Adam PAZERA
International jury member 2022
Adam Pazera graduated from sociology, and also has an academic background in film studies. Since the 1980’s he worked on various fields connected to cinema and films. He was the a moderator of a film discussion club (operating at the Silesian University in Katowice), the director of the Filmmaker Club – Silesian Film Association, and also the manager of cult Cinema „Światowid” in Katowice. As a culture animator he has been the promoter of many film events, and participated at several international film festivals (Cannes, Karlovy Vary, Miskolc) and film conferences. He is also the co-founder of local and foreign film festivals. Adam works as a columnist for local and national newspapers, with a focus on festival and international conferences reports and film reviews, but he also appears in radio with his festival reviews.
Akiva Tevet
International jury member 2016
Akiva Tevet born in 1952 is a director and producer. He holds a BFA in Film Studies and EMBA in Business Management from the Tel-Aviv University. In 1989 he was the head of programs and executive producer of the TV Channel “Shalom America” in NY. In 1992 he began managing the Department of Film and Television at Camera Obscura – The School of the Arts until 2007. Since 2007 he serves as the Deputy Director of Productions at the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel School. Filmography: “Love in the First Degree” (1997); “Atalia” based on the story by: Yitzhak Ben-Ner (1984)
Albert Gabay
Fipresci jury member 2018
A film critic and film lecturer for the past 30 years. Film historian and journalist, director and producer, graduate of Tel Aviv University, specializing in film production and screenwriting.
ALEKSEI GUSEV
Fipresci jury member
Was born in Leningrad in 1977. From 1993 until 1996 he attended the mathematical faculty of St. Petersburg University. In 1997 he founded the Theatre SatourN, which he managed until 2007. From 1997 he has been publishing reviews and cinema researches in various media. In 2006 he graduated with honors from cinema studies at the faculty of VGIK. From 2007 he teaches cinema history and theory in several institutes and cinema schools. In 2008 made his début as a film director with a full-length documentary Catalogue of Ships.
Alexander REINBERG
International jury member 2023
Alex Reinberg studied screenwriting at Filmacademy Vienna and the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He has realised several short films that have been screened and honored at festivals worldwide. His latest film, ‚Hollywood’, co-directed and co-written with Leni Gruber, received a nomination for the best Austrian short film in 2023. Together with Leni he is currently working on several TV projects for the ORF, a mini-series for the ZDF and their first narrative feature.
Alla BELAYA
International jury member 2017
Film producer, Managing Partner at TOY CINEMA production Company worked as executive producer at STB TV-channel, later in Star Media company (first in Kiev, then in Moscow). After returning to Kiev became a head of producer’s center ‘Pyramid’ where a range of scripts were written and screen adaptations were made. Worked with different famous directors (Olexy, Michal Boganim, Marcus Schwenzel, Eva Neymann, Chris Cottam, Mike Bruce) and took part in various serials, documentaries, future films as a producer. In 2007 she started own script agency that collaborates with different channels and production companies in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Great Britain, France. In 2012 she became a partner in group of companies ‘TOY’ that works in the production of international
Amber Wilkinson
Fipresci jury member 2016
Amber Wilkinson is a film critic based in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is the co-founder and editorial director of Eye For Film, helping it grow into a leading UK publication specialising in independent film and world cinema. A graduate of the University of Leeds, she has worked in the newspaper industry for more than 20 years as an editor and writer. Her work has been published in the Scottish Daily Record, Filmmaker Magazine, Sunday Mail and other publications. Amber has also tutored young journalists, including critics’ workshops at Tallinn Film Festival. She has served on festival juries including San Sebastian, Seattle, Tallinn and Gijón.
ANDREA BOSCO
Fipresci jury member
Andrea Bosco is a film critic, journalist and translator from Genoa: while completing his studies in Film-making and in Interlinguistic Mediation with a thesis about the differences between Jean-Luc Godard’s „Le mépris” international releases, he moved to Moscow in 2008 and worked as foreign language teacher, interpreter and correspondent for a number of Italian movie magazines, for which he covered several film festivals and previews. Back to his city of origin in 2017, he joined the National Union of Film Critics (SNCCI) and continues to this day to lead workshops and public lessons on cinema history and criticism along with his journalistic activity.
Anika Danielle WAGNER
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2017
Anika Danielle Wagner was born in 1990 and grew up in Germany. Since 2008 she made several short movies and video installations which were shown on exhibitions and festivals. She studies art (film department) at the University of Art and Design in Offenbach and works at Kino Traumstern in Lich – one of the most renowned cinemas in Germany. She was the assistant of director AKIZ for the famed German horror movie „Der Nachtmahr“. She worked as DoP, musician and director at film projects in Berlin, London, Paris and Sarajevo. At the moment she is working on her first feature film as a director.
ANIKÓ MÁRIA NAGY
International ecumenical jury member
Aniko Maria Nagy was born in 1973 in Csíkszereda (Romania). She graduated from the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest in 2004. After working for Duna Television for 18 years in various cultural programs she has been freelance since 2014. She was the artistic director of the Romanian-Hungarian Film.doc documentary film festival for several years. Her short film, Small Things won an award for best director and best screenplay at the 40th Hungarian Film Week and was also screened at the CineFest.
Attila Csabai
International ecumenical jury member 2018
Attila Csabai (*1984) is former founding member of the Jesuit Szőts István Filmworkshop. He studied Hungarian language and literature, communication and afterwards film editing in his university years. He worked as an editor, assistant editor, postproduction supervisor in several Hungarian and international films. „Blossom Valley”, his recent film as an editor, was presented at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival 2018. Attila Csabai is a member of the Hungarian Society of Editors and works as an instructor at the University of Theatre and Film Arts, Budapest.
Bakonyi Renáta
International jury member 2016
Renáta Bakonyi was born in 1977, in Nyíregyháza. She moved to Győr with her family in 1984. After graduating from high school, she worked in New York for a year in the field of social services. She graduated at the University of West Hungary as a cultural manager after which she continued her studies at the University of Debrecen, in the ethnography, andragogy and cultural management programs. Up to 2012 she worked in Győr at several cultural organizations as programmer and proposal writer. She met the world of film festivals at the MEDIAWAVE and has been working in the field of films since 2009. From 2012 she is the film referent of the Ministry of Human Resources, State Secretariat for Culture. Her main task is to work out and improve the support system of art cinemas, distribution of art films, film festivals and short feature films. Besides her office work, and reading film critics, she is also fond of the contemporary cinematic art.
Balázs ZACHAR
International jury member 2022
Balázs Zachar following a fifteen-year long practice in film and media law, and being the legal director of the Hungarian Film Fund, started working as a producer in 2018. Since then he worked on several projects with Proton Cinema. He produced numerous short films, among which BREAK (dir: Levente Kölcsey) premiered in Locarno in 2020. In 2021 his first feature as producer, WILD ROOTS, directed by Hajni Kis premiered in Karlovy Vary IFF, won several international festival awards and also received the Hungarian Film Award. He is a graduate of EAVE Producers’ Workshop of 2018.
BÁLINT Péter
International jury member 2023
Péter Bálint he is a film distribution expert, Chairman of Hungarian Film Distribution Association. He is a teacher at the Communication and Media Department at Milton Friedman University. For 23 years he was the General Manager of UIP-Dunafilm, a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures, Universal and DreamWorks Animation Studios in Hungary. For eight years he was a curator of National Cultural Fund’s College of Film Art and for 12 years a member of the National Film Institute Ageing and Classification Committee. He has recently been giving extensive advice on the distribution of Hungarian and European film.
BARBARA GASSER
International jury member
Mag. Barbara Gasser was born in Graz, Austria. She was employed for eight years at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 2003 Mag. Gasser has been working as a freelance journalist in Los Angeles covering mostly film and politics. Throughout her career, Ms. Gasser has won multiple journalism awards. From 2012 to 2016 Ms. Gasser served on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Press Club. Since 2011 Mag. Barbara Gasser is a Member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and jury member of the Golden Globe Awards.
Beata GOLENSKA
International ecumenical jury member 2023
Beata Golenska since 2017, member of a team organizing Terni Film Festival (Italy), and various cultural and social events in Terni and Rome. With educational background in communication and literature, professional experience in multilateral and multilingual environments in Europe and Asia, for over 20 years has been using cinema and photography as a bridge across cultures and peoples. Co-organizer of a ‘mobile’ EU film festival in Ireland (2010) and the first-ever EU Film Festival in San Marino (2023).
Bernhard Wenger
International jury member 2018
Bernhard Wenger warborn 1992 in Salzburg, Austria. After graduating high school he moved to Vienna,where he studied film theory. He was accepted to the Vienna FilmAcademy in 2014, and is currently pursuing degrees in both directing and production. With his short films Bernhard has won over 75 international awards and in 2015 he received the Award for Art and Culture in his hometown. Currently he is working on his first feature length film script.
BODNÁR Ágnes
International jury member 2023
Ágnes Bodnár is a television professional and film distributor. She studied at the College of Foreign Trade and the College of Applied Arts. She started working in television in 1997 as an editor and then editor-in-chief at Spektrum and HBO. In 2005, he joined RTL Klub as an external collaborator, where he worked as the Eastern European representative of CLT-UFA’s film stock in Luxembourg and later as the program director of CLT-UFA’s Hungarian cable channels. At the same time, she founded her own film distribution company, where she currently represents and sells films from several film rights companies to national and foreign television channels.
