Jury

Mal Ward is the Managing Director and one of the three founding partners of Arts & Sciences, located in West Hollywood, New York City & London. Arts & Sciences was started 15 years ago as a production company that specializes in producing award winning advertising content, feature films, fine art projects, and music videos. Representing a diverse group of top directors and creators, Arts & Sciences was named a Creativity A-List Production Company seven times. Arts & Sciences work has been recognized by every major advertising award show: The Cannes Lions, The Clios, AICP Awards, D&ADs, The One Show and the Andys. Our original films have been featured in The Toronto Film Festival, The New York Film Festival, The Berlin Film Festival, The Sundance Film Festival, The London Film Festival, SXSW, among others.

Mal is a Producer on the much lauded 2024 feature “His Three Daughters,” starring Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen, and Natasha Lyone, and directed by Azazel Jacobs. Produced under the Arts & Sciences banner, the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023 and sold to Netflix for worldwide distribution. Additionally, Mal was an Executive Producer on Azazel Jacob’s last film, “French Exit”, and Producer on the fine artist and filmmaker Doug Aitken’s latest experimental feature, “Lightscape”, which was produced in partnership with The LA Philharmonic. Mal is an Executive Producer on “Lurker”, starring Archie Madekwe and Theodore Pellerin and directed by Alex Russell, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed by MUBI. “Lurker” was included in the NYTimes top 25 films of 2025. And Mal is an Executive Producer on Arts & Sciences director Alex Prager’s forthcoming feature film debut, “Dreamquil”, starring Elizabeth Banks and John C. Reilly, to be released in 2026.

Mal currently serves as the Vice Chairperson on the AICP National Board. Mal was the Chairperson for the 2022 AICP Show at The Museum of Modern Art in NYC, and has served on the Curatorial Committee for the Show in 2018, 2019, 2022, & 2023. Mal was also a member of the Executive Jury for the 2018, 2019, & 2024 Ciclope Festival in Berlin.

Mal is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Television Academy.

Aura Solis is Managing Director of Story: Mexico, where she leads creative production with a focus on innovation, inclusion, and sustainability. With a degree in Photography and over 20 years of experience in film and advertising across Europe and Latin America, she brings a global perspective to storytelling that merges artistic excellence with purpose.

Since joining Story in 2014, Aura has championed new talent, directors and producers alike, while building a strong, multicultural team. Her background as a cinematographer and creative producer gives her a distinctive vantage point that bridges artistry and strategy.

Certified in Sustainability by MIT, she chairs the AMFI ESG Board, serves on the Board of IQ International Quorum of Motion Picture Producers, and founded Locali, an initiative promoting responsible production and circular economy solutions in the creative industry.
Through her multidisciplinary work, Aura champions a new vision for film and advertising, one where creativity drives both impact and lasting change.

Candice is a Jamaican-born, U.S. raised director who did the unthinkable: quit her ad job and actually made it work. Her debut short Make America Great? screened at 20+ festivals, caught the eye of The Hollywood Reporter and Decider, and led to directing The Dream Still Lives, a powerful short docu tribute to MLK Jr., conceived by Stevie Wonder, featuring The Obamas, Paul McCartney, Meryl Streep, and 50 other people you’d want to invite to your imaginary dinner party. The project has amassed over 1 billion impressions, establishing Candice as a distinguished voice in storytelling.

Her multicultural upbringing deeply influences her storytelling. Drawn to comedy-drama, Candice often emphasizes the importance of finding humor even in life's most challenging moments. Candice’s genre-blending narrative work balances comedy, thrills, and drama to remind you life’s too short to be boring.

She’s typically recognized for her commercial work, and has directed some of your favorite A-listers including Academy Award winner Regina King, Neicy Nash, Jenny Slate, and Sterling K. Brown, to name a few. Her directorial portfolio includes projects for major brands such as HBO, Spotify, Buzzfeed, NBA2K, Febreze, Cascade, Tillamook, and Vaseline. Candice also became the first Black director to direct a Febreze campaign, as well as, the first woman to direct a campaign for NBA2K.This extensive body of work ultimately earned Candice her membership in the Directors Guild of America (DGA).

Currently, Candice is actively showcasing two new short films on the festival circuit, 117 Years of Movie Bullsh*t and Cave Canem, which has already garnered two best short horror film awards. She earned her BA in Film & TV from Temple University and now splits her time between Los Angeles and Accra, Ghana, where she is developing her debut feature film to be shot between Washington, DC and various parts of Ghana; because she likes a little diaspora spark!

Editor, Dad, From BCN since 1983.

Carol has been with shots since 2008, first as Sub-Editor on the magazine, then as Contributing Editor, interviewing such adland legends as Frank Budgen and David Droga.

Now as Features Editor she seeks out cool content on creative marketing while curating and writing about the best work from around the globe. Other journalistic roles have included writing film and TV reviews for titles ranging from 'Nuts' to 'The TV Times'. Carol is also a playwright and producer.

Catherine’s producing career spans over thirty years across feature film, television drama and documentary. Between 1989 and 2002 she ran her own production company, Ocean Films, producing documentary and feature films.

In 2002 Catherine joined renowned producer James Flynn’s Octagon Films as Head of Production and Development. She was Co-Producer of the film INSIDE I’M DANCING with Working Title/Universal and oversaw the development of the Oscar® nominated short THE DOOR.

From 2011 to 2016 Catherine was Business Affairs Executive with Screen Producers Ireland.

She re-joined James Flynn in 2016, this time with his company Metropolitan. Subsequent to James’ untimely passing in 2023, Catherine became joint CEO of Metropolitan Pictures.

Catherine is currently Co-Producing WEDNESDAY Season 3 for MGM/Netflix, having Co-Produced WEDNESDAY Season 2 for MGM/Netflix.

Other recent credits include:
TALL TALES & MURDER with Avalon (writer Stuart Carolan, Director Chris Addison)
SANCTUARY Season 2 for Monumental/AMC
REDEMPTION for ITV & Virgin Media.
KIN Season 1 & 2 for BRON Studios.
Neil Jordan’s ‘GRETA’ starring Isabelle Huppert and Chloë Grace Moretz.
THE TOURIST 2 for BBC/All 3 Media starring Jamie Dornan
DISENCHANTED for Disney starring Amy Adams
Martin McDonagh’s THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN for 20th Century Studios/Film4.
Ridley Scott’s THE LAST DUEL for 20th Century Studios.
MOONHAVEN for AMC
INTO THE BADLANDS 2 & 3 for AMC
VIKINGS: VALHALLA 1, 2 &3 for MGM/Netflix.
VIKINGS Seasons 5 & 6 for MGM/History Channel

Chris is co-founder of Baby Teeth, a creative company working at the intersection of entertainment, brands, talent and IP.

Before starting Baby Teeth, Chris was the UK Managing Director and Executive Producer of Somesuch. Somesuch is one of the leading and most highly-awarded production houses globally, renowned for its exceptional roster of talent, creative excellence and expansive, culturally resonant work across commercials, music videos, short films, feature films and more besides.

Prior to joining Somesuch in 2021, Chris spent 6 years as Head of Production at Droga5. There, he led the agency’s integrated production department and produced groundbreaking work for clients such as Uniqlo, Amazon and Maserati, with luminaries from Yorgos Lanthimos to Solange Knowles to Harmony Korine. Under his tenure, the agency was named Adweek Agency of the Decade, in addition to Agency of the Year honours from Campaign, Ciclope and D&AD.

Chris spent the first 10 years of his career at BBH London, first as Agency Producer and then as the first Managing Director of the content and entertainment division Black Sheep Studios. During this time, the agency won Campaign Agency of the Year three times, and he won a BAFTA for the short film Home, made with the UN.

Christian Lønhart is a Copenhagen-based film producer and co-founder of the production company isaac, where he has worked across commercials, branded content, fiction, and series since 2018.

His commercial work has been recognised with gold at Young Director Award, Creative Circle, and the True Award.

Alongside his commercial work, Christian produces fiction and series projects that have screened at major international festivals including Clermont-Ferrand, San Sebastián, Warsaw, and SeriesMania, where One of Us is Trembling won Best Short Series. His credits include An Example by Selma Sunniva and Wild Child by Sif Lina Lambæk - both recipients of the Danish Academy Award (Robert Prize) for Best Short Film.

Christian holds a master’s degree in Film and Media Studies from the University of Copenhagen and is a graduate of the independent film school Super16. With a keen interest in politically relevant and artistic storytelling, he is currently developing a slate of feature-length projects for the international market.

Coralie Cupillard is an Executive Producer at Gang, known for her expertise in high-end creative production across film, print, and digital. She plays a key role in the company’s evolution, integrating new creative technologies such as AI, CGI, and VFX, while fostering innovation, emerging talent, and new forms of artistic expression.

With a background in art history, she also worked as an Art Deco expert at Drouot, an experience that continues to shape her strong visual sensibility.

Coralie began her career at CLM BBDO as Communications Director before moving into production. She has since worked with leading agencies including BETC, Publicis Luxe, Havas, Konbini, and Media Arts Lab London, collaborating with brands across luxury, beauty, automotive, finance, and technology sectors.

She leads global creative productions for prestigious brands such as Audemars Piguet, Omega, YSL Beauty, Mugler, Helena Rubinstein, Carita, and Biotherm, contributing to award-winning campaigns, including Duolingo (Silver Lion, Cannes 2022).

Alongside her professional work, she is committed to social initiatives and volunteers at the Refettorio Madeleine in Paris.

Davud (“Dav”) Karbassioun is an EMMY, BAFTA and Cannes Lions Grand Prix-winning producer, and Founder and Co-CEO of Magna Studios.

Founded in 2024, Magna is a creator-first studio redefining visual storytelling across film, non-fiction, branded entertainment and music. Agile, globally connected and relentlessly focused on filmmaking that impacts culture, Magna is built for the future and has quickly established a world-class roster of award-winning directors, including Asif Kapadia, Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Phoebe Arnstein, Jeff Tremaine, Julien & Quentin, Sam Pilling, and James Marsh, to name a few.

Magna has already produced seminal work for global brands including Nike, Apple, Carlsberg, Beats, Spotify, Google, Meta, Amazon, and Adidas, including the AppleTV+ / MLS Super Bowl film starring Lionel Messi. In film, the studio’s first feature length scripted project ‘Straight Circle’ with Oscar Hudson, was awarded Venice Critics’ Week Prize, while non-fiction features include the much anticipated Oasis Reunion Documentary.

Previously, Dav spent over a decade as Global President of Pulse Films, helping establish it as a global creative powerhouse. His credits include the EMMY- and Cannes-winning Nike “You Can’t Stop Sport”, Apple’s “Bounce”, and acclaimed work for artists such as Beyoncé, Radiohead, Harry Styles, and Stormzy. Long-form credits include Beastie Boys Story (Spike Jonze), Pig (Nicolas Cage), Get Duked! (Amazon),Harry Potter 20th Anniversary Special (HBO), and BAFTA-winning series Gangs of London (Sky).

Diane McArter is the Founder and President of Furlined, a storied production house. Renowned for excellence in film craft, Furlined discovers new and innovative ways in which creativity can add value to the ever-evolving space where culture meets commerce.

Diane’s long-standing reputation for discovering and developing the careers of some of the industry’s most renowned directors, began when she served as President of RSA USA and continues with Furlined. She has served as a judge at numerous international award shows, which include presiding over the Film Craft jury at the Cannes Lions in 2018.

The acclaimed work of Furlined’s directors has earned the company myriad awards and recognition, including 2 Grands Prix at Cannes Lions in one year alone, 2 Black Pencils at D&AD, and a Black Cube (Best in Show) at ADC/One Club for the iconic campaign, “The Truth Is Worth It,” for The New York Times. Furlined has also been named top production company of the year by the ADC/One Club and included on the annual list of Top Production Companies by Ad Age/Creativity.

Diane is also a Co-Founder and Board Member Emeritus of ManifestWorks, a non-profit that provides job training and career opportunities in production services for individuals impacted by foster care, homelessness, and incarceration.

Dom Thomas is a Founder and Managing Partner of Object & Animal, a global boutique production studio creating groundbreaking commercial and independent projects that influence and define culture.

Established in 2019 to provide infrastructure and platform to manage and grow emerging talent, O&A has produced iconic work for brands from Apple to Zara. The company's output has been recognised by AICP, APA, BAFTA, The British & Young Arrows, Cannes Lions, Ciclope, D&AD, DGA, Emmys, Grammys, Kinsale, MTV VMAs & EMAs, SXSW, and UKMVA.

Over his 25-year career, Dom has been fortunate to collaborate with acclaimed filmmakers including Paul Thomas Anderson, Frank Budgen, Kim Gehrig, Jonathan Glazer, Ruben Östlund, Lynne Ramsay and Aidan Zamiri.

Beyond advertising, he was Executive Producer on the Sundance and Peabody Award-winning Netflix documentary DAUGHTERS, and the six-part Disney+ series TAYLOR SWIFT: THE END OF AN ERA.

Dom is the new Co-Chair of The British Arrows, sits on the APA Council and is a member of the Creative Mentor Network.

Eric Stern is Managing Director and Partner at Anonymous Content, a global production and management company.
Since joining in 2011, he has led the growth of its Brand division while forging strategic connections across the company's Entertainment divisions in Los Angeles, New York, London, and São Paulo. Under his leadership, Anonymous Content has been recognized on Fast Company's list of the World's Most Innovative Companies.

Before joining Anonymous Content, Stern served as Senior Executive Producer at two of the industry's most respected production companies, MJZ and Biscuit Filmworks. Prior to that he was a Creative Executive at Fox 2000 under legendary producer Laura Ziskin, where the division produced acclaimed films including Courage Under Fire, Fight Club, and The Thin Red Line.

Eva de Lera is Partner and Executive Producer at Frida by The Maestros, a boutique production company within The Maestros Group, based in Spain.
For almost ten years she ran Lobo Kane and her projects have been awarded at some of the most prestigious festivals in the world, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, the New York Advertising Film Festival, Clio Awards, One Show, Kinsale Sharks, British Arrows, El Sol, Club de Creativos, FIAP and El Ojo de Iberoamérica, among others.

Alongside her work in advertising, she has always been interested in fiction and non-fiction filmmaking, producing short films that have been recognized at the Goya Awards and the Málaga Film Festival, as well as documentaries selected at prestigious international events such as the BAFTA Awards and the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

In 2025, Eva was a Jury Member at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the Film Craft category.

Ezekiel ‘Ezy’ Onyango, FRSA, OGW, is an Executive Producer, creative industry leader, and Founder of Film Crew in Africa Ltd (FCIA), a Nairobi-based production company enabling high-end film and television production across Africa. Through FCIA, he leads the development and production of diverse screen projects, while championing professional standards, talent development, and cross-border partnerships within Africa’s screen sector.

Alongside his production work, Ezy is the Founder and Executive Director of PAIPEC-CCI (Pan-African Innovation, Policy and Evidence Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries). Through PAIPEC-CCI, he advances policy innovation, the adoption of creative technologies, and research for Africa’s creative economy. His work bridges industry practice and institutional policy, connecting the lived realities of filmmakers with supportive frameworks for sustainable growth, rights protection, and market access.

Ezy holds a Master’s degree in Creative and Cultural Industries from the University of Manchester and is pursuing a PhD research at Manchester focused on AI, digital cultural policy, and policy delivery gaps in Kenya’s Coastal Swahili film ecosystem. His research explores how creative technologies can decolonise cultural governance and democratise value in marginalised creative economies.

His Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW) award recognises his service to Kenya’s film industry and the advancement of the creative economy.

Composer and music creative working across commercial music and sound.

I build work where sound is not decoration but structure. Projects I’ve led have been recognized across music, sound design, and film craft by juries including Cannes Lions, D&AD, Clio, LIA, ADC, AICP, Ciclope, and Eurobest.

Frederick Lung is a creative director with over 20 years of experience in advertising and digital marketing.

He began his career in 2006 at Fred&Farid, where he worked on campaigns for brands such as Wrangler, Diesel, Adidas, and Paris Match. He then joined McCann Paris, where he contributed to campaigns including Nespresso, Durex, and INPES.

