THE DIRECTORS

​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.
SAULIUS  BARADINSKAS
Saulius Baradinskas is a film & music video director from Vilnius, Lithuania (born on September 19, 1990). In 2013 Saulius graduated Architecture in Vilnius Arts Academy. In the 2018 annual music video awards Saulius won "the best director award” and "the best music video award”.
​In 2019, Saulius premiered his debut short film Golden Minutes. This short film was filmed on one take and the main role was created by famous Scottish actor Billy Boyd, who starred in Lord Of The Rings. The short film won various awards and traveled to more than 40 film festivals around the world. In 2020 Saulius was selected as one of the Berlinale Talents in the 70th Berlinale Film Festival.
​His second short film Techno, Mama premiered at the 78th Venice Film Festival in 2021.
​NIRARTHA BAS DIWANGKARA
​Nirartha Bas Diwangkara is a Balinese film director and producer based in Denpasar.
Nirartha holds a degree from Udayana University and received a scholarship to study basic digital filmmaking in the United States for almost a year. In his practice, he is interested in talking about his own island and its people, especially about gender, sexuality, toxic masculinity, and mental health topics that society often avoids discussing.
Nirartha has actively volunteered in film screening communities and local film festivals in Bali. In 2018, he co-founded Film Sarad, a film production community. His debut film, Insanely Infatuated with Someone at the Most Inappropriate Time / Tergila - Gila won the 2019 Bali Jani Festival and was featured in the 2019 S-Express Indonesia exchange program.
The film has been screened at various film festivals across Southeast Asia, such as the Thai Film and Video Festival, SEA Shorts, and Minikino Film Week, as well as the 2022 Bogoshorts International Short Film Festival in Bogota, Colombia.
His last short film, Where the Wild Frangipanis Growm had its world premiere in Busan International Film Festival 2023 and he just received the Prince Claus Seed Award 2023 to embrace his journey in developing new projects.  In addition to making fiction films, Nirartha has also worked on animations and documentary films that are supported by the Ministry of Culture and Education as well as The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.
​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.
​SAGE BENNET
Sage Bennett is a writer and director.
She got her start in filmmaking as an editor and has since gone on to direct commercials, music videos, and narrative work. Her most recent short Placebo just premiered on NOWNESS to international acclaim.
​Sage is passionate about work that brings people together through the shared human experience.
​​DEKEL BERENSON & PAUL WESLEY
Dekel Berenson is an award winning writer, director, and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Drawing inspiration from traveling to more than sixty countries, Dekel explores real-world social and humanitarian issues. His short film Anna premiered in Competition at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, won the Best British Short award at the 22nd BIFA awards and was shortlisted for a BAFTA.
His short film Ashmina won numerous prizes, including Best Short
Film at the 59th Krakow Film Festival and Best Live Action Short at the 36th Jerusalem Film Festival, qualifying the film for Academy Awards consideration twice. The two films screened in more than 800 festivals.
Dekel holds a Master's degree in International Relations and European Studies. He is the recipient of a number of academic awards including an Outstanding Academic Achievement Award and the Best Thesis Award, which he received for his master's thesis "Biopolitics And EU Governance: Foucault, Agamben and The Production of a European People."

Paul Wesley is an actor and director born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to Polish immigrants Tomasz and Agnieszka Wasilewski.
Moving back and forth between the US and Poland until the age of 16, the experience of living in two countries has shaped his adult life.
Paul's recent directorial work includes various episodic television episodes and, as an activist for animal rights, a documentary short concerning the protection of farm animals.
His producing credits include Before I Disappear which won the audience award at SXSW and competed in the 'Venice Days' section of the Venice Film Festival.
​OSCAR BOYSON
Oscar Boyson was born and raised in Maine and lives in New York City. His feature producing credits include Frances Ha, Mistress America, Heaven Knows What, Good Time, Uncut Gems, Funny Pages, and the HBO series Chillin Island.
He is currently working on his feature directing debut, Liberty’s Last Line, starring Paul Walter Hauser.
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.
NICOLE CHI
Nicole Chi is a Costa Rican-Chinese director of narrative and documentary films.
