The award was created in fond memory of our friend and multi-talented artist Jaime Martinez. The award celebrates innovative projects that tackle pressing social or environmental challenges. This annual showcase is a chance to gain recognition and win a $2,000 (US) cash prize and the Humble Lion Trophy.
International Jury
Prize Money: $2,000 (US)
Focused on impact
The WITH Festival 2025 will pre-select and showcase impactful submissions, providing them with global exposure. Final prize winners will be chosen by the judges and announced after the festival.
International Jury Panel
Our panel of judges consists of experts from a variety of media domains who will be evaluating each project.
Sao Paolo, Brazil
Leandro Vieira Maciel
Leandro Vieira Maciel is an accomplished screenwriter, professor, and creative coordinator at Coala Filmes, with a Ph.D. in Communication from Universidade Anhembi Morumbi. He specializes in algorithmic screenwriting and data-driven audiovisuals and is celebrated for his award-winning animated feature Bob Spit – We Do Not Like People (Annecy 2021). At Senac Lapa Scipião, he leads the graduate Animation program and teaches Animation, Audiovisual Media, and Advertising. Known for his transmedia storytelling expertise, Leandro has consulted for major brands like Itaú and Pagseguro and authored notable works such as Dossiê Rê Bordosa and Angeli ‘The Killer’.
Miami, US
Rafal Sokolowski
Rafal Sokolowski, Assistant Professor at the University of Miami, is an acclaimed film and theater director with global screenings and awards, including the Writer’s Guild of Canada’s Best Feature Screenplay Award for 22 Chaser. Supported by organizations like Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board of Canada, Rafal also leads Light Pipe Productions, developing narrative films. His latest screenplay, The Farm, won the 2023 UFVA Best Feature Screenplay Award and is set for production in 2024/25. A Polish refugee to Canada, Rafal holds an MFA from York University and trained at the National Theatre Academy of Krakow.
New Delhi,India
Surbhi Dewan
Surbhi Dewan, a New Delhi-based independent film director, writer, and producer, explores themes of socio-political conflict, displacement, memory, identity, and personhood in her films. Her recent work, Trans Kashmir (2022), on Kashmir’s transgender community, is distributed by Frameline (USA), Bohemia Media (UK), and streaming globally on Cinelogue. Other notable films include Daughter of Nepal (2018) and A Thin Wall (2015), which document narratives around the India-Pakistan partition. Dewan holds an MFA in Film from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, and a BA in Political Science from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University.
“To survive, you must tell stories.”
Umberto Eco