THE DIRECTORS

​​ANA A. ALPIZAR
Ana A. Alpizar is a Cuban director, screenwriter, producer, and editor.
As a director, her short films Norheimsund (2025), Hapi Berdey Yusimi in Yur Dey (2020), The Fisherman (2017), and El Estreno (2014) have been selected at major international film festivals, including Venice, Sundance, New Orleans, and the Miami Film Festival, among others.
Since 2019, she has worked as an editor in film, television, and advertising, several short films, including Out the Window Through the Wall, officially selected for Cannes 2024.
​She is currently an MFA candidate in Film at NYU Tisch.
​​ADNAN AL RAJEEV
Adnan Al Rajeev made his directorial debut in 2008 with a TV fiction for local industry. He gained widespread acclaim for his subsequent fictional works, including Bikal Belar Pakhi and YouTumor.
His distinct approach, combining family dynamics and realistic storytelling, has cemented his place as a leading figure in Bangladesh’s contemporary cinema.
Beyond directing, Adnan is the founder of Runout Films, one of Bangladesh’s premier production houses. Over the past 12 years, the company has produced nearly 1000 commercials, with Adnan personally directing over 500 of them. This journey helped Adnan to uplift his visual taste on a global standard.
He also served as the Executive Producer of Radikals, a filipino short film directed by Arvin Belarmino, the first ever Bangladesh-Philippine Co- production, had its world premiere in the 63rd Semaine de la Critique at Cannes 2024, marking his entry into the international film scene. Adnan is now focused primarily on directing projects for global markets and world cinema.
His first short film, Ali (2025), was selected in the Short Films Competition of Cannes Film Festival and received the ​Jury Special Mention.
​BEATRICE BALDACCI
​Born in 1993 in Città di Castello (Italy), Beatrice Baldacci graduated in Cinema at the University of Fine Arts.
​In 2019 she won the Zavattini Award with the autobiographical documentary Superheroes without Superpowers, in the Orizzonti section of the 76th Venice Film Festival at the Venice Biennale.
In 2021 she was chosen by Biennale College Cinema as the only Italian director, financing her first feature film La Tana (2021), presented as a national premiere at the 78th Venice Biennale Film Festival.
La Tana won the Raffaella Fioretta Award for Best Italian Film at Alice Nella Città. The film was released in cinemas in 2022 and received a warm reception from critics. It also received a nomination for the Nastri D'argento 2022.
​In 2024, she wrote and directed the short film Comunque Bene, selected in the official Alice Nella Città competition in the Onde Corte section.
IRENE BAQUÉ
Irene Baqué is a Barcelona-born director working between her hometown and London.
Her films explore identity, social issues, and resistance through stories centered on women, with an observational and cinéma vérité style.
Her documentary, Carmen, sin miedo a la libertad (15L Films), won Best Documentary Short at the 2023 Medina del Campo Film Festival and
has been selected at over 30 international festivals.
She is currently developing her first feature film, Oasis, shot in Mexico, and the hybrid short Mal de madre, that starts now its distribution.
Previously, Irene worked for six years at The Guardian, directing documentaries on gender issues in countries such as El Salvador, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. In 2018, Sheffield DocFest held
​a retrospective of her work. Her awards include the One World Media Award (2015) and a selection for the “Film Accelerator with Werner Herzog: Under the Volcano.”
SAULIUS  BARADINSKAS
Saulius Baradinskas is an award-winning Lithuanian film director and screenwriter, currently completing his MFA at the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles.
His short films have premiered at prestigious film festivals, including the Venice Film Festival, and have received nomination from the European Film Academy. In 2026, he is set to direct his feature musical film, Betono Muzika.
​With a distinctive voice that blends magical realism and deeply personal storytelling, Saulius continues to create experimental dramas and expand his career across both Hollywood and European cinema.
​LEILA BASMA
Leila Basma is a Lebanese filmmaker and photographer currently based between Beirut and Prague.
She holds a BA in Audiovisual Arts from IESAV in Beirut, and an MA in Film Directing at FAMU. Through her work, she explores the themes of society, youth, womanhood, and identity.
Her second-year FAMU short documentary The Adam Basma Project was short-listed for the 48th annual Student Academy Awards (the Student Oscars) after touring various international documentary film festivals.
Her graduation film Sea Salt was selected to premiere at the 80th La Biennale Venice International Film Festival in the official Orizzonti Short Films Competition.
Leila is currently developing her feature documentary Dance with Me, winner of the Robert Bosch Stiftung development award, while working on various other projects.
​CANSU BAYDAR
​Cansu Baydar is an Istanbul-based filmmaker.
Baydar studied film at Bahçeşehir University. She has spent many years working as an assistant to directors and producers in the film industry. Her first short film, Neredeyse Kesinlikle Yanlış (Almost Certainly False), was selected for its premiere at the 81st La Biennale Venice International Film Festival, in the official Orizzonti Short Films Competition.
She focuses on exploring themes of identity, memory, boundaries, and borders in her work.
​​ARVIN BELARMINO & KYLA ROMERO
Arvin Belarmino is a Filipino filmmaker and an alumnus of Talents Tokyo, Locarno Filmmakers Academy, Produire Au Sud in Nantes, La Fabrique Cinema, and Cinéfondation Residency by Festival de Cannes.
He directed several experimental and narrative short films. Notably, his film Kyel was a short film finalist for Cinemalaya 2015.
He then went back to Cinemalaya in 2017 for his short film Nakaw, which is also the winner of Best Short Film at the 40th Gawad Urian.
In 2020, his short film Tarang won Best Short Film at Interfilm Berlin in Germany.
In 2023, his short film Hinakdal won Best Screenplay, NETPAC Award, & Audience Choice Award at the Cinemalaya 2023 Short Film Competition.
During the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, Arvin had screened and presented two short films — Radikals, which was selected for the Critics' Week Competition, and Silig, which was shown at Cannes Directors' Fortnight for Directors' Factory Philippines.

Kyla Romero is a screenwriter, director, and filmmaker from La Union, Philippines.
Her debut short film, Dosena, became part of Busan International Short Film Festival under the Rendezvous with AFiS Hub of Asia.
Moreover, it received a Best Short Film nomination from the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) Awards, one of the oldest and most prestigious award-giving bodies in the Philippines.
Kyla also wrote Hinakdal, a short film which won the Audience Choice award, NETPAC award, and Best Screenplay award at the Cinemalaya Film Festival 2023 Short Film Category.