Her first feature length documentary, Guián (2023), premiered at Visions du Réel in the Burning Lights Competition. Her narrative short films Comadre (2022) and Los Mosquitos (2024) have screened at festivals like the Telluride Film Festival, SXSW, and Cinélatino Rencontres Toulouse. She’s been recognized with awards like the Director's Guild of America’s Student Film Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement.
She’s in development of her first narrative film La Versión Cansada.
LEINAD PÁJARO DE LA HOZ
Leinad Pájaro De la Hoz is a director, photographer, teacher and artist. Graduate of the Fiction Directing course at Escuela Internacional de Cine y TV (EICTV). His works have been awarded and/or screened in national and international competitions such as Berlinale, TIFF, VLAFF, Visions du réel, FIC Monterrey, Panorama de cine Colombiano de París, Bogoshorts, la Bienal de arte de Bolivia.
​His most recent fiction short film Un Pájaro voló won the special prize of the international jury for Best Short Film at Berlinale 2024.
He is currently developing the fiction feature film El ruido de las largas
distancias and the documentary feature Voces de Neptuno, winner of the FDC in Colombia.
In 2023 he founded the production company Bølier Films with the filmmaker María Alejandra Rodriguez.
VEERLE DE WILDE
​Veerle De Wilde is a Dutch-Belgian filmmaker based in Ghent, Belgium. She studied psychology at Ghent University and audiovisual arts at KASK School of Arts.
In 2020 she graduated with the short film Spaceboy, which was selected for film festivals such as Brussels Short Film Festival, Giffoni and Sarajevo Film Festival,  and has won multiple awards. Veerle is a TSFM Word-Frame and Interfilm Script Pitch alumna. Like her other films, Ultraviolet is inspired by her experiences working as a psychotherapist with both adults and youngsters.
ANTONIO DONATO
Antonio Donato is a filmmaker from Milan (Italy) who trained at the London Film School, graduating in 2023 with Distinction.
His graduation film, Sparare alle Angurie, has been selected for the BAFTA Yugo 2023, El Gouna Film Festival , Interfilm Berlin and it's currently distributed by Lights On Films.
He has also worked on international productions as a producer and editor, and some of these short films have been screened at Oscar and BAFTA-qualifying film festivals.
Recently he was one of few filmmakers accepted from a global callout to be invited to take part in the Locarno Film Festival's 'Base Camp' program.
​Antonio is currently developing a new short and his feature film debut.

CAMILLA FIGENSCHOU

Camilla Figenschou is a filmmaker and a visual artist educated from Konstfack in Stockholm, Film Studies at Universidad del Cine in Buenos Aires, and at Nordland Art and Film School.
She works mainly with hybrid film where she explores the camera’s presence and sensory realism. In 2010 she debuted with her first short film The Beginning of No Night.
Her next short film To Open, to See was ​widely shown internationally, and won the prestigious Terje Vigen award at the Grimstad Short Film Festival  and for best female director at Guanajuato International Film Festival in 2012. 
​TOMMASO FRANGINI
​Tommaso Frangini is a film director based in Milan.
In 2016 he assisted Andrea Pallaoro in feature film Hannah, for which Charlotte Rampling won the Coppa Volpi at the Venice Film Festival.
He attended the Master of Fine Arts in Film Direction at the California Institute of the Arts – CalArts, in Los Angeles, where he graduated in May 2020.
Tommaso’s short film Finis Terrae, thesis project at CalArts, was presented in Competition at the International Critics' Week (Settimana della Critica) during the 77th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the FEDIC Award for Best Short Film.
Foto di Gruppo (Group Picture) is included in the official selection of the Venice Critics’ Week 2023.
​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.
ELNAZ GHADERPOUR & REZA GAMINI
Elnaz Ghaderpour is born on 1990 in Kermanshah, Iran.
She attended the Tehran Art University and graduated in BA film directing and she also has an MA in Editing. For 12 years she has worked as an editor.
Abraham is her first short film.

Born 1988 Tehran (Iran), Reza Gamini has directed 5 short films including Endorphin which won a special mention for the jury at the 66th Locarno Film Festival.
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.
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.
ANNA GYIMESI
Anna Gyimesi was born in 1985, in Budapest (Hungary).
