Pirjo Honkasalo (Born in Helsinki in 1947) is considered one of the most prominent and influential director and cinematographer both in her native Finland and world wide. Honkasalo graduated the University of Art and Design, Helsinki in 1969 and post graduated the Temple University (school of communication) in Philadelphia in 1972. Since then she is working consistently as a feature film and documentaries director and cinematographer.
She gained multitude of awards both for her films (including at IDFA, Zagreb, Chicago, Venice, and Locarno) and life's work achievement awards in Finland and in Thessalonica documentary Film festival. Her documentaries which she shoots by her self on film (mostly 35 mm) have a stunning and hypnotic beauty and are dealing mostly in spiritual experiences, theological themes and war ordeals.
Her fly on the wall method of observation and meticulous stylization add a sense of "fiction" to her films thus examine the boundaries between documentary and fiction film. They also evoke ethical debates about filmmakers' stance whilst facing extreme human experiences.
Victor Kossakovsky A documentary film director, Born on July 19, 1961 in Leningrad. Since 1978 he worked at the Leningrad studio of Documentaries as assistant cameraman, assistant director and editor. In 1988 he finished the Higher Courses of Film Writers and Directors in Moscow. In a very innovative and original way, renowned filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky, a winner of numerous national and international film awards, achieves in his film a profound poetic clarity and a philosophical vision out of the most banal and everyday situations. A master of observation, Kossakovsky doesn't cease to surprise the spectator with his subtle humor and his sense for drama. His various documentary films are all anchored by brilliant ideas that Kossakovsky develops into intimate, completely uncompromising cinema.
Lucinda Broadbent / MEDIACO-OP Lucinda Broadbent has eighteen years experience as a director of UK and international documentaries for Channel 4, BBC, Scottish Television, Sky etc. Her prizes include Amnesty International's Media Award and ECHO Human Rights Award. Lucinda's documentaries have been screened at film festivals from Edinburgh to London, USA, Australia, Hong Kong and Brazil.
Her most recent credit is RED OIL screened on More4’s "True Stories" 2009 , a story of conflict and intrigue over who gets the profits from the Venezula’s oil reserves, a UK-Germany co-pro with Channel4 Al Jazeera, YLE, NRK and SBS. "Don't miss it.... Insightful and funny" The List "A tale to rival Dallas... an absorbing documentary" The Times "A dramatic cast of larger-than-life characters... You couldn't make this up..." BBC Radio
Lucinda is a former Board Member of the EDN and has tutored on EDN Pitching Forums in Greece, Italy, India, Spain and Czech Republic.
Joelle Alexis / Editor & Editing Consultant Born in 1970 in Antwerp, Belgium / Graduated from Camera Obscura School of Arts (1994). Joelle Alexis is an international award winning editor since 1996. For the last 15 years Joelle has been working as an editor and editing consultant on feature films, feature docs and documentaries. Amongst her films are: "Les Sept Jours" a feature film by Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz Premiered at Cannes Film Festival in La Semaine de la Critique 2008. "Close to Home" a feature film by Vidi Bilu and Dahlia Hager Awarded with the prize of the jury of the Confederation of Art House Cinemas at the Berlinale 2006. "Prendre Femme" a feature film by Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz Won the Critic's Award at the Venice International Film Festival 2005. "The Champagne Spy" a feature documentary by Nadav Schirman, Special Jury Prize of Best Editing at River Run International Film Festival USA 2008. Editing consultant of the documentary "To see if I'm smiling" by a Tamar Yarom, Won the Silver Wolf Award at IDFA 2007 and best documentary at Israeli Documentary Forum Award 2008.
Ron Goldman / Editor & Scriptwriter Ron Goldman has been working as a freelance editor and scriptwriter since graduating from the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School in 1998. Specializing in documentary feature films, he has edited and co-scriptwrited the Israeli Academy award winner Children of the Sun (70 min., 2007), and the acclaimed prize-winning documentaries Unmistaken Child (100 min., 2008) Brides of the Desert (85 min., 2007), In Satmar custody (70 min., 2003) The Inner Tour (95 min., 2001) and Martin (50 min., 1999). Currently he is the Artistic Director of the New Israeli foundation for cinema and Television, and working on several documentary features as editor/scriptwriter.