Fred moved into digital advertising at DigitasLbi, where he developed campaigns for clients including Pastis 51, Médecins Sans Frontières, and Hermès. During this period, he developed skills in UX strategy, HTML development, and social media analysis.

His work has been recognized with over 40 international awards, including recognition from Cannes, Eurobest, and Clio.

In 2017, Fred joined Romance as Creative Director. He has since worked on campaigns for Intermarché, Santé Publique France, the French Air Force (Armée de L'Air), and NRJ Mobile.

Henkka Hämäläinen is what happens when you take a producer, remove the ego, add taste, and then let him run for a decade unsupervised in the wild.

As co-founder and executive producer of Breakfast, Henkka builds the kind of sets people actually want to be on. Not “safe” in the HR handbook sense, but safe in the you can try something bold without being quietly judged by twelve people behind a monitor sense. The result: better work, happier teams, and fewer passive-aggressive emails.

Before Breakfast, he did his time in the U.S. as a freelance producer. Not only did he survive the global production hunger games, he came back with receipts: Cannes Lions Grand Prix, Grand Clio, One Show Best of Pencil, D&AD Graphite, and so on…

But he doesn’t like to brag. Which is why he hired someone else to write this bio for him. And because he only works with the best, he probably won’t even read this. He doesn’t have to.

But you did. Thanks.

Henkka, when do I get paid?

ICONOCLAST is an International award-winning production company empowering talent to bring stories to life across Film, TV, Commercials, Music Videos, and Print.

With offices in France, UK, US, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Spain and Italy, the company showcases an impressive roster of talent and creative tastemakers acorss filmmaking photography and music.

James Razzall has spent the past two decades shaping Framestore into a global creative powerhouse, helping bring its Oscar-winning visuals to screens of all sizes. After launching his career in London, he played a pivotal role in establishing Framestore’s first U.S. presence in New York in 2004.

In 2013, Razzall spearheaded the opening of the Los Angeles office, rapidly expanding the company’s West Coast footprint and driving growth across the U.S. advertising market. Under his leadership, the Los Angeles studio has grown significantly in scale and capability, evolving into a hub for some of Framestore’s most innovative and future-facing work.

Razzall currently serves on the West Coast board of AICP and is the 2025 Chairperson for the AICP Post Awards. He is also a proud member of the Television Academy, actively contributing to the evolving landscape of visual storytelling.

Mid 90s, Jan started working as a Production Manager, first at german main TV Stations ARD&ZDF, later at PI (PRODUCTIONINTERNATIONAL) one of the leading commercial Production companies in Germany at those times.

When Jan first attended the Cannes Lions in 1996, CZAR won the Palm D´Or, not knowing that their passes would cross again more than 10 years later...
He first wanted to try out the „real“ movie world and studied at the renowned Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF and earned his Bachelor in production.

In 2007 he took over CZAR in Germany as a „one man show“ at first. In 2010 his best friend Thorne joined. Together they took the spark, that originally started in Amsterdam and Brussels, for great ideas, for stories that stick and for people you trust to bring them to life and formed CZAR.DE into a successful and creative film production in Germany and Switzerland.

Jan has taken part in the FIREFLIES Patagonia and Alps Charity Gravel and Roadbike ride to raise funds and awareness for the fight against cancer.
He currently is member of the board of the ArtDirectorsClub Germany.

Jan lives with his wife, 2 sons, a dog and a cat in Hamburg.

Jessica is an award-winning Head of Production with over 20 years’ experience in advertising and film.
Before joining Droga5 Dublin, she worked in New York with some of the world’s leading production companies and agencies, including Droga5 NY.

She is passionate about the craft of production across all disciplines, with a strong belief in innovative storytelling, emerging technologies, and amplifying new voices and perspectives within the creative industry.

When she’s not championing sustainable and accessible production, Jessica is pushing for creative excellence on every project. Outside of work, she can be found trying to convince her two young boys to jump into the cold Irish Sea with her.

Jianhao Andy An is a film producer and founder of 28ST Films. His recent film The Botanist premiered at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival and won the Jury Award, following prior festival success from Love Is a Gun (Venice “Lion of the Future”) and Dwelling by the West Lake (box-office gross ~120M CNY, 16.4M USD).

Andy’s work bridges international storytelling, emerging creative talent, and global production ecosystems. Over the past six years, he has collaborated with world-class producers, directors, and distributors while championing innovative, cross-border voices in cinema.

Josie Juneau is the Managing Director at RSA Films UK, where she oversees the company’s UK commercial division, manages a roster of leading directors, and develops strategic partnerships with top agencies and brands.

With over 15 years of experience at both production companies and advertising agencies, Josie brings a rare combination of creative insight and production expertise.

She began her career at Ecosse Films before moving into agency roles at Lowe & Partners, Ogilvy, AMV BBDO, and 180 Amsterdam, gaining extensive insight into brand strategy and creative development.

She later joined Rattling Stick, where she served as Head of New Business, then as Partner. During her tenure, she collaborated with acclaimed directors such as Daniel Kleinman, Andy McLeod, and the late Ringan Ledwidge, overseeing award-winning campaigns recognised at Cannes Lions, D&AD, and the British Arrows.

Recognised for her leadership, industry knowledge, and commitment to creative excellence, Josie continues to play a key role in shaping the future of commercial filmmaking at RSA Films

Juan Aura is an experienced producer and creative executive with over 20 years in international film and television.
Formerly VP of Production at Paramount/TIS, he has produced eight feature films and over thirty seasons of scripted and unscripted series across the Americas and Europe. His work has been recognized with Grammy and Cannes Lions nominations. Juan specializes in cross-border productions, financing structures, and packaging projects for global audiences.

Juliet is Executive Producer and Partner at Good Oil. After graduating with an arts-law degree majoring in English, Juliet completed a research exchange to the UN with postings in Edinburgh and Jerusalem. A journalism degree and a passion for producing documentaries led Juliet to join Silverscreen Productions. Juliet travelled the silk road through the Middle East, the spice road through India, and the salt road through South America. With 62 countries stamped in her passport, Juliet traded backpacking trips for work trips facilitating campaigns for Good Oil.

She has served on the judging panel for D&AD, AWARD and AICP.

Juliet produced “Running to America” with Screen Australia, documenting young Indigenous men from the outback training to compete at the New York Marathon. She also developed and secured ongoing funding for The Marathon Project, which continues to train and facilitate indigenous runners to compete in New York.

Kenji Lepretre Sato is a Tokyo-based Executive Producer and the founder of NAKAMA FILM, a creative production company specializing in commercials, music videos, and brand films. Franco-Japanese, he was born and raised in Paris, France and has lived in Tokyo, Japan for over two decades, shaping a perspective that bridges cultures and creative industries.

Kenji has built NAKAMA FILM into a trusted partner for both international productions shooting in Japan and direct-to-brand collaborations. His work focuses on delivering cinematic storytelling with a strong emotional core, while navigating the practical realities of production with precision and clarity.

With a background spanning production, creative development, and client relations, he operates at the intersection of artistry and execution. He frequently collaborates with global agencies, brands, and independent creatives, bringing together multidisciplinary teams tailored to each project.

Beyond production, Kenji is invested in developing original content and fostering new creative voices, positioning NAKAMA as both a service company and a platform for creative experimentation. His approach combines international sensibility with deep local expertise, aiming to create work that resonates across borders while remaining grounded in authenticity.

Kibwe Tavares is a Grenadian-British filmmaker, artist, and director working across film, photography, and emerging technologies. His work blends cinematic storytelling with speculative worldbuilding, often exploring themes of identity, memory, and the social impact of technology.

Kibwe first gained recognition with his award-winning short films, including Robots of Brixton and Jonah, which established a distinctive voice combining visual innovation with grounded human narratives. He is a co-founder of Factory Fifteen, an internationally recognised creative studio working across film, design, and immersive media.

Alongside his commercial and narrative work, Kibwe’s practice extends into research and storytelling through his involvement with the Lab of the Hypothetical (LOH), where he explores new forms of storytelling at the intersection of art, science, and AI.

His work has been exhibited internationally and recognised by institutions including BAFTA and Sundance. He is currently developing his debut feature film, a deeply personal story rooted in Grenada that explores memory, healing, and identity through a blend of realism and Afro-surrealism.

As a judge for the YDA, Kibwe brings a multidisciplinary perspective, with a focus on bold storytelling, visual language, and originality.

Kim Buisson is the co-owner and executive producer at Aspekt, doing work internationally from Stockholm and New York. Aspekt’s roster of stylized and design defined directors has won awards at Cannes Lions, Epica, Eurobest and BTAA and has collaborated with brands like Chobani, DoorDash, Squarespace, H&M, Hinge, Converse, IKEA and many more. Kim is a board member of the Swedish Film and Television Association and has previously judged in the Eurobest, AICP, the Swedish equivalent Roy and the Golden Egg Award.

She has a background in all things moving media, from fiction to documentary, music videos to digital and commissioned films. Although Aspekt is a company completely focused on the latter, their work also includes stills, digital, experiential and longer format branded content. With this approach, without loosing sight of craft first, they embrace being a part of the ever changing parameters of the industry that one must and should happily engage in – changes that not only include new platforms and shapes of advertising film production, but also includes pushing much-needed changes when it comes to diversity within our industry.

Her company Aspekt loves the designed and the meticulous, without trying to take themselves too seriously and always keeping a sense of charm and humor. Kim believes great work comes from a healthy portion of having fun together, being nice, attentive and collaborative. Constantly motivated and inspired by that film magic twinkly feeling that happens when seeing creative ideas come to life and be truly refined.

Named by The New York Times as “America’s foremost visual chronicler of the plutocracy,” Lauren Greenfield is an Emmy Award-winning director (Thin, The Queen of Versailles, Generation Wealth, The Kingmaker) and acclaimed photographer (Fast Forward, Girl Culture, Thin, Generation Wealth). Her work has received multiple DGA, WGA, Independent Spirit, and Critics Choice nominations.

Her latest Emmy-nominated FX series Social Studies, a documentary exploring the first generation raised on social media, premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and won the Gotham Award and two Cinema Eye Awards for Best Non-Fiction Series and Best Editing. A related exhibition of photography, film, and experiential work will open at Fotografiska Berlin in Fall 2026 before traveling to Stockholm and Tallinn. Her photography is widely published and held in major collections including LACMA, the Getty, SFMOMA, the Harvard Art Museums, and the International Center of Photography.

Greenfield is also co-founder of Institute, a production company representing commercial directors and photographers. Her advertising work spans film, print, and experiential campaigns. Her Emmy Award-winning Super Bowl spot #LikeAGirl earned 14 Cannes Lions, making her the first woman named “Most Awarded Director” by Ad Age, and was voted in 2025 as the “Best Super Bowl Ad of All Time.”

Lisa Mehling is an Emmy award-winning Producer and Owner of independent production company Chelsea Pictures. Under her leadership, Chelsea has cultivated an enduring culture predicated on creative excellence working with filmmakers who are leaders in advertising, digital, film, television and photography.

Lisa's love for and commitment to the art and business of filmmaking is reflected in Chelsea's critical and commercial success, including the 2020 & 2021 Cannes Lions Palme d'Or. Unique in her status as one of the only women who leads her own commercial production company, Lisa was named one of Creativepool's Top 25 Most Inspiring Company Presidents of the Year. She has served on leading industry juries including D&AD, The One Show, The Art Directors Club, The Immortal Awards and the AICP MoMA Curatorial Committee. She is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Sundance Institute and the International Documentary Association.

Lisa has been a member of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Executive Board for nine years, most recently in the role of Chairperson. Raised in Southern California, Lisa has long called New York City her home and lives in the East Village with her family.

LUCIANO PODCAMINSKY WAS BORN IN BUENOS AIRES ON JUNE 7TH, 1970. HE STUDIED MEDIA AT UNIVERSIDAD DE BUENOS AIRES, AND MOVED ON TO STUDY FILM AT FUC. HE ALSO TOOK COURSES ON FILM DIRECTION WITH PINO SOLANAS AND RODOLFO HERMIDA, AND STUDIED COPYWRITING AT THE ARGENTINE ADVERTISING ASSOCIATION.

HE STARTED IN ADVERTISING WORKING AS A COPYWRITER FOR SEVERAL ADVERTISING AGENCIES, AND MOVED TO WORKING IN TOP PRODUCTION COMPANIES IN BUENOS AIRES AS AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.

IN 1995 HE STARTED DIRECTING.HE HAS RECEIVED AWARDS FROM THE BEST WELL KNOWN FESTIVALS IN THE WORLD:CANNES, EL SOL DE SAN SEBASTIAN, ONE SHOW, D&AD DE LONDRES, CLIO, FIAP, MARTIN FIERRO, OJO DE IBEROAMERICA, DIENTE.

IN 2005 HE WAS PART OF THE SAATCHI & SAATCHI NEW DIRECTOR’S SHOWCASE, IN CANNES.IN 2006, LUCIANO WAS RANKED BY THE GUNN REPORT AS 4TH IN THE LIST OF MOST AWARD-WINNING DIRECTORS OF THE WORLD, AND IN 2009 APPEARS NUMBER 15TH AT THE GUNN REPORT TEN YEARS CONSOLIDATED TABLES 1999-2008

HIS EXPERIENCE AS A JURY INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING FESTIVALS: CLIO 2008 AND LONDON FESTIVAL IN 2009-2010 AND OJO DE IBEROAMÉRICA 2009.

IN 2007, HIS FILM THE THIRD PINT, IS SELECTED FOR THE BUENOS AIRES INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL (BAFICI) AND ALSO FOR THE 2008 EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (EIFF) AS ONE OF THE BEST OF THE FEST FILMS.

IN JUNE 2012, AT CENTRO CULTURAL RECOLETA BUENOS AIRES; ARGENTINA, HE OPENED HIS FIRST PERSONAL ART EXHIBITION, WITH THE WORKS: SUNDEAD, JUST MARRIED, ROOM AVAILABLE, PRIVATE DINNER AND DAILY PILL.

IN SEPTEMBER 2016, LUCIANO WAS SELECTED FOR “ BURY THE LEAD”, A GROUP ART SHOW AT ARTSHARE, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

IN 2018, HIS SHORT FILM “ THE BACK OF MY MIND” IS SELECTED FOR THE FOLLOWING FESTIVALS: INTERFILM BERLIN, GUADALAJARA MEXICO, MOSTRA CINE LATINOAMERICANO CATALUNIA, HUESCA IN SPAIN AND THE LATINO MEDIA FEST IN LOS ANGELES.

IN MARCH 2023, HIS FEATURE FILM “ ASFIXIADOS” IS RELEASED IN CINEMAS AND TV DISTRUBTED BY STARPLUS LATIN AMERICA AND DISNEYPLUS.

IN 2023, ASFIXIADOS IS SELECTED FOR THE FORT LAUDERDALE FILM FESTIVAL AND THE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA.

IN 2024 ASFIXIADOS IS SELECTED FOR THE IAFFM IBEROAMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL IN MIAMI AND THE SANTANDER FILM FESTIVAL IN SPAIN.

Lyndy Stout edits and curates the online magazine and creative awards 1.4 which showcases the hottest international short-form filmmaking talent.
In other lives she edited shots magazine for over a decade, was deputy editor of Creative Review, and was also a travel writer.

Magdalena Szwedkowicz is one of Poland’s most prolific independent producers and the founder and CEO of MAG Entertainment, a production company known for delivering premium, culturally resonant films and series with strong international appeal. She is recognized as a trusted creative partner for top talent and leading global platforms.
Her diverse slate spans multiple genres and includes the internationally acclaimed Forgotten Love (Znachor), which became a global Netflix phenomenon, ranking No. 2 worldwide among non-English films and spending five weeks in Netflix’s Global Top 10, with over 70 million views within its first year. She also produced the global Netflix hit Squared Love and its two sequels, as well as audience favorites such as David and the Elves, Kill Me If You Dare, Heart Parade, and Death Before the Wedding. Her crime drama Justice (Napad), inspired by Poland’s most brutal bank robbery, delivered outstanding audience results.
Magdalena is currently producing the second season of Sleboda (Deadly Ties), the first Polish original series for SkyShowtime, which demonstrated exceptional viewer loyalty and outperformed major U.S. titles in the local market. She is also developing original series for CANAL+ and HBO Max, and her first international co-production in Iceland with Sagafilm.
In 2023, Magdalena was named one of Forbes Poland’s Most Influential Women and received the NATPE Honors Europe Shift Disturber Award, recognizing her role in elevating the global profile of Polish film and television. She is a member of the International Quorum of Motion Picture Producers (IQ) and previously held senior executive roles at Fox Networks Group and National Geographic Channels Europe.