After receiving her degree in medicine in 2011, she turned to filmmaking. She graduated from the film directing program of the University of Theater and Film Arts in 2019 and from documentary film directing in the
Docnomads Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Course in 2021.
Her interests are taboo social dilemmas represented through personal dramas, especially connected to motherhood, womanhood, and social marginalization.
​With Affricate she won Cinelink-award for the best pitch at Talent Sarajevo Pack&Pitch 2020 and took part in European Short Pitch Works-In-Progress Co-Production Forum in 2022.
​Recently she is developing her first feature.
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.
KATARINA JAZBEC
Katarina Jazbec, a visual artist working in film and photography, was born in 1991, in Slovenia, and has been living in Rotterdam since 2015. She received her BA from the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana and her MA in Photography from the AKV | St. Joost  art academy in Breda (NL). In her film works, Katarina searches for new narrative forms by using interdisciplinary and collaborative artistic strategies.
She is drawn to exploring the fragility and agency of human and non-human critters in the current economic system.
Her previous short film You Can’t Automate Me premiered at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam in June 2021.
Her films have been shown at numerous festivals all around the world and at exhibition spaces such as TENT Rotterdam. She is the first recipient of the RTM Pitch Award by the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
​Katarina is currently doing a two-year international residency programme at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam.
BIRUTĖ KAPUSTINSKAITĖ
Birute Kapustinskaite has been working as a screenwriter and a playwright for quite some time. She received the main National Award as the best playwright of the year for the play Therapies, which was
also staged in South Korea. She holds the best screenplay award for
her feature film Sasha Was Here from Aubagne Film Festival.
In 2019, the screenwriter also started directing. her debut short film, Mothers (2019), received a special mention at Ismailia Film Festival in Egypt (2022) and has been touring around festivals. 
The Nominees (2024) is the second short film she directed.
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.
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.
MICHELLE KESERWANY AND NOEL KESERWANY
Michelle Keserwany and Noel Keserwany are Lebanese musicians, writers, and filmmakers.
The sisters are known for their satirical music videos that criticize the Lebanese corrupt political system. Ever since Michelle co-wrote Capernaum with director Nadine Labaki (Academy Award nominee, winner of the Prix du Jury in Cannes 2018 as well as Best Script Award at Stockholm IFF), they started their own film projects, including the political documentary Slow Burn, a co-production between France and Lebanon, produced by Special Touch Studios and supported by the CNC.
Between 2019 and 2021, they both received grants from the French Institute to reside at La Cite des Arts in Paris and work on their film projects. They live between Beirut and Paris.  
Noel is currently writing her first fiction film Un An and developing an animated short film Seven Mountains and Seven Seas, grantee of the DFI Production Fund, and produced by Dewberries Films.
Michelle is currently developing her first animated feature film Ouzkourini, produced by Special Touch Studios. In 2021, she received the CNC's Aide au Parcours d’Auteur grant, to develop her first fiction feature film Amara, a satirical political drama that takes place in Beirut.  
The sisters' debut short fiction film Les chenilles was written by Michelle, and directed by her and Noel, who also plays one of the lead roles in it.
Les chenilles, co-produced by La Biennale de Lyon and Dewberries Films , won the Golden Bear ​for the Best Short Film at Berlinale 2023.
MARIE-MAGDALENA KOCHOVÁ
Marie-Magdalena Kochová is a Czech director based in Prague.
​She graduated from New Media in Pilsen and Documentary Film at FAMU in Prague. 
Her short film Apparatgeist (2019) was granted the Special Mention of Student Jury at the Ji.hlava IDFF 2019. Her hybrid short film Shells (2022) premiered at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2022, competed at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2023, was selected to The Hottest Shorts of Hot Docs 2023 and won The Best International Student Film Award at Cinedans Film Festival Amsterdam 2023.
Her work focuses on personal and social themes through documentary and fictional forms, and she is currently working on her first documentary feature film The Other One.
​​NIKOS KYRITSIS
Nikos Kyritsis was born in Greece and received his MFA in Film Directing with Honors.
He has worked in short films, features, commercials and video-art installations in Greece, Germany, and Vietnam.
Since 2017, he has been teaching Film, Media, and Communication in HHU & SBC Universities in China.
