Welcome to our Trapped Film Festival 2020 Judges!

(Click on their photos to learn more about them.)

 
MARK CHRISTOPHER COVINO

MARK CHRISTOPHER COVINO

MARK CHRISTOPHER COVINO is a director, producer and editor whose work includes “Unless A Death Occurs: Hazing Examined” for PBS, as well as the highly-acclaimed Black Panther documentary, “What We Want, What We Believe.”

In 2012, Mark’s first feature film, “A Band Called Death,” premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival and subsequently won the Audience Award at South by Southwest in 2013. The film was acquired by Drafthouse Films shortly thereafter and was released to rave reviews around the world. It has a 94% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In 2016, the band and film title earned a place in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture.His award-winning documentary, “The Crest,” was released by Gravitas Ventures in 2019. It tells the story of two Irish-American cousins who meet for the first time in Ireland to surf the waters of their ancestors.

Mark also produced the feature length Sci-Fi film “Axcellerator,” starring Sean Young (“Blade Runner”), Sam Jones (“Flash Gordon”) and John James (“Dynasty”).

“Monster” MIDIAN CROSBY

“Monster” MIDIAN CROSBY

"Monster" Midian Crosby has been a  professional artist in movies and media for more than 16 years. She has worked on over 70 productions. She is a practical special effects and prosthetic makeup artist, specialty costumer and prop maker.

Midian founded the award winning Monster Makeup FX studio with her husband Joshua in 2010.

Recent projects include Jumanji The Next Level, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, The Haunting of Hill House, Lovecraft Country, The Walking Dead, and Tales From The Hood 2.

JESHUA DE HORTA

JESHUA DE HORTA

In addition to his 16 years of film industry experience, Jeshua has in-depth knowledge of social media marketing, brand management, and crowdfunding campaigns.

Based in West Palm Beach, FL, Jeshua is the creative force behind dozens of rockumentaries that he produces for Sound Royalties, a company that offers specialized financing options for musicians. His credits range from multi-million dollar corporate advertisements to the testosterone-fueled reality shows of Spike TV.

As a multimedia journalist, Jeshua interviewed holocaust survivors, war veterans, and 9/11 witnesses for the education publication, Studies Weekly. When he's not on-set, or at home editing, Jeshua enjoys empowering the independent film community in strengthening storytelling.

 
TAUNYA GREN

TAUNYA GREN

Taunya has been professionally acting for 48 years. She later added directing and producing narrative and episodic film to her resume. As a screenwriter Taunya has also written 2 produced features and 5 produced short film scripts.

In 2010, Taunya created and spearheaded the Utah Women in Film Non-Profit organization. As president of the organization, she helped establish and encourage the guidelines, resources, and networking of women in the Utah film industry.

Taunya is also a professional science fiction/fantasy artist; and was a 3d animator/artist for computer and video games for over a decade. In her free time, you can find Taunya singing lead for the band "Puzzlebox".

CHATAQUA JETER

CHATAQUA JETER

Chataqua Jeter spent her childhood traveling the world with her Air Force family. After returning to the states, Chataqua enrolled in a local art based middle and high school. After graduating Chataqua attended Norfolk State University majoring in Fine Arts. Upon completing her degree,

Chataqua spent several months working for a discovery Channel’s A Haunting as a wardrobe assistant. Several years and several moves later Chataqua settled in Atlanta, GA on a serious pursuit of a career in Film and TV.

Chataqua has several credits including the up and coming movie Respect, Lauren Lakes Paternity Court, Couples Court, Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta, along with numerous commercials.

CHARLES NATHAN

CHARLES NATHAN

Charles Nathan is known as “The Go To Video Guy”. He is the owner of Chameleon Global Media, a boutique agency specializing in Entertainment Production and Content Creation for small to medium sized business, speakers, coaches, and other entrepreneurs.

Charles has 20 years experience in video and film production. He studied Film & Video at Vancouver Film School, as well as Los Angeles City College.He has produced a wide variety of projects including: a successful series of fitness videos, :60 & :120 television spots, instructional DVD’s, promotional materials, product and training videos, coverage of political rallies and press conferences.

Charles has owned and operated several businesses including: Chameleon Global Magazine, The Phantom Bagman, ABCs of Fitness Inc., and Chameleon Global Media.

Based in Denver Colorado, he is currently in development on 2 feature films and 1 television series.

 
 
DENVER ROBBINS

DENVER ROBBINS

Following in his father’s footsteps as a makeup artist at local haunted houses, Denver launched his career in filmmaking creating special effects for local productions.

After about 5 years Denver transitioned into the role of a producer. He spent over 15 years as a staff producer for a private company. In 2000 he co-founded Dark Sun Productions with screenwriter Lauren T. Hart. Together they worked on numerous productions. 


In 2012, Dark Sun Productions and The Brute Squad joined forces, and have been producing amazing content for a wide variety of national and multinational brands since then.

Denver’s work has been used on networks such as HBO, NBC, CBS, ABC, and CNN.Denver Robbins has been an active member and mentor in the Utah Film community for the past 30 years.

JEREMY SUMRALL

JEREMY SUMRALL

Jeremy has worked in independent film since 2007, when he was cast as the hulking masked killer known as "The Beast" in the award-winning slasher flick SWEATSHOP, which made him fall in love with the nuts-and-bolts of filmmaking.

After his star turn (which earned him the title BEST VILLAIN by VIRUS MAGAZINE in Germany in 2012), Jeremy moved behind the scenes, working as a producer on several features (such as JACOB starring Michael Biehn) and award-winning short films, before taking his own turn at directing.

In 2013, Jeremy caught the eye of FANGORIA MAGAZINE with a provocative tribute to 80s slasher flicks in the form of a poster (created by infamous horror artist Marc Schoenbach) for a then-unrealized movie called THE PICKAXE MURDERS PART III: THE FINAL CHAPTER, which was scripted as a sequel to a movie that never existed. With the sudden interest in his work, Jeremy completed the script and over the course of the next year, several genre stalwarts would sign onto the project. Even radio legend Howard Stern would give it a nod, as Stern Show employee Sal Governale was cast as a sleazy gas station owner. The love-letter to 80s slasher films was eventually released under the simplified name PICKAXE in 2019 from Wild Eye Releasing and subsequently enjoyed a lengthy stay near the top of Amazon's Best Selling Horror DVDs, reaching as high as #18.

In 2012, Sumrall founded the production company FIRST WEEK OF WINTER FILMS, and has directed several award-winning short films, as well as music videos for bands he's been a fan of for years. In addition to various projects in pre-production, he has a feature film ready to launch into immediate production, once quarantine guidelines have lifted.

DAVINA WONG

DAVINA WONG

Davina, a military veteran and a native of Los Angeles, is an actor who has been acting since childhood. Davina started her acting path in community theater. She has always had a passion for acting and stayed active in the theater community until she entered the military.Since her service with the military, she transitioned from theater and focused her passion into film and television. Currently, she stays busy being cast in commercial, television, and print work.Davina loves the variety of genres present in the industry, but she finds horror the most intriguing. Davina has an appreciation for the exploration of the dark side of humanity, which sometimes has you questioning your own sanity.