Finalists Judge Kevin Downs was educated at VCU and NYU's graduate film program and has taught a variety of courses as adjunct/full-time professor--film production, film history, and screenwriting--at Georgetown University, George Washington University, Randolph-Macon College, Watkins College of Art and Design, and VCU. He's also a producer/director/director of photography/editor and has produced several award-winning films, music videos, and electronic press kits for clients like Epic Records, Lost Highway Records, and West Virginia Public Television.
As a screenwriter, he's optioned several scripts for feature films, as well as developed screenplays and treatments for a variety of clients, including several Oscar, Grammy, and Emmy award-winning/nominated directors and producers.