Deepa MEHTA

Deepa Mehta is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker. Her films include the Elemental Trilogy:Earth (1988) Fire (1996), and Water(2005), which received an Oscar nomination in 2007 for the Best Foreign Language film, Bollywood/Hollywood (2002),Heaven on Earth (2008), Midnight’s Children (2012), based on Salman Rushdie’s three-time Booker Prize winning novel, and Anatomy of Violence (2016). Deepa directed the pilot and second episode for the Netflix Original series, Leila, and the pilot episode, “The Manager,” for Apple TV’s Little America. Her latest feature film, Funny Boy (2020), based on the award winning novel by Shyam Selvadurai, received awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Director at the Canadian Screen Awards 2021, and for Best Motion Picture and Best Supporting Performance Female at the Leo Awards 2021.

Cristina NORD

After graduating with a master of arts degree, Cristina Nord worked as a journalist and an editor. Between 2002 and 2015, she was the film editor of the culture section at the German daily newspaper “taz. die tageszeitung.” At the same time, Nord was active in various film-related fields, such as contributing to the program “Filmtip” at Germany’s Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) station, teaching film criticism at the Free University of Berlin, and being a member of the selection panel for the German-language documentary film festival, Duisburger Filmwoche. In addition, she is writing numerous essays on cinema including the book “True Blood” (2015). She began working at the Goethe-Institut in 2015 and became the director of the Berlinale Forum, an independent section of the Berlin International Film Festival run by the Arsenal - Institute for Film and Video Art, in 2019.

JANG Joonhwan

Jang Joonhwan majored in English Language and Literature at Sungkyunkwan University before studying film at the Korean Academy of Film Arts. Starting off in the production department of the film, Motel Cactus (1997), Jang participated in writing the screenplay for Phantom the Submarine (1999). After that, he made his feature debut film, Save the Green Planet!(2003). Following his debut, he received many awards both domestically and internationally, from the Silver St. George at the Moscow International Film Festival 2003 to the Golden Raven at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival 2004. After directing Hwayi: A Monster Boy (2013), Jang received the Best Director Award at the Grand Bell Awards and the Blue Dragon Award for Best Film in 2018 with 1987: When the Day Come (2017), a film that portrays the fight for democracy in South Korea in the 1980s.

JEONG Jae-eun

Jeong Jae-eun debuted in 2001 with her film, Take Care of My Cat (2001). Set in the city of Incheon, this film deals with the friendship and growth of a group of 20 year-old women, and premiered in numerous locations including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Hong Kong. While continuing to work on fiction films such as If You Were Me (2003), The Aggressives (2005), and Butterfly Sleep (2018), she produced a documentary trilogy on architecture: Talking Architect(2011), Talking Architecture, City: Hall (2013), and Ecology in Concrete (2017). Jeong is working on archiving multi-dimensional contents, such as the subjects forming the urban environment and space, the experience and memory of the space, and the history of the city, presenting them in the form of movies and exhibitions.

Reza MIRKARIMI

Reza Mirkarimi started his career with the release of his first short film, For Him (1987), and went onto build his reputation, receiving awards at numerous prestigious film festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival, the Festival des 3 Continents - Nantes, the Tokyo International Film Festival, and the Fajr International Film Festival. His latest film, Castle of Dreams (2019), received the Best Film award, the Best Director award, and the Best Actor award at the Shanghai International Film Festival 2019.Mirkarimi also contributes to fostering a new generation of Iranian directors by producing their films, while participating in various international film festivals as a jury member. He took on the role of jury president at the Moscow International Film Festival 2017.

Gulnara ABIKEYEVA

Gulnara Abikeyeva is a film critic from Kazakhstan, as well as the author of several books about films and the cinematic process. Her book, Cinema of Central Asia: 1990-2001, received high acclaim as the best book about cinema that was published that year in the CIS, while Nation-Building in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian States, and How This Process is Reflected in Cinematography was awarded the annual national prize, Kulager, in 2007. She is a member of FIPRESCI, NETPAC, and the APSA Academy Film Fund, and is currently a professor at Turan University, where she teaches film studies and fosters new talents.

