Juries

Film producer Nansun Shi from Hong Kong has been described by Variety magazine as one of the 50 most influential indie filmmakers around the world. One of the biggest successes of her 20-year career was the prize-winning Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs, on which Scorsese based The Departed. In addition she produced Tsui Hark’s epic martial-arts movie Seven Swords, which opened the Venice Biennale in 2005.

Film editor Molly Malene Stensgaard from Denmark has worked on almost every film made by her fellow countryman Lars von Trier – from the series The Kingdom to The Idiots, Dancer in the Dark, Dogville and Manderlay. In doing so she has left her mark on Danish cinema. In addition, she has worked, for example, with director Anette K. Olesen, whose film In Your Hands screened in the Berlinale Competition three years ago.

Qualified lawyer, Peace Anyiam-Fiberesima is today known as one of the most significant personalities in the African film industry. She founded the African Academy which presents all meaningful African film awards and is President of the African Movie Academy Awards. The boom in the Nigerian home video market is largely due to the efforts of Peace Anyiam-Fiberesima. Her successes of note as a producer include the films Blind Date and Fear of the Unknown 1 & 2.

Ning Ying is widely considered one of the greatest directing talents out of China. Her international successes include Love Beijing (2001), the final part of a trilogy about people in her home city, Peking. The film was shown at the Berlinale in the Forum in 2001. For the documentary, Railroad of Hope (Forum 2002), Ning Ying was awarded the “Grand Prix du Cinemá du Réel” in Paris. Two years ago, Ning Ying presented her most recent film Perpetual Motion at numerous international film festivals.

Riina Sildos ist mit der wirtschaftlichen und der künstlerischen Seite des Filmemachens gleichermaßen vertraut. Sie begann als Filmkritikerin, wurde 1998 Mitbegründerin des Internationalen Film Festivals in Tallinn und war von 2000 bis 2003 Vorsitzende der Estnischen Filmstiftung. Als selbstständige Produzentin hat sie unter anderem die Dokumentation Wounds of Afghanistan sowie den ersten baltischen Animationsspielfilm Lotte from Gadgetville betreut, der im diesjährigen Berlinale-Programm von Generation zu sehen ist.

Judy Counihan’s film and television producer career has so far spanned 18 successful years. Two of her films, Antonia (1995) and No Man’s Land (2001), have been awarded the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. She also produced the war drama Before the Rain (1994) which won, amongst other awards, the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Teheran born, Niki Karimi is one of the best known Iranian actresses today. She has received numerous prizes at festivals at home and abroad, including Best Actress in San Sebastián (Sara, 1995), Taormina (Two women, 1999) as well as in Cairo (Hidden Half, 2001). Her directorial debut came in 2001 with the documentary To Have or not to Have, which dealt with the difficulties experienced by childless couples. She presented her first feature One night in Un certain regard in Cannes 2005 and her second feature A few days later in Toronto in 2006.

Gerhard Meixner is a graduate of the University of Television and Film in Munich. In 2002 he founded the production company Razor Film, together with Roman Paul. He registered his first success as a producer with Hany Abu-Assad’s drama Paradise Now, which picked up an award at the Berlinale as well as being nominated for an Oscar. Following this, he has been involved in Der Lebensversicherer (Running on Empty - winner of the “Dialogue en perspective” Award at the Berlinale 2006) and the MTV co-production, Die Aufschneider.

The respected character actress, who resides in France, is one of the most important international stars of contemporary cinema. She has performed for directors such as Luchino Visconti (The Damned), Woody Allen (Stardust Memories), John Boorman (Zardoz), Sydney Lumet (The Verdict) or Alan Parker (Angel Heart). For her role in Swimming Pool by François Ozon, she received the European Film Award for Best Actress in 2003.

The New York multi-media artist Matthew Barney was the shooting star of the international art scene in the mid 1990s. Between 1994 and 2002, Barney created a five-part series of art films, The Cremaster Cycle. His most recent film – Drawing Restraint 9 – was realized in collaboration with his wife, singer Björk.