BORONYÁK Rita
Fipresci jury member 2017
She was born in 1961, and she works as film critic. She studied Hungarian and French literature, aesthetics and television journalism. Between 1984-1988 she worked at the National Széchényi Library, then analysed French advertisements at Comporgan System House. Since 1998 she is working at the Hungarian National Film Archive, Budapest at the Department of Documentaries. She is publishing her film criticisms in Filmkultúra Online. She was the member of different international and Hungarian juries (e. g. 2002-2003 Visegrad Documentary Library; 2006; 2009; 2011 Hungarian Film Week, 2003-2004 Bratislava Film Festival; 2009 FIKE; 2012 Jameson CineFest Miskolc; 2014
BORSOS Erika
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2017
Erika Borsos was born in Vojvodina in the former Yugoslavia and is currently living in Budapest, Hungary. Since 1995 she has worked in many divisions of film distribution, including working at a DVD rental store, at an art cinema and organizing and managing film festivals. She has been the managing director of the Odeon film distributing company for 15 years. Currently she works as the Head of the Film Programming at Budapest Film Zrt.
Britt SØRENSEN
Fipresci jury member 2021
Britt Sørensen has worked as a news journalist, feature journalist and for the cultural section in several newspapers in Norway since 1986. She has been a film critic for the daily, regional newspaper Bergens Tidende since 2005. Britt Sørensen is now retired, but continues as a regular freelancer for Bergens Tidende. She has been a juror on several film festivals in Norway and abroad; and for FIPRESCI in the international film festivals in Haugesund, Vilnius and Tromsø..
Bruno CAETANO
International jury member 2023
Bruno Isaac Grade Caetano was born in Portimão, Portugal, in 1979. He is a self-taught animator, who later graduated from CIEAM (Centro de Investigação e Estudos e Multimédia na Faculdade das Belas-Artes de Lisboa) with a specialization in Stop Motion technique. Despite having a strong preference for this technique, his professional career led him to participate in several projects with various animation techniques as well as in other areas of artistic interest. He has worked as an animator, producer and director at various production companies, and is a founding member of COLA Animation, an ever growing international cooperative of united artists, focusing in producing, teaching and divulging animation.
Christina Fon
International jury member 2018
Christina Fon has brought her dynamic and award-winning formula to the production of Canadian film and television for the past 20 years. A Peabody and five-time Canadian Screen Award winner, Christina Fon has irreversibly changed the landscape of the industry. Her incredible ability to negotiate successful production deals has delivered the greenlight to projects that continue to shape film and television as we know it. From the Sundance and 3-time Canadian Screen Award-winning documentary RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World, to the four-time Canadian Screen Awards nominated dramatic series Mohawk Girls, Christina Fon has proved time and time again to be a producer with a reputation of turning visions into reality
CHRISTINE Ris
Schüpfen (Switzerland)
International ecumenical jury member 2017
Christine Ris (*1952), educated as commercial employee and since childhood fascinated by films, has been working as a secretary at the Swiss Parliament and in several industrial companies. She was in charge of the administration and organization of the department of further education at the Reformed Churches Berne- Jura-Solothurn in Switzerland for 11 years. Retired since May 2017. Since June 2017 in charge of administration, organization, creation and publishing of print-medias; organization of filmevents and film-discussions in several church communities in Switzerland. Member of INTERFILM International and the board of Interfilm Switzerland, she is visiting regularly different festivals and film seminars and has also been member of the Ecumenical Juries in Saarbrücken and Mannheim.
Christoph Rainer
International jury member 2016
Christoph Rainer is an Austrian filmmaker who graduated from the Filmacademy in Vienna with a bachelor degree in directing with his professor Michael Haneke and received a Fulbright scholarship to pursue his master at Columbia University in New York, where he graduated with honors. His short films have been invited to over 350 film festivals worldwide, screened at museums such as the Tabakalera in San Sebastian and the MoMA in New York and have won numerous awards such as the Max Ophüls Prize in Germany or the TIFF Emerging Filmmaker Award at the Toronto Film Festival. He has also been the director of the Shortynale Film Festival in Austria for the last eight years.
CSUJA László
International jury member 2023
Director László Csuja (1984) graduated and received the doctoral degree from the Academy of Film and Drama of Budapest (SZFE). His first feature length documentary titled Nine months war (2018) was about the Ukrainian- Russian military conflict, premiered in Sarajevo IFF and won the special jury prize. His first feature, Blossom Valley (2018) was premiered in Karlovy Vary IFF and won the jury prize. His second feature named Gentle (2022, directed with Anna Nemes) a Hungarian-German co-production premiered at Sundance World Cinema Competition and then won several awards worldwide.
Cüneyt Cebenoyan
International jury member 2016
Cüneyt Cebenoyan is a film critic and an actor. He was born in 1960 in Ankara. Cüneyt Cebenoyan has acted in films such as Hayatboyu (Lifelong; 2013), Gözümün Nuru (Eye Am; 2013), Dar Elbise (Tight Dress, 2016) and in the tv series Çıplak Gerçek (Naked Truth, 2014). He has directed and acted in a short film called “Korkaklar” (Cowards; 2015) which took part in the Rode Tulp Film Festival in 2016. He is a member of FIPRESCI and NETPAC and has taken part in the juries of many film festivals. He is currently writing film reviews at Birgün, a daily newspaper distributed nationwide.
Damián Vondrášek
International jury member 2018
Damián Vondrášek (b. 1991, Prague) is studying direction at Prague’s Film Academy (FAMU). He was already making movies before entering school; his short work In the Rain (2014) was presented at the Prague Short Film Festival. Together (2015) took the best director award at Famufest. Imprisoned (2016) was selected to San Sebastian IFF (Eiecine) and Karlovy Vary IFF (Future Frames), also nominated for the Magnesia Award for Best Student Film (presented during the Czech Lion Awards). His upcoming film supported by Czech Film Fund is currently in post-production.
DARKO ŠTANTE
International jury member
Darko Štante graduated at the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Ljubljana. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in film directing at the Ljubljana Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television. His work includes the shorts Intimacy (2011) and Them (2014). Consequences (2018) is his debut feature. Consequences premiered at the Toronto film festival and was later successfully screened at several film festivals around the world. In 2018 it won the Alfred Zukor Prize of the CineFest together with the CICAE jury prize.
DENIS CÔTÉ
Jury president
International jury member
Denis Côté produced and directed 15 independent short films while working as a journalist and film critic from 1995 until 2005. His first feature film Les états nordiques (2005) was awarded the video Golden Leopard in Locarno International Film Festival. Vic+Flo Saw A Bear won the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Preis at Berlinale in 2013. Denis Côté’s award-winning films have been travelling extensively on the film festival circuit, including more than 25 retrospectives of his work.
Dita GUERY
International jury member 2017
Dita Guery graduated from the Film and Television Department at Tel Aviv University in 1975. While living in Hollywood she took scriptwriting courses at the AFI. She took part in the production of several dramatic feature and short films (Igor and the Crane’s Journey 2013, Yona 2014, Marcy Rain 2014, An Israeli Love Story 2016), television series (An Enemy Compound 2000, Salma 2015), TV dramas (Indian in the Sun 1976, Winter Games 1984, Dorit, Slow Exposure 1983) and documentaries (Asking a Question 1978, Eda Nudel Refusing 1980, Bina and Shapira Celebrating Together 2003).
dr. KOLLARIK Tamás
International jury member 2021
Tamás Kollarik, PhD is a Bánffy Miklós Award and Hungarian Film Award holder film expert and filmmaker. He is a university lecturer and the rector’s representative at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design. He is the former director of the Hungarian Media Patronage Program, the National Audiovisual Archive and the Bűvösvölgy Media Literacy Training Center. Member of the Television Committee of the National Film Institute. He has participated in the creation of several films and has an extensive
biography as an author.
Dr. R. NAGY József
International jury member 2023
József R. Nagy, PhD (1966), Associate Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Miskolc, Vice Dean. Since 1993 he has been specializing in visual anthropology, documentary film theory and practice. He graduated with a thesis on documentary film at the University of Miskolc as a student of Gyula Gulyás and János Gulyás, and defended his doctoral thesis at the University of Debrecen. He is a lecturer in documentary filmmaking, media and cinema culture, media and communication studies at the University of Miskolc, and has consulted on several documentaries. In his films, the lifestyle, life and cultural history of workers’ colonies, housing estates and the Carpathian Euroregion are presented.
Dr. RÉTI László
International ecumenical jury member 2023
Dr. László Réti (*1985) graduated from the Faculty of Law at Pázmány Péter Catholic University. Since 2004, he was a journalist at IGEN catholic periodical; between 2008 and 2010, he was editor-in-chief. He started making films as a journalist. In 2011, he founded his film production company, Igen Média Kft. Several of his historical documentaries were nominated for the Hungarian Motion Picture Award (Kingdom without a King, Subdivision 5).
dr. Sándor TAKÓ
International jury member 2022
Hungarian Cinema Award-winning producer, film director, lawyer, university lecturer. He is the producer of the first Netflix-distributed Hungarian film series, A martfűi rém. Head of the FilmHungary film production agency, author, editor and publisher of several books on film. He is a Hungarian Academy of Arts Fellow and a member of the National Film Board’s Age Rating Committee.
Dr. VINCZE Teréz
Fipresci jury member 2021
Teréz Vincze is a Hungarian film critic and professor of film studies. She has been editor of the Hungarian quarterly journal of film theory and film history, Metropolis since 1999. She has been teaching film studies at the Department of Film Studies of ELTE University since 2002. Her film related studies have been published in English, German, Italian, Czech, Slovak and Korean in edited books and in film journals. She has served as a juror in numerous international juries of film festivals in Europe and Asia. She has been a member of the Hungarian section of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) since 2000.
