OCTOBER 7-13 2025
#SOHO16 #SIFFNYC
LINDA EVANS
Producer
CASS BEEDLE-SIEGERS
Director / Producer
SORATCHABHUMI HNUNBHAKDI
SUKKASEM
Thailand Film Market
JAMES TUMMINIA
Actor / Director / Producer / Writer
DARYN SIMONS
Producer / Talent Agent
Cohesive Entertainment Group
MARCI PHILLIPS
Executive Director of Casting
ABC TV Network & Disney+
#SOHO15 MEMBERS OF THE JURY - BIOS
MARCI PHILLIPS Marci is the NY VP of Talent & Casting for Disney Entertainment Television, covering the East Coast (and beyond) acting pool for 20th Television, ABC Signature Studios and select other entities within the Walt Disney Company. For over 25 years she has cast for ABC Studio and Network pilots, new series regulars, recurring roles and numerous guest star roles. Marci has been heavily involved in finding (and in many cases mentoring) the talent for the Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase since its inception in 2000. This illustrious roster includes Lupita Nyong’o, Chadwick Boseman, Gina Rodriguez, Pedro Pascal, Dominique Fishback, Jesse Williams, Jermaine Fowler, Ali Stroker and a multitude of others too numerous to mention! Marci has coached and taught actors for decades and previously worked as a Casting Assistant for MGM Studios. She cast the independent film “Let It Snow”, which was featured at the Sundance Film Festival. Marci also co-produced two off-off Broadway plays and is the author of the book “The Present Actor - A Practical and Spiritual Guideline to Help You Enjoy the Ride”. Being the daughter of a Broadway Musical actor and a wife to multiple actors (one at a time, no bigamy here!), her life experience in this business actually outweighs her professional experience.... but that's too long a story for this Bio!
CYNTHIA LÓPEZ is an award-winning media strategist, and former Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, where she implemented strategies to support film and TV production throughout the five boroughs. López is the recipient of many coveted industry awards including: 11 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, a Special Emmy Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking, three Peabody Awards, and two duPont-Columbia Awards. In addition, she received the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) Award. Prior to working as Commissioner, López was Executive Vice President and co-Executive Producer of the award-winning PBS documentary series American Documentary | POV, and was involved in the organization’s strategic growth and creative development for 14 years. Her ability to forge strategic partnerships among corporate and public interest media has been a signature of her work. Notable partnerships include: New York Times, Reuters, Al-Jazeera Network, Discovery Communications, The Moth, Story Corps, Harpo Studios and ABC News, NIGHTLINE with Ted Koppel. López is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP), and is proud to have spent her career collaborating with independent filmmakers across all portions of the film and television industry. She served on the Board of Trustees for the Paley Center, NYC & Company, Museum of the Moving Image and the Tribeca Film Institute Latin America Fund Advisory Board. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Color Congress, Latino Public Broadcasting, Manhattan Neighborhood Network, The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors, and Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI)
ERNABEL DEMILLO She currently hosts and reports for CUNY-TV’s 7-time Emmy-nominated program “Asian American Life” http://www.cuny.tv/show/asianamericanlife, a magazine-style show focusing on the tri-state’s Asian American community. She is an award-winning journalist, cited by the Governor of New York for her service and contributions to the Asian American Community and was honored with a Folio Award for Best Environmental Reporting. She also made Buzzfeed’s list of 34 Epic Filipinos in the United States. Along with her work as a journalist, Ernabel managed to find success in a second career. She is a tenured Journalism professor at Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City, N.J. and is faculty chair of the Department of Communication and Media Culture. Ernabel is active in the Asian American community. She has served on the boards of several organizations including: Vice President of Broadcast for AAJA, board member for Apex for Youth, an AAPI mentoring organization and board member for the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF). She currently serves on the board of Advancement for Rural Kids (ARK), a non-profit helping build schools and empowering communities in developing countries. Ernabel grew up in San Francisco and now calls herself a Jersey girl. She lives on the Jersey Shore with her husband, John Muller, an anchor for PIX11 News and their 17-year-old daughter, and rescue dog, Stella. Follower her on Twitter @ErnabelD
DARYN SIMONS is a Producer, Talent Manager, Digital Strategist, Entrepreneur and past President of the Talent Managers Association. Daryn won The Heller Award for Talent Manager of the Year in 2015 and has produced the past three Heller Awards with Sharon Stone, Joan Rivers, Betty White and William Shatner. Prior to working in Management, she worked in development and production at Paramount Studios, Sony and Fox. Daryn recently produced Nelson Bixby Takes On The Whole Wide World for Disney, Locating Silver Lake with Finn Wittrock & Josh Peck and The Debt Collector, with Tony Todd, Louis Mandylor & Scott Adkins for Sony/Netflix. Daryn has also had the opportunity to cast features and a digital project and is prepping for the upcoming FnD Podcast. CEG is currently developing a major slate of film, television and digital projects. TMA MANAGER OF THE YEAR 2015
DALLAS ROBERTS is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Milton Mamet in the third season of AMC's The Walking Dead, Eliot Delson in Unforgettable, and Owen Cavanaugh in The Good Wife. He also starred in the Netflix comedy Insatiable. Roberts is primarily based in New York City, where he regularly appears in theatrical productions. Off-Broadway he has appeared in a revival of Lanford Wilson's Burn This, opposite Edward Norton and Catherine Keener; in Adam Rapp's Nocturne, for which he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award; and in Caryl Churchill's A Number, opposite Sam Shepard and later Arliss Howard, among others. Roberts' film work includes the screen adaptation of Michael Cunningham's A Home at the End of the World, and supporting roles in Walk the Line and The Notorious Bettie Page, among others. He had a regular role on the Showtime drama The L Word. He starred in the AMC original series Rubicon as Miles Fiedler, a genius intelligence analyst at a national think tank. He appeared in twelve episodes of The Good Wife as Owen, the gay brother of Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies). He has also made many appearances on Law & Order and its spinoff, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He also appeared in a crossover arc between SVU, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Fire as serial killer Gregory Yates.
