LEE Ranhee

Lee Ranhee worked as an actor and planner from 1996 at the theater troupe Han River before entering film as a screenwriter, director, and actor. Her short film A Perm (2009), about a migrant woman, screened at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and Berlin International Film Festival and won the Hamburger Competition Award at the Hamburg International Short Film Festival. Her feature debut film about a laid-off worker, A Leave (2020), premiered at BIFF and received three awards at the Seoul Independent Film Festival along with the Yu Hyun-mok Film Art Award at the Buil Film Awards. Her latest film, The Final Semester (2024), a sensitive portrait of a young worker's first job, won multiple honors at prestigious film festivals at home and abroad, including four awards at the BIFF, earning widespread critical acclaim. She has also acted in Geo-Lobotomy (2004), Daytime Drinking (2009), and The Nature Man (2023).

Abinash Bikram SHAH

Abinash Bikram Shah is a Nepalese writer and director, and an alumnus of the Asian Film Academy, Sundance Institute, Berlinale Talents, Film Independent Global Media Makers (GMM), and the Locarno Filmmakers Academy. Shah co-wrote The Black Hen (2015), which premiered at the Venice International Film Critics' Week, and Shambhala (2024), which was selected for the Competition section at the Berlin International Film Festival — both serving as Nepal's official Oscar entries. He wrote and directed the short film Tattini (2018), which screened at international festivals, and went on to become the first Nepali filmmaker to compete in the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival with his short Lori (2022), which earned a Special Mention. Most recently, his film Elephants in the Fog won the Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival in 2026.

Anuparna ROY

Anuparna Roy is a director and screenwriter whose work explores human relationships, identity, and social realities through intimate storytelling and a distinctive mise-en-scène. After studying English Literature at Kulti College, she made her feature directorial debut with Songs of Forgotten Trees (2025), which premiered in the Orizzonti section at the Venice International Film Festival, where she became the first Indian to win Best Director. It was nominated for the Sutherland Award at the BFI London Film Festival, selected for the Competition section at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, and was selected for the main Competition at the Lisboa Film Festival. Her second feature, Lovers in the Blue Night (2026), was selected for the Orizzonti section at the Venice International Film Festival.