Max Brady was a student activist - some would say a bit of a radical, and then fell into production. Having worked as a producer in the fields of TV Programming, live broadcast - scary! - and documentaries, she established her long-standing production company Maxfilms Ltd, which produces drama, features, and provides services to incoming international productions through administering Ireland’s film tax incentive.

She is co-founder and Executive Producer of Bodacious, one of Ireland’s leading international commercials production companies.

She still likes to think of herself as a bit of a radical, despite having grown-up kids, two dogs, and a garden, and still insists like dressing as though she is a rock chick, (when not wearing wet weather gear). She swears a lot; very creatively, and likes to drink NZ sauv blanc, or vodka. (In case you’re asking.)

When not swearing loudly in her office, standing on a set swearing, or driving around town swearing, she likes to forget about budgets, time-lines, and time zones, by going horse-riding, where she can be heard swearing as she gallops past, holding on for dear life.

Megan Kelly brings over two decades of experience across both the agency and production sides of the commercial industry. Throughout her career, she has honed her skills in all facets of production while cultivating strong, enduring relationships and earning a reputation for curating and developing top creative talent.

Before founding Honor Society, Kelly led production teams at some of the industry’s most respected shops, including Savage, Shilo, The Sweet Shop, Public Domain, Czar, and Click 3X. Most recently, she co-founded OWNED (ownedbywomen.tv), a global coalition of female business owners dedicated to championing women across all areas of commercial production. She also serves as a board member of the AICP East Chapter. Kelly’s work has been recognized with some of the industry’s most prestigious honors, including awards from The One Show, AICP, and Cannes Lions.

Morgane Bohn, French Executive Producer, brings nearly a decade of agency experience and a strong creative vision to her role at Stink Paris.

Morgane began her career in production management before moving into line production on music videos. Morgane later transitioned to advertising, serving as Agency Producer at Marcel and CLM BBDO. In 2019, she joined BETC, where she collaborated with leading creative talents. She self-produced her first photography book and exhibition, Glory Melancholy (2022), marking a pivotal step toward working more closely with directors and photographers.

In early 2023, Bohn joined Partizan Paris as Executive Producer, continuing to develop and champion bold artistic voices. 3 years later, after producing a few films and signing emerging talents, she joined Stink Films Paris working alongside with Jérôme Denis.

Mpho Twala is an executive producer and co-founder of FAM, a South African production company built on the belief that storytelling can empower, uplift, and disrupt. FAM collaborates with a growing roster of directors and brands committed to grounded, resonant work.

Mpho’s journey began on local sets, where curiosity quickly became conviction. He rose through the production ranks alongside some of South Africa’s leading directors before spending six years in Antwerp, immersed in high-level production across Belgium. That chapter sharpened his craft and deepened his appreciation for world-class filmmaking—but ultimately reaffirmed his desire to return home and help reshape the local industry.

A self-described conduit for artistic expression, Mpho has led work defined by emotional depth and technical precision, spanning film, commercials, and brand storytelling across the continent. His vision extends beyond individual projects, with a strong focus on mentorship, collaboration, and building a more inclusive creative economy.

With a people-first leadership style and quiet tenacity, Mpho creates space for ideas to evolve and teams to thrive. His work continues to shape FAM as a collaborative environment where creatives, clients, and partners meet as equals.

Mungo is an Executive Producer whose work spans creative leadership from the UK to the US, operating at the intersection of film, advertising, music and branded content. Based in Los Angeles, with extensive experience in London and New York, he brings a transatlantic perspective to both creative development and production strategy.

At Stink Films USA, he leads the creative and commercial direction of a diverse roster of international directors, shaping opportunities and guiding projects from concept through to execution while protecting both the idea and its impact. Previous experience saw him oversee multi-disciplinary output spanning experiential, music, brand partnerships and original content, working across disciplines and formats.

His passion is connecting filmmakers, artists, technologists and designers to ambitious, cross-platform work for global brands. Across all roles, his focus has been on developing talent, evolving creative approaches, and delivering work that moves the cultural needle.

Nkanyezi is a creative leader with experience across categories, cultures and countries. His career began as a copywriter at TBWA\Hunt Lascaris which led to a 4-year stint in TBWA\Hong Kong working on adidas Beijing Olympics. He’s held leadership roles at Y&R Cape Town, King James/Accenture Song and Dentsu Creative.

Outside of winning international awards, he’s done a fair bit of judging too, including presiding over a jury at D&AD and speaking on the main stage at Cannes Lions. A champion for inclusivity in the creative industry, he founded Blackboard Community. An initiative that exposes underprivileged high school students to advertising as a career.

Pacco-Luca Nitsche is the Managing Director and Founder of 27 Kilometer Entertainment (27KM). Since 2007, he has evolved the production house into a collaborative Creative Content Studio, with hubs in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, and Lisbon. His approach is built on integrating strategy, creative development, and high-end production into one seamless process, moving away from traditional industry silos.

Pacco focuses on original content and branded entertainment that prioritizes honest, impactful storytelling. This is reflected in major projects such as the documentary “Babo – Die Haftbefehl-Story” for Netflix and the series “The World’s Most Dangerous Show” for Amazon Prime Video.

Beyond his executive role, he is an active member of the German Advertising Film Academy and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Hamburg Media School. A key priority for him is guiding the next generation of creators. He believes it is essential for young talents to move beyond the boundaries of the traditional advertising world and apply their skills across diverse fields, including non-fiction, fiction, and branded entertainment formats, to shape the future of the media landscape.

Peter Reichenbach was born in 1954 in Zurich.
He gained his first experience in film from his uncle François Reichenbach.
From 1977 to 1980, he worked as an assistant director at the Frankfurt Opera and the Salzburg Festival. From 1981 to 1989, Peter Reichenbach lived in Berlin and worked as a freelance theater and opera director.
1990 - 1999 he worked as a producer for Condor Films. 1995-1998 he was the artistic director of the Film Music Festival CINEMUSIC GSTAAD and produced concerts with Quincy Jones, Liza Minnelli, Toru Takemitsu, Ben Weisman among others.
In 1999 he founded C-FILMS. Based in Zürich, C-FILMS AG is active nationally and internationally in the development and production of feature films, TV-Series and Documentaries.
Productions by C-FILMS AG have won many awards, including several Swiss Film Prizes, the German Film Prize and 3 European Film Prizes (for the coproduction YOUTH by Oscar-winner Paolo Sorrentino) and Emmy Awards for the coproductions IN THE NAME OF GOD and THE MANNS – A NOVEL OF THE CENTURY. The films A BELL FOR URSLI - GROUNDING – THE LAST DAYS OF SWISSAIR - THE FOSTER BOY- NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON - NEEDLEPARK BABY- and most recently HELLO BETTY have been among biggest Swiss box office hits in recent years.

R.J. Pomeroy is a Group Executive Producer for TBWA \ Media Arts Lab, where he has been producing award-winning work for Apple since 2009. Having always wanted to be a producer, he started in VFX, working for Method, before making his way into advertising.

R.J. has had the honor of working on incredible campaigns like “Get a Mac” (aka Mac vs PC), launching the original iPad, a multitude of iPhone launches, holiday ads, Shot on iPhone films and ads for every other Apple product out there. As an Executive Producer, he has been able to lead work to 7 Emmy nominations, winning in 2024 for Apple’s holiday film “Fuzzy Feelings.”

Outside of work, R.J. is a dedicated supporter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and leads a large fundraising campaign each year for his Walk MS team, Walka Walka Walka.

Rebekka Rognøy is an Oslo-based producer with experience across both commercial and fiction production. She has produced award-winning shorts and feature films, and has spent the past several years working with the Scandinavian production company Bacon. Rebekka currently produces for the company’s fiction division, Bacon Pictures, focusing on projects driven by strong ideas and a clear creative vision.

Rino Lu is a film critic, curator, and film practitioner working across international cinema and transnational film culture. He writes bilingually in Chinese and English, with work published in over 20 international outlets, including ScreenAnarchy, Cineuropa, Asian Movie Pulse, World Screen, and High on Films. His practice operates at the intersection of criticism, festival circulation, and Asian diasporic cinema.

He has served on juries at the Five Flavours Asian Film Festival, Cornwall Film Festival, and Wicked Wales International Youth Film Festival, and was selected for the Critics Campus at the 28th Far East Film Festival.

As Founder and Director of Green Ray, a London-based film organisation focused on Sinophone and independent cinema, he has collaborated with industry professionals and festivals to programme and introduce dozens of films to UK audiences.

Working across fiction, documentary, and experimental film, his practice as a filmmaker and producer spans multiple genres and formats. His feature Once Upon a Time in Nanjing (2023) was selected for the London Lift-Off Film Festival; When the Sun Comes Down (2024) was nominated at the Cambridge Short Film Festival; and Street Girl (2022) received multiple awards across Asian festival circuits. His video works Limitation (2020) and Excursion (2026) have been exhibited at Art Moscow Art Fair.

Rocky Morton studied film, animation, and painting at West Surrey College of Art and Design in the UK.
Rocky became part of the exploding Punk movement in London, making experimental art films. He went on to the start a production company in London to make Music Videos, creating award winning films for, The Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Sex Pistols, George Harrison, Miles Davis, Gravity Kills, Queen and many others.
He created the character Max Headroom and directed the hit TV show for HBO.  He then co-directed D.O.A and Super Mario Brothers, which brought him to the USA where he formed the commercial production company MJZ (Morton Jankel Zander). Rocky went on to make memorable award winning commercials, music videos and short films.

Awards:
Cannes Lions, British D&AD, Clios, the One Show award, a BAFTA and an Emmy, also three times nominated as best director by the Director’s Guild of America (DGA). Morton’s work can be found today in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City and at the Victoria & Albert (V&A) museum in London. His short film “The M Word” was an Official Sundance selection in the Sundance Film Festival.

Saskia Kok is executive producer at Bonkers United in Amsterdam, an internationally awarded production house across commercials, music videos, and short films, which she co-founded in 1999. Over the years, she has built a global track record working with leading agencies, clients, directors, and creatives.
Known for her close involvement and straight-up perspective, she works side by side with directors and creatives to push every project as far as it can go. She played a key role in shaping Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.’s (MJZ) career, encouraged Mourad Belkeddar (co-founder of Iconoclast) to step into production, and, while serving on the Film Craft jury at Cannes Lions, helped award the Grand Prix to The Blaze for their first music video, “an unconventional but undeniable choice,” reflecting on a few of many moments along the way.
“Not to make a thing of it, but an involved producer can set far more in motion than just the film itself and influence the direction of someone’s path. Something to keep in mind after a YDA win,” she notes with a smile.
She sees her ability to spot talent and the right creative direction as instinct, something that continues to guide her work today.

Shelby Ross is Managing Partner and Executive Producer at GROUP THRPY, a production company focused on creative development, production, and post across advertising, branded content, and film. Shelby has built a career leading productions team around the world, partnering with brands and agencies on award-winning campaigns that build enduring creative platforms and deliver measurable impact.

Shelby is known for bridging creative ambition with operational execution, navigating complex productions while maintaining strong relationships across talent, clients, and partners. His work sits at the intersection of storytelling, technology, and evolving media models. Shelby is an active leader within the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), where he has served as East Coast President, and is a longstanding advocate for mentorship, inclusion, and sustainable production practices.

I started my sound business in 2004. Active in the music world through bands and live electronics I wanted to sharpen the tool of expression and push the norms in music composition and sound design. With no formal training and no mentors, flying blind in an industry didn't always work but when it did the work was unique. Collecting 2 gold loeries for music in the first year of work formalised the idea that I was serious about the industry.

Whilst working in the industry I had a career in music and music production producing many local stars die antwoord, jack parow, okmalumkoolkat, Riky Rick. This helped me find new talent for brands to collab with and grow like finding Mr Eazi for Guiness before he was famous. Production lead me to write an album with Damon Albarn in 2018/9 "Africa Express" personally writing and recording the single "Johannesburg."

Music is weird, it doesn't exist. Film can give it a tangible existence.

Sonja Heiss is a filmmaker and novelist based in Berlin. She mainly writes and directs for cinema. But also directed a series and commercials and writes literature.

Her feature films all premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, were shown at many film festivals around the world and won numerous awards. Her novel RIMINI was in the Spiegel Bestseller list.

Sonja Heiss also writes for magazines and works as a visiting professor at a variety of filmschools in Germany and Switzerland.

Sorcha Shepherd is the Managing Director of Caviar’s London office, a role she has held since helping to build the company’s presence in the UK from 2012 onwards.
Under her leadership, Caviar London has grown into one of the industry’s most respected production companies, known for its craft, creativity and diverse roster of directors. Sorcha has played a key role in nurturing emerging filmmakers and championing bold new voices, helping the company earn recognition at major industry awards including Cannes Lions, British Arrows UKMVA's, Shots and of course the YDA's

At the heart of Sorcha’s career is a passion for discovering and supporting new talent. She has built a reputation for spotting creative potential and helping directors develop their voice, guiding them through the ever-changing landscape of commercial filmmaking and branded storytelling.

Whether mentoring young directors or supporting fresh creative ideas, she is driven by the belief that great talent thrives when it is nurtured and encouraged.
Through her leadership, Sorcha continues to shape the creative culture at Caviar London while inspiring the next generation of storytellers.

Suzanne Hargrove, an Emmy Award-winning commercial veteran, is PRETTYBIRD's Vice President/Executive Producer. She started her career in music videos before entering advertising, where she quickly began producing high-end commercials, branded content, experiential, and new media projects. In 2024, she won Ad Age's inaugural Creativity Award for Executive Producer of the Year.

Notable spots include the international Netflix campaign "Discover Your Future," Nike's "Unlimited Courage," and "Michael CeraVe," starring Michael Cera and directed by Tim & Eric. The CeraVe campaign won the Super Clio and placed #1 on both Ad Age and Adweek's Super Bowl recap lists, earning an Emmy nomination, a Grand Prix at Cannes Lions, and wins at the Clios, Andys, One Show, D&AD, Tribeca X, Webbys, and more.

While rooted in advertising, Hargrove continues to extend her reach beyond traditional commercials. She developed and executive-produced the Webby Award-nominated podcast Dear Cousin for Audible, and serves on the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) and the AICP West Board of Directors.

Tanis Pintong is a Bangkok-based commercial director known for his distinctive, fashion-driven cinematic style across advertising and music videos.
Born in 1980, he holds a B.A. in Communication Art & Design from King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. He began his career as an art director at a commercial agency before moving to New York to study Fashion Photography. During his time there, he worked as a photographer and short film director, with his work exhibited in several galleries across the city.

Since returning to Thailand in 2010, Tanis has established himself as a director specializing in fashion films, music videos, and lifestyle commercials. His work blends strong visual storytelling with a refined editorial sensibility, earning collaborations with leading agencies and global brands.

He is the founder of dylanfilms, where he continues to develop visually driven narratives with an international perspective.

Teruki Murakami is a Tokyo-based executive producer at GEEK PICTURES, with extensive experience in commercial film production across Japan and China. Over the course of his career, he has produced a wide range of TV commercials for major international and domestic brands, working with leading directors, creatives, and production teams across Asia.

In 2011, he moved to Shanghai to establish GEEK PICTURES SHANGHAI, where he served as General Manager and helped develop cross-border production between Japan and China. During his time there, he worked closely with creators and crews from different countries, building a strong foundation for international collaboration in the region.

After returning to Tokyo in 2018, he expanded his scope beyond traditional advertising into a broader range of visual storytelling, including brand films, web content, and short-form drama. He now leads Dots., the creative production unit of GEEK PICTURES, overseeing diverse projects that connect craft, culture, and new forms of entertainment.

He has been a jury member for international film craft and advertising awards including CICLOPE Festival, ADFEST, AICP, and the ADC Annual Awards, and remains particularly interested in supporting emerging talent and new forms of visual storytelling across Asia.

