2026 Judges

Born in Maine, Tristan found a passion for film and photography in high school. After serving five years in the U.S. Army he pursued an education and career in Southern California. After working on set and eventually earning an M.F.A at the University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts he embarked on an 11-year journey as a visual effects artist. He now enjoys living in North Georgia with his family and teaching at Piedmont University with some of the best faculty and students to ever draw breath.

Rowena Pedrena is a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning television producer with more than a decade of experience in scripted, reality, and documentary formats for feature films and television. Her credits include work featured on Netflix, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNBC, PBS, TLC, History Channel, NatGeo, Hearst Television, Food Network, and Discovery Channel.