He took part in Berlinale Talents (2013) and Sarajevo Talents (2014), where he won the YapimLab award for Pack&Pitch.
His short fiction film, King Kong, premiered at Rotterdam IFF in 2014 and continued in QueerLisboa, Split, Sguardi Altrove, Pink Screens and Queersicht.
In 2020 he received the SNF Artist Fellowship Program – ARTWORKS.
​Baby is his feature debut, developed with the support of the Greek Film Center, First Films First (Goethe Institute) and Sam Spiegel Film Lab.
​BOHAO LIU
​Born in Sichuan, China in 1992, Bohao Liu studied filmmaking and screenwriting at New York University and the London Film School.
His graduation film, the short documentary Eagles Rest in Liangshan, won a Student Academy Award in 2021. He is currently working on a PhD in film studies in Paris. His second short film, When a Rocket Sits on the Launch Pad, is selected at Berlinale Generation 2023.
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.
SEIN LYAN TUN
​Sein Lyan Tun is an emerging filmmaker from Myanmar, currently residing in Recollets Residency, Paris.
He started working as a film festival coordinator at Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival, Yangon in 2013.
He runs traveling film festivals and every year he reaches out to more than 300 schools around Myanmar to screen short films and documentaries.
​He also organized open air cinema to engage more audiences from different cities and villages. In 2015, his first short documentary film Charred Brick was premiered in One World Human Rights Film Festival in Prague.
He won the “People's Choice Award” from One World in Kyrgyzstan.
His documentary Unsilent Potato is well-recognized in Myanmar and Southeast Asia. He also directed and co-produced the TV documentaries: Border Boy; We Are Nuns,“ Dream Over Monsoon for Inside Lens, NHK World!'s new documentary strand.
His documentary For Me And Others Like Me won the Docs Spirit Award from Docs Port Incheon in 2016 and the HosoBunka Foundation Prize in 2017 at Japan Prize. He is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents 2022, FAMU summer filmmaking campus 2022, Talents Tokyo, American Film Showcase Fellowship, and Autumn Meeting directing workshop by Tran Anh Hung.
His short film Late Blooming In A Lonely Summer Day' has been selected for many international competitions like the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur (Switzerland), Festival Du Court Métrage de Clermont Ferrand (France), and Locarno Filmmakers Academy (Locarno). His first feature documentary The Bamboo Family which was selected at IDFA Academy and received IDFA development grants in 2022. In 2023, selected to VdR–pitching forum and won “Cannes Docs Award” and “Doc Leipzig Award”.
​The Beer Girl In Yangon is his first feature film, which won two Development prizes from CNC and Swiss Films under Locarno Open Doors at Locarno Open Doors 2021. which was selected at Cannes L'atelier Cinéfondation 2022, Torino Feature Lab 2023.
SAM MANACSA
Sam Manacsa worked as Art Director on award-winning films such as Carlo Francisco Manatad’s Whether the Weather Is Fine.
Her short film, If People Such as We Cease to Exist (2016), was selected at Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Competition.
Cross My Heart and Hope To Die (2023) was selected to premiere at the 80th La Biennale Venice International Film Festival in the official Orizzonti Short Films Competition.
Her first feature, The Void Is Immense on Idle Hours, is currently in development.
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. 
GUSTAVO MILAN
Gustavo Milan is a Brazilian filmmaker currently living in New York City.
In 2022 he graduated from the NYU Tisch Graduate Film Program and received the Wasserman Award, NYU's top honor in recognition for outstanding directorial achievement.
His short film Seiva Bruta (Under the Heavens) premiered at Telluride and won the award for Best Latino Short Film from the Directors Guild of America.  Seiva Bruta (Under the Heavens) was also shortlisted at the 2022 Academy Awards. The movie was also acquired by The New Yorker Magazine and the Criterion Channel.
Currently Gustavo is working on the development of his first feature film Paula and Cristina. 
​Unfamiliar Skin (Ruído da Pele) is his latest short film.
KATHY MITRANI
​Kathy Mitrani is a Colombian award winning filmmaker based in New York. She received her MFA from Columbia University.