Tosh Gitonga is a director, producer and founder of the production house Primary Picture. He has been a key figure on the Kenyan and African film scene since 2002. Having directed award-winning films like Nairobi Half Life, which was selected as Kenya’s entry to the 85th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film—Tosh is widely regarded as one of the most celebrated filmmakers in Kenya and Africa.

David Tosh Gitonga is Kenyan by birth and residence. He describes his journey into film as a beautiful coincidence. A self-taught filmmaker, he gained his experience by working closely with respected producers and directors, including the award-winning Tom Tykwer Run Lola Run (1998), The International (2009).

Tosh values the lessons from his humble beginnings as a tea boy and handyman on set. Rising steadily through the ranks, he got his big break in 2009 when he directed the thirteen-episode series Changes for one of Africa’s leading broadcasting and production houses, MNet.
His strength lies in his versatility—he has directed not only films and television series, but also over 100 commercials for top-tier brands in Kenya and East
Africa, including Safaricom, MTN Uganda, Tusker Kenya, and many others. In 2018, his film Disconnect won Best Male Supporting Actor, Best Sound, and Best Cinematography at the Kalasha Kenya Film and Television Awards.
Tosh went on to direct the sequel, Disconnect 2, which is currently streaming on Netflix. He also directed two episodes of the South African Netflix original series
The Brave Ones. Most recently, he served as Executive Producer of the Netflix show Volume, which won the Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Award (AMVCA)

Responsible for managing and delivering global productions across key international brands, including Carlsberg, Tuborg, 1664 Blanc, Somersby, and Grimbergen, as well as major local Danish brands.

I have:
-Led complex international productions
-Oversaw budgets, supplier selection, and execution
-Ensured alignment between brand, creative, and production strategy
-Producer (Various Production Companies, Denmark)
-Extensive experience working with leading Danish production companies and top-tier -Scandinavian and international directors. I have produced high-end commercial content across multiple industries and markets.

Veronica is the Founder and Executive Producer at Tinygiant. Veronica fell in love with New York when she moved to the US to pursue her directing career in 2003. Despite winning several awards for her first documentary, she quickly realized her talent was in production.

Getting an early start at Hungry Man as assistant to the EP, Veronica moved up the production ranks and became a producer. Since then, she has worked with major production companies on national and international spots, and with unrivaled directors.

After a decade in the field, Veronica sought to create her own production company that could fill the voids in the industry, and Tinygiant was born. Known for her unstoppable work ethic and taste for a challenge, Veronica is a proud mum who calls Brooklyn home

Will Dempster is EVP, Head of Production and Partner at Mischief @ No Fixed Address. He is also Co-Founder of The Candy Factory. He’s the magician behind bringing to life some of the industry’s most disruptive and effective and awarded work which has catapulted Mischief from start-up to number one agency of the year multiple times over across Ad Age, Adweek, Campaign Magazine, Fast Company, The Effie's. Will’s helmed projects most would dismiss as impossible to pull off. This includes everything from making history with Super Bowl's first live broadcast interruption with Tubi to deepfaking Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un to help save US democracy. Will was named Head of Production of the Year by Ad Age in 2025.

Bridging Creativity & Execution in Advertising, Branded Content & Film Production

Youji Noh, Executive Creative director at TBWA\Media Arts Lab Seoul is among only a handful of female creative directors in Korea.
After starting her career in New York, Noh moved to Singapore, where she churned out regional work for APAC and global clients. In 2011, she was handpicked to return to Seoul to become one of the first creative members of the newly established TBWA\Media Arts Lab Seoul office, which is dedicated to supporting Apple’s business in Korea.


She has been instrumental in MAL Seoul’s creative evolution, leading celebrated work including ‘Shot on iPhone - Life is But a Dream by Park Chan-wook’, ‘Shot on iPhone - Dirty Work by aespa’, 'Apple TV- Welcome to LA, SON', ‘Made on iPad - Bite by Jay Park’, ‘AirPods-Cases’, ‘Behind the Mac - Music Video’, ‘Animoji - HyukOh’, ‘Memoji - Dean’, and many more that end up winning D&AD Yellow, One Show Bronze, Spikes Asia Bronze etc.

She led the creative development and the execution of the first and second ‘Shot and Edited on iPhone’ global campaign deployed from outside the central hub in Los Angeles.
In 2021, she was picked as 40 Under 40 for Campaign Asia.

Zelda Bensoussan started her career as line producer then producer for the Music & Advertising industry, while contributing to the Digital Arts collective called « Visual System », developing immersive shows worldwide (Shanghai, Singapore, NYC, Buenos Aires, Paris).

With a strong foundation in film and photography, she joined the Christian Dior Perfume creative studio as Production manager, contributing to numerous campaigns across Fragrance, Make Up and Beauty.

Over 5 years she played a key role in building the production department at the Coty Luxury Studio, where she served as Head of Creative Production for brands such as Miu Miu, Marc Jacobs, Jil Sander…

She then joined Publicis Luxe as Director of creative production and art buying, leading a team of creative producers and art buyers, overseeing global campaigns for brands including Audemars Piguet and Bvlgari.

She is currently Director of Image and Content production at Chanel for the Watches and Fine Jewelry Division, involved in the development and production of visually driven campaigns, with a strong sensitivity to craft and visual narratives.

Ricardo Adolfo leads the creative work for Apple in Japan.
He has lived in Tokyo for the past ten years and has seen his work recognized at Cannes, D&AD, The One Show, Spikes and AdStars amongst others.
Previously he was based in Amsterdam, where he worked at Wieden+Kennedy, DDB and 180, on brands such as Nike, Unilever, Philips, and Adidas.

Ricardo has long fused his love of movies and novels with creative work that is steeped in culture and business-impacting. He is the author of novels, short stories and children’s books that have been translated across South America, Asia and Europe. He has also worked on scripts for TV and cinema, including for Saint George (official selection at the Venice Film Festival - Horizons 2016), Great Yarmouth (official selection at the San Sebastian Film Festival 2022), as well as cult series Sara (winner of Best Series, Portuguese Academy 2019).

Ricardo is happiest when re-energizing and internationalizing creative departments to make world-class work. And he continues to write fiction with a new theatre stage play.

Liam Patrick Ahern is Executive Producer at Independent Media, an international production company renowned for championing ‘crossover’ talent from film and television. By combining the best of advertising and entertainment, Independent Media creates award-winning campaigns known for their impact, sophistication, and style.

Independent Media’s directors have led global initiatives across a wide range of media. Their work, from brand-integrated content to feature-length films, has earned recognition at prestigious events such as Sundance, the Toronto Film Festival, Cannes, AICP, British D&AD, and a coveted Primetime Emmy Award.

Liam’s career encompasses both advertising and production, with experience at esteemed companies like JWT, Silver Pictures, United Talent Agency and Ridely Scott Creative Group (formerly RSA).

A native Californian and first-generation American, Liam is an Amherst College graduate and holds a Master of Architecture from Pratt Institute.

Mexican-born, LA-raised, creatively-trained in London. Ali Alvarez is a Co-Founder and Creative Director at female-founded creative studio, The Cowgirls. Her career has zigged and zagged in the most unexpected ways. With her first career as a professional showjumper, then over two decades of working in London at top agencies (Fallon, The Brooklyn Brothers) and production companies (B-Reel, JustSo),

Her career was paused in 2012 when she suffered a traumatic brain injury as the result of a horse riding accident (“ironic given my riding career”, she says) and Ali recovered by directing and producing her first feature documentary, Muerte Es Vida.

She has been awarded by MTV, Cannes, One Show, FWA, D&AD, The Webbies, and The Emmys. Her film work has been featured in The Guardian, and is found on Apple TV, Amazon, online at Nowness and WaterBear, and has screened at The British Museum and international film festivals.

She is a proud mom and wife, and has set up The Cowgirls to craft amazing work and “Get shit done and get home in time for dinner.”

Nick is an internationally-awarded, American, Creative Director currently living and working in Paris.
In his career, he's had the opportunity to work at some of the best agencies in the US, France, and Italy on clients like Coca-Cola, Heineken, Duolingo, Netflix, and Citroen. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, he picked up this terrible habit of speaking about himself in the 3rd person.

LEONE is an award-winning film director and photographer, born and raised in San Salvo and based in Milan. Though he has lived in a big city for years, Leone has kept with him and as part of his work a predilection for all those things reminding him of his past and his home. He likes creating absurd stories, often with a refined comic twist even in tragedy.

Leone likes nice stories, but mostly he likes to tell them nicely. That’s why in 2010 he started K48, his very own production company based in Milan. In 2016 he became publisher and partner of C41 Magazine. In 2021 C41 magazine and K48 blended their worlds into a company called C41.eu, a creative production company. Leone is represented by C41.eu and Bollywood Productions.

Jan Bonny studied at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne and in Amsterdam and Torino. His films have screened in Cannes, Locarno, Berlinale and Oberhausen and have won numerous prizes, including the 2020 German Film Critics Association Award and the Grimme Award.
He received the German Television Award in 2023 for Netflix series King of Stonks. His Paramount production "Der Panther" screened in 2024 Berlinale and picked up various awards after. He also directed 100+ commercials for clients like Coke, McDonalds, BMW, etc.
His work has been presented in numerous exhibitions including in mumok in Vienna, Haus der Kunst in Munich and the Julia Stoschek Collection Berlin. In 2018 and 2021, he directed at the Volksbühne Berlin and Theater Basel. 2025 sees the premiere of "Eisenfaust" at Colognes Schauspielhaus. He is a member of the European Film Academy.

Louise Byrne is a Dublin-based producer working across commercials, music videos, and critically acclaimed films for the past ten years. Since co-developing the film division at Motherland from 2017, she has produced a diverse slate of narrative and documentary work, with projects screening at Sundance, Tribeca, and Sheffield DocFest, as well as having her film being theatrical distributed nationally.

She collaborates closely with emerging directorial talent, producing high-end commercials while also supporting the development and production of short and long-form films. In 2023, her short film Call Me Mommy won the Special Jury Prize at the Young Director Award (YDA).

With a passion for storytelling across formats, Louise continues to bridge the worlds of commercial filmmaking and independent cinema, creating work that is both artistically ambitious and widely engaging.

Miguel Coimbra is a director and producer with extensive experience in advertising. He studied product design but began his career as an advertising creative. Over the years, he worked at both national and international agencies (Z, JWT, TBWA, BBDO), earning accolades such as the Art Directors Club NY and Cannes Lions, among others.

His directing career took off in 2004 at the production company Ministério dos Filmes, where he gained hands-on filmmaking experience and honed his craft in storytelling and production quality.

In 2014, he directed Blood Brothers, a short documentary about the forcados amadores, which was showcased and awarded at several prestigious film festivals worldwide.

Currently, he is a director and executive producer at el-Hey, the production company he founded in 2020.

Su Constantine is an Executive Producer at LOBO, a renowned, award-winning creative production studio and motion graphics powerhouse specializing in animation, design, mixed media, and live-action.

She began her journey with LOBO in 2016 as a Producer in São Paulo, Brazil, before ascending to Executive Producer in the New York office in 2024. Throughout her career, Su has been instrumental in bringing LOBO’s most high-profile campaigns to life for global giants like LG, Coca-Cola, Toyota, and McDonald’s.
Her expertise and leadership have contributed to projects that have earned prestigious accolades, including Cannes Lions, D&AD Pencils, and LIA Awards.

Carol has been with shots since 2008, first as Sub-Editor on the magazine, then as Contributing Editor, interviewing such adland legends as Frank Budgen and David Droga.

Now as Features Editor she seeks out cool content on creative marketing while curating and writing about the best work from around the globe. Other journalistic roles have included writing film and TV reviews for titles ranging from 'Nuts' to 'The TV Times'. Carol is also a playwright and producer.

Samuel Danesi’s experience as an editor goes through a range of disciplines : feature films, Netflix series, Music videos, advertisements, short-films.

He has won, or contributed to the winning of several awards such as MTV award for best editing with «Fell in love with a girl », directed by Michel Gondry, Silver bear for best short film in Berlin for «Decroche », Oscar and Cesar for best short film with « Logorama ».
In recent years, he has deepened his experience in the field of feature films, in genre such as comedy, drama and action films, working with companies like Gaumont, UGC, Mediawan or Chapter2.

Anne DePree is an Executive Producer, creative collaborator, and brand amplifier. Before moving into production, Anne was a sought-after strategic advisor to internationally-renowned thought leaders, including CNN Heroes, Obama Fellows, Echoing Green Fellows, and Nathan Cummings Foundation Fellows. As an organizational consultant, Anne has served as interim COO for growing social enterprises, facilitated and managed high-impact stakeholder relationships, designed and implemented metrics and evaluations criteria, and led organizational restructuring efforts.

She began her career on Capitol Hill as an Analyst for the National Security Division of the Congressional Budget Office. Anne continued working on high-impact domestic and international projects while at the Clinton Foundation, helping to scale existing initiatives and designing several new programs. After the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, she coordinated and managed the shipment of over $27 million in supplies as Haiti Logistics Manager for both the Clinton Foundation and the UN. Office of the Special Envoy for Haiti.

Anne is a graduate of USC's Gould School of Law and is admitted to practice law in California. She also holds a Master's in Economics from Boston University.

​​Raquel Elfassi founded R&D, a Los Angeles-based consultancy that works with directorial talent across features, short film, and advertising. Her extensive industry experience quickly established R&D as the go-to for placing directors globally, and as a solution for production companies trying to keep their finger on the pulse in the fast-evolving media landscape.

Raquel Elfassi began her career as a director’s agent at Propaganda, working with David Fincher, Mark Romanek, and Michael Bay. She went on to help launch The Directors Bureau alongside Mike Mills and Roman Coppola, and later founded the renowned representation firm Resource, where she was instrumental in shaping the commercial careers of award-winning directors Noam Murro and David Shane.

R&D’s focus is synergy–matching talent with commercial companies to create environments where everyone can develop and thrive. The firm also provides structural and brand consulting to emerging and established companies. Raquel’s longstanding relationships with industry leadership and influencers extend beyond U.S. borders to Europe, where she successfully established Resource Paris.

Simon Fessler is the co-founder, managing partner, and executive producer of Hamburg-based commercial film production company Simon & Paul.
Building the company from scratch, he and his partner have always pursued the highest creative standards in filmmaking, blending craft, storytelling, and commercial excellence.
With a passion for pushing boundaries, Simon has helped shape award-winning work that resonates globally. As a jury member of the Young Director Award in Cannes, he brings his dedication to championing emerging talent and innovative filmmaking.

Mindy Goldberg founded Epoch Films in 1989 with a vision of creating a place for talented filmmakers to gain access to the commercial marketplace.

For 36 years, Mindy has led Epoch's mission to take risks on filmmakers with unique perspectives, introducing them to the advertising word, and establishing some of the industry's top directors. Epoch and its directors have won many awards, including multiple DGA and Cannes Lions.

In 2005, Mindy launched Epoch’s feature division with the Sundance hit JUNEBUG (Dir. Phil Morrison, Sony Pictures Classics), which won an Independent Spirit Award and gave Amy Adams her first Oscar nomination. Mindy went on to produce GIGANTIC (Dir. Matt Aselton, 2009, First Independent), GOODBYE TO ALL THAT (Dir. Angus MacLachlan, 2014, IFC), and LOW DOWN (Dir. Jeff Preiss, 2014Oscilloscope/Universal, which won the Cinematography Award at Sundance.

In her foray into television, Mindy was an Executive Producer on the Independent Spirit Award-nominated documentary series STOLEN YOUTH: INSIDE THE CULT OF SARAH LAWRENCE (Dir. Zachary Heinzerling, 2023, Hulu). 

Most recently, she produced two 2024 Sundance award-winning films: the BAFTA-nominated documentary DAUGHTERS (Dir. Natalie Rea & Angela Patton, Netflix), which won the Festival Favorite and Audience Awards, and the short film SAY HI AFTER YOU DIE (Dir. Kate Jean Hollowell) which won the Short Film Jury Award.

