Julia Ocker is an animation director, designer and writer based in Stuttgart. She was born in 1982 in Pforzheim, Germany and grew up in the Black Forrest. She studied Graphic Design in Pforzheim and Cairo, and Animation at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Her films cover a wide range of subjects, from her dark and frightening drama KELLERKIND, to the ingeniously funny, ZEBRA. In 2017, Julia made a whole series of animal films called ANIMANIMALS, and she is very excited about that!
Gottfried Mentor was born in 1981 in Strasbourg, and resides in Germany. He started freelancing as of 2004 in the film and TV industry. In 2012, he obtained a diploma from the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy, with a focus on Directing, Animation, and Conceptualization.
Robert Budina works as an independent film producer and director. He graduated from the Theatre Directing department in the Academy of Arts and has directed and written several theater plays. Together with Sabina Kodra he formed the ERAFILM Production Company in 2001. Robert has filed numerous roles as executive producer, supervisor production in various international coo productions.
Tania Al Khoury is a producer who studied Filmmaking in Beirut and then obtained her master’s degree in Cinema from Paris. In 2005, she joined the well-established independent production company Moby Dick Films, with which she worked as legal and financial manager until 2019. Since 2016, she has been producing independently; working between France and Lebanon where she has founded the company Khamsin Films in the year 2017.
Fatma Cherif is a filmmaker and director of photography, with a BA in History from Sorbonne University, Paris. She was raised in the midst of political action and cinema life in Tunis, which has cultivated her interest in both at a young age. Her debut documentary film was BENT EDDAR [SWEET HOME], which, along with her other films, gained her awards and international recognition.
Muhammad Al-Farini worked as Film Technician and was engaged in several non-profit cinematographic culture projects and film festivals before he co-founded HAKKA, the first distribution company specialized in arthouse movies, which has become one of the most active companies in Tunisia today. Muhammad runs two arthouse cinemas, namely AMILCAR in Tunis, and MÉTROPOLE in Menzel Bourguiba. He is also the founding president of Cinematographic ECHOES, an association aiming to promote cinephilia for marginalized audiences.
Hadeel Hussein is an Economic Development and Management Consulting Manager at Solutions for Development Consulting. She is involved in different sectors such as business, education, and arts, and has demonstrated history of working in several fields and industries. Her main focus was on project management, corporate social responsibility management, strategic planning, implementation, fundraising, as well as designing.
Darine Hotait is a writer and film director. She is the founder of Cinephilia Productions– an incubator with a mission to champion the development of storytellers and filmmakers from the Middle East and Africa. Darine's films can be seen on SundanceTV, AMC Networks, BBC Channel, ShortsTV, IndieFlix, HBO, and at more than a hundred international film festivals. She is the recipient of the New York State Council on the Arts Artist Award and the New York Foundation for the Arts Literary Fellowship.
Mohamed Lansari (born in 1988 in Casablanca, Morocco) is the Director of Cinémathèque de Tanger. He has a master’s degree in Marketing and Cultural management. In 2011, he joined the Contemporary Arts Biennale and Dance Biennale in Lyon - France. Mohamed is also an artist designer.
Christina Rosendahl graduated from the independent film school Super16 in 2004, yet she had her breakthrough in 2002 with the film STARGAZER – a film about the band Swan Lee. Christinal has always had an interest in children and youth in several of her short films as well as in her feature film debut, TRIPLE DARE. Her feature film THE IDEALIST (2015) focused on the Thule case – a forgotten chapter of Danish history. VIOLENTLY IN LOVE is her fourth documentary film.