28 Sep Accomplished Group of Judges Select 2026 Free Speech Film Festival Award-Winning Films

Each year, the Free Speech Film Festival’s Free Speech Award-winning film is chosen by a distinguished panel of accomplished judges. Our 2026 festival was certainly no exception.

This year’s judges included three previous Free Speech Award-winning directors, as well as judges with media, academia, literary, journalism, and arts and culture backgrounds.

Get to know our 2026 Free Speech Film Festival Judges.

Sharon Eisenhour

Sharon Eisenhour, a classically trained pianist (who loves jazz), and a Philadelphian with early experience in New England, has had a long career in broadcasting and media. She’s been a classical music radio host and producer, Philadelphia Orchestra national broadcast producer, news radio announcer and producer, and voice-over artist, working with material ranging from commercials and industrials to phone lines, web audio for national clients, and books-on-tape.

She was an adjunct professor at Temple University, teaching broadcast performance and writing to communications majors for over 22 years. She can be heard on station IDs and promos on WRTI 90.1 FM, and has been host and producer of podcasts and Facebook Live events for Einstein/Jefferson Medical System in Philadelphia; and as a voice coach she’s given classes and workshops for both corporate and media clients.

Other activities include curating her late brother’s art and exhibiting it at galleries in the area since 2016. Please enjoy it at davidmeadewalker.com

Ms. Eisenhour is the author of the forthcoming biography, “Roy McCurdy, Set to Swing: A life Behind the Kit,” about renowned jazz drummer Roy McCurdy, known for his work with Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Rollins, Nancy Wilson and many others. It’ll be published by UNT Press in early 2027.

Eugene Marlow

Dr. Eugene Marlow is a distinguished composer, arranger, producer, presenter, performer, author, journalist, and educator. His work spans across numerous disciplines, making him a highly regarded figure in the world of music and the arts.

Eugene served as president of Media Enterprises Inc. for almost 25 years, leading the production of over 350 video and 125 radio programs for more than 80 clients across various industries.

He has received two dozen awards for excellence in programming, including honors from the New York Festivals, Questar Awards, and CINE. In 2022, he completed a feature-length documentary based on his book Jazz in China, which was selected for 12 film festivals and won several awards, including our 2022 Free Speech Award.

Maya Sanbar

Maya Sanbar is an award-winning, multi-disciplinary artist, curator, and filmmaker focused on storytelling.

As a British French Lebanese of Palestinian descent, her diverse background drives her work in art activism, promoting positive global change, empathy, cross-cultural introspection, and socio-political and environmental consciousness. Notably, Sanbar co-directed and co-wrote the 2021 Free Speech Award-winning film Footsteps on the Wind.

Her prominent curation projects include an immersive installation marking the 30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall and an online exhibition for the UNHCR’s 75th anniversary. Additionally, she serves on the Kensington and Chelsea Art Week Advisory Board, creating 11 immersive 360-degree films of artist studio visits for the borough’s archive.

Jerry Silverman

Jerry Silverman is a certified member of the Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides. Since 2009, he has been giving tours for Mural Arts Philadelphia, Hidden City Philadelphia, and the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.

He regularly visits museums, attends plays and concerts in Philly, and volunteers for numerous organizations. Jerry has traveled to 49 US states, studied in Jerusalem for a year, and visited over 40 countries.

Jerry earned a Bachelor of Hebrew Literature and a Master of Jewish Education from Gratz College, plus degrees in math education from Temple University. He taught math in Philadelphia for 36 years, and served as Principal of Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Educational Director of Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel in Center City.

Michael Wood

Michael Wood is professor emeritus of English at Princeton University, and chaired the English Department from 1998 -2004. He was also director of the Gauss Seminars in Criticism at Princeton from 1995 to 2001

He is a literary and cultural critic, an author of critical and scholarly books, and a writer of review articles and columns. He writes for The New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books, where he is also an editorial board member and writes a column, “At the Movies”.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and a member of the British Academy, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the American Philosophical Society.

Trisha Ziff

Trisha Ziff is the founder of 212BERLIN, an independent film company that supports cultural collaborations, co-productions, visual arts projects and the production of touring exhibitions.

She lives between Los Angeles and Mexico City and teaches film and media studies and guest lectures at various universities in the U.S., Mexico and Europe on film, curatorial studies, and media studies.

She has received numerous awards for her films, including our 2025 Free Speech Award for Gerry Adams: A Ballymurphy Man, her documentary on Gerry Adams, a former Irish Republican politician who was the president of the Sinn Féin political party.

Watch the 2026 Free Speech Film Festival Official Selection films

Purchase a ticket for exclusive access to stream all six of our Official Selection films from November 1-30, 2026.

Once you purchase a ticket, you will receive an email from us with instructions on how to watch the films.