International Juries

ANAHÍ BERNERI

Audiovisual producer with a qualification from the ORT Institute in Buenos Aires and Institut National de l’Audiovisuel in Paris, INA. She has been director and screenwriter on six feature films, and also series for Prime Brasil, HBO and Viacom. Her films include the following: Un año sin amor (opera prima, Teddy Award – Berlinale 2005), Alanís (“Silver Concha” Award for Best Directing, Best Actress – SSIFF, 2017), Elena sabe (top ten global – Netflix, 2023) and the series Menem Junior (2023). She produced Implosión by Javier Van de Couter with her production company Rosaura Films (Best Film – BAFICI, 2021). She holds the chair in screenwriting at Universidad Nacional de las Artes – UNA (Argentina), and is tutor at the International Film and Television School – EICTV (Cuba), and also at the International School of Film Production and Experimentation – ENERC (Argentina). She produced classes for NOKA Mentoring, the Maryland Institute College of Arts and Chile’s Universidad Católica, among others.

OLATZ GANBOA

She has a Degree in Journalism from the University of the Basque Country-UPV/EHU and a Dramatic Art Diploma from Getxo’s Theatre School. In 2018 she was nominated for the Ercilla Award for Best Revelation Actress for Lyceum Club and La casa de Bernarda Alba. In 2019, Ay Carmela won the Ercilla Award for Best Basque Production. In 2023 she was a member of the cast in La lucha por la vida, directed by Ramón Barea; and acted alongside her father, Jon Ander Gamboa, ¿Me dejas darle el biberón?, written by Patxo Tellería and co-directed by Tellería and Mikel Losada (Álex Angulo Short Play Award – Pabellón 6 / Bilbao Town Hall; Audience Award). In the same year she performed in Festen, an adaptation of the Thomas Vinterberg feature film. For this performance, directed by María Goiricelaya, she was nominated as Best Actress for the Max Awards, and won Best Theatre Actress in the “Unión” Awards for Basque Actors and Actresses – EAB. She has also starred in two seasons of ETB series Etxekoak, and in feature films such as Tres mentiras, Embarazados and Tres maneras, and in the series Itxaso and Ángela, by Buendía Estudios.

ESTHER GARCÍA RODRÍGUEZ

She is the executive producer of El Deseo. In the course of her career she has produced every single film made by acclaimed director Pedro Almodóvar. From Matador (1986) to La habitación de al lado (2024), which took the 2024 International Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion Award. Her trajectory as producer features work with Guillermo del Toro, Isabel Coixet, Lucrecia Martel, Álex de la Iglesia and Damián Szifron, among others. Her work has been acknowledged on many occasions by the Goya Awards and the Oscar Awards. In 2018 she was awarded the National Cinematographic Prize from Spain’s ICAA – Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts. She is now an active member of Spain’s Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, and also of the Hollywood Film Academy.

CLAUDIUS GENTINETTA

Born 56 years ago in Switzerland, he has dedicated most of his life producing animation films and weird comics. Art schools in Lucerne, Kassel and Liverpool contributed for his education. In 1995, an artist scholarship gave him the chance to spend a year in Krakow, an experience with many impressions for his further work. Films like Seilbahn (The Cable Car, 2008), Schlaf (Sleep, 2010), Islander’s Rest (2015), Selfies (2018) and Think Something Nice (2022) became hits in renowned international film festivals winning several prizes and awards. At the moment he is working as producer of short animated films and freelance graphic artist designer in Zurich and Bedigliora.

NEBOJŠA SLIJEPČEVIĆ

Croatian film director. His feature-length documentary Srbenka (2018) was shortlisted for the European Film Award – EFA and received numerous accolades at international film festivals, including Heart of Sarajevo, Doc Alliance Award, and a special mention from the Buyens-Chagoll jury at Visions du Réel festival. His earlier documentary, Gangster of Love (2013) was screened at Hot Docs and Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, becoming one of Croatia’s top box office hits. His fiction film The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (2024) won the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival, the first Croatian film to receive this honor. Slijepčević teaches at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. His latest film is a candidate for the Best European Short Film of the Year Award, to be presented on December 7th in Lucerne (Switzerland).

TERESA LAVINA

Spanish filmmaker and producer based in Ireland. Her work focuses on human rights and social justice. It has received funding from The Arts Office and Creative Ireland, and development funds from Screen Ireland and TG4. Her film Untold Secrets (2021) rounded off the Galway Film Fleadh, and won an award at Seminci – Valladolid International Film Week. Mincéir (2022) examines the rights of Ireland’s traveller community, and was widely acclaimed there. Lavina has also been on the panel at international festivals, she has a master’s in The Representation of Ethnic Minorities on Screen in Ireland, the only person in the country with this qualification, and also holds a First Class Honours Degree in Films and Documentaries, specialising in cinematography and scripts. She is currently the director of FICII – International Latin American Film Festival in Ireland.

VETON NURKOLLARI

Is the Artistic Director of Kosovo’s DokuFest, is one of the most important documentary and short film festivals in South East Europe, which he co-founded in 2002. He is also one of the curators of the annual showcase of documentary photography, DokuPhoto, and member of the Cinema Eye Honors selection committee, a New York City based organization that honors exemplary craft in nonfiction filmmaking. Nurkollari is also a founding board member of The Albanian Cinema Project, an initiative to bring awareness and assistance to the plight of the Albanian National Film Archive, and member of the European Film Academy and the European Cultural Parliament. He regularly curates film programs and juries at various film festivals and is currently involved in a coaching and mentorship of young documentary filmmakers from Kosovo.

MARYAM TAFAKORY

FOTO: Courtesy of The Flaherty. ©Abby Lord

Born and raised in Iran, works with film and performance. Screenings of her work include MoMA, New York; Cannes’ Directors Fortnight; New York Film Festival – NYFF; Locarno Film Festival; Toronto International Film Festival – TIFF; BFI London Film Festival; Tate Modern, London; BOZAR, Brussels; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC; Academy Museum, Los Angeles; and Museum of the Moving Image, New York, among others. She was awarded the Gold Hugo at the 58th Chicago International Film Festival, the Tiger Short Award at the 51st Rotterdam International Film Festival – IFFR, the Barbara Hammer Feminist Film Award at the 60th Ann Arbor Film Festival, and the Best Experimental Film Award at the 70th and 71st Melbourne International Film Festival – MIFF. She was also nominated for the 2024 Jarman Award.