Since 2021, Kyla Romero has been the co-writer of Dir. Arvin Belarmino in Ria, a feature film project which gained a special mention in Talents Tokyo 2021 and received the CNC Pitch Award at the 2022 Festival de Cannes La Résidence.
She is also the co-writer of the director Belarmino in Radikals, a short film competing at the 63rd Semaine De La Critique short film competition, an official competition section of the Cannes Film Festival.
POM BUNSERMVICHA 
Pom Bunsermvicha is a non-binary filmmaker based in Bangkok, Thailand. Their work, which mostly combines documentary elements with fiction, has been shown at festivals in Southeast Asia and abroad, including International Film Festival Rotterdam, Locarno Film Festival, MoMA’s Doc Fortnight, Hamburg International Short Film Festival, and SeaShorts.
STEFANIA BURLA
Stefania Burla is a Polish-Swiss filmmaker based in Zurich, Switzerland. She first worked in theatre for several years, before finding her way into film.
In 2017 she started her Bachelor in Film at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). In 2019 she did an exchange at the School of Visual Arts in New York. She graduated from ZHdK with a BFA in Film in 2022.
Her graduation film Macierz (Motherland, 2023) screened at several international film festivals and won the Grand Prize – Filmmaker of the Future Award at Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival.
​In 2023 she started her MFA in film directing at Zurich University of the Arts and is currently developing her first feature film.
CHHEANGKEA
Chheangkea is a Cambodia-born filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York.
He earned a BS in Architecture from MIT and an MFA in Filmmaking from the NYU Tisch Graduate Film program, where he was a Dean’s Fellow. He is a former Marcie Bloom Fellow and a recipient of the Sundance Asian American Scholarship.
Through his films, Chheangkea seeks to showcase the complexities and nuances of queer and Cambodian stories.
His short film, Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites (2025), premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and it won the Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction.
His previous short film, Skin Can Breathe, was a finalist of the 2022 HBO Max APA Visionaries competition and is now streaming on Max.
​His debut feature film, Little Phnom Penh, is currently in development, having been selected for the HamptonsFilm Screenwriters Lab, MunichFilmUp, and the NYU Purple List in 2024.
​​GIULIA COSENTINO & PERLA SARDELLA
Giulia Cosentino is a film director, screenwriter and researcher, born in Catania, Sicily (Italy).
She graduated in cinema and visual art attending Roma Tre University, Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris, Nova in Lisbon and Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.
She has collaborated in many movies among Martin Eden by Pietro Marcello, Io capitano by Matteo Garrone and Grand Tour by Miguel Gomes.
In 2019 she directed her first short movie He and I (premiered at Torino Film Festival), and in 2020 her second one Why are you running away?, that is part of a collective film Le storie che saremo produced by Ginko Film.
In 2022 she won the Italian prize Premio Solinas for the best script for feature film.
Currently, she is based between Rome and Palermo, where she teaches directing in archiver re-use in Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia – Sede Sicilia and works as screenwriter and director.

​Perla Sardella is editor and documentarist, born in Jesi in 1991 (Italy).
She graduated in Cinema and Multimedia Arts at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, in Milan.
She works with still and moving images, and with different formats including linear audiovisual, photography and video installations.
Comfort Zone (2015), her first short film, was presented at the Torino Film Festival in the Italiana.corti programme. Prendere la parola (2019) wins first prize in the Perspectives category at the FILMMAKER Festival in Milan.
Le grand viveur (2020) was selected in competition in the medium and short film section of the Visions Du Réel festival.
Some of her works have been shown in national and international art galleries (The Wrong Biennale, Biennale Mulhouse de la jeune création, Fondazione smART).
She is co-founder of the association for the valorisation of the family film heritage “Reframing Home Movies”.  She lives and works in Genoa.
ANDREJ CHINAPPI
Andrej Chinappi graduated at Scuola Holden in Turin and directed the short films Sanpietro, Don't Be Cruel, and the installation Casa del Tempo.
He is the founder of the magazine Il Bestiario.
​In 2025 he directed Il Nemico and is now working on his first feature film.
​​RODDY DEXTRE
Roddy Dextre is a filmmaker and commercial director trained in Peru, Cuba, and Argentina.
He has developed his career between Peru, Chile, São Paulo, and Mexico. As a commercial director, he has received some prestigious recognitions: Director of the Year: Cíclope Latino 2024; Grand Prix in Direction: FIAP; Grand Prix: Cíclope Latino; Best Peruvian Director: El Ojo de Iberoamérica; Best Peruvian Director: APAP 2023, APAP 2024.
The short film Allá en el Cielo (Nobody Knows the World) is his first venture into film directing. The film has been selected at Berlinale Generation 2026.
Currently, he is developing his first feature film, El Vuelo De Las Hojas (The Flight Of The Leaves).
​ANDREI EPURE
Andrei Epure is a Romanian filmmaker.
He graduated in Screenwriting  and Film Studies from the National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest.
His latest short film Interfon 15 premiered at Semaine  de la Critique - Cannes. Don’t let me die is his first feature.
​EMILIJA GASIC
Emilija Gasic is an award-winning filmmaker born in 1991 in Serbia, now residing in New York City.
She graduated with an MFA in Cinematography from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Emilija grew up in a small Serbian town in the 90s against a background of news reports on war, a dying country and the sense of uncertainty which deeply affected her sensibility in arts and formed her observant style in creating tension and atmosphere in her films.
Her films have had successful festival runs and have screened at renowned festivals such as Columbus International Film & Animation Festival, Maryland Film Festival, Oscar qualifying Izmir Kisa Film Festival and many others.
Her feature film screenplay Mileva that she co-wrote with Nicola Lanthier-Rogers was awarded with the Production Honorable Mention Award by the Sloan Foundation in 2021. She developed her first feature film screenplay 78 Days at Venice Biennale College of Cinema 2020.
As a cinematographer, Emilija shot films in the USA, France, Norway and Czech Republic. She is a Nikon Storytellers Award recipient and a finalist for the Volker Bahnemann for Outstanding Cinematography.
Her most recent cinematography work  Stay Here If You Want (directed by Sarah Rosen) premiered at Davey Fest 2022 and Lost Beyond Stars
(directed by Kayla Arend) showing at LA Shorts, St Louis International Film Fest, CineQuest and many others.
​Emilija’s film photography traveling exhibition “In | Between” started in Serbia, with parts of it being showcased in Hackney Studios in London and in its entirety at Culture Lab in New York City in 2021.