KIM Haery

After graduating from the Department of Western History at Seoul National University in 1994, Kim Haery joined the weekly film magazine, CINE21, as a founding member in 1995, where she wrote about films and filmmakers. She went on to attend the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom for a Master’s Degree in Film Studies, and published numerous books, including Apologies to Movie, Talk to Her, Freeze Frame, Talk to Her Vol. 2, Sitting in Pictures, and Looking at You Looking at Me. She was commissioned to be a jury member for the FIPRESCI Award at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam 2008, and is currently a member of the editing committee at CINE21, as well as the host of the podcast, “Kim Haery’s Film Club.”

WANG Nanfu

2020 MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Wang Nanfu is an award-winning Chinese filmmaker based in the US. Her feature documentaries include HOOLIGAN SPARROW (Sundance 2016), I AM ANOTHERYOU (SXSW 2017), ONE CHILD NATION(Sundance 2019), and IN THE SAME BREATH (Sundance2021). Wang is celebrated for her fearless, bold storytelling. She has received four Emmy® nominations, has been twice Academy Award shortlisted, and is a recipient of the Independent Spirit Award, the Peabody Award, the George Polk Award, Cinema Eye Honor awards, and an IDA award.

Kelvin Kyung Kun PARK

Kelvin Kyung Kun Park is a visual artist based in Seoul, Korea, whose award-winning films and installations have been exhibited at various international venues, such as the Berlinale, the Busan International Film Festival, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) New York, and the Taipei Biennial. Park’s works, which include feature films, photography, and time-based installations, mainly deal with the subject of the unconscious and its relations with technology and subjectivity. As the winner of the NETPAC Award 2014, the BIFF Mecenat Award 2018, the Leeum ARTSPECTRUM Award 2016, and the Korea Artist Prize 2017, Park is one of the most recognized emerging visual artists in South Korea today.

Mandy MARAHIMIN

Mandy Marahimin is an Indonesian film producer. She produces both fiction and documentary films. Her latest feature documentary, Semesta (Islands of Faith)(2019), which was released theatrically, is now available on Netflix. Marahimin is the Outreach Director at Good Pitch Southeast Asia and Good Pitch Indonesia, a documentary pitching program. She was also the director of Docs by the Sea, anon-profit organization whose mission is to cultivate talents in documentary filmmaking and grow the documentary film ecosystem in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

Bastian MEIRESONNE

Bastian Meiresonne was born in Germany before moving to France as a teenager, where he studied film. He specialized in Asian cinema and wrote for various newspapers and magazines, as well as published a book about the Japanese director, Imamura Shohei. He was the artistic director of Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas for 4 years and currently still is an Asian cinema consultant and programmer for many international film festivals. His directorial film, Garuda Power: The Spirit Within (2014), a feature documentary about Indonesian action cinema, premiered at the Busan International Film Festival 2014, and went on to be screened at more than 50 film festivals worldwide.

Royston TAN

Royston Tan took the cinematic world by storm, collecting more than 90 awards and gaining worldwide recognition with his distinct cinematic narrative, original directorial style, and innate ability to connect with his audience. Tan has obtained various prestigious titles over the years such as ASEAN Director of the Year in 2001, Young Artist of the Year in 2002 by the National Arts Council, and “Top 20 Asian Heroes” in 2004 by TIME Magazine. He has recently completed his sixth feature film, 24, which will premiere at the Busan International Film Festival 2021.

YOON Danbi

Yoon Danbi is a Korean movie director and screenwriter. From the short films Life 101 (2012) and Fireworks (2015) to her feature debut film, Moving On (2019), she has continually focused her attention on family and human relationships. With her feature debut film, Moving On (2019), which highlighted her perceptive presentation, she has won numerous awards including four awards at BIFF 2019: the NETPAC Award, the KTH Award, the DGK MEGABOX Award, and the Citizen Critics’ Award. She went on to gain much recognition as she received various awards at prestigious international film festivals, from the New Choice Award at the Seoul Independent Film Festival 2019 to the Bright Future Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2020.