Kathy’s short films Rozada (Rubbed in Pink) and Buzzkill have screened internationally in festivals such as AFI Fest Chicago International Film Festival, Curta Cinema in Rio de Janeiro and Palm Springs ShortFest and were both selected as Vimeo Staff Picks. She is currently developing her first feature film, La Danza de Las Sombras.
Sombras Nada Más (Nothing But Shadows), world premiere at San Sebastian Film Festival 2023, is her latest short.
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.
AZADEH MOUSSAVI
Azadeh Moussavi is an Iranian independent director and producer. 
She graduated in directing in 2009 and soon after she directed the documentary From Iran, A Separation (2013) which won many prizes and appeared in well-known T.V. channels such as Cine+ (France) and Channel 4 (UK).
Her latest documentary "Finding Farideh" (2018) won many prizes in the international film festivals and it has been selected to be Iran’s official contender at Oscars.
In 2020 she completed the short movie The Visit, based on her childhood memories, and selected in many international film festivals like Festival du court métrage de Clermont-Ferrand, Palm Springs International ShortFest, AFI FEST.
​Her latest short is 48 Hours (2022).
MANUEL MUÑOZ RIVAS
Manuel Muñoz Rivas is a filmmaker based in Spain.
He alternates his personal film projects with co-writing and editing films for colleagues.
His first feature film El mar nos mira de lejos (The Sea Stares At Us From Afar) was premiered in 2017 at Berlinale, in the Forum Section, and was shown at several international film festivals.
His short film con El viento (With The Wind) premiered at the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival.
Manuel has worked, as editor and/or co-writer, in films like: Dead Slow Ahead, Blanco En Blanco, Eles Transportan, A Morte, Arraianos, Ocaso.
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
Director, screenwriter and editor, Guto Parente graduated in cinema in the first class of the Audiovisual School of Fortaleza, was a member of the collective of artists Alumbramento (2008-16) and has been a partner of the production company Tardo Filmes since 2012.
He made 7 short films – including Flash Happy Society (2009) and Dogs Are Said to See Things (2012), shown at the Locarno Film Festival (Switzerland) – and 9 feature films – including Road to Ythaca (2010) and The Monsters (2011) , both competing at BAFICI (Argentina), where The Monsters received a special mention from the jury; The Mysterious Death of Pérola (2014), The Cannibal Club (2018) and Inferninho (2018), all three released at the Rotterdam IFF (Netherlands) and exhibited at various festivals around the world.
His 10th feature film, A Strange Path, will have its World Premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival (United States).
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 was born in Vigo, Spain. His films have been screened in festivals as Locarno, Toronto, Rotterdam, San Francisco, Ann Arbor, Viennale, Cinema du Rèel, Media City. While his video installation have been shown in arts center such as MACBA (Barcelona), Copperfield Gallery (London), CC San Martín (Buenos Aires), JIFF Art Gallery (South Korea) and art fairs like Paris Photo, ARCO Madrid or Unseen (Amsterdam).
With Mountain in Shadow (2012) he was awarded at Oberhausen, Clermont-Ferrand and Bucharest Experimental. In 2013 in Locarno he won the prize for Best Emerging Director for his first feature film Costa da Morte (2013), which was consequently awarded in Jeonju IFF (South Korea), FICUNAM (México), Valdivia IFF (Chile) and Seville European FF (Spain).
His second feature film Red Moon Tide premiered at the Berlinale - Forum in 2020, and was screened at the MoMA (NY) for New Directors/New Films, among other more than 50 festivals around the world.
His short film Sycorax (2021), codirected with Matías Piñeiro, premiered at Quinzaine des Réalisateurs - Festival di Cannes 2021, and it was shown in festivals such as Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival.
Specific focuses on his work have taken place in New York Film Festival (Views from the Avant Garde), Flaherty Seminar, BAFICI and Cali IFF.
​He has been invited to show his work at universities such as Harvard (Sensory Ethnography Lab), Cal Arts (L.A.), McGill (Montreal), FUC (Buenos Aires). From Harvard he received the Robert Fulton III Fellowship for emerging directors in 2016. 
CARMEN PEDRERO
Carmen Pedrero (Madrid, 1996) is a film director, screenwriter and poet.