Dudás Balázs
International jury member 2018
Balázs Dudás was born in 1989 in Miskolc. He started making films in high school. He got his undergraduate degree of Film and Media Studies in Eger. His thesis film achieved remarkable successes at national film festivals. In 2013 he started studying in the master program in Directing at the University of Theatre and Film Arts, in Péter Gothár’s class. His thesis film of 2017, Welcome, won at a number of Hungarian and international festivals, but most importantly it won theJameson CineFest Cine New Wave category as well.
Eithne O’NEILL
Fipresci jury member 2023
Dublin-born Eithne O’Neill studied in Germany and France and worked abroad before teaching cinema and literature at Paris 13 University. On the editorial board of the French monthly Positif for 25 years now, she has been on FIPRESCI juries such as Berlin, Jerusalem and Rotterdam. In addition to contributions to academic journals, her publications include the books Stephen Frears, Le Voyage de Chihiro. Hayao Miyazaki, Ernst Lubitsch (with Jean-Loup Bourget) and Chemins Faisant, Poetry. A member of the SFCC, of SPAF (Syndicat de la presse artistique française), she is also active in Irish Language and Literature groups in Paris.
ELSÄSSER Klaudia
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2021
Teacher of Hungarian-French and English major. For 15 years she has been editing classbooks. Literary translator, art film distributor, founder and general manager of Pannonia Entertainment established in 2012.
ERHARDT Ágoston
International ecumenical jury member 2017
An editor, director, scriptwriter and producer, Ágoston Erhardt (born in 1980) has been working in the Hungarian public television production for the past fourteen years. An M.A. graduate of the Department of Media and Communication of the University of Szeged, he worked as a journalist in parallel with pursuing his studies, and became editor-in-chief of a university newspaper. Before obtaining his degree he began working for Duna TV. Primarily in the area of religion, but also in news broadcasting and various factual genres and cultural programmes. After the transformation of the Hungarian public television in 2010 he worked as chief editor-producer for the Religious Programmes Department of Duna TV. Since 2015 he is chief editor of the Religious Programmes Department of MTVA (Media Service Support and Asset Management Fund). He makes mainly portrait and documentary programmes/films. He was the first awardee to receive the Sinkó Ferenc prize, granted by the Hungarian Catholic Association of the Press.
Éva DARABOS
International jury member 2022
Éva Darabos is a Hungarian animation artist graduated from the animation department of MOME in 2019. Her graduation film Bye Little Block! won several international and national awards, including Best Design at OIAF 2020, Best Short at KAFF 2021 and Cinemira 2021, and it was the CineNewWave category winner at Cinefest 2021. She adores all motion picture techniques and she enjoys watching films of every genre. Besides developing her new film idea she works as a freelance animation artist and also started a group called HEN with former classmates.
EWA KUJAWIŃSKA
International confederation of art cinemas jury member
Manager of the Film Department and Pałacowe Cinema in Zamek Culture Centre in Poznań (Poland), responsible for programming and coordinating film events. Producer of the International Documentary Film Festival OFF CINEMA. Jury member at many film festivals, among others: Berlinale 2016 – Panorama Section. Graduate in: Film, TV and Media CultureStudies, Art Cinema – Action and Management Training(CICAE) in Venice and Audience Development Innovation Labs(Europa Cinemas) in Bologna and Sofia.
Federico Babini
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2018
Federico Babini is the Manager of Spazio Alfieri, a small arthouse cinema right in the centre of Florence. Working in cinema was a kind of new experience for him – in the past he directed plays. In fact, he continues to do so even today. In the cinema he discovered a new language, a new verse, and a freshness that has no equal! He loves working at European film festivals and finds the work of discovering new movies extremely exciting.
Fekete Ibolya
International jury member 2016
Balázs Béla-díjas filmrendező. Bála Balázs-prize winner director. She graduated as a high school teacher of Hungarian and Russian language and literature and started to write critics and edit film publications with such background. From 1980, she wrote screenplays for György Szomjas’ films. She started making documentaries in 1989. Her first feature film “Bolshe Vita” was released in 1995, followed by “Chico” in 2001. Her films have been present at over 70 international film festivals and won numerous international awards, including Crystal Globe in Karlovy Vary and Prix Europa Spezial in Berlin. For 10 years she taught at the Budapest University of Theatre and Film Arts. Currently she teaches at Metropolitan University (Budapest) and at Sapientia University (Cluj, Romania). “Mom and Other Loonies in the Family” is her third feature film.
Fiona ZIEGLER
International jury member 2023
Fiona Ziegler graduated in literature, history and international politics before studying film directing at the Prague Film Academy FAMU. She has written and directed seven short films that have been screened and awarded at international festivals. Her debut fiction Lost in Paradise, being the first Swiss-Czech co-production, was released in 2022, both in the Czech Republic and in Switzerland. Her tragic-comedy features the themes of emigration, belated coming of age and identity. Fiona is member of the Bern Film Fund in Switzerland, lives in Prague and works on her first feature length documentary as well as on her first series project Palace of Worries.
Florent PARIS
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2017
Florent Paris studied film and cinema at the University of Nancy, in France. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the French cinema between 1918 and 1938, the passage from silent movies to talking pictures. He also worked with Jacques Prévert on the literary adaptation of The Port of Shadows. Parallel to being a student, he worked in a movie theater too. Florent Paris was born in 1964 in France and now he manages his cinema
Florin-Ioan SILAGHI
International ecumenical jury member 2016
Fr. Florin-Ioan (*1975), since childhood fascinated by photojournalism, religion and pedagogy spent several years of formation around Europe and become member of the Jesuit Order in 1993. He completed his studies in Philosophy (BA) in Padua and in Theology (MD) in Paris, always keeping alive his passion for visual arts, especially photography. After his priesthood ordination he completed the Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television production at Loyola Marymount University (School of Film and Television) in Los Angeles California where he developed his passion for documentary film. From 2010 Massmedia and Communication Officer of the Jesuit Order in Romania (O.C.C.S.I) and from 2013 Vice-President of SIGNIS Romania. Member of the Ecumenical Jury in Locarno 2014.
Frédéric HENRY
International jury member 2017
For 15 years he has been responsible for an educative project at Cinemas du Palais in Creteil (AFCAE and Europa Cinemas) targeting the young audience. He worked as a programmer, educational and artistic coordinator for the project: “Cinema is almost perfect: living the cinema and Europe” which focuses on European cinema and social development. It supports actions that bring European cinema closer to the younger generation, educate them on cinematographic values, bring the audience back into focus, propose new ways of understanding and loving cinema and transform the film theatre into a space where people can meet, get to know each other and themselves. The project is realized in the Val de Marne region.
Gábor MURAY
International jury member 2022
He graduated from the Péter Pázmány Catholic University, Faculty of Humanities with a specialization in film history. He is a journalist, an editor and photographer. He used to run the cultural column of weekly newspapers Magyar Nemzet and Mandiner. Since the first festival, he has been happy to visit CineFest, several times as member of the jury. He is taking part in the work of the Content Rating Commitee of the National Film Office of Hungary. Most recently, he was in charge of the rethinking and restructuring of Magyar Krónika, and is still the magazine’s editor-in-chief.
Gábor OSGYÁNI
International jury member 2022
Gábor Osgyáni is a cultural anthropologist and regional development expert. He has been making documentary films for 20 years. His films usually focus on understanding and mitigating social differences. In addition, he is primarily engaged in the visual interpretation and the memorial culture of the fatal cataclysms of 20th century Hungarian history. He is the director, co-creator, producer and production manager of multiple festival award-winning works.
Gerhard MIDDING
Fipresci jury member 2022
Gerhard studied journalism, literature, dramatic arts and art history in Münster and Berlin. As a free-lance film journalist based in Berlin, he covers world cinema for numerous publications in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, notably daily and weekly newspapers (among them „Die Welt“, „Berliner Zeitung“, „falter“, „Freitag“) film magazines („epd film“, „Ray“) as well as the online edition of „Die Zeit“. He also runs a blog „epd film“: He has a special interest in film history and would really love to discover the lost Emeric Pressburger film „I’d rather have cod-liver oil“ one day.
Giuseppe SEDIA
Fipresci jury member 2017
Giuseppe Sedia is a French-born Italian journalist living and working in Poland. He is a reporter for the Italian daily „Il Manifesto”. He writes regularly about cinema for „The Krakow Post”. His articles on film and visual arts have appeared in several magazines in Italy and abroad (Artribune, Cineforum, Film International, Sentieri Selvaggi).
Gregor JANEŽIČ
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2022
Gregor Janežič works as a programmer in Kulturni dom Cerknica. His responsibility consists of taking care of education film programmes, young audience development and carefully selected film program. He has been a part of the Europa Cinemas jury in Karlovy Vary. He also actively participates in the Slovenian Art Cinema Association
Greta AKCIJONAITE
International jury member 2022
Greta Akcijonaite is Lithuanian cinema entrepreneur. She has diverse experience from arthouse cinema and various festivals founder to distribution company Greta Garbo Films owner and, finally, a producer. Educated as film director and culture manager, G.Akcijonaite has started her career as a manager of cinema Skalvija, later opened a private arthouse cinema Pasaka (Vilnius) and eventually a boutique cinema Kino Deli, where she combined cinematic and gourmet experiences. With a strong focus on innovative tools for audience development, Greta was the founder of international project European Film Challenge.