UHM Junghwa

Actress Uhm Junghwa started her acting career in the movie, On a Windy Day We Must Go to Apgujeong (1993). In Haeundae (2009), a movie with a total attendance of over 10,000,000, she realistically played the role of an affectionate mother who displays deep emotions of maternal love. With Dancing Queen (2012), she received the Best Actress Award at the Baeksang Arts Awards 2012 for her role. In addition to receiving the Leading Actress in Film Award at the Grand Bell Awards 2013for her role in Montage, she has starred in over 40 movies and dramas throughout her successful and illustrious career. Uhm’s recent performance in OK! Madam (2020), which received widespread acclaim for her lively action scenes and lighthearted humor, has successfully appealed to viewers of all generations.

CHO Jinwoong

Actor Cho Jinwoong started his acting career in plays and musicals, which led to his role in the movie Once Upon a Time in High School (2004) that launched his professional career in film. At the Baeksang Arts Awards 2015, he was awarded the Leading Actor in Film category for his portrayal of the fierce villa in in A Hard Day (2014). He also acted in the films The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014) and Assassination (2015), each totaling over 10,000,000 in attendance. Cho’s career was featured in a special exhibition at the Florence Korea Film Fest 2020 that showcased six of his representative films, including Believer (2018). Moreover, he has expanded his status worldwide by being crowned twice at the Fantasia International Film Festival 2020.He is continuing to build his career with the premiere of his two new films, The Devil’s Deal (working title) and The Policeman’s Lineage (working title).

Nada Azhari GILLON

Nada Azhari Gillon is a Syrian French critic, mainly interested in French, Arab, and Asian cinema, such as Iranian and Indian. She is the author of Al Cinema al-irâniyya al-râhina (Contemporary Iranian Cinema), (2012), and collaborates regularly with prestigious Pan-Arab media such as magazines and newspapers, including Al-Hayat, Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, and Arab Cinema Magazine. She is a member of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC), and Union des Journalistes de Cinéma in France (UJC). She participates in many international film festivals as a jury member, such as the Vesoul International Film Festival 2018, Warsaw International Film Festival 2018, and International Istanbul Film Festival 2019, and advises French and Asian festivals regarding their Arabic cinema programs.

WANG Hsin

Wang Hsin is a writer and a culture/political critic in Taiwan. He has published several works, such as the poem, Glacier Love (1996), Thirteen Entities of the Sea, which was published in 2000 in Taiwan (and 2003 in China), the novel, Wishing I Could Sleep as a Dream (2004), the art review, Elsewhere of Elsewhere (2011, 2019), and the current affairs review, Bronze Mirror (2020). Wang is a member of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), and served as a member of the jury at the International Istanbul Film Festival 2019. He was also admitted as an attorney-at-law in California and Taiwan.

KIM Nemo

Kim Nemo is a journalist, critic and university lecturer based in South Korea. Her work on Asian cinema and popular culture has appeared in numerous publications including Sight and Sound, CNN.com, Monocle, Billboard and the South China Morning Post. Kim served as the General Secretary of the Korean Branch of the FIPRESCI from 2017 to 2019. Kim also reports on political and social aspects of the two Koreas for the Guardian and contributes regularly on programs on BBC World, BBC Radio 4, and BBC World TV. Educated at the University of Cambridge and the University of London, Kim has a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Drama, an MA in Comparative Literature and an MSt in International Relations and has taught at the University of London (SOAS), Korea University and Hanguk University of Foreign Studies.