SRDJAN FINK / Editor Srdjan Fink is a film and video editor based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and specialized in Human Rights Documentary for cinema and television. Srdjan has graduated in 2002 as an Avid editor at Netherlands Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam. Apart from his academic background, he has more than 10 years of experience within the film and television post-production industry, both as an Avid and Final Cut Pro editor. Many of his films won prestigious Dutch and international awards at the various film festivals.
MAAIK KRIJGSMAN / Editor Maaik Krijgsman is a documentary filmmaker from Amsterdam - the Netherlands. After his University degrees in Psychology and Literature he decided to change course in his career and become a filmmaker. In the past 10 years he worked as a director and editor in numerous productions. He directed the cinema documentary See You in Vegas (85’) - telling the story of Dutch Magician Hans Klok and his claim to fame as a solo-artist on the strip in Las Vegas with Pamela Anderson as his assistant. Furthermore he made the documentary Looking for an Icon which was awarded in the International Festival of Films on Art in Montreal – Canada. For more information on the work of Maaik Krijgsman look at www.maaik.nl.
Maziar Bahari Maziar Bahari is an award winning documentary filmmaker and journalist. He was born in Tehran in 1967 and started film making at the age of 16. He moved to Canada in 1988 to study film and political science. Since then he has made feature documentaries and news reports for international broadcasters. His films include The Voyage of the Saint Louis, Targets: Reporters in Iraq, Football, Iranian Style and Along Came a Spider, for which he received an Emmy nomination in 2005. He is also one of very few journalists who have worked in Iraq consistently since the invasion in 2003. Bahari is the Newsweek correspondent in Iran. He has produced a number of documentaries and news reports for Channel 4 and BBC on subjects as varied as Ayatollah Sistani, Muqtada al-Sadr and human rights in Iraq. Bahari was the guest of honour at 2007 International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam where a retrospective of his work was shown.
Tolga Esmer Born in Istanbul in 1966. Having graduated as a civil engineer in Bogazici University he received his Master in International Economics and Management degree from Universita Bocconi in Italy. He has been working in Italy and in Turkey as a management consultant for the past sixteen years as well as teaching management of organizations in Istanbul Bilgi University. “Oyun”, directed and produced by Pelin Esmer, winner of thirteen international awards, is his first experience in cinema where he acted as executive producer. Recently he produced Aysim Turkmen’s documentary “23 Tower Street”.
Max Kestner Born 1969. Graduated from the National Film School of Denmark, 1997 in documentary and television studies. Lecturer at the National Film School of Denmark. Worked for DR TV, where he made "Partiet" / "The Party" (2000) and "Supergeil" (1997-1998). Other works: the television documentary series "Nede pa Jorden" (2002); The film "Nede Pa Jorden" / "Blue Collar White Christmas"; "Resjen Pa Ophavet" / Max by Chance" (2004) selected for first appearance at IDFA Amsterdam and received a GulDok for Best Short Documentary at cph:dox, 2004
Dunja Gry Jensen Dunja Gry Jensen was educated as a screenwriter at the National Danish Film School, 1996. She's been working as an episode writer and a script editor on three prime time television series and has been the writer and co-writer of several features and shorts. Dunja's writing credits include Emmy award winning crime series "Unit One"; "Faith, Hope and Batman", winner of best short at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival; the internationally acclaimed documentary "Blue Collar White Christmas" and recently "Istedgade" produced by Nimbus Film and New Danish Screen. Dunja is highly regarded as a teacher of screenwriting and development, and frequently teaches at the National Danish Film School. Currently Dunja is developing a new television series for the National Danish Broadcasting Cooperation
Pelin Esmer Born in 1972 in Istanbul. She majored in sociology at Bogazici University. After graduating, she took lessons at Z1 film workshop. She was assistant director in a number of Turkish and foreign projects, including documentaries, features and commercial. Her first film, the documentary "The Collector" (2002) received the Best Documentary Award at Rome Independent Film Festival and won the third place at the Ankara Film Festival. It is also included in the Harvard Film Archive. She gave lectures at Kadir Has University Film Radio and TV Department. In 2006, she received the Best New Documentary Filmmaker Award in New York Tribeca Film Festival with "The Play", as well as other international awards.