She is the co-founder of Istok Films with Alex Wiske.
78 Days (78 dana), her first feature film, is included in the official selection of the international Film Festival Rotterdam 2024.
​MATTEO GIAMPETRUZZI
Born in Campobasso (Italy) in 1999, Matteo Giampetruzzi is an emerging filmmaker and film curator.
He studied Film Directing at the public film school ‘Scuola Volonté’ in Rome (2019-22), and recently completed a Master's degree in Film Curating at the Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola in San Sebastián, Basque Country (2023-24).
His short films, screened at numerous international film festivals, focus on themes related to sexuality, coming of age, masculinity, and memory. He has worked as an assistant director and held various positions at film festivals and events. In 2024, he served as a columnist for the official newspaper of the San Sebastián International Film Festival.
​As an independent curator, he has collaborated with institutions such as Filmoteca de Catalunya and Sicilia Queer Filmfest (2025).
PEPI GINSBERG
Pepi Ginsberg started her career as a professional recording and touring artist, gaining critical acclaim from media outlets such as NPR, Pitchfork, and many more.
After leaving the stage, Ginsberg enrolled in NYU’s Grad Film Program and received an MFA in 2022.
Her thesis film, The Pass, premiered at Cannes and has played at TIFF, BFI, and many more and is licensed to Criterion, Canal+ and The New Yorker.
Her latest short WASSUPKAYLEE (Arte) premiered at SXSW 2025.
GABRIEL GONZÁLEZ ACOSTA
Gabriel González Acosta is a Mexican filmmaker.
His first short, Concertina (2021) had it’s world premiere as part of the LAB Official Selection of the 2022 Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Prix. It has been selected in more than 50 international film festival, winning over a dozen awards.
His second short Luciérnaga (2022) was made under the guidance of Apichatpong Weerasethakul as part of Playlab Film’s Filming in the Amazon residence. His third short Susurro (2023) premiered at the Art+Film+Vienna festival in 2024.
It is currently showing at international film festivals. He recently completed his latest short, Génesis (2025). He is in development of his first feature film.
His work in film and art has been shown at international art institutions like Museo Tamayo (Mexico City) amongst others.
He received a PhD in Philosophy, Art and Critical Thought from the European Graduate School. He also holds degrees from The Royal College of Art and Queen Mary, University of London.
​He lives and works in Mexico City.
GIULIA GRANDINETTI
Giulia Grandinetti made her debut as director in 2020 with the independent feature film Alice and the Land that Wonders, and then dedicated herself to a trilogy of dystopian short films: Guinea Pig, Tria - del sentimento del tradire (World Premiere at Venezia Film Festival 2022 - Orizzonti Short Films Competition) and Majonezë.
She is currently preparing her next feature film titled Jaune et Bleu.
She is creatively fascinated by the formula of dystopia, by taboos and by the dreamlike dimension. The starting point for each of her creations is work on the body.
​NICOLAS GRAUX & TRUONG MINH QUY
TRƯƠNG Minh Quý was born in Buon Ma Thuot, a small city in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. 
His narratives and images, located between documentary and fiction, personal and impersonal, draw on the landscape of his homeland, childhood memories, and the history of Vietnam.
He graduated from Le Fresnoy - National Studio of Contemporary Arts (France) in 2021. His films have been selected for international film festivals and exhibitions such as Cannes, Berlinale, Locarno International Film Festival, New York Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival, IFFR, Busan International Film Festival and Les Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin.
​He won the main Art Prize at the 20th VideoBrasil (São Paulo) in 2017. His latest film, Việt and Nam (2024), is selected in Cannes Official Selection - Un Certain Regard.
 
Nicolas GRAUX was born in Binche, a small town in Belgium’s former coal-mining region.
His films, blending documentary and fiction, explore sociopolitical realities through immersive research and a poetic, sensitive gaze.
He graduated from IAD (Institut des Arts de Diffusion) and co-founded the production company Replica in 2012.
His debut feature, Century of Smoke (2019), a portrait of a Laotian family struggling with opium addiction, premiered at Visions du Réel and screened at international festivals such as São Paulo, Munich, and Cartagena. Since 2020, he has collaborated across borders and forms with Vietnamese filmmaker Trương Minh Quý.
​He is currently developing his first fiction feature.
MARINTHIA GUTIÉRRIEZ
Writer and director from Tijuana, Mexico. Marinthia Gutiérrez graduated from the UCLA Theater, Film, and Television School in 2018 with a Bachelor’s in Film, & TV, emphasizing in Narrative Directing.
Marinthia is drawn to tell stories that are character-driven and introspective in an almost surreal way– she likes being close to her subjects in order to show raw emotions through highly stylized images. 
Her tone can be described as atmospheric magical realism.
Marinthia's horror-dance short film, Ella se queda (She stays), is the recipient of the 2022 Standard Fantastic Fellowship, which is sponsored by Kodak and Fotokem to shoot in 16mm film, Official Selection at Semaine de la Critique - Cannes 2024 and Guadalajara International Film Festival 2024.
RODRIGO GUERRERO
Rodrigo Guerrero was born in Cordoba, Argentina, in 1982.
He has a degree in Film and Television as a graduate from the National University of Cordoba. He also has a Masters Degree in Creating Audiovisual Screenplays from the International University in La Rioja, Spain.
His first feature film El invierno de los raros (2011) had its world premiere at the 40th Rotterdam International Film Festival.
His second feature film as director is titled, El tercero, which premiered at 16th edition of the BAFICI (April 2014).
His third feature film project, Venezia had its world premiere at the 73rd edition of Edinburgh International Film Festival in June, 2019. 
His fourth feature film, Siete perros, participated in Cine en Construcción 38 Lima - Toulouse and will have its world premiere at the 43rd edition of Cairo International Film Festival. Currently he is developing his new film, Perimetral.
​​​​TERÉZIA HALAMOVÁ
Terézia Halamová is a Slovak director who earned her MA at FAMU in Prague.
Her short film Sing for us (2020) premiered at Kaohsiung Film Festival in Taiwan and was screened at many international film festivals. It won the New Europe Talent Award and The Best Cinematography at the Zubroffka Festival and the Jury Award at the International Kinoproba Festival, among others.
She also collaborated with foreign musicians, and her music video Move Honey won the Jury Prize at the Polish Papaya Young Directors Competition and was featured at the Berlin Music Video awards.
With her feature debut film in development - The Hour Between Dog and Wolf, she was selected as a KVIFF Talent 2022 and presented the project at Karlovy Vary IFF.
