Mike FIGGIS

Film director, musician, writer, curator, and photographer – Mike Figgis is an artist whose work has spanned across various disciplines. Following the success of his debut theatrical film Stormy Monday (1988) in the United States, he entered the world of commercial filmmaking. Figgis was celebrated internationally with the success of Leaving Las Vegas (1995) which gained him great plaudits and won several awards, including the Best Director Award at National Society of Film Critics Awards 1995, and the Academy Award for the Best Actor for Nicolas Cage. Encouraged by this huge success, Figgis explored more experimental and minimal approaches to filmmaking and directed Timecode (2000), the first real-time digital film ever made. Figgis now actively explores alternative strategies in film production, designing both economic and creative platforms for contemporary filmmakers.

Karel OCH

Karel Och studied film theory and history at Prague’s Charles University. Since 2001, he has worked for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival as a selection committee member and also curated filmmaker retrospectives, including Sam Peckinpah, John Huston and Elio Petri among many others. He was appointed as an artistic director of the Karlovy Vary IFF in 2010. He is now a member of the European Film Academy, the Lux Prize selection, and FIRESCI.

Samal YESLYAMOVA

A Kazakh actress, Samal Yeslyamova graduated from the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS) with a specialization in directing and acting. She starred in the film Tulpan (2008) by director Sergey Dvortsevoy, which won the Prix Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival. She also won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival for Ayka (2018), marking her as a renowned leading actress.

LEE Sinje

Lee Sinje made her debut Betelnut Beauty (2001) and won the New Talent Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. She earned a big splash with The Eye (2002) and became the first Malaysian recipient of the Best Actress Award at the Golden Horse Awards in 2002. In the same year, she won the Best Actress Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Golden Bauhinia Awards, and Chinese Film Media Awards, marking her as a world-famous star. She was invited as a jury member to the Taipei Film Festival and Golden Horse Awards, and has been the ambassador of the Malaysia International Film Festival since 2017.

SUH Youngjoo

Suh Youngjoo, the CEO of Finecut Co., LTD., has produced, financed, and internationally distributed more than 200 Korean and co-produced films: Burning (2018), Poetry (2010), and Oasis (2002) by Lee Chang-dong, Old Boy (2003) by director Park Chan-wook, The Host (2006) by director Bong Joon Ho, A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) by director Kim Jeewoon, The Wailing (2016) and The Chaser (2008) by director Na Hong-jin, and of course many of director Hong Sangsoo’s. She continuously challenges new attempts in the film industry by establishing an actor management division, Finecut Entertainment, and Korea’s first Writers Agency (WAF).

Mohsen MAKHMALBAF

Mohsen Makhmalbaf is an Iranian director, writer, producer. He is known as one of the most influential filmmakers and founders of the new wave of Iranian cinema in the world today. During his career Makhmalbaf has made numerous critically-acclaimed films including, The Night of Zayandeh-Rood (1990), Time of Love (1990), Salaam Cinema (1995), Gabbeh (1996), A Moment of Innocence (1996), The Silence (1998), Tales of Kish (1999), Testing democracy (2000), Kandahar (2001), Scream of the Ants (2006), and The President (2014). He is the recipient of more than 50 international awards from some of the most prestigious film festivals across the world. His film Kandahar has been chosen as one of the top 100 best movies of history of cinema by Times Magazine. And his film A Moment of Innocence has been selected as one of the top 10 best films of the 1990s amongst the directors of world international film festivals. As a writer- director Makhmalbaf has also published more than 30 books, many of which have been translated and published in many languages.

HUH Moonyung

Huh Moonyung started his career as a film journalist and then a film programmer for the Busan International Film Festival and a director of Cinematheque Busan. He has also served as a film critic for some film magazines and published two books on film. He is now working for the Busan Cinema Center as a program director, and a contributor for a bimonthly film magazine FILO.

TAN Chui Mui

Born in Malaysia, Tan received the New Currents Award and FIPRESCI Award at the 11th Busan International Film Festival for Love Conquers All (2006). She received inaugural reviews and awards from numerous international film festivals including International Film Festival Rotterdam, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, and has served as a jury member at the Busan International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam and Pacific Meridian International Film Festival. She pioneered the Malaysian New Wave Cinema thanks to her founding of the Da Huang Pictures in 2005. Tan is constantly consolidating her position as a prominent actress, both in name and reality as well as a platform organizer to discover new Malaysian talents.

JEONG Jae-eun

Jeong Jae-eun debuted with Take Care of My Cat (2001), a film which portrays the friendship and growth of four 20-year-old women living in Incheon, Korea. She won numerous awards including the KNF Award Special Mention at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, NETPAC Award at the Busan International Film Festival, Golden Moon of Valencia at the Valencia International Film Festival – Cinema Jove, the Debut Prize at the International Women’s Film Festival Cologne for Take Care of My Cat. She produced an omnibus film for human rights If You Were Me (2003) and The Aggressives (2005), a film about urban youngsters riding in-line skates around Seoul. The Aggressives was invited to the Generation section of the Berlin International Film Festival. With an interest in urban space and environment, she directed the construction documentary trilogy, Talking Architect (2013), Talking Architecture, City: Hall (2013), and Ecology in Concrete (2017). She recently produced Butterfly Sleep (2018) starring Kim Jae-wook and Nakayama Miho, which was released in Korea and Japan.

