The Yucca Valley Film Festival is proud to announce the jury members of the 2026 Yucca Valley Film Festival.
The first names announced include Academy member Kate Chamuris, Hollywoood executive Ashla Soter, prolific producer and director Shane Stanley, and award wining journalist Gary Daigneault.
The second wave of recognized talents joining the YVFF comprises Oscar-nominated® Nisha Pahuja and Siqi Song, Academy member Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas, and Oscar qualified and YVFF alumni Joey Clift.
KATE CHAMURIS
Kate Chamuris is a bicoastal producer and director based between New York and Los Angeles, and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Her award-winning films have screened at major festivals, including Sundance and SXSW.
She produced Miller & Son (AFI, dir. Asher Jelinsky), which won the BAFTA Student Film Award for Live Action and was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short. Her projects as a producer have earned multiple Oscar-qualifying placements.
Alongside her independent work, Kate has built extensive production experience in visual effects, most recently as VFX Associate Production Manager on Disney’s live-action Moana. She previously served as client-side VFX coordinator on Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian S2,3, The Book of Boba Fett S1, and Ahsoka S1.
Kate has been a filmmaker mentor for SXSW and Palm Springs International ShortFest, and works as a film festival and distribution strategy consultant, helping independent filmmakers build sustainable careers.
JOEY CLIFT
Joey Clift is a Los Angeles-based, Peabody and Emmy-nominated comedian, TV writer, director and enrolled member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe.
Joey is a YVFF alumnus, as his short film POW, which screened at the 2025 YVFF, was qualified for consideration for the Oscars.
Joey attended college to become a local TV weather person because he didn’t see any Native American comedians on television as a kid, and that made him believe he wasn’t allowed to work in comedy.
He has since proven otherwise, writing for critically acclaimed TV series like Spirit Rangers on Netflix, Molly of Denali on PBS, Smartypants on Dropout and Paw Patrol on Nickelodeon.
Joey created Gone Native, a Webby-winning Comedy Central Digital series and his short films have screened everywhere from Just for Laughs to the Smithsonian Museum.
GARY DAIGNEAULT
Gary Daigneault is the founder of radio station Z107.7 and a retired Associated Press Hall of Fame journalist.
A decades long stakeholder in the Hi-Desert, Gary has been hands on in helping build the communities we know today.
Still the host of the Up Close show every Friday on Z107.7 FM in Joshua Tree, he now spends more time directing musicals at Theatre 29, where he served as the Board President for 18 years.
METTE CHENG MUNTHE-KAAS
Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas is an Emmy-nominated and award-winning documentary producer and editor based in Norway, and a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
With more than 25 years of experience in documentary film, she founded the independent production company Ten Thousand Images in 2014.
Her producing credits include Nowhere to Hide (2016), winner of the top prize at IDFA and recipient of two Emmy nominations, the Oscar-shortlisted Hidden Letters (2022), and The Dating Game (2025), which premiered at Sundance. As a minority co-producer, her credits include Life of Ivanna (2021) and the Berlinale-winning Myanmar Diaries (2022).
She also serves as a documentary film commissioner at Filmkraft in Norway.
NISHA PAHUJA
Nisha Pahuja is an Oscar®, Peabody, Grierson and Emmy-nominated filmmaker.
Her latest documentary, To Kill a Tiger, had its world premiere at TIFF where it won the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Feature Film.
Since then, it’s garnered 30 awards including the Best Documentary Feature at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, three Canadian Screen awards and the DGC Allan King Award for Best Documentary Feature, 2023.
The film grew out of a long career of addressing various human rights issues, notably violence against women in India.
In 2015, she won the Amnesty International media award for Canadian journalism after making a short film about the Delhi bus gang rape for Global News.
Pahuja’s other past credits include the multi-award-winning The World Before Her (2012 Best Documentary Feature, Jury Award Winner, Tribeca Film Festival; Best Documentary nominee, Canadian Screen Awards, the series Diamond Road (2008 Gemini Award for Best Documentary Series) and Bollywood Bound (2002 Gemini Award nominee).
In 2024, Pahuja was invited to be a Member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the PGA – Producer’s Guild of America. She is currently working on a new film, Send Us Your Brother as well as leading #StandWithHera movement to end gender-based violence using storytelling, art interventions and media campaigns.
SIQI SONG
Siqi Song is an Oscar-nominated director and filmmaker specializing in animation and visual storytelling.
Her 2020 short film SISTER received nominations for both the Academy Award and Annie Award, establishing her as a distinctive voice in contemporary animation.
She has directed branded and narrative projects for global clients including Disney, Mattel, Verizon and Mailchimp. Most recently, she directed an episode of She Creates Change, produced by Nexus Studios in collaboration with Warner Bros.
In addition to directing, Siqi brings a strong foundation in craft and production, having worked as a set designer and model maker for leading studios such as LAIKA Studios (Missing Link), A24 (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On), and Netflix (StoryBots).
Her recognitions include Film Independent LAIKA Fellowship, BAFTA Los Angeles Newcomer, and BAFTA Breakthrough Animator. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and BAFTA.
Siqi holds degrees from the Experimental Animation program at the California Institute of the Arts and the China Central Academy of Fine Arts.
ASHLA SOTER
Ashla Soter is a Los Angeles based production executive and independent producer with more than a decade of experience in film and television.
She was the first production hire for Tubi Originals and, during more than three years at the streamer, oversaw production on more than 150 scripted and unscripted titles.
In September 2026, she joined Digital Sword as Executive Producer and SVP of Production, where she oversees production across the company’s slate for studios, brands and agencies. She also continues to produce select projects independently.
SHANE STANLEY
Shane Stanley is a multi Emmy Award winning filmmaker, producer, director and best selling author whose career spans more than four decades in film and television.
He produced Sony Pictures’ Gridiron Gang, starring Dwayne Johnson, and directed and produced the Netflix #1 global hit Double Threat and Hulu #1 hit Night Train.
His work has earned numerous Emmy, Telly and international film festival awards. He is also the author of What You Don’t Learn in Film School, a widely recognized guide to filmmaking.
Shane was a featured Masterclass speaker at the 2024 Yucca Valley Film Festival.
Photo Credits: Kate C. for Imdb Studio at Sundance, Joey C. by Clay Larsen, Nisha Pahuja by Mrinal-Desai, Ashla S., Shane S., Mette CMK, Gary D.: DR.