With his Bollywood musicals, the successful producer and director attracts millions of movie-goers in India. He began his career as a filmmaker in 1959, but soon turned to producing. Since then he has realized some 30 movies with his own studio, Yash Raj Films. His dramatic love story Veer-Zaara won several of the International Indian Film Academy’s major awards in 2005.

With her directorial debut, A Question of Silence (1982), director Marleen Gorris from the Netherlands made a name for herself internationally. Her family chronicle Antonia’s Line (1995) received, among other awards, the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. In 1997 Marleen Gorris adapted Virginia Woolf’s classic novel Mrs. Dalloway for the screen.

A two-time Oscar-winner, the Polish cinematographer has collaborated with Steven Spielberg since 1989. He was decisive in creating the look of films such as Schindler’s List, Amistad, Saving Private Ryan and War of the Worlds. He also did the camerawork on Spielberg’s latest work, Munich. In 2000 he gave his directorial debut with the thriller Lost Souls.

Lee Young-ae is one of South Korea’s most popular actresses. In 2001 she was a guest of the Berlinale Competition with the thriller Joint Security Area. Last year, for her leading role in the internationally acclaimed drama Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, the actress received several prizes, including the Blue Dragon Film Award.

Armin Mueller-Stahl is one of Germany’s greatest stars of international renown. He began his career in East Germany, performing under the direction of Frank Beyer in films like Naked Among Wolves and Jacob the Liar. Then, after moving to the West, he attained international status with films such as Lola by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Music Box by Costa-Gavras. In 1996, he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Shine; in 1992, he was awarded the Silver Bear for his performance in Utz; and in 1997, he was honoured with the Berlinale Camera.

This successful American producer already ranks among the most legendary of Hollywood magnates. As casting director for George Lucas or John Huston, he discovered talents like Harrison Ford, Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise. Recent productions of the Oscar winner include Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth Without Youth and Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette.

With Only Human (Seres queridos, 2004), Spanish film producer Mariela Besuievsky scored a huge international success. Since 1995 she has worked for Tornasol Films in Madrid. As producer, she collaborated on Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón’s La vida que te espera (Your Next Life), Ken Loach’s Ae Fond Kiss as well as Eric Rohmer’s Triple Agent.

His graduation film for the Munich Academy for Television and Film took home the highest of awards: Quiero Ser (I Want To Be…) won an Oscar for Best Short Film in 2001. For his first full-length feature, Schatten der Zeit (Shadows of Time, Berlinale Special 2005), Florian Gallenberger received the Bavarian Film Award.

Korean producer Jung-Wan Oh has collaborated on some of South Korea’s most successful films. In 1999 she launched her own company, bom film productions, a year later she was honoured by the Korean Women’s Film Festival as “most notable woman of the year”. She has participated in the Berlinale with a number of productions, including Tears (Panorama 2001) and A Tale Of Two Sisters (Forum 2003).

Valentina Cervi is one of the new talents of Italian cinema. She has worked with acclaimed directors in various countries, including Jane Campion (Portrait Of A Lady), Mike Figgis (Hotel) and Peter Greenaway (The Tulse Luper Suitcases). At the Berlinale 2005 Valentina Cervi could be seen in the Competition entry Provincia Meccanica (Smalltown, Italy) by Stefano Mordini.

Born in Belgrade, the director made 13 feature films, shown and acclaimed at the most prestigious international film festivals. In 1992 he left his country, returning in 1998 to make The Powder Keg (aka Cabaret Balkan in the USA), which won several prizes, including the Critics’ Prize at the Venice Film Festival. For Midwinter Night’s Dream, which deals with post-war Serbia, Paskaljevic received the Special Prize of the Jury in San Sebastián in 2004. At the moment he is finishing the post-production of his new film The Optimists.