HAMAGUCHI Ryusuke

Hamaguchi Ryusuke was born in Kanagawa, Japan in 1978. His graduation project Passion (2008) was selected for the San Sebastian Film Festival 2008. He also directed the three-part documentary with director Sakai Ko; Sound of Waves (2013) and Voices from the Waves (2013) that present survivors of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, while Storytellers (2013) consists of folktales in Tohoku. His 5-hour-17-minute Happy Hour (2015) starring 4 non-professional actresses participating in his acting workshop was invited to the Locarno Film Festival 2015. The unique film design helped propel cast members towards winning the Best Actress prize. His last film Asako I & II (2018) was selected for competition section at the Cannes Film Festival 2018.

Andy WHITTAKER

Andy Whittaker established Dogwoof, the leading film distributor of documentary films. Dogwoof became a global sales agent in 2011 with titles including Blackfish (2013) and Cartel Land (2015). Whittaker is responsible for Dogwoof’s partnerships including Netflix, focusing on digital content strategies in the digital era. He also distributed award winning films such as Free Solo (2018), which won the Best Documentary Feature at the 91st Academy Awards and Apollo 11 (2019) which received positive responses and was invited to the Sundance Film Festival 2019. He was listed as one of The Evening Standard’s 1000 most influential Londoners in the world of politics, music, food, film, and business.

LEE Soo-youn

Lee Soo-youn studied filmmaking at Chung-Ang University Graduate School and Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA). La (1998), her graduation project from KAFA, was invited to the Wide Angle section of the Busan International Film Festival 1998 and The Goggles (2000), another graduation project from Chung-Ang University, won the Best Fiction Film at the 26th Korean Indie & Short Film Festival and the Busan Asian Short Film Festival. With her first feature film The Uninvited (2003), she won the Best New Director at the Baeksang Arts Awards and Citizen Kane Award for Best New Director at the Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia. Her film E.D. 571 from the omnibus feature Modern Family (2012) won the Movie Collage Award at the Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival and received Special Mention at the Florence Korea Film Fest. Her new film Bluebeard (2017), invited to Busan International Film Festival’s Korean Cinema Today – Panorama section, drew over a million viewers after its theater release.

Phuttiphong AROONPHENG

Phuttiphong Aroonpheng was born in 1976 and studied fine arts at Bangkok’s Silpakorn University. His debut film Manta Ray (2018), screened at over 70 festivals and received 12 awards including the Best Film in the Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti section. He participated in the Asian Film Academy at the Busan International Film Festival 2009. He works extensively as a cinematographer, with credits including Vanishing Point (2015) by Jakrawal Nilthamrong, The Island Funeral (2015) by Pimpaka Towira, and Dolphins by Waleed Al-Shehhi.

Stefan KITANOV

Stefan Kitanov founded the Sofia International Film Festival in 1997, the biggest international film festival in Bulgaria and one of the key film events in Central and Eastern Europe accredited by the FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations). He was the director and programmer of the Cinema House, the leading art cinema theater representing Bulgaria. Since 1995, he has produced and co-produced more than 20 films with directors such as Rangel Valchanov, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, and Stephan Komandarev that received national and international recognition (Komandarev's The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner was shortlisted for the Foreign Language Film Award of the Oscars). He also released numerous films theatrically in Bulgaria made by film masters including Wim Wenders, Michael Haneke, Lars von Trier, Aki Kaurismaki, Terry Gilliam, Darden brothers, Ken Loach, and Kore-eda Hirokazu. A member of the European Film Academy, he was selected for the jury at various film festivals including Venice, Cannes, Karlovy Vary, Moscow, Cluj, Wiesbaden, Thessaloniki, and EFA.

BAE Jong-ok

Bae Jong-ok made her acting debut on Korean Broadcasting System (KBS). She has formed her own acting style by eagerly performing on TV and film screens. She won the Best Actress Award at the Daejong Film Awards for Portrait of the Days of Youth (1990) and Baeksang Arts Awards for Walking All the Way to Heaven (1992). She has also played in diverse popular TV series such as Lie (1998), Foolish Love (2000), and My Husband’s Woman (2007). Recently, she has been playing a charismatic and elegant politician in the Korean drama series Designated Survivor: 60 Days (2019).

JUNG Jae-young

Jung Jae-young graduated from Seoul Institute of the Arts with a major theater. He then started his acting career in the play Heotang in 1996. He then entered the film scene and gained a reputation from Guns & Talks (2001). His extensive filmography includes films such as Silmido (2003), Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005), Public Enemy Returns (2008), Castaway on the Moon (2009), Moss (2010), Confession of Murder (2012), The Fatal Encounter (2014), and The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale (2019). He also won Best Actor Awards from the Blue Dragon Awards in 2010 and Locarno Film Festival in 2015 for Right Now, Wrong Then (2015). Nowadays, he continues his career through TV series such as Duel (2017) and Partners for Justice (2018-2019).

Premchand POTTANGADI

Elaine GUERINI

SEO Kok-suk

NGO Phuong Lan

Sabrina BARACETTI

KIM Eunyoung

JUNG Sung-il

WON Seunghwan

E Oni

MIN Yong Keun

MOON Si-hyun

LEE Kwon

KIM Sunryung

UM Hye-jung

KIM Jaeho