Marijke Rawie

occupation: Consultant
country: The Netherlands
company: ExpertDocs
Marijke Rawie (ExpertDocs) is an independent documentary consultant. ExpertDocs specializes in international Documentary Training & Consultancy, and works for various documentary festivals and pitching forums like HotDocs, IDFA, EBU, EDN, Ex Oriente Film, Dragon Forum, CoPro, Sunny Side of the Doc. Marijke Rawie is involved in initiatives like the current European Discussion on the Freedom of Expression and Information in Documentaries and she is one of the founders of FACE, the Association for Fair Audiovisual Copyright in Europe. She is currently a Consultant for the Ex Oriente Film pitching training and a tutor at Documentary Campus Masterschool. From 1990 to 2006 she was Head of Art & Documentary at AVRO TV, the first public broadcaster in the Netherlands. In 1991 she founded the documentary slot AVRO Close Up which became one of the leading international co-producers and co-financiers of documentaries in Europe. She studied Political Sciences at the University of Amsterdam. After her studies she worked as an economic journalist for various national newspapers in the Netherlands before she went to become a commissioning editor at the national TV in the Netherlands.

Mikael Opstrup

occupation: Organization Representative, Producer
country: Denmark
company: European Documentary Network
A dedicated documentarist since making my first documentary – now hidden from the public in my cellar – in 1977. In 1979 I graduated in Film from the University of Copenhagen. Most of the 1980s I worked in distribution and theatrical release of documentaries. Attended script writing at the Danish Film School in 1988. Worked as Freelance Producer and Production manager up through the 90’s. Organized the film festival Films from the South in 1995-98. Made a desk cross-over in 1998-2002, working as Production Adviser at the Danish Film Institute. Attended EAVE in 1998/99. Since 2000 I have worked as tutor at a large number of workshops and forums around Europe and in the Middle East. In 2002-2008 I was co-owner and producer at Final Cut Productions in Copenhagen where I produced a number of international documentaries. Was board member of EDN from 2005 to 2008, the last year as Chairman. In 2009 I worked as Film Strategic Adviser of the Middle East at International Media Support. Also since 2009 I serve as lead production tutor at Ex Oriente Film Workshop. Since 2011 I work as Head of Studies at EDN.

Martin Schweighofer

occupation: Organization Representative, Producer
company: AFC – Austrian Film Commission
Born in Vienna, Martin studied journalism and drama at the University of Vienna. Film critic and arts editor for Austrian periodicals (until 1993). Cofounder of the theatre company Theater im Kopf, Member of various selection boards of film subsidy agencies; Founder and director of the film festival Diagonale (1993-1996). Initiator of a pan-European film promotion organization that subsequently developed into European Film Promotion (EFP). Member of the Borad of Directors of the European Film Academy. Member of the Board of Directors of the Austrian Film Institute.CEO of the Austrian Film Commission (AFC).

Thomas Østbye

occupation: Director
country: Norway
company: PLYMSERAFIN
Thomas A Østbye is a distinctive artist and filmmaker. His films, including Take #2, Imagining Emanuel, Human and In Your Dreams combine artistic reflections on the documentary genre with contemporary political dilemmas. His art work is bought by the Arts Counsil Norway, broadcasted, screened at HotDocs and MoMA and received a number of art and film awards, including CPH:DOX Award.

Patricia Drati Ronde

occupation: Festival Representative, Journalist, Producer
country: Denmark
company: CPH:DOX – DOX:LAB
Patricia was born in 1975 in Czechoslovakia, where she studied Film Studies at the VŠMU (University of Performing Arts), Bratislava. After her studies, Patricia worked in Prague as a journalist and writer, focusing on film, culture and design. Since then, she has been cobbling her passion for visual expression and working within these three fields. In 2007 Patricia relocated to Copenhagen, Denmark, from where she still occasionally works as a Scandinavian correspondent for various Czech newspapers and magazines, however now more focusing on the subject of film. In September 2009, Patricia started working for CPH:DOX International Documentary Film Festival, first as International Marketing and Communication Manager, and from August 2010 as DOX:LAB Project Manager, where she is the head of commissioned cross-cultural training and development program for young filmmakers from all over the world. She holds the Danish Academy Award 2012 in Short Film category for the production of the short film Girl in the Water that was produced as part of the DOX:LAB project. Since 2013, Patricia also works as a free-lance manuscript reader for the prestigious production company Meta Film based in Copenhagen.