Freddy OLSSON

Freddy Olsson actively started making films in 1985, producing numerous low-budget movies in a studio, stationed in the middle of Stockholm. In 1987, he started working for Göteborg Film Festival, where he became the chairman for many years. These days, Olsson travels the world as a Senior programmer, while continuing to produce films. The Mill and the Cross, a film he produced with director Lech Majewski, along with his few other projects, was premiered at Busan International Film Festival. In addition, he is the Acquisitions Consultant for Folkets Bio, an independent distributor in Sweden with more than 20 cinemas around the country, and works with the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival as an International Advisor.

Mevlut AKKAYA

Mevlut Akkaya is an award-winning stage and screen producer and director, who is actively involved in various projects, including independent films and commercials, for over 15 years. Akkaya’s most notable films include Five Minarets in New York (2010), When Comedy Went to School (2013), a documentary about the American stand-up comedy industry, and The Doorman (2007). His other co-produced project, Embers (2015), also achieved much acclaim, as it became the Jury Award Winner at the New Orleans International Film Festival 2015 and was nominated for the New Directors Competition at the Chicago International Film Festival 2015. Currently, Akkaya is developing a political thriller feature film, Revolution Inc., and Shadow Wars, an episodic streaming international spy series.

YOO Sunhee

After graduating from the School of Creative Writing at the Seoul Institute of the Arts, Yoo Soonhee studied cinematography in France, at the School of Arts in Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University. Following her return to Korea, she worked as the editor at the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival’s official daily, JIMFF, and led screenwriting lectures at Jeonju University and Paekche Institute of the Arts for a long time. In addition to hosting film education and short film production programs at film-related institutes such as the JeonJu Film Commission and Iksan Public Media Center, Yoo continued to participate in educational programs. Furthermore, she has continued to contribute to the discovery of prominent Korean movies, serving as a programmer and representative at Cinematheque Cinephile Jeonju and Jeonbuk Independent Film Festival, and became the chairman for the Beautiful Hapcheon Independent Film Festival in 2020.

KIM Jaehan

Kim Jaehan made an autobiographical movie A Silent Man as a debut feature in 2011. With his next film Thuy in 2013, he was invited to more than ten international film festivals including Busan International Film Festival’s Korean Cinema Today_Vision section and Dubai International Film Festival. He also won the Grand Jury Prize at Tours International Asian Cinema Festival. In 2018, He was invited to officially compete at Moscow International Film Festival with Soldier's Mementos. He is currently waiting for the release of Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! bang, a protest song musical film and working on Climate Citizen Encyclopedia, a documentary film about climate change.

JANG Cheolsoo

Jang Cheolsoo was born in Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon-do province. After serving as the class president for four years in the elementary school, he went on to work as the school president in the middle school. He was so diligent that never missed a day during the six years of middle and high school, for which he was honored with the perfect attendance award. He debuted with a short Escalator to Heaven and a feature Bedeviled, and made Secretly, Greatly and SF8-White Crow afterwards. He also co-produced TV series Songgot. He is currently working on the post production of his latest film Serve the people.

HAN Junhee

Han Junhee debuted with Coin Locker Girl in 2015 which was invited to Critics’ Week at Cannes Fim Festival and won the New Director Award at Baeksang Arts Awards as well as the Grand Jury Prize at Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. His recent filmography includes Hit-and-Run Squad in 2018 and D.P., a Netflix original series in 2021.

KIM MooRyoung

She is a CEO of banzakbanzak Film Production and a film producer. She started joining the film industry through the marketing of The Room in the Forest (1991). At Shincine, she was in charge of the production and marketing of Mr. Momma (1992), The 101st Propose (1993), Ku-Mi-Ho (1993), The Gingko Bed (1996), The Letter (1997),A Promise(1998), and Lies (1999). She produced Indian Summer (2001) and Memories of Murder (2003) while she was in Sidus, and has been produced Like a Virgin (2006), Castaway on the Moon (2009), My dictator (2014), You Call It Passion (2015), Juror 8 (2019) in banzakbanzak Film Production. She has been awarded the Women in Film Korea Awards with Memories of Murder and published the production process of Juror 8 into the book titled The Notebook of a Film Producer: The Making of ‘Jury 8’.