György LUKÁCSY
International jury member 2022
He graduated from Pázmány Péter Catholic University majoring in aesthetics. He also attended the Faludi Ferenc Academy, the Jesuit Order’s adult education institute, where he studied film history and aesthetics. For ten years he worked as a film critic for Heti Válasz, published studies and was a regular expert for the cultural channels of public television. In 2018, he co-authored and edited the book Csíksomlyói Passió, published by MMA Publishing House. He is the editor and scriptwriter of several documentaries and online series. Since 2018, she has been a literary collaborator at the National Theatre. Festival director of the Hungarian Cinema Festival.
Gyürke Kata
Fipresci jury member 2018
Kata Gyürke has diversified experiences in different fields of cultural journalism: she participated in the making of several TV and radio shows as host or editor-reporter. In the last couple years she mostly works for printed and online media. Among others her articles appear in Fidelio and magyar.film.hu. She is a regular visitor of the film festivals of the region, like the Berlinale of Karlovy Vary IFF, but she has taken an interest in Jameson CineFest Miskolc International Film Festival for years as well. As a member of the Film Critics Department of the MÚOSZ [National Association of Hungarian Journalists] she participates in the review of films that are potential recipients of the film critics’ prize on a regular basis. She is also active in the work of the international FIPRESCI, last fall she has been a member of the jury in Mannheim-Heidelberg.
GYÜRKE Kata
Fipresci jury member 2023
Kata Gyürke has diversified experiences in different fields of cultural journalism: she participated in the making of several TV and radio shows as host or editor-reporter. In the last couple years she mostly works for printed and online media. Among others her articles appear in Fidelio and magyar.film.hu. She is a regular visitor of the film festivals of the region, like the Berlinale of Karlovy Vary IFF, but she has taken an interest in CineFest Miskolc International Film Festival for years as well. As a member of the Film Critics Department of the MÚOSZ [National Association of Hungarian Journalists] she participates in the review of films that are potential recipients of the film critics’ prize on a regular basis. She is also active in the work of the international FIPRESCI, last fall she has been a member of the jury in Mannheim-Heidelberg.
HAJNAL Gergely
International jury member 2023
Gergely Hajnal director, producer. He graduated from Péter Pázmány Catholic University in Aesthetics, Communication and Media Studies and Pedagogy. In addition to filmmaking, he has organised film festivals, film clubs and many other film programs. He was involved in the establishment of the István Szőts Film Workshop. He has created or worked in most cinematographic genres, while documentary is what he loves most. The subjects of his films are often people on the margins, trying to move in a positive direction. He writes reviews, participates in juries of festivals in Hungary and abroad. He is a featured editor of Duna Msz Nzrt. His feature-length documentary „Szabadító” was awarded the Hungarian Cinema Prize this year.
Hanula Zsolt
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2016
He was born in 1980 in Budapest. He gradutaed at the University of Szeged specializing in Communication studies. He is a journalist and film critic, publishing both online and printed media in the last 15 years. He founded the online magazine „Seventh row, in the middle” in 2009 and was the editor-in -chief till 2014. Since then he works as a social media expert at Budapest Film, the largest art cinema network in Hungary.
HARTUNG Attila
International jury member 2017
Born in 1991, Attila Hartung started his studies in 2011 at SZFE (University of Theatre and Film Arts, Budapest), in the class of János Szász and Attila Janisch. Several of his school projects (but most notably ‘Meatball’ and ‘Ischler’) screened at various international film festivals, and his BA graduation movie ‘Deliver Us’ won CineFest’s CineNewWave section in 2016. Attila is currently finishing his MA studies at SZFE in the class of Ildikó Enyedi, and in the meantime preparing his first feature film’s shooting for next summer. The film, titled ‘Nobody goes nowhere’ already won financing from the Hungarian National Film Fund’s Incubator Program.
Inês GIL
International ecumenical jury member 2022
Inês Gil teaches film and photography at the Lusófona University in Lisbon. She published her PhD thesis in 2005, on “Cinematographic Atmosphere“. She directs documentaries and video installations, often related to spirituality. Her last project (in pre-production) is about a family in the Azores who has to raise her teen triplets. She started to participate in SIGNIS and Ecumenical Juries in 2010 (Venice) and participated in numerous International Film Festivals since.
INGRID GLATZ-ANDEREGG
International ecumenical jury member
Born 1953 in Bern. She studied theology in Fribourg and in Bern. She is a pastor in Aarwangen since 2003. Currently, she is working on her doctoral thesis about Theology and Film. From 2003 to 2010 she attended a course on “church and film” at Swiss Parish Training. She also participated at seminars during film festivals in Locarno and Lübeck. Since 2011 she is the INTERFILM’s festival delegate for Miskolc. Since 2015 she serves as the co-president of “Interfilm Switzerland”.
ISABELLE DANEL
Fipresci jury member 2018
Born in France in 1962, Isabelle Danel works as a journalist since 1982. Specialized in cinema, she wrote in Télérama, L’événement, Rolling Stone, Première and is currently working for Version Fémina, Les Fiches du Cinéma and Bande-à-part.fr . She is the author of books on different topics including the Cannes Film Festival, the director Robert Guédiguian, and Marilyn Monroe. Since June 2013, she is the president of the french association of cinéma critics (SFCC) and, in may 2018, she was elected president of the FIPRESCI.
Isabelle DANEL
International jury member 2022
Born in France in 1962, Isabelle Danel has been a journalist and critic specialized in cinema since 1982. She worked in Télérama, L’Événement, Rolling Stone, Première and is currently writing for Bande-à-part.fr and L’Éléphant. For the last three years she was part of the radio show about series : Une heure en séries on France Inter. She published several books : En haut des marches le cinéma, Conversation avec Robert Guédiguian, Marilyn Monroe de A à Z. Former president of the SFCC, french association of Cinema Critics (2013/2019), she is, since may 2018, the president of the FIPRESCI.
ISTVÁN KOVÁCS
International jury member
Born in 1985 in then-Yugoslavia as a Hungarian minority, István Kovács spent most of his youth in the Southern Hungarian town of Szeged. He got enrolled at the University of Theatre and Film Arts of Budapest in 2011, where received his Director BA degree in the class of János Szász. ‘The Sound of Concrete’ was his graduation
film. In 2018 he finished his master degree in directing in Ildikó Enyedi’s class. His graduation movie A SIEGE has won many prizes including the Student Academy Award.
J. DENNIS WASHINGTON
International jury member
The American production designer J. Dennis Washington started his career at the production company MGM. He has worked there for three years, after which he became an independent production designer. He launched his film career as an art director on the trucker comedy Convoy (1978). J. Dennis Washington counts more than 30 feature film credits going back to Victory (1981), Prizzi’s Honor (1985) Stand By Me (1986), and Saigon: Off Limits (1988), through The Fugitive (1993), Angels in the Outfield (1995), Dante’s Peak (1997) and Nebraska, which has been screened at the CineFest in 2013.
Jasmin BAUMGARTNER
International jury member 2017
Jasmin Baumgartner was born in 1990 in Baden, Lower Austria. Because of “Dawsons Creek” she decided to become a filmmaker at an early age. She started working at film production companies and film festivals at the age of 16. Since 2011 she studies scriptwriting at the Filmacademy Vienna in the class of Götz Spielmann. She took part in the production of the following films as a director and scriptwriter: I See a Darkness (short, 2016), Shirin: Die Ehre meiner Schwester (2013); and as
Jean Marc BARR
International jury member 2023
Jean-Marc Barr was born in Germany to a French mother and an American father, a US Air Force officer. He studied at the UCLA and the Sorbonne, completing his drama education at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He is best to known to U.S. audiences for his roles in Hope and Glory (1987), The Big Blue (1988), Europa (1991) and Breaking the Waves (1996) including many other independent European films. His collaboration with Danish director Lars Von Trier put him on track to start directing his own works. He debuted in 1999 as a co-director, screenwriter and producer with LOVERS, made in harmony with the Dogma 95 Manifesto. This film became the first part of a Free-Trilogy whose two subsequent parts – the drama Too Much Flesh (2000) and the comedy Being Light (2001) – that he co-directed with Pascal Arnold. Their last three films One To Another (2006), American Translation (2011) and Sexual Chronicles of a French Family (2012) have had US releases.
Jes Nysten
International ecumenical jury member 2018
Jes Nysten (*1949) is formerPastor in theDanish Lutheran Church in the city of Roskilde near Copenhagen. For many years he has been working as a film critic and a promoter of the use of film in the educational work in the Church. He also works for the Danish Film Institute. He is a member of the Kirke of Film and also of the Board of the INTERFILM. He has been a member of the INTERFILM-Jury in Lübeck and the Ecumenical Jury in Berlin, Locarno, Kyiv, Karlovy Vary and Warsaw.
Joan PARSONS
International jury member 2023
Joan Parsons is an experienced cinema professional with over 20 years of work in the cinema sector, across all operational roles and in more recent years working in senior leadership positions. Currently Interim Head of Culture and Arts for Queen’s University Belfast, Joan leads Cinema and Gallery teams for the University while developing wider cultural projects and plans. Joan has successfully delivered financial and cultural excellence and has been involved in organising and delivering significant UK-wide partnership projects. Joan is well known in the cinema sector, attends multiple festivals annually and is often asked to speak to audiences at events and students studying film at various levels.
