2026 HAAPIFEST FEATURES & SHORTS JURY

2026 HAAPIFEST FEATURES JURY

JAZMYNE MORENO (she/her)

Jazmyne Moreno is the Associate Film Programmer at the Austin Film Society. Her work has been featured in Cultured Magazine, Criterion's The Current, The Austin Chronicle, Sightlines Magazine, and Glasstire. In 2021, she contributed writing to Warped and Faded: Weird Wednesday and the Birth of the American Genre Film Archive.

Her past programming includes collaborations with the Alamo Drafthouse, and in her current role at the Austin Film Society, she has been noted for “drawing in younger cinephiles curious to delve into cinema’s more obscure meanderings.” She has also worked as a film booker, copywriter, and programming consultant for Brain Dead in Los Angeles, and previously served as the Lead Programmer for the Houston Cinema Arts Festival.

JEFF MAN (he/him)

 Jeff Man grew up in Gaithersburg, Maryland in a Chinese family that bonded watching movies together. Shortly after moving to Los Angeles in 2010, he began working for writer-director Jay Duplass. While working for Jay, Jeff honed his craft by making low-budget shorts. In 2012 he was accepted into the Armed with a Camera Fellowship for emerging artists by Visual Communications, an Asian American non-profit media organization. His shorts have played at festivals across the country including SANTA CLAUS, which won the Special Jury Prize at the San Diego Asian Film Festival. In 2024, Duplass Brothers Productions produced Jeff's debut feature film, PAPER MARRIAGE, which is distributed by Giant Pictures, and won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for Narrative Feature at the 2025 Houston Asian American Pacific Islander Film Festival.

MASASHI NIWANO (he/him)

Since 2021, Masashi Niwano has been the Director of Artist Development at SFFILM. He focuses his time on supporting global filmmakers through a slate of grants, artist support and fellowships. For over a decade, Masashi was the Festival & Exhibitions Director at the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), a media arts non-profit organization that amplifies Asian and Asian American storytelling. Prior to his time with CAAM, he was the Executive Director of the Austin Asian American Film Festival (AAAFF). Masashi is a regular Industry guest at events by the Sundance Institute, Film Independent, The Gotham Film and Media Institute, International Development Association (IDA) and more. Masashi’s life mission is to support the diverse media-making community, especially filmmakers from historically under-served communities.

SHORTS JURORS

MARTINE JOELLE MCDONALD (she/her)

Martine Joelle McDonald is a champion for independent filmmakers with a decade of leadership experience at the intersection of artist development, cultural programming, and social impact storytelling. She spearheads strategic artist initiatives through Practice Wonder, her narrative change and curatorial arts consultancy, with committees and collaborations including NewFest, Alliance of Women Directors, Tribeca Institute, SXSWEdu, GLAAD, Firelight Media, and more.

As Creative Director of the Queer Rhapsody Film Series with UCLA Film & Television Archive, McDonald produced a historic collaboration across Los Angeles's most prestigious cultural venues, including The Broad, American Cinematheque, Vidiots, and the Hammer Museum. At Seed & Spark's Film Forward, she led film programming to cultivate equity and culturally responsive leadership through storytelling. As Director of Artist Development at Outfest, she opened new pathways for LGBTQIA+ artists and filmmakers of color, building sustainable programs that addressed systemic industry challenges.

NICHOLE YOUNG (she/her)

Nichole Young is a Taiwanese American film programmer whose goal is to merge her understanding of cinema with her passion for highlighting and supporting diverse stories.

Nichole is the Short Film Programmer at the American Film Institute’s AFI FEST and has programmed for several other festivals including Seattle International Film Festival, Palm Springs ShortFest, Nashville Film Festival, Indian Film Fest LA, and Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. She holds a BFA in Broadcast Journalism from Chapman University and a Master’s degree in Film and Media Studies from Arizona State University. Nichole currently resides in Phoenix, combating the sweltering Summer heat one brown sugar boba (with soy milk) at a time.

NIRAV BHAKTA (he/him)

Nirav Bhakta is an award-winning Director/Actor/Writer. While growing up as an undocumented immigrant in motels, Nirav utilized the restraints of his environment and geographical boundaries to create with what he had. Nirav’s background in storytelling extends from Architecture to the North Indian classical dance form of Kathak. Due to the lack of authentic roles and experiences as an actor, Nirav began creating zero budget short films focusing on the immigrant experience. His films have screened on platforms such as HBO, CBS, Disney+ and in over 200 festivals, including Outfest and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Nirav currently holds a leadership role in the Undocumented Filmmakers Collective.