Steven Seidenberg Steven is a producer, director, developer & script editor in the field of documentary filmmaking. Steven has wide experience in all documentary genres. As a producer he has worked in history programming (e.g. THE TRIAL OF GEORGE WASHNGTON, HITLER'S DEATH, and NAPOLEON'S OBSESSION), the sciences (e.g. A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME, with Stephen Hawking, directed by Errol Morris, creative director Steven Spielberg), as well as examinations of ethical and moral issues (e.g. HYPOTHETICALS, with Arthur Miller). Long before the term "reality programming" had even been invented, Steven was quick to realize the potential of new DVcam technology co-creating the genre-bending 12-part NIGHTS OUT AT THE EMPIRE and the 26-part travel-adventure series, THE $100 TAXI RIDE. For seven years Steven was Head of Development at Café Productions.
Antonio Saura A film producer Owner and Director of ZEBRA PRODUCCIONES and founding partner of Sales Company LATIDO FILMS. Credits include award winning films such as “En la ciudad sin límites” by Antonio Hernández, “Rencor” by Miguel Albaladejo, “Salomé” by Carlos Saura; box office successes like “Dos Tipos Duros” by Juan Martinez Moreno,“Di que si” by Juan Calvo , and experimental movies like “Síndrome” by Liberto Rabal . Recently he produced “Oculto” by Antonio Hernández and is currently working on “Miguel and William” by Ines Paris and on the pre-production of “Fados” by Carlos Saura. Antonio Saura was named “Producer to Watch” by Variety, and was selected “European Producer in the Move” 2003. He has made substantial contribution to film training, having been one of the establishers of the Media Business School and was also one of the establishers of MEDEA (Mediterranean Development Agency), acting as Director of the Selection Committee for two years.
Laura Poitras Laura Poitras received an Academy Award and Independent Spirit Award nomination for her 2006 documentary My Country, My Country (90 min. 35mm). Laura spent 8 months working alone in Iraq following the story of Dr. Riyadh, a Sunni doctor and father of six. Since completing My Country, My Country, Laura has been put on a watch-list by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Laura received a Peabody Award and Independent Spirit Award nomination for her previous documentary, Flag Wars (2003, 87 min.), which launched the 2003 season on P.O.V./PBS. Laura studied filmmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute and the New School for Social Research. Before making films, she worked as a chef in several five star French restaurants. She lives in New York City and is a recent recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Dora Bouchoucha A prominent Tunisian producer, head of Nomadis Images in Tunisia, producer and line producer for several international productions. Educated in Tunisia and in the Sorbonne in Paris, in English Literature and Film, Dora has been producing and directing films since the early 1990s. She is a member of the international board of advisors of the CINEMART (Rotterdam film festival) and of the Claus Fund Film Grant and has sat on the juries of several international film festivals (Valencia, Mons, Namur, Montpellier, Premiers Plan Angers etc.). Dora also has experience in film training at several workshops, including teaching young Algerian filmmakers writing for short films in the framework of Fenecs d'Argent (Algerian TV). She is a partner of the MEDA Film Development Project, a part of the EuroMed Audiovisual II Programme, in which she also acts as head of studies and expert.
Sylvia Stevens Producer / director, of over 30 documentaries; Co-Founder and Director of Faction Films Ltd. 1982; Co-Founder Mondial Online & Mondial Television with Alan Fountain 1995 – 2000; Board Member of London Film and Video Development Agency 1995 –2003 ; Director of The Other Cinema 1982; Member of BAFTA. Currently directing (2006/7) Che – a feature documentary on Korda’s Guerillero Heroico for ARTE, NetFlix and Fortissimo.
Paul Pauwels
Paul Pauwels studied at RITCS film school in Brussels where he got his degree as director and producer. He worked as production manager and unit manager in feature film production until 1987, when he founded his own production company: Periscope Productions. The company produced commercials, short feature films and documentaries. Paul Pauwels sold the company in 2005, to become programme manager at VRT, the Flemish public broadcaster. He left this position in December 2007 and is now the project manager for the EUROPEAN TELEVISION MANAGEMENT ACADEMY in Strasbourg, France. Paul Pauwels has been the chairperson of the European Documentary Network (EDN) for the maximum period possible, and also, he is a member of the General Assembly of the new Flemish Film Fund (VAF).