Born in Montparnasse to a Russian constructivist sculptor, Dimitri Granovsky has built a multifaceted career at the crossroads of art, cinema, and technology. A pioneer in animation and digital media, he has collaborated with leading studios, championed emerging talent, and played a key role in animation education.

As an “evangelist” for NVIDIA, Dimitri connected major animation studios with cutting-edge digital tools. He later shaped the next generation of artists as Deputy Director of the Georges Méliès School, forging international partnerships and designing innovative curricula. He co-founded and presided over RECA, uniting French animation schools under the CNC, and lectured at Sciences Po.

A respected figure in the industry, Dimitri has been a jury member at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and is a member of the César Film Academy. He has moderated high-profile discussions, including “Works in Progress” at Annecy, and presented films worldwide, from Disney’s The Princess and the Frog to panels at Bristol Animation Festival.

Beyond academia and industry leadership, Dimitri has had experience publishing. With his former company, Les Éditions Granovsky, he curated works on animation cinema, including collaborations with ARTE.

I co-founded Stoked with my partner Charbel Aouad in 2013 in the UAE and Lebanon. In the past 12 years Stoked became one of the top production companies in the region. I work closely with directors, and creatives to bring narratives to life. I have worked with some of the biggest brands to craft compelling, high-impact commercials.

I strive constantly to discover diverse talent, this is a great source of satisfaction in my personal journey.

In 2000, Sandy began her career in the entertainment business working at production company A Band Apart alongside some of the most talented commercial and feature storytellers working in the industry. In 2013 Sandy founded Chromista alongside partner Darren Aronofsky. Her campaigns have been recognized internationally by the Cannes Lions, the Clios, the One Show and the AICP Awards.

Sandy recently joined forces with London Alley as Executive Producer. Together they continue to assemble one of the most diverse creative communities in the entertainment industry by embracing creators across all spectrums of storytelling. They’ve produced countless projects and won many awards for their work with brands like Apple, Pepsi, Bose, Sony, Swarovski, Kia and more.

Shion Hayasaka is an Executive Producer of Anonymous Content’s UK division, where she works alongside the company’s Managing Director to represent some of the industry’s top talent, including directors Autumn de Wilde, Alyssa McLelland, Bardia Zeinali, and thirtytwo.
With a keen eye for storytelling and commitment to creative excellence, Hayasaka has worked on campaigns for brands including H&M, Bulgari, UNHCR, Ford and adidas, that have been recognized with top industry awards including wins at AICP, British Arrows, Ciclope, Creative Circle, D&AD, and the Kinsale Sharks.
Hayasaka has 15 years of production experience, first joining Anonymous Content in 2020 as Head of Production before moving into her current role. Prior to that, she worked as a freelance producer with stints at Adidas and Holmes Production for fashion and commercial brands. She began her career at Rogue Films where she spent six years, moving up from Receptionist to Production Manager.

Jackson Morton is the Co-Founder and Executive Producer at JOJX, where he curates and nurtures a roster of directors that create culture-defining work.
With over 15 years of industry experience spanning animation, CGI, mixed media, working as an agency creative art director, Jackson has a keen eye for discovering and developing new talent.
He takes a hands-on, strategic approach – refining pitches, elevating creative visions and pushing boundaries. Having been immersed in the industry his entire life, he’s deeply invested in shaping careers and championing the next generation of filmmakers.

Shirin Kamal is a TV and film writer from Amman, Jordan, best known for co-creating, writing, and serving as the creative music supervisor for the Netflix hit series AlRawabi School for Girls. The series won a Joy Award for Best Levant Series for its second season in 2025.

In addition to her work in television and film, Shirin occasionally writes and produces her own music, blending her passion for storytelling with her love for music.

Having grown up and now living between Jordan and the United States, Shirin’s diverse cultural background has greatly influenced her storytelling, allowing her to craft narratives that resonate with a global audience. She continues to develop and write projects that explore themes close to her heart.

Currently the Managing Director at Stink, Prague, Klara began her career with a focus on production, studying at The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) in Prague. This experience gave her a strong foundation in storytelling, editing, and film production.

During her studies, she started working at Stillking Films as a production coordinator, eventually transitioning to a full-time producer after graduation. She then concentrated on creative research and talent development, ultimately becoming the Executive Producer responsible for managing the company’s growing roster of directors.

In 2011, Klara joined SAVAGE, becoming a founding member of the international production company with offices in Prague and New York. She played a pivotal role in building and managing the Prague office, which quickly became one of the most respected production companies in the local market.

In 2018, Klara took on the role of Managing Director at Stink Films, Prague, where she continues to thrive. She has successfully brought international directors into the Czech market, while also identifying and nurturing local talent. Stink is the only company of its size and scope in the Czech Republic.

Klara’s passion for filmmaking runs deep. “You can learn the process and new technologies, but you can’t learn the passion for the job,” she explains. “Being in production feels very natural to me, and Prague and Central Europe have always been incredible places for finding and developing new talent—that’s what excites me.”

Emma is an executive producer and partner of GIANT FILMS, a leading South African production company ranked by The Loeries in the top two production companies in Africa and the Middle East for three consecutive years, and named Production Company of the Year by both The Loeries and Ciclope Africa.

After 14 years at Ogilvy as a Producer and then Head of Broadcast, Emma joined Giant Films in 2012, tasked with growing the director based division from a small shop to a roster that now represents some of South Africa’s leading established and emerging talent.

Emma’s empathetic approach and her focus on growing diverse and rising talent is one of her core strengths. Her creative, guiding hand and strategic thinking has helped play a key role in the growth of the company.

During her tenure, Emma has produced commercials, music videos and digital film content for global brands, such as Volkswagen, Chicken Licken, Heineken, KFC, AB InBev, Guinness, Vodacom, Coca Cola, Sanlam.

Through the years Emma has been invited to sit on various judging panels, both locally and internationally and was recently elected onto the EXCO committee for the Commercial Producers Association of South Africa.

In 1995 Kim founded M&M Productions with his father, Tivi Magnusson. Headhunted to run Nordisk Film’s Film Division as CEO from 2003 – 2009. In the years 1995-2025 he has produced or EP’ed more than 160 films such as: I KILL GIANST, MEN&CHICKEN, THE GREEN BUTCHERS, ADAM’S APPLES, HEADHUNTER, TERKEL IN TROUBLE, WORLDS APART, R, PUSHER II &P III. He has been Oscar® nominated in the category “Live Action Short Film” seven times, and won the coveted award 2 times, in 1999 for ELECTION NIGHT and in 2014 for HELIUM, furthermore 6 more films Kim held a producer title on, had been nominated with three wins, so a total of 5 winning films at the Oscars®, the latest was this years winner I’M NOT A ROBOT.

Kim Magnusson has been the chairman of the Danish Producers Association for 9 years (most ever), as well as chairman of the Danish Film Academy for 20 yrs. Kim is a voting member of AMPAS® and as well as The Independent Spirits Awards, The Danish and The European Film Academy.

After leaving Nordisk Film in 2010 he launched Dansk Film Kompagni to develop and produce high-end, commercial-driven film for the international market. In Los Angeles, USA, he has multiple projects in development incl. LAST WITNESS, optioned by 20th Century Fox / John Davis. Later he signed with Netflix for a 1st look deal, concentrating on Nordic feature films, which generated two films for the streamer – KADAVER and BLACK CRAB, which is still among the top 5 non-English language films for the streamer.

He was also part of forming Scandinavian Film Funds, which has raised $16M to fund a New Pan-Nordic distribution company SCANDINAVIAN FILM DISTRIBUTION, where Kim acted as CCO. SFD is involved in 30 Nordic feature film, incl. acclaimed Cannes entry SICK OF MYSELF, Norwegian Oscar® selection WW2 Drama WAR SAILOR (as EP), and latest THE END by Joshua Oppenheimer, where Kim also served as Executive Producer.

As Managing Director & Executive Producer of Heckler, Charu Menon has produced work that has been recognized at Cannes Lions, D&AD, AWARD, YDA, St Kilda, Doc Edge and Spikes, among others. She is a TVC and visual effects producer with over fifteen years of experience in film, TV, advertising and digital content across APAC for global brands including Apple, Adidas, Lego, Pepsi, McDonald’s, and Samsung to name a few.

Charu was part of the Direction Jury for D&AD and the Film Craft Jury at Cannes Lions 2023 and has also served on craft juries for Immortal Awards, Ciclope Asia, Ciclope Berlin, Clios, Gerety, Ad Black Sea and Madstars. She was voted as a Campaign Brief Asia Woman to Watch in 2021.
She is the writer- producer and EP of ‘By the River’- an Australian documentary on the ‘death hotels’ in the holy Indian city of Varanasi which picked up a slew of awards including the Golden Tripod at the Australian Cinematographer Society Awards 2020 and was the Official Selection at two Oscar qualifying International Film Festivals – Doc Edge and St Kilda Film Festival.

Jean first studied screenwriting at Paris-Nanterre University, after which he became a professional script consultant for various production companies. In 2022, he joined Troublemakers and Eliotness where he is now working as a producer. Jean is also a specialist in animation education, giving lectures and writing pedagogical material for various institutions (the CNC, Les Cahiers du Cinéma...). As a screenwriter, he has worked on several animated kids TV shows broadcast in the UK, France, Germany, and other countries.

Amanda Miller is a producer and EP based in LA.
With an emphasis on world building and characters, Amanda focuses on story telling that leverages her considerable experience in animation.

She is currently developing Werner Herzog’s first animation film based on his novel, The Twilight World. Her most recent project, CHRISTOPHER AT SEA directed by Tom CJ Brown, world premiered at the Venice Biennale in 2022 and screened in many film festivals including in competition at Sundance and won a special jury prize for dierction at SXSW.

She produced the inaugural season of HBO Max’s animated shorts anthology ONLY YOU which will premiere in March of 2023 and she developed and produced DEVIL MAY CARE for Peacock/SyFy. Amanda has partnered with some of the world’s largest brands, including Apple, Coca Cola and Supercell. The cinematics she produced for Supercell have been viewed billions of times.

Rafael Elías Muñoz is one of the Dominican Republic’s most prolific producers. He’s also the Head of Production at Lantica Studios, where he oversees Development, Production, and Production Services. Muñoz has produced over 25 feature films, including Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas' "Holly Beasts" starring Geraldine Chaplin and Udo Kier, which was selected for the Panorama section of Berlinale 2019; Pablo Giorgelli's "La Encomienda," an official selection at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival 2021; "Croma Kid," a 2022 selection at the BFI London Film Festival; and "Hotel Coppelia," directed by José María Cabral and nominated for the Knight Marimbas Award at the Miami Film Festival.

Muñoz has also overseen production services for major international titles, including "The Lost City" starring Sandra Bullock for Paramount, "The Killer" directed by David Fincher for Netflix, and "Arthur the King" starring Mark Wahlberg for Eone.

Hide is an Executive Producer at TOKYO and Taiyo Kikaku. With a career in advertising film production at Taiyo Kikaku, a TV commercial production company with over 50 years of history, he founded the creative production company TOKYO in 2013.
Beyond producing numerous award-winning works recognized by prestigious international advertising competitions, his experience spans across various media, from video games to TV show production.

Currently, he is involved not only in advertising films but also in the development of original content and the management of CINEMORE, a film media platform for cinephiles. Passionate about discovering and nurturing new creative talent, he continues to bring fresh voices to the industry.

John Nguyen is U.S. Managing Director and Executive Producer of Academy Films, a Global commercial production company with offices in London and Los Angeles. John has scaled operations and elevated the studio’s industry-wide reputation for high-quality productions with brands like Prada, Squarespace, Meta, Diageo, and LG.

Prior to joining Academy Films, John spent more than a decade as an independent producer where he partnered with production companies and agencies such as RSA Films, Iconoclast, Wieden+Kennedy, Droga5, Mother NY, 72andSunny.

In addition to his work, John serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Venice Arts, Los Angeles Center for Photography and Film Education. The organization’s mission is to transform the lives of Los Angeles’ low-income youth through photography and film education, and to amplify the voices of underrepresented communities around the world.

Sophia Phirippides is the founder of Modern Times, a film, television and interactive media production company founded in 1989.

She is a versatile and passionate story-teller, spanning three decades of experience in feature film and television production. This includes producing as an investigative journalist for South Africa’s premier actuality show Carte Blanche, as well as producing and directing On-Air promos and commercials across mainstream channels, and as an executive producer for international and local content.

Under Trial TV, she produced and directed the diptych Burden of Truth, and All about Reeva the first films to document the demise and arrest of decorated Paralympian Oscar Pistorius.

Sophia has received several accolades for her work in television categories, including Citadel, Words on Money, Telkom ICT Journalist of the Year, IMM Marketing, two awards in each of the following: CNN African Journalist of the Year, Vodacom Journalist of the Year, and Vodacom commendations “on her body of work,” especially her reporting on Finding Leigh”, a documentary aired on Fox Crime (2015), and a 2023 SAFTA nomination for her short documentary on “Medical Xenophobia.”

She recently completed a feature length documentary for M-Net Originals, Lessons from Space, the Mark Shuttleworth story, (South Africa’s first tech billionaire) and is currently producing documentary series for Netflix.

As a dedicated industry professional Sophia is committed to supporting and mentoring emerging filmmakers.

Vera's journey as a filmmaker began when she saw the film "Awakenings“ at the age of 18 years. The experience to create something so deeply touching made her believe in the medium film.
After having studied marketing and communication and miscellaneous stays abroad Vera started her professional career at BBDO, Germany, where she acted as tv producer.
5 years later Vera joined TEMPOMEDIA where she currently acts as managing director and executive producer as well as partner heading the three offices in Hamburg, Berlin and Frankfurt.

In 2021 she also founded TEMPOMEDIA PICTURES focusing on feature films and TV series.
Outside of the film industry she created a series of nine gender neutral niche perfumes as the co-founder of the brand MAVEMADE.

Vera has received numerous awards and accolades for her work including several Clio, New York Festival, LIA, Eurobest, EPICA, ADC awards and several sought-after Cannes Lions. Her first Cannes Lion was a "remake" of "The Graduate" with Dustin Hoffmann. Another one was received for Edeka "Heimkommen" … the most shared Christmas advert worldwide as well as a Grand Prix for BMW "Small Escape".
She has developed TEMPOMEDIA into one of the most successful and creative commercial film productions in Germany.

Vera lives in Germany and Italy with her husband, their 3 boys and their dog.

Hyung Joon Park is an Executive Producer at Planit Production, leading its Global Production Division.
With extensive experience in commercial and branded content production, he has collaborated with major brands like Samsung, LG, Hyundai, and Kia. Passionate about innovation and storytelling, he continuously explores new creative approaches to captivate audiences worldwide.

Nita Rehtonen is the other founding partner and executive producer of Breakfast (founded in 2023), one of Finland’s most exciting new production companies. She has produced films, stills and animation since 2016. Through Breakfast, she aims to connect fresh voices with strong productions, shaping a field that reflects the next generation.

Despite producing commercials, Nita leads the drama department and development, with a long-term ambition of producing a feature film. She sees every project—whether a short film, documentary, or commercial—as a step toward that goal.

In her work, Nita focuses on high-quality storytelling and is committed to creating diverse working environments and ensuring space for the crew and emerging talent.

Beyond producing, she’s interested in telling stories that bring new perspectives to the industry. She is honored to join the Cannes Young Directors Award jury and looks forward to celebrating the next generation of filmmakers shaping the industry’s future.

In 2022, Nita produced her first feature documentary Radical Creatives (2023), and her short films have been recognized and awarded at international festivals.

Soon premiering a drama comedy shortfilm, Try Me<3 (2025) is starting its festival round.

The film produced by Breakfast for Helsinki International Film Festival - “You are what you watch”, won the Grand Prix's in Golden Drum and Voitto Gaala, Silver in LIA, Silver in Epica and Silver in Eurobest this year.

Breakfast’s film for Metacore Games won a Grand Prix and two silvers in Voitto Gaala advertisement competition and Silver in Golden Drum last year.

Film produced by Breakfast for McDonald’s got shortlisted in Cannes Lions and won bronze in Eurobest last year - “McDonald’s The Truth About the Hamburger Menu”.

Charlie Roberson is Head of Talent at Rogue where he represents top flight talent and works alongside some of the most prestigious production teams in the business, with whom he is developing many exciting creative ventures.

