DIRECTORS

Amjad Al Rasheed – Jordanian director and screenwriter. He participated in the prestigious Talent Campus workshops organised for young filmmakers by Berlin Film Festival. He was selected by “Screen International” as “Arab Star of Tomorrow”.

Zoljargal Purevdash – Mongolian director up until now known for her short films. “If Only I Could Hibernate” is her feature directorial debut which premiered in Cannes in 2023. Thus, Purevdash became the first Mongolian filmmaker to have been chosen for the main selection of the French festival

Mihai Mincan – a philosophy graduate from the Bucharest University. He began his career as a journalist, but collaborating with the biggest Romanian newspapers soon wasn’t enough. He started directing short films, animations, and documentaries for television. His feature directorial debut, „To the North” premiered in the Horizons section at the Venice Film Festival

Lkhagvadulam Purev Ochir acclaimed Mongolian director whose short films have won awards at international festivals in Venice, Toronto, and Busan. Her feature directorial debut “City of Wind” premiered in the Horizons Competition in 2023, where it was awarded in the Best Actor category. It’s Mongolia’s official submission for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards

Vlad Petri – a Romanian filmmaker interested in political and social topics. His feature directorial debut was „Where Are You Bucharest?”. His second film „Between Revolutions” premiered at Berlin Film Festival where it was awarded FIPRESCI Prize.

Konstantinos Koutsoliotas — a Greek filmmaker and visual effects artist. He’s worked on many fantasy and science-fiction films, the most famous of which are Hollywood productions: “Guardians of the Galaxy”, “1917”, and “West Side Story”. As a VFX artist, he’s been a regular collaborator of another horror specialist, Guillermo del Toro

Abbas Amini – a filmmaker who’s becoming one of the most interesting voices in the contemporary Iranian cinema. He started his career as a documentalist depicting the drama of the Iran-Iraq war, among many other subjects. He also directed a few feature films, like „Koshtargah”, a 2015 horror awarded at the Busan festival, and „Hendi i Hormoz”, a drama awarded by the NETPAC jury at the Fajr International Film Festival

Amr Gamal – a Yemeni film and theatrical director, producer, and writer. In 2018 he made his feature directorial debut, “10 Days Before the Wedding”. “The Burdened” is his second film. It was the first Yemeni feature to have been shown at the Berlin Film Festival

Moe Alatawi – a Saudi Arabian director and screenwriter, born in 1993. When he discovered his passion for cinema, he decided to continue his career in London. Since then, he’s directed and produced many short films and commercials. “Within Sand”, awarded at the Red Sea International Film Festival, is his feature directorial debut

Goran Stolevski – a Macedonian filmmaker who emigrated to Australia as a teenager. The young artist has already attracted the world’s attention. His films have been presented in Venice and at Sundance.

Lotfi Achour – a director and screenwriter. He studied directing in Paris. His short film, “La Laine sur le Dos” (2016), was presented in the official selection in Cannes and was nominated for a César Award. “Burning Hope” (2017), his feature directorial debut taking place during the Jasmin Revolution, premiered at the Dubai festival and showed disillusionment with social changes in Tunisia. Achour consequently explores the questions of identity, freedom, and social inequalities, combining realism with poetry. He’s also a keen film educator in Tunisia.

Alice Wincocur – she co-wrote the film. She’s an acclaimed director and screenwriter, a co-author of “Ordinary people”. In 2016 she was awarded a César Award for “Mustang”.

Mahdi Fleifel – a Danish-Palestinian director interested in depicting social injustice and the struggles of Palestinians living in exile. In 2016 he was awarded the Silver Bear for his short film “A Man Returned” at the Berlin Film Festival. He was nominated for multiple awards, including the Golden Palm for best short film in Cannes, the BAFTA award, and the European Film Award.

Una Gunjak – a director, screenwriter, and editor, born in Sarajevo in 1986. She graduated from the National Film and Television School in the UK and studied film studies in Italy. She’s an author of documentaries and short films, including “The Chicken” which was presented at many festivals around the world. “Excursion” is her feature directorial debut.

Asimina Proedrou – for 15 years she worked in a financial department of an international corporation while simultaneously studying directing and screenwriting. Her acclaimed short film “Red Hulk” (2016) established her as a bold, experimental auteur interested in social issues. She graduated from the the Sarajevo Talents 2015 and the Berlinale Talents 2015. She developed the screenplay for her feature directorial debut during the Berlinale Script Station 2016, the First Film First 2017–2018, and the EAVE 2018.

Ali Asgari – an acclaimed Iranian filmmaker whose short and feature films were presented at the most important international festivals. “More Than Two Hours” (2013) and “The Silence” (2016) were nominated for Palme d`Or at the Cannes Film Festival. His feature directorial debut, “Disappearance”, was shown in the Horizons sections at the Venice Film Festival.

Alireza Khatami – “Terrestrial Verses” is his second feature. His debut, “Oblivion Verses”, was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize and the Venice Horizons Award for best screenplay. “Terrestrial Verses” is another collaboration between the two directors. Their earlier film, “Until Tomorrow”, was presented in the Panorama section at the Berlin Film Festival in 2022.