After graduating from ECAM, her thesis short film Winds of Springtime had its premiere in the Future Frames’ program at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and won the Danzante Award for Best Opera Prima at Huesca International Film Festival. During the last two years, Carmen was part of multiple artistic labs such as Novos Cinemas’, INPUT (S8), Málaga Talent, or Cannes’ Focus Script, where she had the opportunity to continue working on her projects.
At the same time, Carmen took her first steps on poetry, winning in 2022 the Biennial Young Poetry Award of La Laguna’s Ateneo with her book “No one knows how a cat feels when it licks its paws”.
In 2024, she filmed The idea of an Island, her latest short film, supported by ICAA, Junta de Extremadura and WOS Fabrique. Carmen is currently living in Boston on a full scholarship, where she’s pursuing a master’s program focused on film pedagogy.
CARLOS PEREIRA
Carlos Pereira, born in Lisbon, is currently studying Film Directing at the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB).
His films have been screened at festivals such as Locarno and San Sebastián.
His film Slimane won the German Film Critics Award for Best Short Film of 2023.
​In 2022, he was awarded a residency at The Bergman Estate on Fårö, where he wrote the first draft of his first feature film, Remote Islands, currently in development.
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.
​​KHOZY RIZAL
Khozy Rizal is a filmmaker based in Makassar, Indonesia.
He started making films in 2021 with the short film Makassar is a City for Football Fans, official selection at Sundance Film Festival, BFI Flare and many others.
In 2023, he directed Basri & Salma in a Never-ending Comedy, world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival.
Basri & Salma in a Never-ending Comedy is the first Indonesian short film that is eligible to compete for Palme d’Or for short film.
​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.
​CASPER RUDOLF
​Casper Rudolf is a Palm d’Or nominated director based in Denmark, Copenhagen.
His narrative short film In the Soil premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021 and has gone on to be shown at some of the largest festivals in the world (Fantasia Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival and many others).
​His cinematic obsession is the grotesque and his films deal with the metaphysical borders between humans and nature.
LUO RUNXIAO
Luo Runxiao, born in 2000, is a Chinese director and screenwriter. He is a cum laude honors graduate from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
His debut short film, Hair Tie, Egg, Homework Books, was selected into the 78th Venice Film Festival in 2021, making Runxiao the youngest Chinese director in history to be nominated at one of the three major European film festivals.
His new short film The Second Child premiered at the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival in 2024.
​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.
​TOMMASO SANTAMBROGIO
​Tommaso Santambrogio is an Italian filmmaker and writer.
He lived and studied in Milan, Paris, Roma and La Havana and he worked with several international acclaimed directors, like Werner Herzog and Lav Diaz.
His last short movies (The Last Scene and The Oceans Are the Real Continents) were both presented at the Mostra Internazionale del Cinema di Venezia and in many other important Festival all over the world.
L’Ultimo Spegne la Luce (2021), Taxibol (2023) and Los Océanos Son Los Verdaderos Continentes (2023, first feature) are his latest films.
​​SARA SCHIAVONE
Sara Schiavone is an Italian director and screenwriter, born in 1996, co-founder of the audiovisual production company MoodNight Studio.
After graduating from university in Communication Sciences and Technologies, she graduated in film directing after 3 years of academic studies.
She currently works as a directing and screenwriting teacher and as a worker on various film sets. In 2023 she write, produce and direct Little Bird with which explore the theme of youth prostitution and from which she wish to make her first feature film.
​LUV SEVNIK
Lun Sevnik is a film director from Slovenia. He was studying film directing at FAMU - Prague.
His student film Playing (2019) was premiered at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and San Sebastian Film Festival.
He just finished his graduation film The Sea In Between, produced by Rok Biček (Cvinger film / SI), which was a part of Clermont-Ferrand Euro Connection.
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.
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.
​ANDREA SLAVIČEK
Andrea Slaviček is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and designer from Croatia. She studied film direction at ESCAC in Barcelona, Spain.
Her second short film The Real Truth about the Fight premiered at the Cannes Critics’ Week in 2023, following selections at various international festivals.
She is interested in unconventional structures, experimenting with the perception of characters and their view of reality.
At the moment, she is developing her debut feature film Luna on Two Planets at the Résidence of the Festival de Cannes.