Darcy Paquet

Darcy Paquet is the founder of Koreanfilm.org and the author of New Korean Cinema: Breaking the Waves (2010). A former correspondent for Screen International and Variety, he currently teaches at the Busan Asian Film School. He also works as a programme consultant for the Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy. In 2013 he co-launched the Wildflower Film Awards Korea, which celebrates achievement in Korean independent cinema, and he has done subtitle translation for over 100 films including Parasite, The Handmaiden, and The Woman Who Ran. Darcy has been living in Seoul since 1997.

JP LEE

He studied Film Studies in Korea National University of Arts. His short films Light My Fire (2007) and A Trip to The Moon (2009) have been officially selected from Busan IFF, Berlinale, Vancouver IFF, Jeonju IFF, BIFAN, and Seoul Independent Film Festival. Then he has directed Ensemble (2012), Born To Sing (2013), The Sound Of A Flower (2015), and SAMJIN COMPANY ENGLISH CLASS (2020).

KIM Byeong-jeong

A smelting furnace designer who studied machine designing, Kim Byeong-jeong began pursuing independenet filmmaking in 1996 and entered film industry when he enrolled in Korea National University of Arts in 1999. He joined dozens of short film and music video productions as an assistant cinematographer until he participated in Bong Joon-ho's Influenza, a JIFF Digital Project, in 2004 as a D.P. He went on to shoot a feature Cafe Seoul in 2009 and joined many productions afterwards including All Bark, No Bite, Alone, Visitors, The Land of Seonghye, Beyond That Mountain, Ensemble, The CMR and Beyond You. He was awarded two times by Golden Cinema Film Festival (2014, 2017) and won the Best Cinematography at Wild Flower Film Awards (2017). He is currently teaching as a professor at the Acting, Film and Digital Images Dept. in Mokwon University.

BACK Yoonseuk

Back Yoon-seuk received the Best Cinematography at Mise-en-scene Short Film Festival with Gahee & B. H., which encouraged him to officially start his career in cinematography. He has participated in numerous films since then including GO, STOP, MURDER (2014), My Ordinary Love Story (2014), Love Guide for Dumpees (2015), Split (2016), The Preparation (2017), Fengshui (2018), Juror 8 (2019), and Intruder (2020). He recently extended his film exploration to a broader extent with a musical movie Life is Beautiful (2021) and The Silent Sea (2021), a Netflix SF Series.

LEE Seon-yeong

Lee Seon-yeong participated as a D.P. in numerous independent productions including Jesus Hospital, which won the Grand Prize at the 7th Seoul Independent Film Festival, documentaries Bittersweet Joke and MANSHIN: Ten Thousand Spirits, and a narrative feature The Liar. She also joined various commercial productions such as Horror Stories I, Marriage Blue, Casa Amor; Exclusive for Ladies, The Chosen: Forbidden Cave, Horror Stories III, and On the Line, the latest film by Kim Byeongseon and Kim Byeongjun.

GIM Jiyeon

Gim Jiyeon studied philosophy and is a film critic. After her job as an editor for Critic b published by Busan Film Critics Association, she is currently working as an editor for Indie Critique, a film critic magazine for the independent films in Busan, and managing director for Busan Independent Film Association. She pursues writings that reflect cinema.

PARK Inho

Park Inho is a film critic. She is the president of Busan Film Critics Association (BCFA) and does commentaries on classic films at Busan Cinema Center’s Cinematheque Busan as well. She contributes to film magazines based in Busan: Critic b, published by the BCFA, and Indie Critique. She also writes for the Korea Film Archive (KOFA) and FILO, a bimonthly film magazine.

HONG Eunmi

Hong Eunmi worked as a programmer for Independent Film Festival Busan and editor for Indie Critique, a film critic magazine for independent films in Busan. She won Cine 21’s Film Critic Award in 2018. Currently reviewing and writing for films, she is working as a member of Busan Independent Film Association and Busan Film Critics Association.