Charlie has a sharp eye for spotting gifted individuals and a passion for supporting them. Last year he set up REBEL, Rogue’s platform to elevate and develop breakthrough directors. REBEL. is a destination for creative agencies and brands, a resource led by smart production and the latest in breakthrough talent who sometimes work in unconventional ways.

Prior to his appointment at Rogue Charlie was Head of Sales at Stink for three years, contributing to an incredibly successful time for the international production company.

Having started his career in advertising at Weilands about 15 years ago Charlie has weaved a path through the industry that has taken in a broad range of roles. Working as most do from being a runner, he progressed through many departments of commercial production and paid his dues as the assistant’s assistant of pretty much everything on set. He edited with Eddie French and had post production stints at The Mill, MPC and Wave. In his years as an Agent at CMM, Charlie represented directors, writers and HoDs in TV Drama and feature film, negotiating contracts for talent on series Independent films. His first foray as directors rep was at PRETTYBIRD, managing directors from the US, UK and Europe.

Oscar Romagosa is an Executive Producer and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the creative side of the moving image industry. Based in Los Angeles, he was born and raised in Barcelona, Spain.

In 2022, he founded HEAVEN Inc., a U.S.-based production company that primarily focuses on advertising but is also actively developing projects across other areas of the audiovisual production landscape, including TV series and motion pictures.

HEAVEN’s mission is to fully support and develop artists with a 360-degree approach—recognizing that every project must be considered not only on its own merits but also in relation to the broader context of a director’s evolving career. The company embraces the complexity of creative growth, nurturing talent across all facets of the industry.

In parallel with HEAVEN, Oscar launched ROMA, a new production venture in the European market operating out of Madrid and Barcelona. Through ROMA, he has produced impactful work with directors such as J.A. Bayona and Anton Tammi.

Oscar began his career in independent film and documentary production through his first company, NANOUK Films. In 2010, he joined the newly established directing collective CANADA, where he played a key role over 12 years in transforming it into a globally recognized production company with multimillion-dollar revenues.

As passionate storyteller, Billy Rovzar has dedicated his career to bringing compelling narratives to life. After graduating from USD, Billy founded Lemon Films, a leading Mexican production company whose debut feature, “Matando Cabos”, officially premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. His follow-up project, “Kilometer 31”, marked a milestone as the first Mexican horror film produced in over two decades and is currently the highest grossing Mexican horror film.
In 2007, Billy expanded his reach by investing in NALA Films, a U.S.-based production fund, producing films featuring stars like Will Ferrell, Julianne Moore, and Uma Thurman. With more than 20 films to his credit, Billy ventured onto Broadway, co-producing the musical Spider-Man alongside Bono and The Edge. His film “After Lucia” became an official selection at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the prestigious Prize of Un Certain Regard.
In 2012 Lemon Films evolved into Lemon Studios, delivering over 1,000 hours of content across television, film, and theater. Notable productions include Netflix's “Monarca” and the internationally popular YA series “Control Z”. In 2017 Lemon Studios earned a landmark achievement by winning the International Emmy for its HBO series Sr. Ávila, becoming the first Mexican production company to achieve this.

Emily Rudge is Managing Director of Prettybird UK. With over 18 years of experience in the entertainment industry, Emily brings a wealth of knowledge, visionary leadership, and a passion for storytelling.

Prior to joining Prettybird, Emily’s has worked across a range of genres; from theatre, music videos and art exhibitions; to scripted drama, factual entertainment and high-profile advertising campaigns. This has enabled an understanding of both the artistic and business sides of production. She has a passion for the arts and nurturing diverse and emerging talent which she carries into every role. Most recently she was MD/EP at Not Just Any (the talent arm of US post studio Ntropic) where she launched it in the UK, and built and managed a roster of live action and CG filmmakers.

Working across the art world, in agencies, and in production, she has worked at the likes of Iconoclast, RadicalMedia, W+K and Ogilvy. Producing for powerhouse brands such as Nike, Rimowa and Gucci, as well as for institutions such as the Serpentine Galleries and ICA London.

Known for her collaborative leadership style, Emily excels at creating environments where creativity thrives, and where talent and producers feel empowered. In an industry that is constantly in motion Emily isn’t afraid to evolve with it.

Originally from Bosnia, Vedran came to Sweden as a refugee. He started doing films in high school when he gave up on his dreams of becoming a scientist. Documentaries at first, but much like science, you can’t make stuff up, so he started doing shorter narrative work.

“I like stories that twist and turn unexpectedly and the occasional elegant breaking of the fourth wall. I think one should be able to joke about everything. Imagine someone slipping on a banana peel. Super fun. But then again I’m certain there is this sad story somewhere out there about a single income household provider slipping on a banana peel and breaking their neck. It’s devastating. So for this reason, one should not be able to joke about slipping on banana peels? Well no, someone is always gonna get hurt. We just have to try to not be a dick about it. And it has to be funny”

Pelle is a Creative Producer driven by his commitment to crafting meaningful stories.

Despite his relatively young age, Pelle has already made a remarkable impact, contributing to a range of acclaimed productions. Working with young and emerging talent, he has built a diverse portfolio that includes commercials, documentaries, series, and short films.

Recently, he was honored as a TRUE Rising Star at the TRUE Awards, a recognition rarely given to producers. His latest short film, Salmon, created with the directing duo Reprise, received significant international acclaim and is now streaming on Disney+.

Pelle is currently an in-house Creative Producer at Ørsted, a worldwide sustainable energy developer, where he has spent the past two and a half years producing global campaigns across Europe, Asia, and the US.

Frank Scherma is the President and co-founder of RadicalMedia, an award-winning independent production company that has revolutionized the commercial and branded content space.
Under his leadership, RadicalMedia has partnered with some of the world’s most iconic brands, including Apple, Nike, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, Google, Coca-Cola, and many more, crafting groundbreaking campaigns that redefine how brands connect with audiences.

Originally known for its success in advertising, RadicalMedia has evolved into a global force in commercial production, television, film, and digital content, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, and London. Through innovative storytelling and cutting-edge production, Frank has helped create some of the most influential commercials and branded experiences in the industry, continuously pushing creative and technological boundaries.
Working alongside top filmmakers, directors, and creative visionaries, Frank has produced award-winning campaigns, television series, feature films, and immersive digital projects. His work has earned two Academy Awards®, a Golden Globe®, multiple Emmys®, Grammys®, Webbys®, and the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award, along with two Palme d’Ors from the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival—the highest honor in commercial creativity.

Beyond his work in commercial production, Frank plays a major role in shaping the industry. He is an active board member of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), where he champions the future of commercial filmmaking and innovation. He is also the Immediate Past Chairman and CEO of the Television Academy, helping to elevate television’s impact and support the creative community. Additionally, he serves on the board of ThinkLA, a nonprofit that connects leaders in media, marketing, advertising, and entertainment.
Frank’s ability to merge art and commerce has made him a driving force in modern advertising and entertainment. His leadership philosophy, deeply influenced by his Italian heritage, is simple: “The trick to keeping people close is to always have good food, good wine, and great ideas.”

Jean Sharony, country manager & partner at Whisky Films Co., is a renowned Executive Producer located in Los Angeles, California. Jean has been the Vice President and an active member of the International Quorum of Motion Pictures Producers (IQ) since 2009, guiding and learning from fellow producers, cinematographers and directors towards success in this ever-growing industry. Jean has also been invited to judge several award festivals, including the US International Film and Video Festival Awards, The One World Award, the renowned Mobius Awards and recently being one of the Lead Speakers at the Ogilvy Talks 2019.

Jean’s work history is extensive and laborious, awarding him with all the knowledge and experience he now has. Working at firms such as Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy & Mather, Cineaccion and Cinemagica, he held the Executive Producer position for worldwide productions. Jean held clients such as Colgate Palmolive, being their most valuable provider. He then went on to crate his own production company The Point Production, based in Miami Florida, later on joining forces with Whiskey Films more than 9 years ago.
In 2015, Jean moved this operation to Los Angeles, expanding the Whisky brand not only within North America, but around the globe, now with nine offices.

Sophie Shi currently serves as Head of Acquisitions at EST N8, a film production, financing, sales, and distribution joint venture based in Los Angeles and Bangkok. She is a prominent figure in bringing Asian films to international markets.

At EST N8, Sophie has overseen the acquisition of over 30 films, including major projects such as Indonesian box office #1 director Awi Suryadi’s latest horror films Pabrik Gula and Perewangan; Thai thriller Delivery Man written by Kongkiat Komesiri; Mash Ville, winner of the Best Director award at the Fantasia Film Festival; and Netflix Korea’s #1 hit Chabak. She also served as an executive producer on acclaimed films such as Asog, The Harvest, and B Side: For Taylor.

Beyond her work at EST N8, Sophie is producing the independent feature Outbound, written and directed by Ziyao Liu, currently in post-production. Previously, she worked as a creative executive at Janet Yang’s production company, contributing to the development of an eagerly anticipated Bruce Lee biopic directed by Ang Lee. Sophie has also worked with HBO on The Staircase and We Own This City, as well as with NBC Universal on the second season of Good Girls.

Zahra is a partner and executive producer at Ocean Films, a Brazil-based company with over 20 years of experience in the audiovisual industry — the last 15 of which have been focused on the international market. Ocean Films delivers high-quality production services to some of the world’s leading agencies and production companies. Throughout her career at Ocean Films, she has produced and co-produced hundreds of projects, including major international productions.

Lyndy Stout edits and curates the online magazine and creative awards 1.4 which showcases the hottest international short-form filmmaking talent. In other lives she edited shots magazine for over a decade, was deputy editor of Creative Review, and was also a travel writer.

Tomoya Suzuki is the founder and CEO of STORIES®, an affiliate of Hakuhodo DY Group.
With offices in Tokyo and Los Angeles, STORIES represents 25+ creators from Hollywood and Japan with backgrounds in filmed-entertainment and expertise in branded-content. STORIES produced 500+ branded entertainment projects, commercials and music videos, including Sony's "After Dark", JW Marriott’s “Two Bellmen” and Namie Amuro’s “Anything”(Spikes-Asia award) over the course of our decade journey.

With two decades of experience as a creative producer at Hakuhodo and STORIES®, Tomoya has written, produced, and directed 100+ branded content projects for clients including Japan Airlines, Nissan and so on. He created the 10-year-and-running Subaru branded entertainment campaign "Your story with"(Spikes Asia Award), with 25 episodes of 90-second story-driven commercials and regular TV dramas based on the spot as well as hit novel based on the commercials.

He's currently developing features and Television based on Japanese IP in Hollywood. He served as a jury at 2017 Cannes Lions Entertainment and Spikes Asia Entertainment 2018.
He co-authored “The Art of Branded Entertainment”, the very first book written by Cannes Lions Jury members.

A writer and filmmaker, Doel has been producing and directing documentaries for over 20 years. Her expertise lies in telling stories that are aimed towards impact.

She has filmed in some of the most extreme and remote locations to document wildlife in its natural habitat and tell stories of environmental concern. Doel continues to find new ways to tell relevant stories and hopes to engage new audiences.

Her films have won international and national recognition. Gyamo - Queen of the Mountains, which she co-directed, has won several awards including awards at Banff Mountain Festival and Jackson Wild Big Cats Festival. Into the Himalayas, which Doel produced and wrote, has received a nomination at the prestigious Jackson Wild Media Awards, 2020. These films have also begun to create ground level impact in changing attitudes. Doel also wrote Timeless Traveller which won the National Award in 2005.

Doel directed a short film ‘Rivers of Hope’ for Waterbear. Sto­ries from remote areas in Bangladesh which bring us close to the lives of fam­i­lies who are most vul­ner­a­ble to cli­mate shifts. The film is available online on Waterbear Network and on YouTube.

She is also the Director of the award winning series, ‘Snakes SOS - Goa’s Wildest’ - a rescue series with the intention to create awareness about snakes, build empathy towards them and try and break some long standing fears around snakes in India. All 5 seasons of Snakes SOS are now airing on National Geographic and Disney Hotstar.

She is currently working on a film - Fields of Gold - a film that portrays the profound impacts of the climate crisis on farmers in India, highlighting their resilience and need for seed sovereignty and a food secure future. Doel has received the National Geographic Society and Climate Pledge grant for this project. The project was an official selection at the Sunny Side of Doc 2024. Doel lives with her partner and 10 year old daughter in Goa, India.

Sophie founded Tin Drum Music in October 2011 following a previous 8 years experience in music supervision. Starting out as Creative Director of Huge Music, an in house music consultancy for WCRS/ Engine, Sophie supervised countless high profile advertising campaigns including Sky, BMW and 3 Mobile.

Sophie then joined Chrysalis Music as Creative Director of synchronisation and subsequently joined Spirit Music Group as Senior Director of Creative Services.

Tin Drum Music is an independent, full-service music consultancy specialising in creative search, negotiation and licensing across all media. They have sourced and licensed commercial music and bespoke composition for a number of award winning advertising campaigns including E.ON + Gorillaz; A Solar Collaboration, the coveted 2020 Amazon Christmas campaign ‘The Show Must Go On’ and ‘Just For The Taste Of It’ with Grammy award winning artist Thundercat.
Feature films include Stone Roses: Made Of Stone (Shane Meadows), Backstreet Boys ‘Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of’ (Stephen Kijak) and Get Duked! (Ninian Doff). Their latest feature ‘Last Swim’ (Sasha Nathwani) had it’s world premiere at Berlinale Film Festival in 2024 and won the coveted Crystal Bear Award for Best Film.

Tin Drum also supervised two recent TV series, Lost Boys & Fairies which aired on BBC1 and received rave reviews across the board, and Dreamers for Channel 4 (Duck Soup Films) which aired in March 2025.

Mexican-born director Wes Walker grew up in the border town of El Paso, Texas. Early promise in academics and track brought Wes to Stanford University on a scholarship at age 17 where he earned degrees in Psychology and Neuroscience. Chance then placed a camera in Wes’ hands and he has since taken the same high-achieving attitude and curiosity toward filmmaking. Upon leaving Stanford, Wes managed marketing internally and created films for Adobe & Tesla, and has since signed bold commercial work for Gatorade, Ford, Under Armour, Nike, Wrangler, Shiseido, BMW, and many others.

His 2024 SuperBowl commercial for Audi was Audi’s first ever Hispanic market advertisement and was met with strong success. Wes also shook the film industry with his pioneering Under Armour film on 2-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer Anthony Joshua - the world’s first AI-powered sports advertisement.

Led on by his passion for the outdoors, running, and backcountry skiing, Wes’ work in commercials takes on a signature intensity and visceral lens.

His Afro-Latin heritage has led him to create work centered on the African Diaspora exploring the shared cultural roots of Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa.

He also created music videos for the Bob Marley Estate, Joey Bada$$, Buju Banton, and Jidenna as part of Janelle Monae’s Wondaland Arts Society. His spot for Root Insurance, starring controversial NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, was hailed as “striking and powerful” by publications like AdWeek, AdAge, ESPN, and Fast Company.

AICP honored Wes with a ‘2022 Best New Director’ award. He was also named to the AdWeek Creative 100 as one of only ten film directors globally that year alongside Academy Award winners “The Daniel’s” and featured in the SHOOT 20th Annual 2022 New Director Showcase. Shots honored Wes with the 2021 ‘New Director of the Year’ award, along with Sound Design and Cinematography awards for his Root Insurance work. Other awards and shortlists include YDA Awards, AICP, ADC, Webby, Clio, Clio Sports, and Berlin Commercial awards.

Wes is currently Maui & Paris-based and represented by Bwgtbld, Gang, and Asymetric.

Shen Wei received his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy at King’s College London, before studying Film Production at the University of Southern California and obtaining his master’s degree in Moving Image at Royal College of Art in London. He is now teaching at Communication University of China and serving as head of international relations at CUC's School of Animation and Digital Arts.

Shen Wei's short films have been screened at festivals worldwide, including Tallinn, Rotterdam, etc. His feature film project "A Most Peculiar Man" as producer and co-writer has been selected into Venice Film Festival's Biennale College Cinema. As a polyglot, Shen Wei is the Chinese translator of Florian Zeller's play "LE PÈRE", Werner Herzog's books "Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle" and "Das Dämmern der Welt", and Paolo Sorrentino's "Gli aspetti irrelevanti".