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 will premiere 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.
HODA TAHERI & BORIS HADZIJA
Hoda Taheri is an Iranian filmmaker based in Berlin. 
Her first short film, Mother Prays All Day Long, won a special mention at the Locarno Film Festival 2022 and was nominated for the German Short Film Award. 
Her second short film, As If Mother Cried That Night, premiered at the Locarno Film Festival 2023. 
Her debut feature film, I’ll Plant My Hands in the Garden, is in developement stage at the moment. It is a co-direction project with Boris Hadžija, which has been selected by Locarno residency 2023.

Boris Hadžija is a Serbian filmmaker and musician born in Yugoslavia and currently living in Berlin. 
His most recent works include the film As If Mother Cried That Night (World Premiere Locarno Film Festival 2023), as a co-writer and editor, Yugotransport (World Premiere International Film Festival Rotterdam 2023), as a writer and director, and Mother Prays All Day Long (World Premiere Locarno Film Festival 2022), as a producer. 
He was nominated for the German Short Film Award.
His debut feature film, I’ll Plant My Hands in the Garden, a co-direction project with Hoda Taheri, has been selected by Locarno residency 2023.
​MASHUM TASKIN
Mahsum Taskin’s directing debut, the short film Binbir Gece (2020) was selected in many national and international film festivals. Taskin’s second short film is Garan (2024).
His first feature film project titled Bekes was selected for the Berlinale Talents Project Market where it received the Highlights Project Award.
​The project was later awarded the Special Sound Design award at Meetings on the Bridge in Istanbul, and was further selected for the Produire Au Sud workshop held in Nantes.
KIM TORRES
Kim Torres is a Costa Rican screenwriter and director born in
1993.
Her work focuses on inquiries about identity and the experience of inhabiting a body and a place, exploring narratives that play with a free and experimental cinema.
Her short films The Moon Will Contain Us (2023), Night Light (2022), and Suncatcher (2021) have been screened in the official selection at Cannes, Locarno, Mar del Plata, Cinélatino Rencontres Toulouse, New Directors/New Films at MoMa and Lincoln Center, among others.
She is currently in pre-production of her debut feature film If We Don’t Burn How Do We Light Up The Night  supported by Torino Film Lab, La Fabrique Cinéma at Cannes, Locarno Open Doors, Visions Sud Est and Hubert Bals Fund.
YEUNG TUNG
​Yeung Tung is a director/writer born and raised in Mainland China, currently studying in the MFA Film program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
In 2021, he wrote and directed short film Fang Ke (An Invitation), which was then selected into the 74th Cannes Semaine De La Critique's official selection.
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.
YI XIONG
Yi Xiong is a Chinese director and screenwriter based in New York City and Shanghai. Having earned a Bachelor's degree in Film from Pratt Institute in 2022, he is now set to pursue his MFA at Columbia University School of The Arts.
Yi's cinematic approach is deeply rooted in his belief that gazing is a form of caring. His films serve as a vehicle to convey his observations of people and society, delving into the complexities of human nature and the dynamics of our interconnected world.
​NELSON YEO
Nelson Yeo graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Filmmaking from Nanyang Technological University in 2011.
​He participated in Berlinale Talents Tokyo (2014), BiFan Fantastic Film School (2015) and Locarno Filmmakers Academy (2018).
Nelson has a prolific body of works. His short films have been selected at over 30 international film festivals such as Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg, Cairo International Film Festival and Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival.
Mary, Mary, So Contrary (2019) was awarded Best Experimental Short at Golden Ger International Film Festival, Here is Not There (2019) was awarded Best ASEAN Short Film at the Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival, and
Plastic Sonata (2021) was awarded at Seashorts Film Festival and Ribalta Experimental Film Festival.
His first feature film, Dreaming & Dying, premiered at the prestigious Locarno Film Festival 2023, Concorso Cineasti del presente section.
KAWTHAR YOUNIS
Kawthar Younis is a filmmaker based in Cairo, Egypt.
Known for her film A Present from the Past', which was the first of its kind to set a record for audience demand in the Egyptian market.
She works as a producer for films, mini series and TV commercials.
​Kawthar is a co-founder of the inaugural Rawiyat-Sisters in Film.