​All of her films are connected by the themes of loneliness, growing up, and exploring intimacy. She repeatedly likes to work with non-actors and is interested in the plasticity of interpersonal relationships.
​​​GALA HERNÁNDEZ LÓPEZ
Gala Hernández López is an artist, filmmaker and researcher.
Her work critically analyzes new modes of subjectivation produced by computational capitalism and has been presented at international festivals and institutions such as Cannes, Berlinale, DOK Leipzig, SEMINCI, IndieLisboa, Berlinische Galerie, Cinéma du Réel, Palais de Tokyo, Punto de Vista, Documenta Madrid, transmediale, Int. Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, FRAC Île-de-France, and the Salon de Montrouge, among others.
Her film La Mécanique des fluides won the César for Best Documentary Short Film in 2024.
www.galahernandez.com
​​ROSSELLA INGLESE 
Rossella Inglese is an Italian screenwriter, editor, and director.
She has a screenwriting diploma from Nuct School of Cinema and Television, Rome under the tutoring of Laura Bispuri, Anna Pavignano, and Daniele Cesarano.
She graduated in Digital Filmmaking at Sae Institute in Milan, where she was tutored by director Mirko Locatelli and screenwriter Luca Vendruscolo.
Inglese's work focuses on teenagers exploring their sexuality.
Her first short movies were Sara and Vanilia. Vanilla was selected at the 31st International Film Critics' Week at Venice Film Festival.
The following year she directed Denise, which was selected at Calgary International Fim Festival, St. Louis International Film Festival, Wimbledon International Short Film Festival, and at the major Italian festivals (Venice's 75th International Film Festival, Giovani Autori Italiani, European Film Festival) receiving multiple accolades: Corto Dorico-Premio Nie Wiem, Premio Afrodite, Best Director at Roma Creative Contost. Premio Emidio Greco, Best Editing and Best Actress at Valdarmo Cinema Film Festival.
Her last short movie, Eva had its world premiere at the 36 Settimana internazionale della critica di Venezia (Sic@Sic).
​​STEFAN IVANČIĆ
Stefan Ivancic is a film director, producer and programmer born in 1985 in Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia.
He graduated Film directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Belgrade. His short films have been selected in many international festivals such Cannes, Rotterdam, FID Marseille, San Sebastian, Visions du Réel and Torino, among others. Stefan is the producer of the feature film The Load (2018) by Ognjen Glavonic, premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, and Wind, Talk to Me (2025) by Stefan Djordjevic, premiered in the Tiger Competition of the IFF Rotterdam, as well as a co-producer of You Have the Night (2018) and Wondrous is the Silence of My Master (2025) by Ivan Salatic, and Have You Seen This Woman? (2022) by Dusan Zoric and Matija Gluscevic.
​He is a member of the selection committee of the Locarno Film Festival and is also a programmer at the Belgrade Auteur Film Festival. He teaches at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. He is a member of the European Film Academy.
VYTAUTAS KATKUS
Born in 1991 in Vilnius, Vytautas Katkus is one of the most talented and appreciated up-and-coming directors and cinematographers in Lithuania. He graduated with a BA in Cinematography and at the moment continues his MA studies at Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.
He debuted as a director with his first short film Community Gardens (2019), which was selected to the 58th Semaine de la Critique, while his second short film Places (2020) premiered in Venice, Orizzonti Competition. Vytautas latest short is Cherries, official selection at Cannes Film Festival 2022.
Currently he is also developing his first feature film The Visitor, which won the NEXT STEP program of Semaine de la Critique - Cannes in 2022.
MIKKEL​ BJØRN KEHLERT
Mikkel Bjørn Kehlert grew up in the suburbs west of Copenhagen and has been making short films since 2021. He is currently directing at Super16.
His work often stems from a quiet inner tension — a search for calm in emotional noise. He is drawn to stories that are simple in form but rich in emotional detail.
LUCY KERR
​Lucy Kerr is a filmmaker and artist based in New York.
She was named one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film in Filmmaker Magazine in 2022. 
Kerr received a dual MFA in Film/Video and Art from California Institute of the Arts on the Lillian Disney Scholarship.
Her feature film, Family Portrait, garnered her the feature film grant from Austin Film Society, the AirFrance Prize from FIDLab, and the New Horizons Award from US in Progress.
​Kerr’s work has been presented by International Film Festival Rotterdam, FIDMarseille, San Sebastian International Film Festival, Reykjavik International Film Festival, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, REDCAT, Anthology Film Archives, Francois Ghebaly Gallery, and others.
Family Portrait world premiered at the Locarno Film Festival 2023, Concorso Cineasti del presente section.
ANDREA LAMEDICA

Andrea Lamedica is an Italian photographer and director.
​He holds a master's degree in Cinema and continues his education at the prestigious Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (CSC) in Rome. He works as a freelancer in the fashion and music industries, collaborating with prominent brands and artists.
​His work has been published in major magazines and featured in campaigns for internationally recognized brands. Paramore (2023) is his debut short film, which has been presented at numerous festivals, including Lovers Film Festival, Odense International Film Festival, Festival del Cinema Europeo, Mecal Film Festival, and others. Fiji (2025) is his second short film.
JJ LIN
Jianjie (JJ) Lin was on his way to becoming a biologist when the alluring world of cinema led him astray.
He received his filmmaking MFA from New York University.
His debut feature Brief History of a Family premiered at 2024 Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Dramatic Competition and Berlinale Panorama.
In 2025, his narrative short film Hippopotami will premiere at Sundance Film Festival Short Film Competition.
BIANCA LUCAS
Bianca Lucas is a graduate of Goldsmiths College in London and Béla Tarr’s 3-year Film.Factory course in Sarajevo.
Her short films have screened at international festivals such as IFFR - Film Festival Rotterdam, New Horizons, Sarajevo Film Festival, Premiers Plans d’Angers, Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur among others.
​Love Dog, world premiere at Locarno Film Festival 2022, is her first feature film.
POLEN LY
Polen Ly is a self-taught filmmaker born in 1989 in rural Kandal province, Cambodia.
Polen’s artistic practice is rooted in social issues and nature, while his storytelling style is often expressed through different means of visualization and metaphors. In 2015, he was selected for the International Writing Residency of the University of Iowa (USA), and in 2018, he joined the Asian Film Academy in Busan, Korea.
He has also joined the Asiadoc program and the Story Lab at Docs by the Sea, both held in Indonesia.
