sound Effects/Design. Starting his career in picture editing, his talent brought him into post-production sound, where over the past 38 years he has worked in Feature Motion Pictures and television for most of the major studios in Hollywood. His credits include Schindler’s List, The Hurt Locker, It, American Hustle, True Detective, Law & Order SVU, and Ted Lasso.
Bernard is President of the Entertainment Industry Professionals Mentoring Alliance, (EIPMA). He is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, and the Motion Picture Sound Editors.
Bernard teaches Sound Design at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film & Television’s Graduate Program.
Richard earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Woodbury University and has held the post of treasurer for several large International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) unions serving the entertainment industry. Now retired, Richard’s last gig was as a post-production sound mixer for Sony Pictures Studio in Culver City, California. He is also a member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE).
Libby Hinson has had a career that touches on multiple areas of filmmaking. After being educated at Dartmouth College and USC Film School, she spent a brief time as a professional animator. Soon after, she was hired by Walt Disney Television Animation as a writer on shows such as TaleSpin and The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Subsequently, she worked with Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, ABC and PBS on programs as varied as Baby Looney Tunes, Tales from the Cryptkeeper, ABC Weekend Special: The Secret Garden, Dragon Tales and The Magic School Bus. Her career later pivoted into sound editing where she worked on Voltron, the Third Dimension, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Clifford the Big Red Dog, among others. Her professional awards include two Emmys, nine additional Emmy nominations, a Parents’ Choice Award – Award of Excellence, The New York Festival Finalist Award Winner, a Cable Ace Award and was a Humanitas Award Finalist.
Cece Hall is an award-winning Sound Designer/Supervising Sound Editor who has been nominated for numerous MPSE Golden Reel Awards and won twice. In 1984, Cece became the first woman to be elected President of the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE). In 1987, she became the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing, for Top Gun. She received her second Academy Award nomination and her first Oscar win for the 1990 submarine thriller, Hunt for Red October, for which she also received a British BAFTA nomination. Cece loved being a Sound Editor and still teaches Sound Design at The UCLA Graduate film School.
Mark Lanza
Sound Supervisor
President of MPSE
Bobbi Banks
Supervising Sound, Dialogue, and ADR Editor
Linda Rheinstein
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer and founder of Space Games Federation
Rick Hinson
Sound Designer & Professor
Mark A. Lanza MPSE is a sound designer and supervisor for Sony Pictures Television, the president of the Motion Picture Sound Editors, and a member of the Executive Steering Committee for the Television Academy. He has worked for major studios as well as several prominent independent sound facilities, and has crafted sound for many directors including Oliver Stone, James Cameron, Bryan Singer, and Phillip Noyce. His credits cover the gamut from Sci-Fi blockbusters like Independence Day and Starship Troopers to Natural Born Killers and True Lies. He has won a Bafta Award for his work on JFK and took home a Hollywood Post Alliance award for his supervision on the Grimm TV show. He has over 30 MPSE nominations and a recent win for Phillip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, and a CAS nomination. He is Currently working on Justified City Primeval and Reacher.
Bobbi Banks is a Supervising Sound, Dialogue, and ADR Editor. Bobbi has been in the industry over 20 years with more than 120 films to her credit list, including Men In Black International, Fate of the Furious, and Straight Outta Compton. Bobbi is the past president of Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE), received her first Emmy nomination in 2019 for When They See Us, and has won two MPSE Golden Reel Awards.
For over four decades, Linda Rheinstein has been a pioneer and force for change across multiple industries, including all aspects of entertainment and sports broadcasting. Rheinstein’s current venture, Space Games Federation, is the first international governing and sanctioning body for competitions played in zero and micro-gravity. Her commitment to inclusivity, diversity, and collaboration drives her mission to bring sports to space to create Equal Space and usher in a new era of sports. The absence of gravity truly levels the playing field so that people of all ages, genders, and abilities can compete together. Indeed, Linda Rheinstein is a powerful force for innovation, progress, and a better future.
Rick Hinson has spent the last thirty-five years as a sound designer, an educator and a leader in the film industry. Educated at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, he went on to work on a wide range of shows; from The Sopranos and The X-files to Duck Tales and Clifford the Big Red Dog. He has been awarded four Emmy Awards, nine Golden Reel Awards and served three terms as President of the Motion Picture Sound Editors. His commitment to helping underserved communities prompted his work with Inner City Filmmakers and Outset. Through that experience, he discovered his deep and abiding love for teaching. For the last five years, he has been a full-time professor at Middle Tennessee State University and The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). He continues to work on films for Warner Brothers, Universal, Mattel, and Jim Henson Productions. He continues his commitment to volunteerism serving on the board of EIPMA, and as a permanent member of the board of the MPSE. Rick lives in Bluffton SC with his wife of 34 years, Libby. They are along with their son, William, are two time middle Tennessee trivia champions.
Richard McKernan
Pro Audio Video Specialist
Scott McGinnis
Actor & Director
Richard has a successful track record in the Audio Industry in recording and mixing both studio and live music productions & TV shows. As a recording & mix engineer, projects range from popular music artists such as U2, Motley Crue, Natalie Cole, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He is one of the Founding members of EIPMA, giving him a way to pay forward his good fortune that he has had in the Entertainment Industry. Currently, Richard is a Pro Audio Video Specialist looking to develop and turn ideas into a vision, vision into strategy, and strategy into action for any new start up, music, or post-production facilities needing to work smarter. Richard also spent nine years in technical sales, integration and training with Euphonix. Integration projects that he was deeply involved with include designing the audio requirements for the Jay Leno Show, KNBC News, CNN Los Angeles and Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston.
Scott has over thirty years experience in the entertainment industry with dozens of credits to his name. He began his career as an actor, performing in network TV series and theatrical films co-starring with actors Sean Penn, Nicolas
Cage, James Woods and Paul Reiser. He then moved into directing, with his first feature film starring academy award-nominee Virginia Madsen at The Roger Corman Studio. His
second feature film was nominated for Best Film at the 1995 International Fantasy Film Awards. He was the co-creator of 360 Entertainment leading the development
team producing films with partner Robert Patrick for Paramount and Warner Bros.
home video. One of these productions led to a Saturn Award for Best Home Video
Release. He then directed over twenty-five episodes of network television with producers like, Joss Weadon, Shawn Ryan, David Greenwalt, John Landis and The Walt Disney Company. He also produced and directed two reality TV pilots for MTV and Turner Networks. He also instructed classes at LACHSA (Los Angeles County High School for the Performing Arts), as part of the Cinematic Arts faculty, with his classes focusing on Story Structure, Directing and New Media (You Tube production).