We are excited to announce the Jury for EFFNY 2020. As in previous years, we have gathered a diverse group that shares a common feature: sensibility. Enrique Chediak is a noted cinematographer with a successful career in Hollywood. Nora Woolley is a New York based American actress, who also teaches acting at several universities in New York. Gabriela Ponce belongs to a new generation of Ecuadorian women writers who are captivating audiences beyond Ecuador, as few Ecuadorian writers have in the past. We are honored to have them as our Jurors for this year and eager to learn which film will be their favorite. The award ceremony will take place on Sunday, December 6th at 7:00 pm ET. Join us!

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ENRIQUE CHEDIAK (Ecuador)

 

Enrique Chediak (Director of Photography) is best known for his striking visuals on the 

popular film adaptation of the science fiction novel, The Maze Runner. The film of the same 

name, which earned over $348 million in 2014, stars Dylan O’Brien and is directed by Wes Ball. 

Bumblebee is Chediak’s fourth collaboration with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, 

having previously worked on American Assassin, directed by Michael Cuesta and starring 

O’Brien and Michael Keaton; Deepwater Horizon, directed by Peter Berg and starring Mark 

Wahlberg and Kurt Russell; and Red 2 with Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich. His 

other more recent films include The 5th Wave, starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Caesar Chavez

from director Diego Luna with Michael Peña in the title role. 

 In 2010, Chediak collaborated with the British cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle on 

the drama 127 Hours, based on the harrowing true story of outdoorsman Aron Ralston. The film 

was subsequently nominated by several critics’ associations worldwide, along with the British 

Academy of Film & Television Arts, for Best Cinematography in 2011. 

 His resume also includes such films as Europa Report, Rage and Cronicas for his good 

friend, director Sebastián Cordero, along with the films Intruders, Charlie St. Cloud, Repo Men, 

The Assailant, The Flock, 28 Weeks Later, Turistas, Lies & Alibis, Down in the Valley, A Home 

at the End of the World, Brown Sugar, The Good Girl, The Safety of Objects, 3 A.M., Boiler 

Room, Songcatcher, The Faculty, Desert Blue, Frogs for Snakes, American Southern, and the 

made-for-television movies, Undefeated and Remembering Sex. 

 Next up, Chediak will act as the cinematographer on Disney’s live-action adaptation of 

their animated feature, The Lady and the Tramp. 

 Chediak was born in Quito, Ecuador. He studied communications in Chile and 

photography in Madrid before studying film at New York University from 1992 to 1996.

 

NORA WOOLLEY (US)

 

Nora is a NYC-based writer and actor with over twenty years working in theater, film, and TV. Her multi-character solo play, Hip, was nominated for two New York Innovative Theater Awards and was heralded by the New York Times as a must-see. Her writing is included in The Best American Short Plays anthology and she is currently co-writer and co-creator of an episodic series in development with HBO. Nora is full-time faculty at Pace University Performing Arts Program, where she teaches Acting.

 

GABRIELA PONCE (Ecuador)

 

Gabriela Ponce is a theater director. She teaches performing arts at Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ. A Fulbright Scholar, she obtained her MFA in theater direction at the University of Illinois, Carbondale. She’s a member of the collective, Mitómana/Artes Escénicas and co-founder of Casa Mitómana, an incubator for cultural projects. In 2019 she published her first novel, Sanguínea (Severo Publishing), also published in Spain (Candaya Publishing). Her play, Lugar (Turbina Publishing, 2017) won the municipal award Joaquín Gallegos Lara in the theater category (2018). As playwright, director, and theatrical producer, she has staged: Tazas Rosas de Té (2016), winner of the unpublished playwright award, Fundación Teatro Nacional Sucre, 

and the Francisco Tobar García award for best theatrical production of the year (2017); Esas Putas Asesinas, adapted for the stage from the story by Roberto Bolaño (2015); Caída (Hemisferio Cero) (2014), published in Antología ecuatoriana de teatro (Casa de las Américas, Cuba-Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana), and by Salvadora Publishing in Uruguay (2018). Her play, Entrada en pérdida won the international award, ‘La escritura de las diferencias’ and premiered in Cuba in 2013. Member, editorial board of the digital magazine, Sycorax.