He was a participant in the 2024 Locarno Filmmakers Academy. His recent short fiction, Further And Further Away, held its world premiere in Berlinale Shorts in 2022, and it went on to receive awards at Palm Springs, Singapore, and Toronto Reel Asian, among others.
​His short documentary, Side by Side, won the Youth Jury Prize at Locarno Film Festival's Open Doors Screenings in 2021.
His full-length documentary film entitled Until The Orchid Blooms
premiered at IDFA and Singapore in 2024.
​His debut feature film, Becoming Human, received support through the Biennale College Cinema program and premiered at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival. He also received the 2024 CAREC Fellowship from the Prince Claus Fund as he develops a new docufiction project, and he has served as a mentor for youth-focused film institutions in Cambodia like PSE School of Media and Sunflower Film Organization.
FRANCESCO MASTROLEO
Francesco Mastroleo is a director from Puglia, based in Milan.
He directs projects in fashion, music and design, fields that enrich his cinematic research. With Werner Herzog he made Felicidad (2025), distributed by Lights On.
​A graduate in Cinema and New Technologies at IULM, he directed Le Cento Pietre (2022), Paramore (2023) and Kalimera (2024), screened at international festivals.
​He is currently developing a documentary-horror on tarantism.
REIN MAYCHAELSON
​Imagination has always been his escape. Through his work, he can express his own voice, screaming on family, social and political issues beneath the reality bending stories.
Rein Maychaelson is an Indonesian writer and director, made his early voice through Udin Telekomsel, a film about a boy who can text God with his phone, the film have been screened at Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival.
In 2018, his short film, Errorist of Seasons,  won the Viddsee Juree Awards. The short film explores a father who tries to pay his son tuition by investing in a rubber boat business relying on the annual flood in Jakarta and finally puts faith on black magic to call the rain. Maychaelson was awarded as Rising Filmmaker in Popcon Asia 2018.
After his mother passed away in 2020, he continues to share his stories through a short film called The Rootless Bloom that explores the theme of lost and separation. The short competed in the Wide Angle section of 28th Busan International Film Festival, 2023. In 2022, his feature debut project with title, The Burning Land also won fellowship prize from South East Asia Film LAB.
OLIVER MCGOLDRICK
Oliver McGoldrick grew up in the countryside outside Belfast, Northern Ireland and is currently an MFA Candidate at New York University's Graduate Film Program where he is a recipient of the Maurice Kanbar and Bernie Brillstein Scholarships.
Prior to moving to New York, he worked as a Doctor in Emergency Medicine back in Ireland. Through his work and personal life he has experienced how even in the grimmest of circumstances, there is often only a fine line between tragedy and comedy.
His most recent short film Three Keenings ​premiered at the 2024 Venice Biennale.
SEBASTIAN MIHAILESCU
Sebastian Mihăilescu is a writer, director and producer from Romania. After completing his Bachelor studies in computer science, Sebastian decided to pursue a career in film directing and embarked on a Bachelor degree, followed by a Master’s, at the National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest.
He directs documentaries and features, while also helming commercials. His feature-length documentary You Are Ceausescu To Me (2021) won Best Film from Central and Eastern Europe and Best Cinematography at Ji.hlava IFF, the DocLisboa IFF's New Talent Award and the Transilvania IFF's What's Up Doc Competition.
His short film Old Luxurious Flat Located In An Ultra-Central, Desirable Neighborhood (2016) premiered in the Pardi di Domani Competition at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2016.
Mammalia, official selection at Berlinale Forum 2023,  is his debut feature film, produced by Diana Paroiu and Ada Solomon for microFilm (Romania), and co-produced by Ewa Puszczynska for Extreme Emotions (Poland) and Nina Frese for Pandora Film (Germany).
In his films, Sebastian constantly experiments with the cinematic language, moving away from the formal conventions of fiction toward a more liberated expression of the medium. 
GYÖRGY MÓR KÁRPÁTI
György Mór Kárpáti is a Budapest-based film director and writer.
He studied at the Directors’ Department of the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest. His short films have been selected at various international film festivals such as Cannes and Berlinale.
His first feature film Guerilla premiered at the Ingmar Bergman Debut Competition of the Göteborg Film Festival 2019, and won the Hungarian Critics’ Choice Award for the best first feature film.
His second feature, Summer to Come,  premiered at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2022.
BARAN NIKRAH
Baran Nikrah is an Iranian writer, director, and producer based in Tehran.
She holds a PhD in Atomic and Molecular Physics and is a graduate of the directing program at Karnameh Art Institute.
Her work focuses on short films and social drama, with a particular interest in women and children. These Voices Are Real is her debut short film.
She is currently developing her next short film Mamani.
LORENZO PALLOTTA
Lorenzo Pallotta is a young director from Abruzzo (Italy) born in 1992.
He attended the SAE Institute in Milan and began working for both university and independent film productions. He worked on the creation of documentaries, commercials, video clips, short films and web series.
Lorenzo collaborated with the production house Fedra Film and Fedra Hub and he worked as assistant director on the film Loro by Paolo Sorrentino and Piccole Avventure Romane by the same Paolo Sorrentino.
Inumanamente, his first short film was selected in 2016 at the Milano Film Festival (Italy), while his short film Luis (2019) was selected, among others, at Festival Europeen du film court de Brest (France), Figari Film Fest (Italy), Visioni Italiane Festival (Cineteca di Bologna, Italy), Medflm Festival (Rome, Italy).
His latest short film Las Hadas (2021) had its world premiere at the FEST- New Directors New Film Festival (Espinho, Portugal).
Sacro moderno (The Children of the Sleeping Giant) is Lorenzo Pallotta's first feature-length documentary presented at Alice nella Città 2021, Italy - World Premiere, Taipei Film Festival 2022, Taiwan - International Premiere. 
GUTO PARENTE
Guto Parente (Fortaleza, 1983) has written and directed 18 movies – 7 shorts and 11 feature films.
He's one of the most prolific Brazilian filmmakers of his generation and his films have been exhibited at important international film festivals such as San Sebastián, Tribeca, Rotterdam, Locarno, among others. His previous feature film, A Strange Path, won all the International Competition Prizes at the Tribeca Festival 2023 (Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Performance).
MOARA PASSONI
Moara  Passoni is a Brazilian writer & director.
She wrote and directed the feature-length essay film Extase (CPH:DOX, MoMA’S Doc Fortnight, Visions du Réel) which received critical acclaim and won a gamut of international awards.  Moara was co-writer of the Academy Award-nominated The Edge of Democracy.