Peter Kerekeš

occupation: Director, Producer, Scriptwriter
country: Slovak Republic
company: Peter Kerekes s. r. o
Peter Kerekes (born 1973 in Košice) studied film directing at the Academy of Performing Arts (VŠMU) in Bratislava in the years 1991 – 1998. He eventually ended up teaching the same subject at the same institution, where he, together with Dušan Hanák, founded the feature and documentary film studio. Although he originally wanted to make feature films and managed to reach for the university degree, he fell for documentary storytelling ever since his first documentary about Slovakian poet Erik Groch. His latest feature Cooking History (produced by Austrian director and producer Georg Misch) was awarded at many international festivals, such as Hot Docs and DOK Leipzig, and even nominated for the renowned Prix Arte 2009 European Film Award.

Georg Tschurtschenthaler

occupation: Producer
company: Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion
Born December 20, 1974 in Innichen, Italy, Georg Tschurtschenthaler studied economics and communication sciences in Vienna. After working as a business consultant he started his career in film industry in 2003 as a freelance producer and production manager for both documentary and fiction films. Since January 2009, he works as producer for documentaries and cross-media projects in Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduction, one of the major German documentary production companies based in Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne.

Filip Remunda

occupation: Director, Producer, Scriptwriter
country: Czech Republic
company: Hypermarket Film
Filip Remunda (born in 1973) is a Czech director and producer. In 2005 he graduated from FAMU’s Department of Documentary Film in the masterclass of Karel Vachek. During his studies he attended the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in Jerusalem. He lectured at the Flaherty Documentary Seminar in the USA. Co-founder of the Institute of Documentary Film. He runs the independent production company Hypermarket Film. Selected Filmography: Village B. (2002, 35mm, 30’, FAMU, Czech TV, YLE, ARTE, awarded at the 2002 Karlovy Vary IFF, 2003 FamuFest, 2003 Art Film Festival); Czech Dream (dir. with Vít Klusák, 2004, 35mm, 87’, Hypermarket Film, Czech TV, Mirage, FAMU); The Tadpole, the Rabbit and the Holy Ghost (26’, Digi Beta, Czech Television, Jihlava IDFF 2007 Audience Award, Pavel Koutecky Award 2007); Czech Peace (dir. with Vít Klusák, 2010, 35mm, 103’, Hypermarket Film, Czech TV, Taskovski Films), Epochal Trip of Mr. Triska to Russia (2011, 52’, Czech TV).

Siniša Juričić

occupation: Producer
country: Croatia
company: Nukleus Film
Siniša Juričić founded Nukleus association in 2003, Nukleus Film Croatia in 2009 and Nukleus Film Slovenia in 2012. He graduated acting in 1990 and film production in 2009 from the Academy of Drama Arts in Zagreb, Croatia. Prior to Nukleus fully consumed his focus and time, he worked as the journalist, editor and producer at Radio 101, which was one of the most influential radio stations in the territories of ex-Yugoslavia. He was also founding member of Omladinska televizija (Youth TV – OTV) working as one of the producers and later in charge of programming. During the war in former Yugoslavia served as the news and documentary producer for Visnews (todays Reuters TV), ZDF, BBC Radio and Television and Nippon TV, which is the biggest private TV network in Japan. As the part of the BBC team that produced «Fighting the Peace» film, won annual British award for best documentary. In 1998 together with director Vinko Brešan, produced 11′ film in 360 degrees technique, film that represented Croatia in Lisbon at EXPO 98 exhibition. Film was screened by over one million viewers. Sinisa’s focus is on producing films and helping talented filmmakers from the EEC to achieve their full international potential. The passion remains in the film, although he is preparing for his first cross-media production . Regularly receiving international film awards and funding for films, both at home and internationally.

Nebojša Slijepčević

occupation: Director, Producer, Scriptwriter
country: Croatia
company: Restart
Nebojsa Slijepcevic was born in 1973 in Zagreb, Croatia. In 2005 he graduated with Film Directing from the Academy of Drama and Art, also in Zagreb. He directed numerous TV documentaries and series (Direkt, Staying Alive, City Folk), but also creative and author driven documentaries (In 4 Years, Real Man’s Film, Of Cows and People) for which he received awards from various festivals (EDN Talent Grant at Sarajevo FF, Human Rights Award at Sarajevo FF, Best Director at Verona FF, Audience Award at Zagreb Dox…).His first feature documentary film Gangster of Love (2013) had an international premiere at Hot Docs, and European premiere at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Nebojsa is one of the main tutors at School of Documentary Film held by RESTART, aimed at people of all ages who want to direct their first documentary.