Sandi DuBowski
Sandi DuBowski is the Producer of a new film called A Jihad for Love, directed by Parvez Sharma, about the global struggle of Islam and homosexuality. A Jihad for Love had a World Premiere at The 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, a European launch at the upcoming 2008 Berlin Film Festival as the Opening Film of Panorama Dokumente, and a U.S. theatrical release in May 2008 with First Run Features launching at IFC Center. The film features stories from Iran, Egypt, Turkey, France, Pakistan, South Africa, and India and is a co-production with France-Germany's ZDF-Arte, LOGO, UK's Channel 4, Australia's SBS, Realise, The Katahdin Foundation, and The Sundance Documentary Fund. DuBowski is the Director of Trembling Before G-d, which had a World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, was the recipient of twelve awards, released theatrically in the United States, Israel, Canada, Germany, South Africa, Czech Republic, and UK and is airing on BBC, The Sundance Channel, HBO Latin America, Israel's Keshet/Channel Two, France-Germany's ZDF-Arte, Poland's Canal Plus and other TV stations worldwide from Ukraine to Holland. Feature stories on the project have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe, The Miami Herald, Filmmaker Magazine, The Globe and Mail, and BBC News. DuBowski has conducted 800 live events with the film across the globe and the film has been seen by an estimated 8 million people. He created Trembling on the Road to document this life-changing movement for the DVD and launched www.filmsthatchangetheworld.com to engage people through global house parties and online events. He has begun directing a new film. www.filmsthatchangetheworld.com.
Parvez Sharma
PARVEZ SHARMA (Director/Producer A Jihad for Love) is a gay and Muslim filmmaker who was born and raised in India and has been educated in the UK and the US, where he currently lives in New York. 'A Jihad for Love' is his debut feature and it has been screening around the world and premiered at Toronto in 2007 and Berlin in 2008. He has taught at American University's Department of Anthropology and its School of Communication in Washington, DC. Parvez has previously worked as a broadcast journalist for India's premier and most watched 24-hour news network, New Delhi Television, covering various significant assignments across the Indian sub-continent and later as a Producer for Amy Goodman's 'Democracy Now!' In the early nineties, Parvez was a print journalist for several prominent Indian newspapers including 'The Telegraph' and 'The Statesman'. Mr. Sharma has been recognized for his work with a special Certificate of Recognition from the California State Legislature (October 16, 2006) and the film has won the Best Documentary Award at Mix Brasil in 2007, Image+Nation in Montreal in 2007 and the TriContinental Film Festival in India in January 2008. It has also won a jury special mention at the One World Human Rights Film Festival in Prague this year. Mr. Sharma's work has been supported by more than 21 Foundations and 600 individual donors including the Sundance Documentary Fund. He now leads an international group of prominent broadcasters co-producing his film-Logo (US), ZDF-Arte (Germany-France), Channel 4 Television (UK) and SBS (Australia). He currently blogs on issues around Islam and this film at www.ajihadforlove.blogspot.com and at The Huffington Post.
Serge Gordey
Executive Producer, Bo Travail! / France Gordey has an M.A in Philosophy studies and an MA in Sociology studies. 2007-2008- Executive producer at Bo Travail ! (currently “A journey among the believers” a film by Ilan Ziv on faith and politics in the US (an international coproduction ZDF-Arte/ITVS/More 4/ RTBF/TSR/CBC/SRC… ; “Libération after 1968” for France 5 ; “The Hitler File” for France 3 ; “After the wall”, a film by Paul Jenkins, for Arte GEIE) 2001-2005 - Executive producer at Point du Jour, head of current affairs ; winner of Best French Producer 2004; Winner of several awards for films he produced in these years: Europa Award 2003 for 'Human Weapon", Best Documentary Haifa IFF 2003 for "Junction", Best Documentary Banff 2006 and Special Prize of Europa for "Oligarchs" and more. 1996-1999 - Director of programmes at Internews Yugoslavia, NGO aimed at strengthening independent TV documentary production and broadcasting in Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo; and the producer of Balkan Bridges, a series aimed at creating a dialogue between citizens of ex-Yugoslav countries. One of the episodes won First Prize at the Belgrade Documentary FF. 1996 - Co-producer of "Srebrenica: anatomy of a massacre". This film won several international awards (including Silver Nymph of Monte-Carlo Festival). 1996 - Producer of Fascism, an international series about national tendencies in modern societies (Italy, France, ex Yugoslavia).
