Meet the Jury
Muffie Meyer
Film and Television Director
Muffie Meyer is an award-winning American director whose productions include, documentaries, theatrical features, television series, and children’s films. Early in her career, Meyer co-directed Grey Gardens with the pioneering cinema verite documentarians David and Albert Maysles, and Ellen Hovde. Meyer and Hovde (retired) went on to create Middlemarch Films, an acclaimed production company based in New York City that has produced more than one hundred films and videos that have been distributed nationally and internationally in theaters, on television, and in the home-video and educational markets. Meyer’s projects were the recipients of numerous awards, including, two Emmy Awards, Cine Golden Eagles, the Japan Prize, Christopher Awards, the Freddie Award, the Columbia-DuPont, and the George Foster Peabody Awards.
Adam Lubitow
Entertainment writer, film critic
Adam Lubitow is the film critic for CITY Newspaper, Rochester’s print and online alt-weekly. He’s written for several entertainment websites, including Logo Networks, and currently writes and edits for the ImageOut, LGBT Film Festival. When he’s not sitting with strangers in dark rooms, Adam is a frequent coffeehouse patron and cheeseburger connoisseur.
Spencer Christiano
Chief Projectionist, George Eastman Museum
Spencer joined the Moving Image Department of the George Eastman Museum in 2014, and has 12 years of experience in film handling, repair, and exhibition. He has lectured on archival film projection for the University of Rochester, as well as the 2016 Film Preservation and Restoration Workshop at the National Film Archive of India in Pune. For 2 years, he was the Technical Manager of the MuCCC Theater, where he is currently an Artist in Residence and the theater’s New Play Facilitator. He is also a published playwright, whose body of work includes “Endangered Features,” a one-man play about the world of film archivism, projection as a technical art, and the evolution of cinema from its analog roots to cutting-edge digital. spencerchristiano.com
Dr. Anahita Williamson
Chemical & Environmental Engineer
Dr. Williamson has a strong background and extensive experience in the field of chemical and environmental engineering, including manufacturing process modification for improved material recovery and reuse, sustainability and green engineering. Prior to joining the EPA as the Director of the Division of Environmental Science & Assessment, Dr. Williamson served as the Director of the NYS Pollution Prevention Institute at the Rochester Institute of Technology. In this role, Dr. Williamson worked with industries, communities and academia on implementing a variety of solutions that focused on reducing both environmental and economic footprints. Dr. Williamson also has extensive experience in utilizing life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology for evaluating the environmental performance of a process/product from cradle-to-grave and has performed multiple LCAs throughout her career.
Dr. Williamson is a Lean Six Sigma certified Greenbelt. She understands the importance of applying lean thinking when implementing environmental solutions. Dr. Williamson holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental engineering, all from Clarkson University.
Our Team
Andrew Stern, founder of the Fast Forward Film festival, co-founder and executive director of The Lost Bird Project
Andy Stern, a recently retired neurologist and Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Rochester, now devotes himself fully to raising environmental awareness. He is the co-founder and Executive Director of The Lost Bird Project, a non-profit that initiates many national projects aligned with its mission of connecting more deeply to the earth through art. The Fast Forward Film Festival is the organization’s newest initiative and is focused locally on the greater Rochester community. EarthVigil, another local project, is a collaboration between The Lost Bird Project and the Rochester Zen Center that brings a meditation presence to environmental issues. Andy also works closely with Physicians for Social Responsibility on issues of Climate Change Health. A long time Zen Buddhist practitioner, he is the author of numerous essays related to environmental concerns, mostly from a Zen perspective. For more information on Andy’s projects, visit lostbirdproject.org.
Becca Delaney, Festival Director and owner of The Cause Collaborative
Becca joined Fast Forward during the festival’s inaugural year, helping to build the festival from the ground up. In her previous roles with Rochester Institute of Technology and as an independent marketing consultant for global companies, Becca developed creative brand solutions and strategy with event planning support, as well. Becca’s signature is extracting and projecting artistic elements in each campaign she touches.
Becca holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism from St. John Fisher College and a master’s degree in communication and media technology from Rochester Institute of Technology. In her free time, she enjoys photography. Her muses? Bentley and Belle, her adored golden doodles.
Community Advisory Council
The Fast Forward Rochester Community Advisory Council (CAC) was created in 2015 to support Fast Forward ROC’s efforts to showcase new environmental perspectives through film. Fast Forward ROC seeks to engage a thoughtful, connected and diverse Community Advisory Council to further its mission.
Members of the 2016 Fast Forward Rochester Advisory Council
Fred Armstrong – Animatus Studio (Animation)
Enid Cardinal – Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
Don Casper – EPIC 10 Productions/Films
Shawn Dunwoody – Artist, Youth Coordinator
Timothy Madigan – St. John Fisher College (SJFC)
Jan Miller – The Nature Conservancy
Chris Pulleyn – Trustee Emerita, George Eastman Museum
Robert Putney – 1st Global, Inc.
Pamela Reed Sanchez – Seneca Park Zoo Society
Frank Regan – Sierra Club, Rochester
Kimie Romeo – Genesee River Watch, Green Drinks Coordinator
Daniel Schneiderman – Rochester Mini Maker Faire
Sara Scott – City of Rochester, Recreation & Youth
Malcolm Spaull – Rochester Institute of Technology, School of Film & Animation
Meg Sternowski – Constellation Brands, Environmental Sustainability Specialist
Zachary Welch – Rochester Association for Film Arts and Sciences