JAMES TUMMINIA is a producer/actor/director/writer. He received a 2019 EMMY nomination and won two Telly Awards for producing LOVE, GILDA (Magnolia Pictures/CNN Films) that opened the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. James Co-founded Italus Films, an Italy/US joint venture based in Milan and Los Angeles, producing content for all media. As a producer, he has championed filmmakers whose voices span a diverse spectrum. Select film credits: ALL SHE WROTE (US/Bulgaria), THREE DAYS IN AUGUST, SOMEBODY’S MOTHER (South African Gabrielle Tollman’s directorial debut) and STRIKE ONE (starring Danny Trejo). He is currently producing FREE!, directed by Virtic Emil Brown, STOLEN DREAMS, directed by Angelo Reyes, and VODÚN, directed by Alessio Liguori with Buffalo 8, and executive producing the feature documentary, VIVA VERDI!, directed by Yvonne Russo. As GPA Entertainment head of production, he developed and produced for TV and film. James often works in non-fiction, producing content for TV and digital streaming. He specializes in attaching A-list talent to projects: (Film) LOVE, GILDA (Bill Hader, Melissa McCarthy, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph) and many TV programs such as 2020’s “Back to Broadway,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “Gilda Radner’s Greatest Moments” and “TV’s Greatest Sidekicks.” James has collaborated on/contributed to productions for A24, ABC Studios, CBS, CW, Disney Channel, Disney+, Facebook Live, Fine Living, MAX, Lifetime, Litton Entertainment, NBCUniversal, Unrealistic Ideas (Mark Wahlberg’s company), Disney TV Animation, and YouTube Originals. His award-winning short, MY CHRISTMAS WISH, played at worldwide festivals, earning directing and producing awards. As an actor, James can be seen in the upcoming Peacock series “Those About to Die,” starring Anthony Hopkins; other screen credits: STRIKE ONE, “Criminal Minds,” “Melissa & Joey” and “The Shield.” He is a longtime member of the Producers Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA and the TV Academy. Born in New York City, James graduated from Georgetown University with a BA in Political Science. James has dual (US/Italy) citizenship.
CAS SIGERS BEEDLES is a professional writer, director and producer with over 15 years of film and TV experience. Through Kensington Press Publication, she has also authored six fiction novels. Most recently Cas wrote and directed the all-female heist film, Scheme Queens which premiered winter of 2022 on BETher. Cas has written and sold over twenty screenplays for various television networks, studios, and production houses. She has written and produced many of the highest- debut television movies for various networks. Some of her television films include Where’s the Love, Girlfriends Getaway 1 & 2, and Welcome to the Family. Other titles include, NAACP Image Award nominated, Sugar Mommas, Between Sisters and A Cross to Bear. Her most popular film is the biopic drama, When Love Kills, the Falicia Blakely Story. The TVOne film stars Lance Gross, Tami Roman and Lil Mama and tells the story of a young woman convicted of double murder and the youngest person in Georgia ever sentenced to the death penalty. This film was nominated for two NAACP Image Awards, outstanding writing and outstanding TV feature. Under the production umbrella of Nina Holiday Entertainment (NHE), Cas, alongside business partner and actress, Terri J. Vaughn, created For Richer or Poorer, the first scripted television series for UPtv and wrote and produced Merry Wishmas, and eight other films currently available on Amazon, BET+ and Tubi. Through Nina Holiday Entertainment, her production company formed in 2008, Cas has had three films released through Viacom. Angrily Ever After, Hip Hop Holiday and T’was the Chaos before Christmas, which is the highest rated Christmas film in BET history and nominated for a 2020 NAACP Image Award, for outstanding writing. In March of 2020, Cas’ had her writer/director debut, with the release of her feature film Open, a drama about a couple in an open marriage, starring Keith Robinson, Matt Cedeno and Essence Atkins. In 2020, Cas most directed Mediator, a psychological thriller about a missing children’s’ counselor being haunted by one of her cases. In 2021, Cas penned, Sugar Plum Twist, which aired on Hallmark during holiday 2021. In 2022, Cas had two projects for Hallmark’s new Mahogany initiative. Unthinkably Good Things launched the label and The Holiday Stocking was Mahogany’s first Christmas film. Most recently, Cas directed A Mother’s Intuition, a suspense drama starring Denise Boutte. It will air on TVOne, summer 2023.
BRIAN NEMES Coming soon.
LINDA EVANS Coming soon.
SORATCHABHUMI HNUNBHAKDI SUKKASEM Coming soon.
2025 MEMBERS OF THE JURY
CYNTHIA LÓPEZ
Executive Director of New York Women in Film & Television
DALLAS ROBERTS
Actor
ERNABEL DEMILLO
Broadcaster l Journalism Professor
BRIAN NEMES
Head of Film & TV Strategy,
Goldhouse