Jörg JACOB
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2021
Jörg Jacob was born in 1967. He studied architecture and visual design. He is dedicated to the cultural sector, with more than 20 years of experience in cultural work, particularly in cinema- and film business. Since 2007 he has been a member of the CICAE jury at several festivals in Berlin, Karlovy Vary and Mannheim/Heidelberg among others. He says that with a heart beating for human culture he believes in the outstanding qualities of a big screen and it helps him fostering and reinventing cinema in these challenging times.
Judit Anna MOLNÁR
Fipresci jury member 2022
Born in Budapest in 1982. After graduating from high school, she first attended the journalism program at MÚOSZ, then graduated from ELTE in Film Theory and Aesthetics. She worked in cultural television programs, films, as a communication specialist in cinemas, at film festivals and for film associations. She wrote and edited the film portal magyar.film.hu for nearly eight years and currently works as a freelancer.
KATA ORSOLYA MOLNÁR
Fipresci jury member
Kata Orsolya Molnár is an editor, journalist and a branding and communications expert living in Budapest, Hungary. She is the editor-in-chief of the leading independent Hungarian online movie magazine Filmtekercs.hu. Her editorial mission is to propagate and enrich cinema culture especially among the readers between the ages 18-35. As a journalist, her special interests are adaptations, American blockbusters, and Far-East movies. Molnár helms a successful branding and communications firm.
KÄTE SCHAEFFER
International confederation of art cinemas jury member
Käte Schaeffer studied Cultural Sciences, Aesthetics and Applied Arts. Since 1999, she has worked at several film festivals, including the French Film Festival Tübingen, the International Shortfilm Festival Tübingen, CineLatino Tübingen, the International Festival of Animated Films Stuttgart and for „European Films Online“. At the Arsenal theatres (Arsenal and Atelier Tübingen) she is responsible for marketing campaigns and special events since 2000. Since 2009, Käte has been also Head of Press and PR for Arsenal Filmverleih. From 2019 she is also in charge of acquisitions.
Kerekes Vica
International jury member 2018
The Hungarian actress, Vica Kerekes (1981) was born in Filakovo, Slovakia. She graduated at Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava as an actress in 2005. She is a freelancer, working in three countries: Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. She performs in five languages: in Hungarian, Slovakian, Czech, English and German. In 2010 she won the award of Best Actress at the Hungarian Film Week for her performance in Ki-be/Tawaret. In 2013 she was awarded Best Actress in Slovakia for her role in Seven Days of Sin.
KÉZDI Beáta
International ecumenical jury member 2017
Kézdi Beáta (*1982) is a journalist and an editor of the magazine of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary. She visited the Lutheran High School of Deák Square and studied communication and Hungarian literature at The Pázmány Péter Catholic University. Between 2005 and 2006 She worked as a reporter for Petőfi Radio. From 2008 to 2010 she worked as a project manager at the Hungarian Interchurch Aid. Between 2010 and 2015 she was the editor of the website of Heti Válasz (Hungarian weekly). Since 2011 she has been writing theatre critics to Heti Válasz (Hungarian weekly).
Kim SOYOUNG
International jury member 2023
Kim Soyoung is one of South Korea’s most respected independent documentary filmmakers. Professor of Film Studies at the National University of the Arts Korea, Director of the Trans-Asia Screen Culture Institute, and founding programmer of the Seoul International Women’s Film Festival, she has been a visiting professor at Duke University, UC Berkeley, Irvine University, the Free University of Berlin, among others. She is editor of History of Korean Cinema and author, editor or co-editor of several books on colonial modernity, gender and cinema. Her latest film trilogy explores the history of the Korean diaspora in Central Asia and Russia.
Kinga SZŰCS
International ecumenical jury member 2022
Kinga Szűcs is an assistant professor at the Department of Religious and Social Sciences of the Lutheran Theological University. Kinga obtained her first Master’s degree at the Hungarian-German Department of Eötvös Lóránd University (ELTE), where she also had the opportunity to delve into film and theatre studies through her personal interest. She earned her next Master’s degree from the Central European University (CEU) in history, and then pursued her studies at the Lutheran Theological University, where she graduated with a master’s degree in theology in 2014, majoring in social ethics. She received her doctorate in 2021, is a member of the Ararat Creation Care Working Group and is responsible for communications at the European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN).
Klára BUZOGÁNY
International jury member 2022
Klára Buzogány graduated with a master in journalism in 2004 from the Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, where one of her teachers „cut up” her way of thinking about movies with Buñuel’s Le chien andalou. After a couple of detours at local newspapers and radios, she became a crew member at the then in-print, now online, Transylvanian Hungarian-language Filmtett magazine. From 2009 to 2017 she was editor-in-chief at Filmtett, since 2019 she works here as a news editor and permanent autor. Since 2004 she is one of the organizers of Filmtett’s summer filmmaking workshop and Filmtettfeszt Hungarian Film Days held in 15 Transylvanian cities.
Klaus Eder Klaus Eder
International jury member 2016
Klaus Eder was born in 1939 in Augsburg. He studied German literature at Stuttgart University. Since the middle of the ‘60s he works as a film critic for the national radio (“Bayerischer Rundfunk”) and for German language film magazines. He published several books, e.g. on Andrzej Wajda, Luis Bunuel, Nikita Mikhalkov, Andrei Konchalovski, Arturo Ripstein, Im Kwon-taek and Nagisa Oshima. Between 1986 and 2007 he worked as a programmer for the Munich International Film Festival. He is the General Secretary of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) from 1987. He lives and works in Munich, Germany.
KÖBLI Norbert
International jury member 2016
Norbert Köbli (1977) is a Béla Balázs Prize winner screenwriter, head of the Hungarian Screenwriters’ Association. His latest screenplay of Demimonde, won the Golden Reel in Tiburon, California and has also been awarded at the Hungarian Film Week. Norbert Köbli is the writer of several movies, television series, documentaries and short feature films and he is also known as the Hungarian translator of Lajos Egri’s and Syd Field’s works. He won prestigious awards with The Exam in Chicago and with The Ambassador to Bern in Montreal and Alaska.
Kókai Nagy Viktor
International ecumenical jury member 2016
Viktor Kókai Nagy (*1973) studied at the Theological Faculty of Károli Gáspár University Budapest (1991-1996) and at the Theological Faculty of Friedrich Schiller University Jena (1996-1998). Scientific degrees: Dr. theol. (2004), habilitation (2014). He worked for a radio station (2000-2002) and for a TV channel (2002-2004) as reporter and editor. Since 1993 he is working for festivals as technical assistant and Head of Security. Between 2006 -2015 he’s been an adjunct at the Reformed University Debrecen and since 2015 he is working there and at the Selye János University Komarno as assistant professor. He is married and has a daughter.
KRISTÓF DEÁK
International jury member
Kristóf Deák is a Hungarian director, screenwriter and producer born and raised in Budapest. After joining the Hungarian film industry’s ranks in 2005, he has spent 2009-2016 studying and working in London and Geneva. Since 2010 he works internationally as a film and TV director, screenwriter and producer. In 2017, after winning a string of awards internationally, his film SING won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short.
Krzysztof Zanussi
Zsűri elnök
International jury member 2018
Zanussi is one of the major figures of European and international cinema. He is probably one of the most intellectual, most intelligent, purest and most detached (but also passionate) directors of our time. His heroes, mostly during times of historical and political unrest in Central Europe, seek for purity, morale and meaning in their lives and in their relationships that are irrespective of the era and the society. The director worked with starts like Vittorio Gassman, Daniel Olbrychski, Christoph Waltz, Raf Vallone, Max von Sydow, Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Maja Komorowska, Robert Powell and Valeria Golino and directed great films like Camouflage, The Crystal Structure, Spiral, Imperative, A Year of the Quiet Sun or From a Far Country, among many others.
KUCSERA Tamás Gergely
International jury member 2021
Tamás Gergely Kucsera, PhD, Dr. habil art theorist, historian of ideas. He was born in Budapest in 1976; he received his PhD degree in Philosophy and in Political Science, he achieved his habilitation in the field of Art Theory. He is currently an Associate Professor (Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary), a Honorary Professor (University of Pécs), a Research Professor (Széchenyi István University) and also the Chief Editor of the journal ‘Valóság’ [Reality] and Co- Editor-in-Chief of the ‘Magyar Művészet’ [Hungarian Art]. Previously he has worked as a Chief Councillor of the President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, he has been the Secretary General of the Hungarian Academy of Arts (HAA) since 2011. He is currently taking part in the work of the Board of the Civil Service, and of the Committee of the National Cultural Fund of Hungary, and he is the Chairman of the Documentary Evaluation Committee of the National Film Institute Hungary as well. Acknowledgments: Flórián Kováts Memorial Medal, Knight’s Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit, Miklós Bánffy Prize.
Magali Van REETH
Aix en Provence (France)
International ecumenical jury member 2017
Magali van Reeth (*1956 in Brazzaville) is a journalist, film reviewer for the SIGNIS website www.signis.net and for a network of French Catholic parishes and French Catholic Medias (radio, TV and magazines). She is also leading premiere screenings in commercial cinemas and workshops on Cinema and Spirituality for prisoners in prison. She is a member of the FIPRESCI through the French Union des Journalistes de Cinéma (presently board member). As a member of SIGNIS she represented the association as member of different SIGNIS, Ecumenical, Interreligious and FIPRESCI juries since 2000. General Secretary of Signis France (2006-2017) and President of Signis Europe (2013-2017).
Magdalena Gruber
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2018
Magdalena Gruber was born in 1995 and grew up in Southern Germany. Since 2015 she studies Photography at FH Dortmund- University of Applied Sciences and works as a freelance photographer. Since 2013 she‘s been working in different cinemas,currently at Schauburg Dortmund, one of the oldest Cinemas in Germany. In 2017 she was part of the Cinema Art Award Jury at the Hamburg Filmfest along with Beki Probst.
