BWiFF 2025

Pete Guither has been a festival judge since 2011. He is a retired assistant dean of the College of Fine Arts at Illinois State University, where he taught arts management, theatre photography, computer graphic design, and entrepreneurship. Pete is the founding artistic director of the performance art company The Living Canvas. He has worked in business and government, on Broadway, as a Fuller Brush salesman, and as a traveling lounge musician. Pete is a theatre photographer, a fine art photographer, a piano player, a drug policy expert, a foodie, and the author of Improbable Anecdotes. He has a Master of Fine Arts in performing arts management from Brooklyn College and a degree in theatre from Cornell College.

Emily Barber is a film director with over 15 years of industry experience, including the past seven years behind the camera as a director. Before joining Salesforce, where she currently directs documentary-style customer stories and human-centered trailblazer films, she built a vibrant freelance career directing commercials for major brands such as Gatorade, Tide, Walgreens, Samsung, and Motorola. She also spent several years directing comedy content with the legendary Second City of Chicago, sharpening her instincts for performance and character-driven storytelling.

Her short film Buttress recently completed a global festival run, earning multiple awards and acclaim for its intimate, emotional lens. She’s also the recipient of an Anthem Award for her work at Salesforce, recognizing her commitment to authentic, human storytelling.

This is her fourth year judging the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival. A graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a concentration in cinematography, she is drawn to stories featuring underrepresented voices—particularly those centered on women, queer characters, and narratives rooted in science and outer space. She is a proud member of Film Independent and finds her greatest joy in working with actors to bring raw emotion to life on screen.

Eric Köppen taught film and video at Columbia College Chicago for over 10 years. Now, Eric teaches at a private special education art school for those with profound disabilities, teaching film, photography and art through expressive art therapy.

After working on several feature films, Eric switched his filmmaking focus to non-profit, humanitarian and wildlife conservation efforts. He has filmed in Kenya, Namibia, Vietnam, Borneo, Belize and more. His most recent work has been filming for the Cheetah Conservation Fund, Global Heart Journeys (a non-profit humanitarian group helping education efforts in Kenya), and KIND (Kenya Initiative for New Dentistry).

Moira Begale is a dynamic Executive Producer and creative professional with over two decades of experience in performance, film and theater productions, and live events.

Based in Chicago, she currently serves as the Executive Producer at On-Cue, a corporate entertainment company, where she oversees the entire production lifecycle, ensuring that every project, from concept to completion, meets the highest standards of quality. In her role as Producer and Casting Director at On-Cue (formerly Dave, Co.), Moira has produced a variety of industrial videos, live-action corporate videos and directed countless corporate meetings.

As a film contractor, Moira has broadened her expertise by taking on diverse roles in various film projects, including serving as a producer, 1st Assistant Director, and Casting Director. She successfully crowdfunded her first production, a horror short film called Cheap Plastic Mask. Additionally, she served as 2nd Assistant Director on the award-winning film The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, co-produced by her fellow Redbird alums, David Midell, Enrico Natale and Morgan Freeman, contributing to a project that has garnered critical acclaim.

As a SAG stunt actor, she has appeared in the CW’s 4400, Fox series Proven Innocent and Chicago PD, several national commercials, including WeatherTech and Friendly’s, corporate industrials including Medtronic, short films. As a former company member at two genre based theater companies (horror and fantasy), she has produced and performed in countless plays and stage readings and has performed with various theaters in Chicago including Red Orchid Theatre, Jackalope Theatre and Babes with Blades.

Moira’s most recent short film credits include A Lovely Day (Actor) and Aileen (Casting Director and 1st AD), which has already been officially selected into 13 festivals throughout the nation. Her next production will be shot in Chicago this July called Fish is Dog Called Backwards.

Tricia Legat is thrilled to be a judge for the 2025 Beyond selections. Tricia has served as program director for the Blue Whiskey’s Cinema Centennial since 2019 and is part of the Imbibe Cinema podcast team. During her time here on Earth, Tricia has worked as an actor, director, writer, and producer on many projects in the Chicagoland area, both for stage and screen.

She used to play the flute as a child but gave it up just as her parents were finding it tolerable to listen to her practicing. Tricia retired from her wenching career at Medieval Times in 2021. Beyond that (pun intended) she has also produced and directed two smaller humans alongside Jonathan C. Legat.

Mary Shields is thrilled and honored to serve on the judges panel for the first time this year. She is a healthcare professional who bridges healthcare and humanities with a unique blend of expertise in English Literature and Nursing, having graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a BA in English and a BS in Nursing. Mary started her career in a trauma ICU in downtown Chicago, where she honed her skills in assessment and emergency response while caring for a diverse patient population. She later transitioned to the Perianesthesia Care Unit, obtained her CPAN certification, and now works at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, IL, caring for members of her community.

Mary is a proud member of the American Legion Auxiliary and is on staff of the ALA Girls Nation leadership program. This program educates high school senior girls about state and federal government and encourages them to be active, invested citizens. Mary advocates for a new form of non-partisan patriotism that unites people under shared values of social justice and a common love for their country, regardless of political affiliation.

Outside of work, Mary loves spending time with her family both at home and at their lake cottage and is busy with the activities of her two children, aged 7 and 10. She enjoys her book club (Books and Banter), taking long walks outside while listening to podcasts that make her laugh out loud, and learning new things about the world around her. Mary cherishes coffee chats with friends, where she airs grievances and shares her latest conspiracy theories about motherhood and elementary PTO involvement. She loves music of any kind, especially 70s light rock and early 90s rap, using it daily to brighten her outlook. Inspired by the hard work and dedication behind the films, Mary looks forward to viewing them all and sharing her insights.

Nick Mear is a first time festival judge with the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival. He is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a major in Film and Video and a minor in Acting. He has written, directed and acted in many student films and started his love for performing back in high school.

Working in sales and trying to keep his creative side fulfilled, Nick started his own movie podcast, NickFlix Podcast. Nick has had the pleasure of performing in his local community theater where he’s met and collaborated with Jon Legat. He’s honored that Jon asked him to participate as a judge in this festival.