Ariel Winograd was born in Buenos Aires in 1977, and by the age of ten, he already knew he wanted to pursue a career in cinema and comedy. He studied Film Direction at Universidad del Cine. In 2006, he filmed his debut feature Cara de Queso, which he wrote and directed, with a notable cast, an autobiographical theme, a collective narrative, and a comedic tone. Due to its boldness and freshness, the film piqued the interest of many young viewers who saw themselves reflected in a storytelling style that was rarely seen in Argentine cinema before, turning it into a cult film for its generation.

In 2011, he directed Mi Primera Boda, based on Winograd and his wife’s own experiences during their wedding. This was followed by Vino para Robar, Sin Hijos and Permitidos, films in which he continued to solidify his reputation as a comedy director, gaining increasing attention from the national audience. Mamá se fue de viaje was released during the winter holidays and became the most-watched Argentine film of 2017, with over 1.7 million spectators in theaters. In 2020, he released El Robo del Siglo, the last Argentine film to reach two million viewers in Argentina. In the following years, he directed Hoy Se Arregla el Mundo and El Gerente, the latter winning multiple international awards, including the Grand Prix for Branded Content at Cannes Lions 2023. He also direct three feature films in Mexico: Todos Caen, ¿Y cómo es él? (both of which were huge box-office successes in Mexico and the USA, entering the Top 20 in the history of Mexican cinema), and the recent Una Pequeña Confusion, which surpassed one million viewers in theaters.

He served as showrunner and director of the series Las Bravas (Mexico, Seasons 1 and 2), Coppola (Argentina, Season 1, released in 2024 on HULU and Menem (Argentina, Season 1, set to premiere on PRIME video in the first quarter of 2025).

Wittenberg works as a freelance commercial producer throughout Scandinavia. The former EP at Bacon, B-Reel and Oslo based boutique company Fastland has experience from feature films, short films and long format music videos. His career started as a PA working his way up the production ladder. After EPing and MDing the way back to producing full time came natural. Wittenberg is happiest connected hands on with directors and creator - making film.

Starting on the reception desk in 2008, Medb Riordan has grown through the ranks of world renowned Production Company Academy, and in 2018 became Joint MD and partner.

During her 15 years at Academy, Medb has worked alongside award winning directors such as Jonathan Glazer, Martin De Thurah, Kim Gehrig, Seb Edwards, Ian Pons Jewell and Savanah Leaf. She has worked with major music artists such as The Rolling Stones, Radiohead, and Beyoncé and on commercials with the world’s most notable advertisers like Nike, John Lewis Christmas, Alexander McQueen, to name but a few.

Since becoming Joint MD and partner, Academy has been named Production Company of the Year by multiple international awards bodies and publications, as well as winning at British Arrows, Cannes Lions, AICP, MVA and a coveted D&AD Black Pencil in 2022.

Also in 2022 Medb produced her first feature film, the A24/Film4 backed Savanah Leaf debut “Earth Mama”, which premiered in Sundance 2023, and opened in the US and UK theatres to rave reviews from The New York Times, LA Times, The Guardian and many more, making it onto multiple “Films of the Year” lists.
The film was Academy’s first feature since Jonathan Glazer’s 2004 film, Birth, and was produced alongside Park Pictures.
For the film, Medb and Shirley O’Connor were longlisted for Breakthrough Producer for British Independent Film Awards.

In 2023, Academy Films finally opened its doors in the US, solidifying its success as a global production company.

Ricardo Adolfo leads the creative work for Apple in Japan and Korea.
He has lived in Tokyo for the past ten years and has seen his work recognized at Cannes, D&AD, The One Show, Spikes and AdStars amongst others.
Previously he was based in Amsterdam, where he worked at Wieden+Kennedy, DDB and 180, on brands such as Nike, Unilever, Philips, and Adidas.

Ricardo has long fused his love of movies and novels with creative work that is steeped in culture and business-impacting. He is the author of novels, short stories and children’s books that have been translated across South America, Asia and Europe. He has also worked on scripts for TV and cinema, including for Saint George (official selection at the Venice Film Festival - Horizons 2016), Great Yarmouth (official selection at the San Sebastian Film Festival 2022), as well as cult series Sara (winner of Best Series, Portuguese Academy 2019).

Ricardo is happiest when re-energizing and internationalizing creative departments to make world-class work. And he continues to write fiction with a new theatre play coming on stage in 2024.

An award-winning strategic communications and PR expert with over 20 years of experience, Cathy spent her formative professional years at Twentieth Century Fox, collaborating with pioneering filmmakers on a diverse slate of commercially and critically successful films.

During her tenure, Cathy built an extensive global network spanning the entertainment industry and beyond, including arts, culture, science, tech, and non-profit sectors.

Today, Cathy applies her expertise to assist a diverse clientele in the creative industry—filmmakers, founders, streamers, and studios—specialising in strategic partnerships, content-driven collaborations, and community marketing.

Helen joined Aardman in 1998 and has worked within all the main production departments. She initially started work in long form features before moving into series work on Creature Comforts, and over the past 20 years within commercials and short form creating animated and digital content for advertising agencies and third party brands as well as internally with Aardman characters such as Morph and Wallace & Gromit.

Notable projects include producing a half hour film ‘The Itch of the Golden Nit’ as part of The Tate Movie Project, a mass participatory outreach project created by and for thousands of children across the UK, two series of Morph for Sky and a half hour Christmas special Robin Robin for Netflix released
in 2021.

As the Executive Producer for commercials and short form Helen works with the Creative Director on all project enquiries and is responsible for the day to day running of the production team to ensure productions are managed eficiently and to the high creative standards expected by the company.

Jeff Baron is Partner and Managing Director of Chromista.
His long-standing career in production is marked by a commitment to mentorship and director development, proudly leading creative thinkers and storytellers to new artistic heights.
Prior to joining Chromista, Baron co-founded the creative content production company Loveboat in partnership with indie director Nicolas Winding Refn.

As the Managing Partner of Loveboat, Baron led Loveboat’s Los Angeles office to produce award-winning projects encompassing advertising and entertainment.
Previously in his career, Baron launched Stink Films in the US and served as Senior Executive Producer at Anonymous Content for over thirteen years.

Throughout, his impressive body of work has him firmly at the helm, steering projects directed by some of the industry’s most visionary filmmakers, including Alejandro G. Iñárritu, David Fincher, Traktor, Eliot Rausch, Arthur Jafa, Frank Budgen, and his former partner at Loveboat, Nicolas Winding Refn.

Jason Byrne works across multi-platform content creation and has produced internationally acclaimed and award winning work in the advertising, feature film, online media, documentary and branded entertainment space. His roots in advertising however, have paved the way for what’s now considered his niche in the communications/media & advertising world.

Jason’s online content credits include ‘How to Talk Australians’ (dir. Tony Rogers, 2014) garnered over 12 million YouTube views, comedy web series ‘Little Acorns’ (2016), and period black comedy web series ‘Bruce’ (dir. Tony Rogers, 2016) starring Dave Lawson, Angus Sampson and Richard Davies.

His feature and short film credits have been nominated and awarded at the AFI, IF & SPAA awards. Feature credits include ‘One Perfect Day’ (dir. Paul Currie, 2003), Little Deaths (2004), Rats & ‘Cats. (dir Tony Rogers 2005) and Sucker’ (dir. Ben Chessell, 2015). Other known credits include 50 min. tele feature ‘The Heartbreak Tour’ (dir. Ben Chessell, 2005), ABC Documentary ‘Beyond The Backyard’, feature length ABC documentary ‘Shadow Play’ (dir. Josh Whiteman, 2009), ‘A Brilliant Genocide’ (dir, Ebony Butler), TV doco-drama Ch10 ‘Tom Wills’ (dir. Maurice Dowd, 2016. Recently Jason produced the feature film ‘Brothers Nest’ Directed by Clayton Jacobson, starring Shane Jacobson, Sarah Snook, Lynette Curran and Kym Gyngell, that completed production in June 2017. Jason is the producer and creator of the documentary ‘Gatwick – The Last Chance Hotel,’ that aired on ABC in November 2018. Gatwick. Also ‘The Burning’ for Amazon Prime Video dir Eva Orner debuting in 2021at Toronto Film Festival and the SFF.

Constanza and Doménica are sister filmmakers from Mexico City and founders of 271 Films, an independent film and television production company that has developed a reputation as a powerhouse in discovering and incubating emerging talent with a focus on filmmakers of under invested communities.
Their work has garnered over 2 billion views, and they’ve produced numerous award-winning work featured on HBO, Amazon, Mubi, The New Yorker Screening Room, Nylon, Vice, BET, MTV and Adweek as well as prestigious film festivals including Sundance, AFI Fest, Tribeca, Palm Springs, Atlanta and Austin Film Festival.

They partnered with Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions to build and run the Indeed Rising Voices initiative, which invests in and mentors the next generation of BIPOC directors.

They are committed to thoughtful, inclusive, provoking and original storytelling and embracing artists’ visions and pushing the status quo.

Co-Founder of LADO Animation, NYLON duo and AiR Prod, Boca (aka Marcos Ceravolo) is an award winning Brazilian Director focused on mixed media projects for broadcast, film and advertising.

With a background in digital design and animation, his work is known for its whimsical style and a playful aesthetic.

Jon Chads is joint Managing Director and Executive Producer of Stink Films London. Having been with Stink for a decade, Jon has overseen and helped bring to life some of Stink’s most iconic projects, including Guinness ‘Never Alone’, Felix Brady’s ‘Land of New Football’ for Nike, Tom Green’s ‘The Most Shocking Second A Day’ for Save the Children and Apple’s ‘The Great Escape by Sinan Sevinc’ which amassed sixty six million views in a few weeks of its launch.

Previously at major advertising shops such as Wieden+Kennedy, Grey and The Mill, Jon honed his leadership skills and developed an expert understanding of the production/agency ecosystem.
He is a unique support for directors and has exceptional taste.

Ash is the Founding Partner and Chief Creative Oficer of Science & Sunshine, an independent creative agency in Dubai, the city she grew up in and calls home. A brief stint in account management made Ash realise that she belonged on the other side of the agency, so she swapped powerpoint for an HB pencil and has never looked back. She began as a copywriter, working at Lowe, JWT & Y&R Dubai where she was part of the team responsible for creating notable work such as Coca-Cola’s “Hello Happiness” and helping the agency become the most awarded Middle East agency in Cannes Lions history in 2013, and Dubai Lynx Agency of the Year for 3 years in a row from 2011 – 2013.

In 2015, Ash stepped up to be joint ECD of Y&R Dubai. In the same year she won her first D&AD Yellow Pencil and 3 Grand Prix at Dubai Lynx. Her work has been honoured at Cannes Lions, The One Show, Clio Awards, & New York Festivals, and she has served on the Film Jury for Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, New York Festival, the Radio Jury for One Show, the MENA Jury for the Regional Andy Awards and the Audio, Film, Outdoor & Press Jury at Adfest.

Along with her partners, she started Science & Sunshine in 2016 with a mission to create relevant, effective, story-driven work. In 2021 the agency was awarded third Independent Agency of the Year at Dubai Lynx and most recently, Science & Sunshine became the Most Effective Independent Agency of
the Year at the MENA Effie Awards 2023.

Carol has been with shots since 2008, first as Sub-Editor on the magazine, then as Contributing Editor, interviewing such adland legends as Frank Budgen and David Droga. Now as Features Editor she seeks out cool content on creative marketing while curating and writing about the best work from around the globe.

Other journalistic roles have included writing film and TV reviews for titles ranging from 'Nuts' to 'The TV Times'. She is also a playwright and producer, her recent hits being: ‘The Crabaret’, at Margate’s Crab Museum, which included her play about crab sex, ‘Crabsolutely Fabulous’; a future-themed evening of entertainment at Margate music venue Roslyn Court called ‘CabarAI’; and ‘Twisted Sisters’ (part of POW Festival) at the Sarah Thorne Theatre, Broadstairs. In the past she’s written comedy sketches for Edinburgh Fringe shows, and has had two of her short films produced.

Claudia studied Communication, Film and Fine Art between Lisbon, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and London.
She is an honours graduate at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and holds an MFA from Saint Martins in London.

Claudia has worked as a writer, brand developer and Creative Director for Gucci, Nike, Adidas, MINI, AMEX and many others, at agencies like W+K, Sid Lee and AKQA.
Her projects have included music videos, art installations, digital experiences, social media campaigns and business transformations.

Claudia was a speaker at ad:tech Tokyo, UN WOMEN and Spikes Asia, amongst other venues.
She was jury President and/or juror for Titanium, Innovation, Creative Data, Brand Entertainment, Digital and Social at Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia, New York Festivals, AdFest, Spikes, and The One Show.
She is a regular juror at the legendary WIRED Hack Awards, Tokyo.

Her artworks, which link storytelling and interactivity, have been exhibited across the world, namely at the São Paulo Biennial, the Dakar Biennial, the Guangzhou Biennial, De Appel in Amsterdam and MOCA in San Francisco.

Sina Ataeian Dena is a Persian Berlin-based Filmmaker and Artist. He got his bachelor in film directing from Sooreh University of Arts in Tehran and his master in Art and Media from UdK university of arts Berlin.
His debut film “Paradise" (2015) was nominated for a Golden Leopard in the main competition of Locarno film festival and won Best film Ecumenical Jury and Art Peace award. “Paradise" was subsequently awarded at various international film festivals.
Since 2016 Sina has been a scholar in Goethe Institute. He has exhibited Video arts, interactive Video installations and photographs in prestigious contemporary art museums like Villa Merkel Stuttgart and Hamburger Bahnhof Berlin.
Sina lectures writing and consults students in UdK, dffb and film university in Potsdam. As a dramaturgical advisor and producer he presented, “Seven Winters in Tehran” at Berlinale 2023 which won Friedensfilmpreis.

His last work as dramaturgical advisor and producer on “Critical Zone”, won the Golden Leopard in the main competition of Locarno film festival 2023

Janette De Villiers, founder and Executive Producer of the boutique Cape Town production company, Groundglass, is the epitome of the Creative Producer. With over 3O years experience in the industry,
Janette has created a film company known throughout the world for nurturing and developing young talent, placing a strong emphasis on female filmmakers, and for a remarkable committment to sustainable and ethical practices in filmmaking.
Janette prides herself on running a company that is very much a reflection of herself; one that is both admired for it’s inclusive atmosphere, and respected globally for it’s adherence to the highest standards of professionalism.
With strong views on social responsibility very much part of how she conducts everything in her life, Janette has aimed much of the company’s present work towards projects focused on social challenges such as gangsterism and drugs in the Western Cape.

Janette is also the owner of The Electric, one of Cape Town’s coolest bar café’s, where her natural afinity for people and conversation is often found behind the counter, generously serving friends and strangers alike on some of the many great Film and Games evenings the venue regularly presents.

In Summary, Janette has a tireless spirit and an infectious energy for achievement which is constantly driving her to fresh collaborations, innovative solutions and a never-ending supply of ideas and projects with which she continues to attract some of South Africa’s most interesting creative energies.

My name is Ricardo, but everyone calls me Dolla, even my mother. Today I'm the CCO of Dentsu Creative Brasil, but I've been many other things: executive creative director, creative director, copywriter, image researcher, Keynote storyteller, editor, idea salesman, and everything else I still have to do in an advertising agency.
In these 20 years in the industry, I have trained my eye to see what is creative and new, always putting the idea up front regardless of the format.

Filiz Emre entered the industry as an account executive working for global advertising agencies.
In a career spanning over 35 years she has participated in many projects as a film producer and creative director.

Filiz is on the board of directors of IQ (International Quorum of Motion Picture Producers) as a vice president.
She has produced a dramatic miniseries and three documentaries as well as many commercial projects/digital content for brands like Colgate, Nivea, Under Armour, Fanta, Siemens, Vodafone, Coca-Cola, Puma, Philips.
Her social responsibility project “Mardin” for the Wish Tree Project won a Stevie Award.

Andy Fogwill is the Founding Director and Executive Producer of Landia and The Movement.