She was named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Filmmaking” by Filmmaker Magazine, is an alumna of TorinoScriptLab, La Fémis-Cannes Producing Atelier, GOTHAM Week and NYSCA.
She is developing her narrative feature debut Cost of Living (Torino Script Lab, Berlinale Talents Market), and her TV series Strikers.
She is recipient of the Jelinek Award for her MFA in directing from Columbia University.  She has a B.A. in Social Sciences from University of São Paulo. A Master’s in Documentary Filmmaking from the University of Campinas. 
She studied Aesthetics at University of Paris 8 and Dance and Performance at Catholic University of São Paulo.  S
​he’s a founding member of the BrazilianFilmmakerCollective. 
LOIS PATIÑO ​
Lois Patiño is a filmmaker and artist born in Vigo (Spain).
His films have been shown at film festivals such as Cannes, Berlinale, Locarno, Toronto, Rotterdam, New York, Viennale, IDFA, Cinema du rèel, Oberhausen, Clermont-Ferrand... And he had focus about his work in places like the New York Film Festival (USA), BAFICI (Argentina), Film Fest Gent (Belgium), Cartagena and Cali Film Festival (Colombia), NeMAF (South Korea) or the Flaherty Seminar (Colgate University).
​His films and video installations have been shown in the theaters of art centers such as MoMA or Pompidou Center, and took part of exhibitions at MACBA, Casa Encendida or CGAC. And art fairs such as ARCO, Estampa, SWAB, Paris Photo (France), Photo London (UK), Unseen ( Amsterdam) or the Aichi Triennale (Japan).
​Harvard University awarded him the 'Robert Fulton III' Scholarship in 2016, intended for emerging filmmakers "with an independent spirit, who explore diverse cultures with a deep aesthetic sensibility."
Samsara (2023 - Berlinale - Encounters / Special Jury Award), Lúa Vermella (2020 – Berlinale Forum) and Costa da Morte (2013 – Locarno / Best Emerging Director Award) are his first three feature films.
Ariel (2025), shot in the Azores islands, is his fourth feature film and it premiered at International Film Festival of Rotterdam 2025.
​His last two short films: Sycorax (2021) and El sembrador de estrellas (2022) have premiered in the Cannes Directors' Fortnight and in the Berlinale, respectively, receiving an award at the latter festival.
Lois Patiño is part of the generation of Galician filmmakers named 'Novo Cinema Galego', along with authors such as Oliver Laxe, Eloy Enciso, Diana Toucedo, Alberto Gracia or Jaione Camborda.He is represented by Isabel Hurley Gallery (Málaga), RocíoSantaCruz Gallery (Barcelona) and Vilaseco Gallery (A Coruña).
ORFEAS PERETZIS
Orfeas Peretzis studied Psychology, Film & Video, and Screenwriting.
He has received a Greek Film Critics Award (2014), a First Prize from the Royal Television Society, a First Prize at the Drama International Short Film Festival (Digi2008) and an Audience Award at Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival (2022).
He is a 2019 Berlinale Talent and an SNF Artworks Fellow.
Riviera is his debut feature fiction film.
THELYIA PETRAKI
Thelyia Petraki, holds a BA in Filmmaking (CalArts USA), and an MA in Visual Anthropology (UCL UK).
In her works, the boundaries between memory, dreams and reality tend to blur. Her films are a perpetual gaze to the human behavior in an attempt to understand human condition through the cinematic lens. Lately, she combines and experiments with various analogue formats, along with recycling found footage, creating this way a mosaic effect. She also tends to study the past in order to understand the future.
DAVI PRETTO
Davi Pretto is a Brazilian screenwriter and director.
He wrote and directed his first feature film Castanha which premiered in 2014 at 64th Berlin Film Festival in Forum
section and won the Best Film New Trends award at Rio de Janeiro FF.
He returned to the 67th Berlin Film Festival - Forum in 2017 to premiere his second feature Rifle. The film also won the Grand Prize at Jeonju Film Festival and was screened at FID Marseille.
In 2018 he was selected to the DAAD Berlin Artists-in-Residence. His third feature Continent was made in co-production between
Brazil, France and Argentina and was supported by the World Cinema Fund.
The film premiered in 2024 at the 41st Munich Film Festival in the CineRebels competition.
IVA RADIVOJEVIĆ
Iva Radivojevic was born in Belgrade and spent her early years in Yugoslavia, Cyprus and eventually NYC.
She is an artist and filmmaker who currently divides her time be-tween Athens and Lesbos.
Iva's films have screened at the New York Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, Rotterdam IFF, CPH:DOX, Berwick Film & Media Arts Festi-val, DocLisboa, Museum of Modern Art (NYC), Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art and were commissioned by ARTE La Lucarne and Field of Vision.
She is the recipient of the Sundance Art of Non-Fiction Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, Jerome Fellowship, NYFA Fellowship, Princess Grace Special Project Award and Film Fellow-ship.
​Avenue of The Living, her new art book was recently published by Big Black Mountain Press. She’s a PhD candidate at Villa Arson in Nice.
TAHMINA RAFAELLA
Tahmina Rafaella is an Azerbaijani filmmaker and actress.
In 2015, she wrote Inner City, a feature film which was funded by the Ministry of Culture & Tourism of Azerbaijan.
The film screened and won prizes at multiple international film festivals. Her directorial debut, A Woman, which she also wrote, produced and acted in, premiered at Palm Springs ShortFest.
It won awards at numerous film festivals including Best Narrative Short at
BendFilm Festival.
Her feature script Banu was selected as one of four to be produced
by La Biennale as part of their Biennale College Cinema program.
It had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival 2022.
​Banu is her feature film directorial debut.
EGLE RAZUMAITE
Eglė Razumaitė is a writer and director born in Vilnius, Lithuania. She graduated from Vilnius University with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and holds a master’s degree in film directing from the LMTA Faculty of Theatre and Film.
In 2017, she participated in the alternative art education program at Rupert Art Center and was actively involved in the Lithuanian contemporary art scene until fully turned into filmmaking.
Eglė has been working for the Lithuanian Culture Research Institute, Department of Sacral Art Heritage, since 2017.
Together with a collective, she founded an analog moving image lab SPONGĖ. Her short film The Fall won the Lithuanian Association of Cinematographers’ Best Young Cinematographer’s Work prize in 2022 and was nominated for the Lithuanian National Film Award in 2023. Her short film Ootid was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Festival de Cannes in 2024.
