2019

Mahdi Fleifel (born in Dubai) is a Danish-Palestinian film director who graduated from the UK National Film & Television School. In 2010, he co-founded the London-based production company Nakba FilmWorks. Mahdi’s critically-acclaimed debut feature, A WORLD NOT OURS (2012) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and received over 30 awards, including the Berlinale Peace Film Prize, the Edinburgh, Yamagata and DOC:NYC Grand Jury Prizes.

Debra Zimmerman is the Executive Director of Women Make Movies, a NY non-profit social enterprise that has been supporting women filmmakers with distribution and production assistance of their independent films since 1972.  During her 35 year tenure, it has grown into the largest distributor of films by and about women in the world. For 16 years, films and filmmakers from WMM’s programs have won or been nominated for Academy Awards, including CITIZEN FOUR, SAVING FACE, STRONG ISLAND and this year’s FREE SOLO.

Søren Lind (b. 1970) is a Danish author, director and scriptwriter. With a background in philosophy, Lind wrote books on mind, language and understanding before turning to film and fiction. He has published novels, shorts story collections and several children’s books. Lind screens and exhibits his films at museums, galleries and film festivals worldwide. Recent venues and festivals include the 58th Venice Biennial, MoMA (US), Barbican (UK), Nikolaj Kunsthal (DK), Berlinale (D), International Film Festival Rotterdam (NL) and BFI London Film Festival (UK). He lives and works in London.

Yousef Nateel is a Palestinian filmmaker/director and founder and CEO of Skills Media Production. He holds a degree in TV arts and production and has worked as a filmmaker and production manager at Pyalara and Sharek Youth Forum. In 2012, he worked as Production Manager for Gaza 36MM and SARA, selected for Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). In 2016, Yousef won a grant from A. M. Qattan Foundation and the Danish CKU for the development of his film GAZAGRAPH, which he completed through Creative Interruptions.

Jerusalem-born filmmaker Mahasen Nasser-Eldin tells stories of resistance and resilience, crafting carefully researched and scripted narratives that restore new life to forgotten figures and celebrate those on the margins of society. A meticulous researcher, Mahasen specializes in reconstructing historical narratives using audio and visual archives. Her films have screened at local and international festivals. Mahasen holds a master's degree in filmmaking from Goldsmiths College, London. She currently teaches film at Bethlehem's Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture.

Ryah Aqel was born to a Palestinian family and grew up in Michigan. She is a cultural producer and multimedia artist interested in the relationship between indigenous communities, identity and land, in Palestine and beyond. She holds a BA in politics and Middle Eastern Studies (University of Michigan) and an MA in Near Eastern Studies (New York University). Aqel served most recently as Curator of Education and Public Programming at the Arab American National Museum.

Najwa Najjar is a Palestinian writer and director. She received her BA in Political Science and Economy, and her MA in Film and Video Production (USA). Since 2000, she has worked on both documentary and fiction films, and her critically acclaimed debut feature film was POMEGRANATES AND MYRRH (2009).  Her second award winning feature film, EYES OF A THIEF (2014), was the Palestinian submission for the 2015 Oscars best foreign film category. She is currently completing her third feature film, BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH.

Assia Boundaoui is an Algerian-American filmmaker and journalist. She has reported for BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera, VICE, and CNN and received a first place Mark of Excellence award from the Society of Professional Journalists. She directed a short film about hijabi hair salons for the HBO docu-series, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Her feature directorial debut, THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED, premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.