Malik Berkati
Fipresci jury member 2023
Malik Berkati is a Swiss journalist, film critic and political scientist, based in Berlin, Germany. He has worked for several years at festivals in Western Switzerland (PR and program adviser). He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of an international multilingual online magazine focusing on culture and civic awareness (j:mag), and a correspondent in Berlin for various newspapers and magazines from the French-speaking part of Switzerland. He has served on numerous international juries in Europe and Asia, as well as on the German Film Critics Jury for Best German Documentary (2017 and 2022), the Best German Short Film (2019-2021), and since 2020 Jury Member of The Critics Award for Arab Films of the Arab Cinema Center (ACC).
Marijana BOŠNJAK
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2021
Marijana Bošnjak is a programme creator, project manager and head of strategic and marketing planning at Urania Cinema. As a private owned film screening company, with over then 100 years of tradition, Cinema Urania’s general mission is to ensure innovative, diverse film programming, in the area where there are few alternatives mostly oriented to the mainstream. Marijana considers the preservation of the only cinema in the centre of Osijek to be her life’s mission. We owe it to new generations to come.
Mariola Marczak
International ecumenical jury member 2018
Mariola Marczak (*1964) is a professor at the Institute of Journalism and Communication at theState University in Olsztyn. She earned her PhD in film studies in Cracow. Co-editor of the scholarly journal Media-Culture-Social Communication.She published articles and books on religious and metaphysical movies; a monography on Krzysztof Zanussi [Inquietude and Longing. The Cinema Toward Values]. She is a member of thePolish Society for Film and Media Studies and worked in the jury of the International Film Festival “Prison Movie” in Olsztyn (2013-2016). She was the head of the jury of the Blue Box Festival 2016 in Olsztyn and a member of theEcumenical Jury at the Warsaw Film Festival in 2016
Matthew Maggi
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2016
Matthew Maggi was born in Malta and holds a dual citizenship of Maltese/Canadian. Matthew has been working in the film industry for the past 4 years mainly as an on set Assistant Director. The films he has worked on range from European Independent films to big Hollywood studio productions. He got the chance to co produce his first feature film which enabled his company, Soppa Films. His future plans consist of spending some time in Canada for further networking and learning the local market. This will hopefully result into getting access to funding in order to co produce with productions from both Europe and Canada, and build a bridge between both continents through his company.
Mia Lund Rao, BRØNSHØJ
International ecumenical jury member 2021
Mia Lund Rao was born in Copenhagen in 1966. She has worked as a pastor since 2001. Arts have always played a big role in her life. In 2008 she graduated as a director and has worked as an script advisor at several Danish films, among them the dogme-movie “Forbrydelser” by Anette K Olesen. She has made the shortfilm “Mommy dear” and a music video “Calling you”. She attended Isttituto Statale d’arte in Udine, Italy, – and has through all the years done works including paintings and other form of arts. She is a keen photographer and has attended several courses in that
area, and have participated in exhibitions with her own works.
Michael PODOGIL
International jury member 2021
A student of Michael Haneke, Michael works as an author and director for TV and commercials. His short films won prizes at festivals around the world, including a nomination at BAFTA Student Awards in LA. After co-writing and directing his first mini TV-series »Prost Mortem«, which got nominated at the Jupiter Awards for Best National TV-show in Germany, he is now in postproduction for his first feature film, while teaching photography at a local school in Vienna.
Michal NOHEJL
International jury member 2022
After graduating from Zlín film school, Michal Nohejl was accepted to the directing department at FAMU where he studied under Věra Chytilová. He shot a number of short student films. His graduation film “Fobie” (Phobia) was selected for the Panorama of Young European Film at Febiofest 2007. Since 2006, he has worked as commercial director. He is a part of the directing duo Mods who quickly became some of the most promising local commercial directors. Many of his commercials and music videos were awarded at both local and international festivals. He also worked as actor in Czech film “Poupata” or theater play “Why does Mr. R. run AMOK” based on Fassbinder’s film at MeetFactory in Prague. His feature film “Okupace” (Occupation) was in 2022 awarded the “Czech Film Critics Award” and “Czech Lions Award” as the best film of the year.
Michał SZCZEŚNIAK
International jury member 2017
Director and screenwriter. His films won numerous awards, short doc. “Starting Point” got the Grand Prix at Sheffield, Camerimage, Docu days, and many others. It also was Oscar shortlisted. He also wrote, and directed shorts: “A Boat”, “Sashka, Sashka”, and “The seduction school”. As well films, his play “Patrz: wolna wola”, and scripts “A Boat”, and “Goliath” where price winning. His new narrative short “Spitsbergen”, and teleplay “To steal a life” will be released this year. He likes good music and good food. Father of three year old Adele.
Mike Naafs
Fipresci jury member 2016
Mike Naafs studied film at the University of Amsterdam, where he was also the chief editor for the student film magazine. After graduating he worked for a number of film festival newspapers and magazines, including The Dutch Filmkrant, and visited festivals for FIPRESCI in Kiev, Cannes, Moscow, Cluj-Napoca and St Petersburg, amongst others. Currently he is a freelancer.
Monica NALDI
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2022
Monica Naldi has a Phd in art history and attended the Milan’s public school of cinema. In 2012 she started to work with Paola Corti managing Cinema Beltrade, the one-screen theatre at risk of closure in Milan and two other cinemas in the outskirts of the city. Their work, particularly in Cinema Beltrade, has a focus on independent movies and documentaries, with attention at sharing social and cultural values. During the closure of cinemas in 2020/21, she contributed to a number of projects aimed at maintaining the connection with the audience, and at creating a network between independent cinema operators.
Nadja ANDRASEV
International jury member 2021
Nadja Andrasev is a Hungarian animation filmmaker. After working in live action production from 2002, she received an MFA in animation at MOME Budapest in 2015. Her films screened at numerous festivals and received over fourty awards, including Joint Third Prize at the Cinéfondation Selection in Cannes (The Noise of Licking), and Grand Jury Award for Best Animated Short at SXSW (Symbiosis). As a director she likes to address personal topics involving obsessions, desires, voyeurism and sex.
NAGY Dénes
International jury member 2021
Dénes Nagy graduated from the University of Theatre and Film Arts of Budapest in 2009. As a guest student he spent a year at the Berlin Film Academy. His short fiction Soft Rain premiered at the 45th Directors’ Fortnight in 2013. His documentary Another Hungary had its premiere at the 43rd IFF Rotterdam, while his latest documentary Harm at the Documentary Competition of the 21st Sarajevo Film Festival. His debut feature Natural Light premiered in the Competition of the 71st Berlin Film Festival in
2021 and was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Director.
Paraszkay György
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2016
He studied photo-illustration at the High School of Fine Arts, graduating in 1973. From 1973 to 1975 he was an assistant photo journalist at the MTI (Hungarian News Agency). He graduated at the Hungarian University of Fine Art as a graphic designer in 1981. He won several prizes with his posters. In the 1980s he specialized in movie posters. In the last couple decades he was responsible for the cultural image of Hungary (in the UK, in China, in Japan, in India, and in Spain). He is a member of the National Association of Hungarian Artists, the Alliance of Hungarian Fine and Applied Artists and the National Alliance of Hungarian Journalists.
PARASZKAY György
International jury member 2023
György Paraszkay designer, graphic artist, photographer has been making movie and theater posters, record and book covers since 1980. He has had solo and group exhibitions around the world over the decades. In the 2000s, he was the official photographer and graphic designer for the Hungarian Cultural Seasons (Magyar Kulturális Évadok). Between 2009 and 2020, Mr Paraszkay acted as graphic designer, cinematographer, exhibition organizer and cultural manager of the P’ART cinema in Szentendre. From 2012 to 2019, he was official photographer of the Szentendre Theatre. His photo album titled A SLICE OF TEATRUM (EGY SZELET TEATRUM) was published in 2022. Currently he works as a freelance artist.
PÉTER MÜLLER SZIÁMI
International jury member
Most people know Péter Müller Sziámi as the founding director and the mastermind behind the “Bartók+” International Opera Festival of Miskolc and the “Sziget” Festival or as songwriter-performer. He graduated as a director. He directed approximately 200 hours of television shows and two feature films in Hungary. After all his
works have been banned in Hungary, he moved to Amsterdam. For six years, up to the regime change in Hungary, he worked in the Netherland as a producer and screenwriter. For almost ten years he has been a successful director and artistic director at the National Theatre of Miskolc.
PETRIK András
International jury member 2021
cinematographer, born and raised in Budapest. After having graduated with a master in History and Geography at the Eötvös Lóránd University Budapest (ELTE), he joined the Hungarian film industry’s ranks in 1998. Later, he studied and worked in Berlin In 2008, he graduated with a degree in Cinematography from the German Film- and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). Since 2004, he has worked internationally as a film and TV director, screenwriter and cinematographer. His films have been awarded at many prestigious festivals. Currently, he is working as a screenwriter for movies and TV-series.