Slaven Tolj

occupation: Multimedia Artist, Organization Representative
country: Croatia
Slaven Tolj (born in 1964), a multimedia artist from Dubrovnik, Croatia. He achieved international recognition for his installations, body art, and performances presenting distinct political and social-cultural criticism.His work as an artist was determined by his experiences of the Yugoslav War, the Siege of Dubrovnik by the Yugoslavian army as well as the disintegration of former Yugoslavia.He has been intensively involved in organisational and curatorial activities incorporating themes and issues related to political transformation and the emergence of multiculturalism and globalization.In 2005 he was the commissioner of the Croatian pavilion at the Venice Biennale. He is a founder of Art Workshop Lazareti in Dubrovnik – a key institution for contemporary art scene in Dubrovnik and Croatia.He is a director of MUSEUM OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART since 2012.

Željka Suková

occupation: Director, Producer
country: Croatia
company: Udruga Ukus
Born 1977 in Rijeka, Croatia, Željka studied Graphic Arts at Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb and New Media at Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. ‘Marija’s Own’ (2011) was her docu-fiction-feature film debut. It had its world premiere at Hot Docs, Toronto and European premiere at Karlovy Vary IFF where it was awarded the Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean Award and was screened at more than 20 festivals including MOMA’s Documentary fortnight’s Gala closing night. ‘Winter/Miracle’ (2012) a docu-fiction film coproduction co-directed by Gustavo Beck from Brazil was screened at CPH:DOX and Goteborg IFF.

 

Rada Šešić

occupation: Festival Programmer, Expert Consultant, Film Lecturer
country: The Netherlands
Born in Bjelovar (Croatia), lived in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), now lives in The Netherlands. Worked as a film critic and a journalist for Radio-Television Sarajevo and for the film magazine Sineast. Directed several documentaries in her home country. Since 1993, based in Utrecht. Mentor at the Master of film at the Netherlands Film Academy in Amsterdam. Collaborates on the programme of two biggest film festivals in The Netherlands: IFFR Rotterdam and IDFA in Amsterdam and is on a selection of Hubert Bals Fund. Head of the Documentary Competition Programme of the Sarajevo FF. For several years, lectured at the University of Amsterdam at the Faculty for the film theory. For two years guest lectured at Srishti Institute, Bangalore, India. Programme advisor of DOK Leipzig for South East European and South Asian Film, Artistic director of Eastern Neighbours Film Festival, The Hague; curated independently documentary and fiction programs for a.o. IDFA, IFFR, Kerala IFFK, Chennai InKo, Doku Art, Dok Leipzig. In The Netherlands directed four short documentaries and dance films : Room without a View (1997); Soske (2001); In Whitest Solitude (2001); The Way to School (2007), won several awards. As a film critic collaborated on several books, a.o. 24 Frames of Dina Iordanova, on Documentary World Encyclopedia, Variety Film Guide, Dox magazine, Skrien, Sineast, Hrvatski Filmski ljetopis. Member of EDN, NETPAC and on advisory board of BDC. Served on 35 juries in Europe and Asia.

Vanja Jambrović

occupation: Producer
country: Croatia
company: Restart
Vanja Jambrović was born in 1980 in Zagreb, Croatia. In 2005 she graduated philosophy and comparative literature at Faculty for social sciences in Zagreb and in 2011 she graduated film production at Academy of drama art, also in Zagreb. Vanja started working in films in 2002 as production assistant and festival coordinator. Since 2008 she is working exclusively in film production as an independent producer for Restart that she founded with her colleagues and where she acts as one of the key producers. Restart is an organization covering whole circle of documentary and short film industry, including professional production, education, distribution label (Restart label) and running Dokukino small art house cinema in the center of Zagreb dedicated in screening only creative documentaries. Until now Vanja produced as a leading producer 4 documentaries (“Gangster of Love” and “Real Man’s Film” by Nebojša Slijepčecić and “Don Juans: Excuse me Miss” and “Happy Land” by Goran Dević). Vanja also produced short fiction film “Boxed” by Nebojša Slijepčević. Working as producer of Restart Laboratory – platform for first time directors, Vanja also produced numerous short documentaries made by young authors.Apart from production work Vanja is also working as researcher journalist for HRT, scriptwriter and a poet. Her book of poems “Poems for woolen nights” was awarded as the best Croatian book of poetry by young author in 2012.

Aleš Suk

occupation: Director, Cinematographer
country: Czech Republic
company: Udruga Ukus
Independent film maker, producer and new media artist. Born 1977 in Vrchlabi, Czech republic, studied FAMU (1999-2005) lives in Rijeka, Croatia. Teaches at Prague Film Academy (FAMU), Department of film editing since 2004 and at Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka (New media and animation) since 2009. Founder and CEO of Udruga UKUS.