Fabien Baumann (Film Critic)
Film critic Fabien Baumann has been writing since 2002 for the prestigious French film magazine "Positif", of which he has been a member of the editorial board since 2004.
He has coordinated several dossiers and special issues of the Lyon-based monthly magazine, in which he published numerous studies, reviews, and comprehensive interviews with filmmakers.
Since 2013, he has been teaching film aesthetics and history at the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français (CLCF) in Paris.
He is a trainer for high school teachers in the French capital and the province in the framework of various film education programs.
For seven years (2013-2019), he was a program advisor for France 2 Cinéma, particularly in the field of comedy. He is a member of the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics (SFCC).
Passionate about sports as well, he has written several books about French football and the Tour de France cycling competition, published by L’Équipe, Marabout, Solar, and Calmann-Lévy.
Rinio Dragasaki (Film Director, Screenwriter)
Rinio Dragasaki is a screenwriter and film director. She studied film in Athens and she got an MA in documentary and society at Escuela Superior de Cine y Audiovisual (ESCAC, Barcelona).
Since then, she has worked in film, television, and advertising.
She has written and directed four short films and a feature film.
Her short film “Dad, Lenin, and Freddy” was selected in numerous international film festivals, such as Clermont-Ferrand, São Paulo, Chicago, Edinburgh, etc., and won several distinctions.
It was awarded Best Short Film of the Hellenic Film Academy and received three awards at the Short Film Festival of Drama, including the Silver Alexandros.
“Schoolyard”, her next short, premiered at the Berlinale and was also one of the five nominees for the Best Short Film at the Hellenic Film Academy Awards. It was selected in many international film festivals (Guanajuato, Edinburgh, Dresden, Brest, etc.) and won distinctions for its experimental language.
Her debut feature film, “Cosmic Candy”, had its world premiere in Fantastic Fest (Austin, Texas), then it was selected in film festivals such as Sitges, Thessaloniki, and Los Angeles Greek Film Festival. It won the Best First Film Director and the Best Special Effects and Cinematic Innovation at the Hellenic Film Academy Awards.
She is currently developing her second feature project, “Panhellenic”.
Cristian Lolea (Film Music Composer)
Cristian Lolea is a prolific composer who manages to successfully approach in an original way very different musical areas, from avant-garde classical music to pop rock.
He started composing film music in 2004, when director Gheorghe Preda chose him to score his feature film “An Angel Hooked on Me”.
Since then, he has composed film music frequently, working with directors such as Andrei Gruzsniczki, Adina Pintilie, Dan Pița, Doru Nițescu, Marian Crișan, Ionuț Teianu, Dragoș Turea, and Ivan Ostrochovský.
His approach varies from extremely minimalist themes (as in “Breakdown”) to very complex music (as in “An Angel Hooked on Me” – a fusion of symphonic, industrial, and electronic music).
For his film music, he won several awards, among which the “Georges Delerue” Prize at la Film Fest Gent and the Best original score prize at Festival International de Film Saint-Jean-de-Luz (in 2020, for “Servants”), the Romanian Filmmakers’ Union Award (in 2015, for “Carmen”, and in 2016, for “Orizont”), the Gopo Award (in 2008, for “An Angel Hooked on Me”), and the Special mention for original music at the Moldavian Filmmakers’ Awards Gala (in 2020, for “The Soviet Garden”).
Aleksandra Zhukova (Scriptwriter, Producer)
Aleksandra Zhukova is a scriptwriter, producer, and program director of festivals. In 2009 she graduated from Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, specialty – scriptwriter.
She was program director of several film festivals, including “Amur Autumn” (Far East, Russia), “Open Place” (Latvia), and “Alliance” (Georgia). Jury member of various festivals.
Winner of the script prize at the Literature and Film Festival (Gatchina).
In 2017 she made her debut as a producer with the documentary film "Naked Life" about Russian contemporary artist Petr Pavlensky, which received several prizes at various festivals in Russia, Poland, Latvia, and others.
In 2020, she became the producer of the omnibus “BorderLine”, made by young directors in the framework of the film school “Alliance”.
As a screenwriter, she has worked on short films and television. “Puppetry” is her feature-length scriptwriting debut.
Ada Condeescu (Actress)
Actress Ada Condeescu graduated from the National University of Theatre and Film (UNATC) in Bucharest.
Her debut as a leading actress in a feature film was “If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle” (2010), directed by Florin Șerban and selected in the competition of Berlin Film Festival.
She has worked with directors such as Cătălin Mitulescu, Bogdan Mustață, Jasmila Žbanić, Markus Mörth, Fateme Ahmadi and Antonio Pisu.
For her role in “Loverboy” (2011), she was awarded in festivals at Sarajevo and Vilnius.
In 2013 she received the Shooting Stars trophy at the Berlinale.
In 2016 she opened her first solo photography exhibition.
She has been a member of the juries of international film festivals in Poland, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Belgium.