Hans Weingartner, who lives in Berlin, studied physics and neurosurgery before becoming a filmmaker. His highly acclaimed feature film debut, Das weiße Rauschen (The White Sound), won several awards (including both the Max Ophüls Award and the First Steps Award in 2001). In 2004, his second feature, Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei (The Edukators), was the first German-language film to be invited to the competition at the Cannes Film Festival in eleven years.

The career of this successful German director began with his graduation film The Noah’s Ark Principle at the Munich Graduate School of Film and Television. The film was shown in the 1984 Berlinale Competition and awakened worldwide interest. Hollywood discovered his talent and in 1992 Emmerich began his US career with Universal Soldier. This was followed by Oscar-winning Independence Day, Godzilla and The Patriot. In 2004 Emmerich made a highly topical contribution to the discussion on catastrophic climate changes with The Day After Tomorrow.

People Magazine elected the Chinese actress, who lives in the USA, one of the ’50 most beautiful people in the world‘. Her breakthrough Red Corner was followed by Hollywood films such as Wild Wild West, Anna and the King, Sky Captain and the world of Tomorrow and the Berlinale entry Beautiful Country. This year’s Panorama film Dumplings won her the “Golden Horse Award”, the Chinese Oscar, for best supporting actress.

The Dutch producer and co-chairman of the international distributing company fortissimo films is an leading expert on world cinema. Besides his advisory role for numerous festivals he has also headed the Hong Kong Asian Film Financing Forum. His most important productions include The Goddess of 1967, Party Monster, Bear’s Kiss as well as Peter Greenaway‘s trilogy The Tulse Luper Suitcases.

Nino Cerruti is in demand, not only in Paris and Milan but in Hollywood as well. For decades the world-famous fashion designer and founder of the "Cerruti 1881" fashion label has designed clothes for stars in their films. For instance, Anita Ekberg (La dolce vita), Harrison Ford (Air Force One) and Tom Cruise (Eyes Wide Shut) all wore Cerruti creations. He also designed outfits for Robert Altman’s fashion satire Prêt-à-Porter.

The actress Ingeborga Dapkunaite has received numerous awards for her work in a great variety of film genres. She appeared, for instance, in Nikita Michalkov’s Oscar-winning drama Burnt by the Sun (1994) and became known to international audiences with her roles in Mission Impossible (1996) and Seven Years in Tibet (1997). She appeared in 25 dégrés en hiver in the Berlinale Competition 2004.

The renowned Ukranian screenwriter, cinematographer and writer is seen as one of the most exciting discoveries in the international literary scene. His prize-winning novel “Picknik on the Ice”, about changing society in post-Soviet Russia, was translated into 22 languages. Andrei Kurkov has written over 20 screenplays including A Friend of the Deceased which was nominated in 1997 for the European Film Award.

Franka Potente attracted international attention with her top-form acting and running talents displayed in Tom Tykwer’s Run, Lola, Run (1998). The up-and-coming German star was soon in demand in Hollywood. Her roles included playing alongside Matt Damon in The Bourne Identity (2001) and its sequel The Bourne Supremacy three years later. Franka Potente appeared next in Che, directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Susan Korda is active as cutter, screenwriter and director. In 1990 she received an Oscar nomination for editing the documentary film For all Mankind. In 1999 she presented her documentary One of Us at the Forum. Susan Korda lectures at schools including the New York Tisch School of the Arts and at the International Film School, Cologne.

For many years Marten Rabarts worked as a producer and screenwriter for the cinema and television. In 2001 he became head of studies at Amsterdam’s Maurits Binger Film Institute. It was in this position that Rabarts made a decisive contribution towards realizing the film series Project 10 - Real Stories from a Free South Africa, premiered at the 2004 Forum.

Director and screenwriter Gabriela Tagliavini was born in Argentina. She celebrated one of the greatest cinema successes in Mexican film history with her feature Ladies Night (2003). Gabriela Tagliavini has also made short films and directed TV productions. She also gained recognition as a writer with her novel “Los colores de la memoria” (“The Colors of Memory”).