​​KHOZY RIZAL
Khozy Rizal is a filmmaker based in Makassar, Indonesia.
He started making films in 2021 with a short film Makassar is a City for Football Fans and screened at Sundance, BFI Flare and several film festivals.
In 2023, he made a short film titled Basri & Salma in a Never-ending Comedy which had its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival and was the first Indonesian short film that competed for the Short Film Palme d’Or. The short film was also screened for more than 100 festivals including Sundance, Clermont-Ferrand, AFI Fest, Fribourg and SXSW Sydney. He’s also an alumnus of Busan Asian Film Academy and Locarno Filmmakers Academy.
​ANDRÉS RODRÍGUEZ
Andrés Rodríguez is a ​Guatemalan director.
​His debut film, Roza, a Guatemala-Mexico co-production released in 2022, has been selected for several film festivals including Costa Rica IFF, Guanajuato IFF, Locarno IFF, Vancouver LIFF, and La Mostra in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Presently, he is in the development process of his second feature film, Los Invisibles, with which he has participated in co-production meetings such as Locarno Open Doors and the 36th Guadalajara Film Festival, where it obtained three important production awards.
His latest short film, James, is selected at the Short Films Competition Orizzonti of the 81st Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica in Venice.
​AGUSTINA SÁNCHEZ GAVIER
​Born in Argentina, Agustina Sánchez Gavier studied film at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, Germany.
Her graduation film Nuestra Sombra had its premiere at Cannes Directors' Fortnight 2024.
Her previous works, such as Fuego Mudo, premiered at the Filmfest Dresden 2019, screened at La Mujer y el Cine Filmfest in MALBA Buenos Aires, The Bush Films in Brooklyn, New York, and at the Montreal Feminist Film Festival.
Currently she is working on her first feature film.
​WILHELM SASNAL
Wilhelm Sasnal is a painter and a filmmaker.
He studied architecture at the Krakow University of Technology and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. In the last years he made seven feature films, five of them were written and directed with Sasnal’s wife, Anka Sasnal.
​He lives and works in Kraków, Poland.
​​GUIL SELA
Guil Sela is a young filmmaker and photographer born in 1996. After his first short film, The Olympic flame, he made Santa Maria Kyoko in 2023, which was selected at the Côté Court Festival, and Montsouris Park, which won the Leitz Discovery Prize at Critics' Week 2024.
​His new short film, No Skate! is presented at Critics' Week 2025. He is currently writing his first feature film, Life is a beach which will continue to explore the irony behind our tragic current affairs with humour and melancholy.
​​GIANMARCO SERRA & SIMONA NOBILE
Simona Nobile alternates writing with consulting in development/production and works as an international tutor.
She has an extensive track record in project selection for European development and co-production funds.

Gianmarco Serra is a screenwriter and director, he began his career directing documentary series for RAI (1998–2003).
He produced and co-directed Los Piojos de Evita (2007), and wrote the screenplays for Isabel Herguera’s short films Amore d’Inverno (2014) and La mujer ilustrada (2023).
Together with Herguera, he co-wrote the animated feature film Sultana’s Dream (2023), which has won multiple awards at festivals around the world.
ELDAR SHIBANOV
Eldar Shibanov was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan in a family of hereditary architects.
He started working in the film industry in the art department.
Since 2010, he has been making independent films with his mother Yulia Levitskaya and his brother Dias Shibanov.
Eldar participated to Berlinale Talents program and the Asian Film Academy of Busan Film Festival, where he won a scholarship from Tsai Ming Liang.
In 2018 his short movie Sex, Fear and Hamburgers was selected at the Venice Film Festival.
In 2021, together with Yulia Levitskaya, he became a finalist at the Biennale Cinema College with the Gornyi Luk project.
HANNAH SCHIERBEEK
Hannah Schierbeek is a Chicago-based writer-director.
Utilizing the North American Midwest as her cosmos, Schierbeek’s films explore intimate interpersonal stories backdropped by today’s socioecological dilemmas.
er short film A Black Hole Near Kent County premiered at the 2024 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and her short film Radiant Frost premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
SAVUNTHARA SENG​
Savunthara Seng is a film writer and filmmaker.
He is the co-founding editor-in-chief of MARG1N, a Southeast Asian film magazine published in Phnom Penh.
He currently works as a production assistant at Anti-Archive.
​He previously made several video works, but Incident on the Mountain is his first work produced for cinema.
​He joined Purin Film Fund's 2022 Short Film Camp in Bangkok, and he was a 2024 Flaherty Fellow. He regularly programs film screenings and speaks on film criticism in Southeast Asia.
TOM SHU-YU LIN​
​Tom Shu-Yu Lin (林書宇) blends his Taiwanese and American upbringing into a unique cinematic style, showcasing a rich tapestry of cultural influences in his work. 
His directorial journey began in 2008 with Winds of September, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. 
This was followed by Starry Starry Night (2011), a film adaptation of the beloved book by celebrated illustrator Jimmy Liao. 
In 2015, Lin's Zinnia Flower starring Karena Lam received critical acclaim at Busan International Film Festival and garnered a Golden Horse Award for Best Actress.
In 2019, Lin helmed The Garden of Evening Mists, a collaboration between HBO Asia and Astro Shaw based on the renowned Malaysian novel of the same name. 
Premiering at the 24th Busan International Film Festival, the film was lauded with 9 Taiwan Golden Horse Awards nominations, including for Best Picture and Best Director.
Lin's latest film is Yen and Ai-Lee (Xiao Yan Yu Wu Ai-Lee), world premiere Busan International Film Festival 2024.
THEODOR SOLIN
Theodor Solin is a filmmaker based in Stockholm.
He discovered his passion for filmmaking while living in Shanghai. He is educated at the European Film College and holds a B.A in Film & TV from Edinburgh College of Art. Currently he is doing his MA in Directing Fiction at SKH in Stockholm.
As a writer & director his shorts have been screened at various festivals, some of which include: Palm Springs Shortfest, Gothenburg Film Festival, Uppsala Short Film Festival & more. Home Care and Från Strandvägen till Rigagatan has aired on Swedish Television SVT and been seen by over a million viewers.
Theodor is also a DoP and editor which can be seen in his commercial and freelance documentary work.
AMIE SONG
Amie Song is a New York-based filmmaker.