Piero LOREDAN
International ecumenical jury member 2021
Piero Loredan is an Italian Jesuit scholastic living in Cluj-Napoca (Romania). He joined the society of Jesus in 2016 at the age of 31. Before joining the order founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, his passion for art, literature and cinema led him to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Management Of Arts, Culture And Entertainment in Milan. Among the subjects, he studied History And Criticism Of Cinema. After the Master’s Degree in Business Communication, he worked in the communication field in Italy and abroad (Spain, Australia, South Africa). He participated at several festivals including the Verona International Film Festival “Schermi d’Amore 2006” (Italy) as a member of the Youth Jury, and the Durban International Film Festival 2012 (South Africa), where he covered the Festival on behalf of the Communication Department of the City of Durban. Piero deepened his passion also as a Jesuit: he wrote about cinema
on Civiltà Cattolica – the oldest of Catholic Italian periodicals, published by the Jesuits in Rome – and the Osservatore Romano, the daily newspaper of Vatican City State.
Pierre-Simon GUTMAN
Fipresci jury member 2017
Pierre-Simon Gutman is the deputy editor of the French movie review L’Avant scène cinéma. After a PHD in movie esthetics (about the American film maker Michael Cimino), he has taught cinema in the Universities Paris VII, Nancy 2, and is currently teaching at the film school ESRA, in Paris and Bruxelles. He has written for Eclipses, Les Fiches du cinéma, Trois Couleurs or Soap, about movie making and politics. He has also served several years as a programmer, for both short and festure films, at the Cannes’s Critic Week.
Piotr SZCZYSZYK
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2022
Head of Film Department – Kino Pałacowe, ZAMEK Culture Centre. He got Master’s Degree in Film Studies and Media Culture at University of Adam Mickiewicz in Poznań. As a film critic, he cooperates with several Polish film magazines. He is pre-selector of New Horizons IFF in Wrocław and chief of program of OFF CINEMA IDFF in Poznań. He was member of Jury at the Belinale Forum 2018. Since 2020, he has been head of film department and manager of Pałacowe cinema in Poznań.
Praxedis Bouwman
International ecumenical jury member 2016
Praxedis Bouwman Praxedis Bouwman (*1968) is originally a graduated radio journalist, working in the Netherlands and later in Curaçao. Back in the Netherlands she established her own company and focused more and more on worldview and religion. From 2000 Praxedis became active in the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and was elected president of KALME (Communication Committee of Lutheran Minority Churches in Europe, network program of the Lutheran World Federation, www.kalme.net). Between 2007 and 2013 she studied religious communication and media and became a member and president of the steering committee of the WACC Europe (World Association for Christian Communication) and the vice president of WACC Global. In 2014 she has been awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the Academy of Ecumenical Indian Theology and Church Administration, which cited her “national and international inter-denominational and ecumenical leadership”.
Prof. Dr. Bojidar MANOV
Fipresci jury member 2021
Prof. Dr. Bojidar Manov was born in Sofia Bulgaria (1947). He is a film critic and journalist and also was the dean of the Cinema Faculty at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia (2011–2013). Professor Manov is a lecturer at the New Bulgarian University, and was a member the of the National Film Board, Bulgaria (2008–2012; 2018–2020). He is a board member of the National Fund “Culture”, Bulgaria (2005–2009; 2020–). Between 2001 and 2005 he was the vice-president of FIPRESCI. He is a member of the European Film Academy. Multiple president and member of international juries at film festivals in Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Busan, Karlovy Vary, San Sebastian, Locarno, Palm Springs, Wiesbaden, Dubai, Cairo etc.
Prof. Dr. Zita HORVÁTH
International jury member 2022
Prof. Dr. Zita Horváth was born in Zalaegerszeg on 17th June 1970. She studied at Miklós Zrínyi Secondary Grammar School in Zalaegerszeg, and spent two years at the Zala County Archives after graduation from there. In 1997, she obtained a university degree with excellence at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Miskolc, majoring was history. She obtained her PhD degree in 2001 and her doctoral habilitation in 2016. Climbing the corporate ladder, from 1999 to 2020, from assistant lecturer she became a professor. Former head of department, vice-dean, dean, general vice-rector, then deputy state secretary for 3 years at the request of Dr. László Palkovics, state secretary. Rector of the University of Miskolc as of 1st August 2020.
PROF. DR. ZVIAD DOLIDZE
International jury member
Dr. Prof. Zviad Dolidze is the dean of the faculty of Art Sciences, Media and Management and full professor in Film Studies at Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film Georgian State University. His professional works include six books (textbooks and monographs), research projects and co-authorship in collections about world
and Georgian cinema. He is a member of the Georgian Film Academy, executive director of association “Cinerama”, founder and director of the Abasha (Georgia) International Children and Youth Film Festival.
Rácsok Gabriella
International ecumenical jury member 2018
Gabriella Rácsok (*1971) studied theology at the Sárospatak Reformed Theological Academy (1991-1996) and at the Calvin Theological Seminary (Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1998-2000). She holds an MA in English language and literature from the Debrecen University. She earned her PhD at the Debrecen Reformed Theological University in 2013 on the subject of theology and film. Currently she is an associate professor and the vice rector of the Sárospatak Reformed Theological Academy. Besides teaching systematic theology (history of theology, ethics), she also teaches film seminars (on Bergman, Kieslowski, Jesus-films, Christ-films).
Raphaela SCHMID
International jury member 2022
Raphaela Schmid is a writer-director based in Vienna, Austria. She studied Philosophy in Vienna, Berlin and São Paulo before entering the Filmakademie Wien, where she is studying screenwriting and directing. Her films were screened at numerous national and international film festivals, e.g Sarajevo Film Festival, Viennale and Filmfest Gent. Her latest film FISH LIKE US (2020) was awarded Best Short Film at the Max Ophüls Preis Film Festival 21’, received the Best Short Film Award at Diagonale 20’, as well as the Jury Prize and Audience Award at Vienna Shorts 20’ and was furthermore nominated for the Austrian Film Award 21’. Currently, Raphaela is developing her first feature film.
Raymond Walravens
International jury member 2018
Raymond Walravens has been involved in cinema from 1982 as a programmer and managing director of an independent art cinema ‘Rialto’ in Amsterdam. In the last nine years he is the founding director and curator of World Cinema Amsterdam, a yearly festival of independent filmmaking from Latin America, Asia and Africa. Besides his work for Rialto and World Cinema Amsterdam, he has been a jury member at several international film festivals like Quinzaine des Realisateurs (Cannes), Indielisboa and Doclisboa (Lisbon), Semana dos Realizadores (Rio de Janeiro), International Film Festival Uruguay (Montevideo) and Sevilla European Film festival.
REUT DAGBAR AGAMI
International jury member 2021
Reut Dagbar is a film director, producer and screenwriter from Israel. She graduated Bachelor of Communication Studies, B.A (Jezreel Valley College) and, Master of Cinema Studies, M.F.A (Tel Aviv University School of Film Direction) Up until today, she directed short films that have participated in hundreds of movie festivals around the world and won appreciation and prizes. Her passion is in making films which are involving human rights and women empowerment, and her goal is to contribute to more women representation in films
ROK ANDRES
International ecumenical jury member
Rok Andres (1989) is a dramaturge and screenwriter. He graduated in dramaturgy at the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (University of Ljubljana). As dramaturge (or assistant) he worked in several Slovene theatres, writing articles accompanying theatre productions and publishing in different scientific publications about drama and theatre. In the past years, he was employed as an assistant lecturer (junior researcher) on University of Nova Gorica. He mostly writes for the documentary movies and consults as a dramaturge on screenplays.
Rolf DEEN
International ecumenical jury member 2023
Drs. Rolf Deen (*1957) is a long-time board member of the Dutch Film Talk Foundation supporting small scale initiatives in the field of cinema and sponsor of the World Cinema Exchange Award. Rolf graduated in 1987 from the former Catholic Theological University of Amsterdam in theology, majoring in Jewish studies and minoring in film studies and educational science. He is also an alumnus of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Rolf retired from 35 years of professional work in several roles: lecturer of religion studies, advisor to the Dutch catholic bishop’s conference, executive producer in public broadcasting, learning and development specialist in the manufacturing industry and is now a student in bereavement therapy. He is an independent consultant and translator, writes and speaks about cinema and spirituality.
Samo Seničar
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2018
SAMO SENIČAR has been working in film industry since 2010 as a programmer and young audience coordinator in a Municipality cinema Metropol in Celje, Slovenia. Before going to Metropol he worked as an event producer and coordinator at a local youth club. He has been a part of the Europa Cinemas jury in Karlovy Vary and C.I.C.A.E. jury in Sarajevo. He is also the co-curator of the Student Short Film Festival Celje.
Senad Halilbasic
International jury member 2016
Senad Halilbasic was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and grew up in Austria. He holds a Master’s degree in Theatre- and Film Studies and is currently working on his PhD. Since 2010 he is working as a script consultant for the production company Witcraft Szenario where he runs a prestigious script development program for inter-cultural writers (www.diverse-geschichten.at). His work as an independent film producer was awarded at festivals worldwide. He has consulted numerous scripts, including the Oscar-nominated short film “Everything will be okay” by Patrick Vollrath. The feature length documentary “Korida” by Sinisa Vidovic, which he co-wrote, is currently being shown at festivals worldwide.
SOPSITS Árpád
International jury member 2017
Árpád Sopsits is a Balázs Béla prize holder film, television and stage director. He directed seven feature films so far, that have been screened at more than 200 international festivals receiving more than 45 prizes in Cannes, Montreal, Chicago, Locarno, Bergamo, Lagov, Berlin, Potsdam, Belgrád, Budapest etc. He was voted best director of the year three times, both as film and stage director. His 2001 movie “Abandoned” represented Hungary at the Academy Award selection and made it into the first 35. His last title “Strangled” (2016) won 9 prizes at the Hungarian Film Week and has been invited to 42 international film festivals so far. At The International Policier Film Festival in Liège it won the Prix de la Public, i.e. Audience Award.
