Maria Palacio

Festival Director

Maria Palacio is a Brooklyn based filmmaker & photographer who was inspired through her own experience as an up-and-coming filmmaker, was driven to create a forum to nurture other emerging artists in the field by establishing Revolution Me Film Festival in 2016.

Diana Foronda

Festival Judge

Diana Foronda has worked as a freelancer for various projects as part of the film crew. She worked as a Set PA for numerous short films, web series, and TV networks such as CBS, HGTV, and CNBC. She received awards for films and scripts she created including Best Dark Comedy, Honorable Mention: Indie Film, Best Message, Best First Time Screenwriter (Short Script), and in 2019, she was selected as a Quarter Finalist in the Oscar Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival's Screenwriting Competition.

She worked at USDAN Summer Camp for the Arts as an Assistant Teacher in Photography and worked at Left/Right Productions as a transcript coordinator. During the pandemic, she worked as an editor for a thrilling episodic web series, Pay It Forward in Death and created her quarantine film, Challah For Caroline. She is also honored to be judging films for the Revolution Me Film Festival, and Oxford Film Festival.  

She is a proud New Yorker and member of NYC Women Filmmakers, The Gotham Film & Media Institute (Formerly IFP), and NYWIFT. She is currently training at NYU Tisch x Yellowbrick Film & TV Industry Essentials. She has trained with Manhattan Edit Workshop, USDAN Summer Camp for the Arts, and holds a BA in Film Studies with Departmental Honors at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. 

Margarita Zhitnikova

Festival Judge

Margarita (they/them) is an award-winning actor, writer & producer. As a child, Margarita & their family immigrated to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, as Jewish refugees from Russia. Dedicated to smashing the patriarchy, Margarita Co-Founded Besties Make Movies. 

Margarita has received several Best Actress nominations for their work in the award-winning short film JONES. Their film 2 WEEKS about asexuality premiered at the Oxford Film Festival and won Best LGBT Short at Indie Short Fest. Their short film APPETITE is premiering at the Oxford Film Festival this year. The feature film Triple Threat in which they play one of the lead roles is having its World Premiere at the Oscar-qualifying Cinequest Film Festival in 2021! Most recently they have been cast as Christina in the new TikTok drama @DarkSprings.

Their short film script ZASHA (available on Kindle) which they co-wrote, has been doing festivals and recently won Best Horror Short at the Oregon Short Film Festival.

They are honored to be a judge for Revolution Me Film Festival and are so excited about all of the wonderful films they get to watch from up-and-coming artists.

Follow them on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Clubhouse (@marzapproved) to stay in the loop, or check out more on-camera work at their official website.

Christine Richards

Festival Programmer

Christine Richards is a Media Producer and Project Manager based out of Tampa, Florida. She studied Directing at New York Film Academy and Film at UCLA. She manages video and audio production at live events and creates a wide range of digital content for clients ranging from marketing graphics to sizzle reels. She has been part of our team since 2016.

Tyler Mendelson

Festival Judge

Tyler Mendelson is an American film director, born and raised in New York.

At the age of 18 in 2010, Tyler followed one of his lifelong goals and joined the United States Marine Corps. In 2012, he deployed to the Helmand Province in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and later attained the rank of sergeant.

He completed his military service in 2017, having served both on active duty, and in the Reserves. After his time on active duty, Tyler pursued his other dream, film directing, attending Emerson College and obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Film Production in 2018.

Tyler’s most recent work is In Between the White Space, a short film passion project that he wrote, directed, produced, and edited. The film aims to raise awareness for the veteran suicide epidemic in America. Telling veteran and military stories is something that Tyler is immensely passionate about.

Yiqing Zhao

Festival Judge

Hailing from Shanghai by way of Baltimore, Yiqing dived head first into performing arts after getting her degrees in medicine and public health--because she believes the arts have stronger healing powers. She is an award-winning actress and writer, and a certified life coach. Her favorite pandemic activities are yoga and baking. 

Ins: @yiqingzhao1222 

Website: www.yiqingzhao.com