Pieter van Huystee
C.E.O - Pieter Van Huystee Film / The Netherlands In 1995 Pieter van Huystee started his own production company. Since then he has produced documentaries, feature films and single plays with well-known Dutch directors like Johan van der Keuken, Heddy Honigmann and Peter Delpeut. Additionally, several young filmmakers got the opportunity to realise their plans in cooperation with Pieter van Huystee Film. Currently, six people work for the company in the historical centre of Amsterdam. By combining a daring attitude with decisiveness, Pieter van Huystee Film is considered nowadays to be one of the leading Dutch independent production companies, highly esteemed for the quality and wide range of its projects. In 1999 the distribution department Public Film was added, setting out to release ‘Dutch Docs’ in local cinemas. Moreover, many Van Huystee documentaries and features are screened at festivals all over the world and have won many awards.
Marc Isaacs
Born very near the location of his first film, "Lift", in London's East End, Marc Isaacs began working on documentary films as an Assistant Producer in 1995. After gaining experience on some of Channel 4's and the BBC's most prized documentary strands, he assisted Pavel Pawlikowski on Twockers and the award winning Last Resort. After completing "Lift" in 2001, Marc directed "Lifters", two further documentaries for the BBC about the sub-culture of shoplifting, both of which were nominated for a BAFTA Craft Award in the UK. His documentary film Travellers, completed in 2002 premiered at the Krakow International Film Festival in June 2003 and was funded by Channel 4. "Travellers" was then followed by "Calais: The Last Border" (2003) which made for BBC2 and premiered at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival. The movie offers an original view of England from across the Channel. "Calais: The Last Border" is the Winner of the Best Documentary Award – Brittspotting, Berlin, 2004 & Winner Best Documentary Berwick Film Festival 2005. "Someday my Prince Will Come" (2005) Made for Channel 4, premiered at DocHouse, followed by "Philip and His Seven Wives" (2005/6), a film for the BBC’s prestigious Storyville strand tells the fascinating story of a former Rabbi’s attempt to create a new Godly family. Winner Warsaw Jewish Film Festival 2006. His most recent film "All White in Barking" premiered & participated at the "Joris Ivens" competition at IDFA 2007. Marc is a visiting tutor at the NFTS (UK National film and television school).
Nicolas Philibert
Documentary filmmaker internationally renowned, Nicolas Philibert was born in 1951 in Nancy (France). After studying philosophy, he turned to film and became an assistant director, notably for René Allio, Alain Tanner and Claude Goretta. In 1978, with Gérard Mordillat, he co-directed his first documentary feature, His Master's Voice (La voix de son maître, 1978) in which a dozen bosses of leading industrial groups talk about control, hierarchy and power, gradually sketching out the image of a future world ruled by the financial sector… From 1985 to 1987, Nicolas Philibert shot various mountaineering and sports adventure films for television, then started directing documentary features that would all obtain a theatrical release: Louvre City (La ville Louvre, 1990), In the Land of the Deaf (Le pays des sourds, 1992), Animals (Un animal, des animaux, 1995), Every Little Thing (La Moindre des choses, 1996), as well as a film essay pitched between documentary and fiction: Who Knows? (Qui sait ?, 1998) In 2001, he directed To Be and to Have (Etre et avoir), about daily life in a "single class" school in a mountain village in the heart of the Massif Central (France). Screened as part of the Official Selection at the 2002 Cannes Festival, Prix Louis Delluc 2002, the film was a huge success in France and around forty other countries. In his most recent film, Back to Normandy (Retour en Normandie, 2007), he returned to the settings of I, Pierre Rivère, Having Slaughtered My Mother, My Sister and My Brother… by René Allio, the director who allowed him to take his first steps in film.
Pirjo Honkasalo