Stevie Salas (Apache)
International jury member 2018
Executive Producer on RUMBLE, is also a world-renowned guitarist and producer of music, film, and television. A major label recording artist who has sold over two million solo albums around the world, he has been named one of the top 50 guitarists of all time by Guitar Player magazine. As a Native American, Stevie has been involved in prominent projects that support Indigenous communities. Notably, he served as the Advisor for Contemporary Music at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and, with Tim Johnson, co-created the music exhibit “Up Where We Belong: Native Musicians In Popular Culture” that had amazingly successful runs in Washington, DC and New York City.
Susanne BIRCK
International ecumenical jury member 2022
Susanne Birck studied Cultural Sciences and received a university degree as Magistra Artium. During her studies, her main subject was film history. Her Master thesis is about the US-American Western movies by John Ford. She works at a district administration in northern Germany as a project manager for cross-border German-Danish co-operations. As a freelance journalist, she regularly attends the Nordic Film Days Lübeck in order to write film reviews and do interviews with filmmakers (published in an online magazine). Highlight in her journalist career was definitely to interview the Finnish filmmaker Klaus Härö.
SZABOLCS NAGY
International ecumenical jury member
Szabolcs Nagy (1994) is an editor of the blog called ‘Keresztény Kultúra’ (Christian Culture) that mainly focuses on theology, culture or politics. He is currently finishing his studies as a pastor-theologian at the Evangelical-Lutheran Theological University in Budapest. His main interest is in the field of public/civil theology in the United States and Hungary and the intertwining relationship of (popular) culture and theology. He has written several articles on the topic. He has led several film discussions and workshops at youth gatherings and congregations.
Szakonyi Noémi
International jury member 2023
Noémi Veronika Szakonyi is a freelance film director and producer. She studied International Relations in Hungary and Political Science in Germany. Noemi started her film studies on a scholarship at Beijing Film Academy. After leaving China, she applied to the University of Theater and Film Arts in Budapest for the directing documentaries master course, from where she graduated in 2015. Noémi is the founder of Match Frame Productions, a boutique film production company based in Budapest, focusing on documentaries. As a director, she is working on her first long-term feature documentary Afterglow and premiered her first film Six Weeks in main competition at Sarajevo Film Festival in 2022. Six Weeks won the Just Film Grand Prix at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. Noémi is currently writing her second feature, Bite into the Soul.
Szonja SZABÓ
International jury member 2022
Szonja is a European writer and film director living and working in Budapest, Hungary. She was born in 1983. She has written and directed several short films and documentaries, many of which have been screened at international film festivals worldwide. She has directed popular TV-series along with music videos in Hungary. Regardless of the genre she works on, she is always very passionate about and dedicated to her projects. Her stories always focus on the depiction of the soul and the specific human interests behind all actions. Her visual perception is unique and the general atmosphere of her films is determined by her strong pictorial rendition.
TÁLAS Zsófia
International jury member 2017
Zsófi a Tálas is a Hungarian film editor. She has edited numerous short films, short documentaries, short animation films and the multi-award winning Hungarian feature film, For Some Inexplicable Reason. She is an editing graduate of England’s National Film and Television School and the University of Theatre and Film Arts Budapest. Zsófi a also has a degree in film history from Eötvös Loránd University and is a member of HSE (Hungarian Society of Editors). She is currently editing
Tamara Visković
International confederation of art cinemas jury member 2023
Tamara Visković graduated from the University of Zadar, majoring in philosophy and art history and completed her postgraduate studies in literature at the University of Zagreb. She worked as a curator at the Croatian Artists Union, and later as the program manager of the Split Multimedia Center. She organized and produced several cultural programs. She has been a member of the jury at several international film festivals, including the Berlinale (2020) and the Sarajevo Film Festival (2022). Currently she is the headmistress in Centar Zlatna vrata and the head of cultural programs. She is publishing articles and essays on music, visual art and popular art in national newspapers.
TAMÁS FEJÉR
International confederation of art cinemas jury member
Since 2013 Tamás Fejér is working as a cinema manager in one of the oldest art movie theatres, the Apolló cinema of Debrecen, which started its run in 1911. As a manager, he is responsible for the full movie schedule of the cinema and is also working on all the cultural events connected to the cinema. Through the years, as the result of the hard work, the Apolló cinema has become one of the most important cultural places of Debrecen.
Ternovszky Béla
International jury member 2016
The Béla Balázs Prize winner artist was born in 1943, in Budapest. After graduating from secondary school he started to work at the Pannónia Film Studio, and later at its successors, as graphic artist. At the end of the ‘60s he became an animator and in 1972 he was appointed to be a director. His first animation was made in 1970. The 7 minutes short “Modern edzésmódszerek” [Modern training methods] won several Hungarian and international festival prizes. His first long animation Cat City was released in 1986. Based on the votes and box office success the Mokép declared the film as the best of the year. In 1987 this was the film Hungary entered to the Academy Award nomination contest. In 1995 he left Pannónia Film and established his own company Stúdió II. with some his colleagues. His next long animation Mishy and Mushy has been created by this company in 1999. After the Stúdio II. closed its operation he established his own production company, AnimArt. In December 2007 the Catcher: Cat City 2. was released with outstanding success.
Tomáš PAVLÍČEK
International jury member 2021
Tomáš Pavlíček Czech director and screenwriter. He graduated from Prague’s
Film Academy (FAMU), where he currently teaches. He focuses on comedy that is often dialogue based. His debut feature Totally Talking premiered in the Forum of Independents at KVIFF 2014. Four years later, in 2018, Bear with Us also screened at KVIFF, in the East of the West Competition, and then went on to win the best screenplay award by the Czech Film Critics Association.
Tony GATLIF
International jury member 2021
Tony Gatlif born September 10, 1948 in Algiers, Tony Gatlif leaves Algeria in the 1960s. Les Princes reveals him in 1982. In 1992, he shot Latcho Drom, a true hymn to Gypsy music. In 1997, Gadjo Dilo describes the arrival in a Gypsy village in Romania of a „Gadjo”. In 2004, the filmmaker takes the viewer throughout Andalusia and the Maghreb, with Exils. The film won the Award for Best Director at Cannes. In 2010, with Liberté, he tells for the first time the history of the internment of Gypsies in France. In 2017, Tony Gatlif sheds a light on Greece, hit by economic and refugee crisis, with Djam. His latest film, Tom Medina, released last August, tells the story of a young man sent by a judge to the Camargue.
Tóth Csaba
Fipresci jury member 2016
Csaba Tóth is a long time movie enthusiast. He has been writing about movies from the beginning of this century. He is the editor of Hungary’s biggest print movie magazine, VOX mozimagazin, he works as a columnist for Budapest’s biggest weekly programme magazine, Pesti Est and he writes about movies for Hungary’s most popular lifestyle site for women, nlcafe.hu. When he is not watching or writing about movies, he is usually talking about them, mostly in the form of interviews with directors and actors. He simply cannot fall asleep in a movie theatre, which makes him a perfect member of the FIPRESCI Jury.
Viera LANGEROVÁ
Fipresci jury member 2022
Film critic, lecturer and scriptwriter. She studied film and theater theory at the Academy of Arts (Bratislava, Slovakia) and Cultural Studies at Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic). She worked as an editor in Slovak and Czech periodicals. After living in Kazakhstan and Pakistan she did her dissertation on Asian film. She is the author of the books Film Geography: Continental China, Hongkong, Taiwan and the travelog book Urdu, Purdah, Burka. Five years in Pakistan. She works as a programmer for IFF Art Film Fest in Košice, Slovakia. Member of Slovak Club of Film Journalists.
VÍGH Eszter
International ecumenical jury member 2023
Eszter Vígh (*1994) studied Theology at the Debrecen Reformed Theological University and completed the study with a Masters Degree. She currently works as one of the pastors of a new church plant in Budapest, Bartók-District, with a special focus on art and gastronomy. Being a member of the Hungarian Interfilm Association helps to build bridges between visual arts and protestant theology.
VÍGH Tamás
International ecumenical jury member 2021
Tamás Vígh born in Kiskunfélegyháza in 1993. He is currently finishing his studies as a pastor-theologian at Debrecen Reformed Theological University. During his studies he researched the connection between visual arts and religion. Since 2019 he works as a freelance photographer. As a member of various Christian organizations he is working on cultural events to strengthen the connection between film and religion. He is writing film reviews in the weekly magazine of the Hungarian Reformed Church.
ZHENG DASHENG
International jury member
Film and theater director Zheng Dasheng was born in Shanghai. Greatly influenced by his grandfather Huang Zuolin (veteran filmmaker and playwright) and mother Huang Shuqin (one of the most renowned female directors in China), his art is known for great humanistic concern and rich historical reflection. He earned his
undergraduate degree from Shanghai Drama Academy China before receiving his MFA in filmmaking at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His films have won many prestigious awards.
Zoltán NEVELŐS
International ecumenical jury member 2022
Zoltán Nevelős graduated in Hungarian and English literature and linguistics at the university in Szeged. He made documentary programmes at Duna Televízió’s Religion Department. As a programme manager he joined the channel’s Film Department, continuing in the Film Department of joined public media MTVA. He served as editor of DVD Est Extra magazine between 2001 and 2005. He translated dozens of feature films for dubbing. For many years he was advisor and catalogue editor for Titanic Budapest Filmfest. His articles on film were published mainly in Filmvilág magazine.