Splitting her time between the US and China, she explores how people reconcile living between cultures, traditions, genders, sexualities, etc. Her passion lies in pushing the boundaries of narrative, reimagining how films can question our perception of reality. She is currently an MFA Film Directing/Screenwriting candidate at Columbia University.
Her short film Three premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival as La Cinef Official Selection.
​Her previous short films screened at the Video Art & Experimental Film Festival, New Filmmakers NY, New York Shorts International Film Festival, DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival, etc.
SUN KUN 
Kun Sun, born in China, obtained a Master's degree in Anthropology and Documentary Film from University College London in 2019.
She pursued her studies in filmmaking at the London Film School starting from 2021, finished with a distinction degree in December 2023.She has actively contributed as a director, 1st AD, and producer on various short film projects.
Her graduation work POET won the Golden Kojika Award for Best Film and the Audience Choice Award at the 2024 Nara International Film Festival NARA-wave.
BÁLINT SZIMLER
Born in 1987 in Hungary, Bálint Szimler grew up in New York.
He moved back to Budapest at 9 years old.  At 19 Szimler got accepted to the University of Theatre and Film Arts, the country's leading film school. His head teacher was Ildikó Enyedi.
His 3rd year project Here I Am, a 35-minute short film won the Hungarian Film Week and was later selected into Cannes Cinefondation and was nominated for best short by the European Film Academy.
Since then Szimler created the online music series Kodály Method, which in 2015 continued into Balaton Method, a feature music documentary with hundreds of musicians participating.
He directed many commercials and music videos throughout the years.
Fekete pont (Lesson Learned) (2024) is his feature fiction debut - made with the same collaborators as his previous projects dating back to Here I Am, including Emmy-winning cinematographer Marcell Rév (White God, HBO's Euphoria, The Idol) and producer Gábor Osváth (Palme d'Or winner for '27' in 2023).
JORGE THIELEN ARMAND
​Jorge Thielen Armand is a Venezuelan - Canadian filmmaker.
His feature films are La Soledad (Venice 2016) and La Fortaleza (Rotterdam 2020).
In 2021, he was named a Guggenheim Fellow.
His short film Pasta Negra will premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2025. He is a partner of the production company La Faena.
Thielen Armand is currently working on his third feature film La muerte no tiene dueño.
THANASIS TROUBOUKIS
Thanasis Trouboukis explores cinema on the fluid border between fiction and documentary. His work questions memory, reality, dreams and the ambiguity between them.
He is a graduate of Le Fresnoy - Studio national des arts contemporains in France. His short films have been selected by numerous festivals, among them Oberhausen ISFF, Sarajevo FF, Palm Springs IFF, Hong Kong IFF, CPH:DOX,  Vienna Shorts, Encounters FF and Montréal Festival du Nouveau Cinéma.
​He is currently developing his feature-length directorial debut, supported by Greek Film Centre (GFC), Onassis Culture and Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC).
ANU-LAURA TUTTELBERG
Anu-Laura Tuttelberg graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2013 with an MA in Animation, specializing in stop-motion. Her graduation film Fly Mill won 20 prizes globally.
Her first post-graduation film, On The Other Side Of The Woods, premiered at the Annecy International Animation Festival and won 12 awards across 85 festivals.
Winter in the Rainforest, the first in her nature trilogy, premiered at Annecy in 2019, winning 13 festival prizes and the Estonian Cultural Endowment Award.
Anu-Laura, known for her set designs in stop-motion films, won the 2022 Estonian Film and TV Award for Best Production Design.
​She teaches animation at her alma mater.
ALTAY ULAN YANG
Altay Ulan Yang is a Mongolian-Chinese writer-director from the Chahar Mongolian tribe of Inner Mongolia, China.
Raised in a monastery and trained as a lama until the age of 18, he later relocated to Los Angeles, where he continues to develop his filmmaking practice.
Trained in fine arts, music, and performance from an early age, Altay brings a multidisciplinary sensibility to his work. His films transform memory, trauma, and cultural displacement into cinematic rituals, combining highly stylized visuals with strong narrative accessibility.
His debut short film, Monsters Never Know (2020), won Best International Short Film at the Fribourg International Film Festival and was nominated at the Palm Springs International ShortFest. HYENA is his second film, entirely self-financed and based on personal experience. He is currently developing two feature-length projects as the sole rights holder and creative lead.
MOSTAFA VAZIRI
​Mostafa Vaziri was born in Tehran, Iran.
He has previously directed the short films Open Circuit (2019), The Calf (2022)and One Of Them (2025).
He edited the feature films The Wastetown (2022) and The Wasteman (2024).
HAN-XUAN WANG
Wang Han-Xuan is a writer-director based in New York.
His previous works have been selected in IFFR 2024, 17th First International Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival 2023.
​He is currently teaching film directing at Columbia University.
​NELSON YEO
Nelson Yeo is a Singaporean director.
His first feature film, Dreaming & Dying, won the Filmmakers of the Present – Golden Leopard award and Swatch First Feature Award at Locarno International Film Festival 2023.
His work is marked by a distinctively poetic and thought-provoking style, blending narrative depth with visual experimentation.
Nelson's short films have been selected for prestigious film festivals such as Rotterdam, Winterthur, Hamburg, Taipei Golden Horse, and Cairo.
​His work continues to resonate on the global stage, with projects in development winning awards at international markets.
​​FRAN ZAYAS
Fran Zayas is a Puerto Rican independent filmmaker based in New York City.
Zayas is a recent graduate of the MFA Film program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts with a focus in Directing and Writing. He’s been awarded the BAFTA BBC Diversity Scholar, and is a recipient of the Spike Lee Production Film Fund and Cary Fukunaga Production Fund for his thesis film, Entre Tormentas, which is set to premiere in SXSW 2025.
From drama to thriller and dark comedy, Zayas’ films focus on individuals navigating moral dilemmas, generational family trauma, and the search for belonging in the face of gentrification and climate change. Zayas is currently in the development of two feature films based in Puerto Rico.
Zayas’ goal is to encourage a young generation of filmmakers, especially in Latino communities, to embrace their culture through filmmaking.
​​MILA ZHLUKTENKO
Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Mila Zhluktenko studied documentary filmmaking at HFF Munich.
Her films have been screened at a number of international festivals including the Berlinale, IDFA, the San Sebastian Film Festival, MoMA’s Doc Fortnight and at Visions du Réel.
Her current works co-directed with Daniel Asadi Faezi include Aralkum (Juryprize Visions du Réel) and waking up in silence (Juryprize Berlinale Generation KPlus).