SHORT FILMS JURY

Chairman

Morocco

Born in 1964 in Fez, Morocco. Director, screenwriter and film critic. He is a prominent figure in the Moroccan film industry, serving as both a director and professor at the Higher Institute of Audiovisual and Cinema Professions in Rabat. He holds a doctorate in cinema on the topic “Space in Cinema through Moroccan Film Models”. Additionally, he holds a Diploma in Literature with in-depth studies on the topic of “Novel and History in the Arab World”. President of the Union of Film Directors and Authors in Morocco. He has a collection of critical writings, including the book “Ouarzazate, a Space for Cinema” and “Cinema of Developing Countries”. He wrote and directed many feature films and documentaries. Through which he won many awards at national and international festivals. His most famous films are: “The Dancer” (2013, doc.), “Raja’ Bant Al-Mallah” (2014, doc.), “Water and Blood” (2015, short), “The State of the Soul” (2018), “Hala Madrid Visca Barca” (2020), “The Slave” (2023). Through his multifaceted contributions to Moroccan cinema, he continues to leave a lasting impact on both the industry and its cultural landscape.

 

 

Russia

Screen and stage actress. In 2007 graduated from the M.S. Shchepkin Higher Drama School (class of Olga Solomina, Yuri Solomin). In 2007–2010 she played on stage of the Maly Theater in Moscow. Since 2007 she has been an actress at Pyotr Fomenko Workshop Theatre. Performed in films and TV series “The Book of Masters” (2009), “Duhless” (2011), “Son of the Father of Nations” (2013), “The Fighters” (2013), “The Executioner” (2014), “Sofia” (2016), “The Black Cat” (2016), “Julbars” (2017–2020), “An Ordinary Woman” (2018–2020), “Godunov” (2018), “Dr. Preobrazhenskiy” (2018), “Silver Wolf” (2021), “Chernobyl” (2022), “Silence” (2022), “Tenderness 2” (2023), “I Won't Tell” (2023) and others.

 

 

USA

Director, producer. Graduate of the American Film Institute's directing program. Co-produced and appeared in the feature documentary film, “Hotel Gramercy Park”, which included cameos by Ben Stiller, Winona Ryder, and Kanye West. The film earned a jury citation at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival and screened on the Sundance Channel for several years. His first feature film, “Summertime in New York”, won best screenplay at 2013 First Time Fest and now available on 30 VOD outlets in 20 countries. In 2014, he filmed a short version of *Karaganda* at AFI in Russian, which won 5 festival awards. A full-length version was released in 2024. Also he worked on the Paramount Network, Sundance Channel, MTV, Nick, Comedy Central, etc.