Besides his degree in Cinema, Andy has completed his education with studies in Aesthetics, Philosophy and Communication.
After winning the special prize at the Buenos Aires Young Art Biennial, he began directing music videos, eventually collaborating with over 50 major bands.

In 2001 Andy founded Landia in Buenos Aires, which quickly turned into one of the most relevant and innovative production companies in the world, becoming a trailblazer within the industry and young voices.

Today, Landia has offices in Los Angeles, São Paulo, Madrid, Mexico City, Lisbon, Bogotá, Santiago de Chile and Montevideo, and has been recognized several times as best production company in Latin America, in addition to having been selected three times Production Company Standout by the renowned AdAge A-List.

As Director and Producer, Andy Fogwill's style and work have been acclaimed at international festivals around the world, with more than 100 awards such as Cannes Lions, Clio, One Show, D&AD and MTV Awards, among others.

Selected multiple times as the best Latin American and Argentine director, in 2006 and 2007 the iconic Gunn Report positioned Andy Fogwill among the most awarded directors worldwide.

In Argentina the prestigious Konex Foundation has selected him as one of the most outstanding communication professionals of the last decade in Argentina.

Throughout his career, he has also produced documentaries, feature films, and series.

Charlie Gatsky Sinclair is the President of Brands & Entertainment at the award winning Uncommon Creative Studio. Charlie has built a team of experts across every discipline to support and execute some of the studio’s most ambitious work of late. Projects include the award-winning B&Q ‘Flip’ celebrated at D&AD, Cannes Lions and British Arrows for film craft and production design. As well as notable global campaigns for brands such as Beats by Dre, Pinterest, Formula E, Jordan and ITV. Charlie’s vision of blending line production, design, talent, art and motion has created a unique production model for Uncommon. Spearheading projects such as WWF’s ‘Future of Nature’ — which used AI to imagine the bleak future of UK nature if it continues to be destroyed, and what is possible if we act now. As well as partnering with the UN and YouTube to create the moving documentary series ‘We Were Here’ bringing together refugees with top YouTube Creators to tell their powerful stories to millions around the world - which recently won Best Documentary at the 2024 Webby Awards.

Charlie has also grown the studio’s presence in the world of entertainment — exec producing Uncommon first feature production for Nick Cave and Warren Ellis — ‘This Much I Know to Be True’ directed by Andrew Dominik (Netflix Blonde, The Assassination of Jesse James). The film premiered at Berlinale and SXSW and achieved critical acclaim including The Guardian’s Film of the Week as well as being listed in NME’s top films of last year.

Most recently she has been behind the studio’s second feature ‘In Camera’ — alongside partners PRETTYBIRD, BBC Films, BFI, Public Dreams Ltd. — recently shortlisted at London Film Festival and British Independent Film Awards.
Prior to Uncommon, Charlie’s career spanned music, entertainment, film and broadcast with stints at Warner Music and Driift as well as achieving an award winning career across advertising working with the likes of Mother, Fallon and most notably leading production at BBH.

Emily is SVP of Global Acquisitions and Productions at AMC Networks Shudder where she has Executive Produced multiple titles including Demian Rugna’s When Evil Lurks (Toronto Midnight 2023), Chris Nash’s debut feature IN A VIOLENT NATURE (Sundance Midnight 2024), Rob Savage’s HOST, Laura Moss’s debut feature BIRTH/REBIRTH (opening night, Sundance Midnight 2023), the last three editions of the multi director V/H/S franchise.

During her 7 years at Shudder Emily has worked with directors such as Issa Lopez, Chloe Okuno, Flying Lotus, Jayro Bustamante, Coralie Fargeat, Josh Ruben, David Bruckner, Radio Silence, Scott Derrickson, Johannes Roberts and Joko Anwar. Prior to going in house at Shudder Emily consulted as an executive producer for Taika Waititi‘s Piki films across titles WE WERE DANGEROUS (Winner SXSW Audience Award 2024) and THE BREAKER UPPERERS (Netflix). Prior to becoming a consultant Emily was Acquisitions Executive at Protagonist Pictures where her slate included HUNT FOR THE WILDER PEOPLE, BEAST, and LADY MACBETH.

Passionate about working with distinctive voices from emerging and established filmmakers irrespective of the genre, Emily believes in thought provoking, edgy, distinctive, entertaining cinema.

Joe Guest is a man of many talents. He started in the industry as a runner with the full intention of becoming a sound engineer, following his passion and love for music. Instead, the company he worked for got an Avid, which he claims to have ‘played like a computer game’ - and so his love for editing began.

A self-taught editor, Joe’s portfolio includes some legendary commercials, including Cadbury ‘Gorilla’, John Lewis ‘The Long Wait’, Nike, ‘Nothing Beats a Londoner’, & Channel 4 Paralympics ‘We’re the Superhumans’, He’s worked alongside some of the advertising and film industries’ most notable directors, including the likes of Dougal Wilson, Spike Jonze and Wes Anderson.

A serial recipient of Shots prestigious Editor of the Year Award, Joe’s recent work includes widely celebrated collaborations with Megaforce for Burberry, ‘Festive’ & ‘Open Spaces,’ along with John Lewis’ 2023 Christmas campaign, ‘Snapper: The Perfect Tree.’ His work has been nominated at every ceremony and festival you can think of; Joe has taken home Gold awards for editing at Cannes Lions, British Arrows, D&AD, Ciclope and Creative Circle, to name a few.

Tan was born in Portugal and raised in the vibrant city of London, where they developed a deep appreciation for the creative pulse of the entertainment industry. With a rich post-production and experiential media background, They have cultivated a career dedicated to bringing stories to life in innovative and compelling ways.

As an Executive Producer at Golden Wolf Animation Studio, Tan spearheads projects that captivate audiences worldwide. Their expertise lies in orchestrating seamless collaborations and leveraging cutting-edge technology to deliver unparalleled visual experiences. Whether crafting dynamic campaigns for Nike, producing captivating content for the BBC, or immersing viewers in gripping narratives on Netflix, Their passion for storytelling drives every endeavour.

Kate Kagawa is a Partner and Producer at Copenhagen-based production company KIND.
Driven by passion and by the company's motto—Be curious. Be creative. Be kind.

Kate first embarked on her journey in 2006 at Saatchi & Saatchi's in-house film department, starting as a production assistant and advancing to production manager. Particularly one standout moment ignited her passion for the industry: managing a low-budget production for Quiksilver. this project sparked Kate's love for filmmaking, showcasing its impactful potential through great creative ideas. The film "Dynamite Surfing" was one of the world's first viral sensations, earning global acclaim and numerous awards.
With genuine enthusiasm, Kate explored various roles at renowned production
companies such as Bacon, Pumpkin and Studios, eventually discovering her

passion for post-production. Over time, she honed her skills as a post-producer, making her mark as Head Of Postproduction for several years at Uitch Iscratch.

In 2021, she joined KIND as a Producer and Partner, known for nurturing talent and representing over 20 international directors. Renowned for its creativity, KIND excels in a diverse range of projects, from global campaigns to local initiatives. Here she significantly contributes to its ongoing success.
Awards such as Cannes Lions, CLIO and D&AD, among others, have honored her throughout her journey, a testament to the collective dedication of her team.

A prominent directing voice during the rise of hip hop, South Korean-American Joseph Kahn has created videos for Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and many more in an era defining period for video. Landmark promos like ‘Gravel Pit’ by Wu-Tang, the Grammy winning ‘Without Me’ by Eminem and ‘Toxic’ for Britney Spears illustrate Kahn’s ability to transcend the genre; he can create a cultural event with the release of a single video.

His music video back catalogue reads like a who’s who of influential music acts, chalking up tens of billions of YT hits for Beyonce, Rhianna, Kendrick Lamar, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Pharrell Williams, Elton John and so many more.

Kahn’s creative partnership with Taylor Swift has seen him direct eight videos to date, winning a second Music Video Grammy for the star studded ‘Bad Blood’. Grammy’s aside, JK has won several MTV Moon Men and the prestigious UK MVA Icon Award for services to music video.

Away from music videos JK has directed commercials for Smirnoff, Samsung, Adidas, Boots, Walkers and many more in a career spanning over 30 years so far.

John is currently Executive Creative Director of Ireland’s National Broadcaster, RTÉ. Prior to joining RTÉ, he was instrumental in creatively guiding some of Ireland’s top agencies, including Boys and Girls, TBWA and Publicis.

John has led campaigns for the likes of Jameson, Three, Aldi, Powers, Dulux, Cadbury, Bank of Ireland, Rabo Bank, Hostel World, Nissan, and BMW. For this work he has been lucky enough to be received over one hundred awards both locally and internationally.

Throughout his 20 years in advertising, John has upheld a reputation for creative excellence and pushing the boundaries of possibility. His creative scope will always stretch beyond the status quo of a marketing brief. Such as creating a best selling Children's books, co-developing tech start ups, personally directing campaigns & going onto write and direct his own short films.

With previous roles at Cut+Run and Stink, Georgie joined Caviar in London as Head of Sales & PR a decade ago and has played a key role in building the company into what it is today.

As one of the industry’s leading reps and go to DJs, her passion for film & music has kept her top of her playing field on the international circuit. Building directors, forming great client relationships and utilising strategic marketing skills are at the fundamental core of Georgie’s approach; her dedication, drive & expansive skillset keeps her thriving.

Georgie adds: “Its a total honour to be on the YDA Jury this year at Cannes Lions. I have always admired & held François and his team in such high regard, for year after year shining the light on the next generation of filmmakers. I can't wait to see who our future stars of tomorrow will be and to be judging the 27th annual YDA alongside such an incredible panel of the industry’s finest."

Diego Martínez-Ulanosky is a director, writer and producer based in Mexico. He is known for creating the original series Desenfrenadas (Netflix), and for producing the dramedy series Soy tu Fan. He started his career as a director working for MTV, where he developed his passion for filmmaking and music, working with international artists such as The Black Eyed Peas, Marilyn Manson, Depeche Mode or Jennifer Lopez,.

In 2009 he founded CAPONETO, a production company dedicated to creating series, feature films and branded content, with an emphasis on young directors and original voices. He has produced feature films such as Ánimo Juventud (HBO Max) or Tengo Miedo Torero (Amazon Prime), which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival.

Diego has also developed original non scripted shows for major networks in Latin America and is actually developing an ambitious slate of scripted content that includes the film “La Virgen de la Tosquera”, an adaptation of Mariana Enríquez ́s short stories, or the dark comedy series “Snakes and Ladders” for Fremantle. In the branded content area, Diego directed award winning campaigns for clients such as Netflix, Coca-Cola or Old Spice and also found great success developing edgy entertainment for brands in a digital environment.

Charlotte Matheson is an emerging filmmaker and artist, with a background in cinema events and awards. During her final year of studies at Cambridge University, she was the Festival Director of Watersprite Film Festival, the world’s largest student film festival, hosting young filmmakers from Taiwan, to Canada to Bristol.

While studying, she worked for the internationally-recognised Young Director Award in Paris as Project Manager, based between Paris and Cannes.
Now she produces the world's top podcast for women in film, Girls On Film, and the monthly chat show, Mark Kermode Live in 3D at the BFI.
She also supports new queer cinema on the festival circuit, namely at Rotterdam International Film Festival.
Recently, she hosted the London Premiere of Carol Morley’s TYPIST ARTIST PIRATE KING, interviewing Morley, and the film’s stars Monica Dolan and Kelly Macdonald at Raindance Film Festival.

Charlotte helps run A FILM CLUB, curating and delivering a weekly programme of award-winning films in London for emerging filmmakers and established pros.

She is currently writing her first feature film.

Julie Mathieu-Moreau is an Executive Producer and co-founder of French production company Colors. After 12 years worked with major production companies in France, Julie joined forces with Jules Dieng in 2020 to create Colors.

Within the three first years of Colors, Julie and Jules produced acclaimed directors such as Charlotte Wales, Daniel Wolfe, Paolo Sorrentino, while also developing up-and-coming directors including Sarra Ryma, Giada Bossi, Alessandro de Leo and Amélie & Dimitri.

They are working with their talents as on their personal projects as on feature projects as on commercials.
Each director has a very specific universe and the addition of these creates Colors’ DNA: a family that wants to embody novelty and difference, with values of respect, kindness, but also sharing, openness and creativity. Colors also intends to encourage diversity and inclusiveness. The world needs colors, lights, mix, that’s what each talent brings.

Sara Nix studied Communication, Media and Music in Amsterdam. During her studies she lived in Cape Town and Athens and took internships in production. Right after finishing her bachelor’s degree, she traveled through the US where she decided to work as a film producer. For the first 5 years, Sara freelanced and shot all over the world, working on award winning projects, via agencies like W+K, Ogilvy, TBWA and Publicis. After that, she started working fulltime at film production company & photography agency HALAL Amsterdam. There, she has co-developed director careers, contributed to the international growth and moved to Berlin to set up another dependence for the company.

Mid 2019, Sara moved to Los Angeles to become EP at Partizan US. She has worked on music videos, branded/experimental content, docs and shorts for numerous brands and artists such as Pharrell Williams, Daft Punk, Kanye West, Travis Scott, Billie Eilish, Usher, Katy Perry, Frank Ocean, Dua Lipa, A$AP Rocky, Burna Boy, Doja Cat, SZA and Sevdaliza.

Sara’s biggest passion is to bring ideas to life and develop talent and relationships. To her, it’s all about connecting with people and alignment. Making an effort to understand what someone’s intention and energy is and create space to make projects happen within synergy.

In 2016 and 2017, she joined foundation “Project I AM”, in Langa, Cape Town. Built on donations from friends and family, the volunteers recruited and guided students through workshops and internships, into jobs in the local film industry.

One of Sara’s goals is to not only keep creating, but to build more creative and educational opportunities for underprivileged communities on a global scale, with the help of likeminded individuals and companies.

Emma Norton is a Producer at Element Pictures working across film and television.
Emma joined Element Pictures in 2008. She worked as a Development Executive and Head of Development, before becoming a Producer in 2017 when she produced Paddy Breathnach’s feature film Rosie, starring Sarah Greene and written by Roddy Doyle. Rosie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and received widespread acclaim.

Emma has since exec produced two series of Nancy Harris’ original comedy drama The Dry (ITVX/RTE), the adaptations of Sally Rooney’s novels, Conversations With Friends, and the critically acclaimed Normal People, both directed by Lenny Abrahamson (BBC/HULU); and Shane Meadows’ period drama The Gallows Pole (BBC/A24).

Her latest producer credits include Joanna Hogg’s The Eternal Daughter (BBC Film/A24) starring Tilda Swinton and The Souvenir Part II (BBC Film/A24/Focus) which had its world premiere at Directors’ Fortnight in July 2021 and Simon Woods’ BAFTA nominated short film Such A Lovely Day (BBC Film).

She has previously worked across a range of Element’s projects from What Richard Did, A Date for Mad Mary, and The Lobster, to Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning films Room and The Favourite.

Shirley O’Connor runs Love Song in the UK and is an independent film producer. She won a BAFTA in 2024 for Outstanding Debut By A Writer, Director, Or Producer category. Directed by Savanah Leaf, the film was financed by Film4 and A24 and premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
In the world of shortform, some notable projects O’Connor led the charge on include two music videos helmed by Paul Thomas Anderson for The Smile, “This is Our BBC,” marking the 100th anniversary of the network, as well as the ever-popular Christmas ad for John Lewis, “The Boy and the Piano,” featuring Elton John.

Her feature slate mainly consists of debuts with emerging talent, with several films in various stages of development with Film Four and Screen Scotland.

Born in Poland and raised in Brooklyn, co-Managing Director of division7, Kamila Prokop, relocated to Los Angeles in 2018 to head up the boutique production company alongside David Richards, Patrick Milling-Smith, and Brian Carmody.
With twenty years of experience under her belt, Kamila cut her teeth in advertising representing the world's best directors, editors, and artists.

Prior to d7, she co-founded the repping firm, Maven Label. Kamila’s passion is the discovery and raising up of new and diverse talent. There is no greater satisfaction than working alongside a filmmaker as they discover their voice, their perspective and their story.

Jana Reinermann's journey in the advertising industry spans over 15 years, during which she's held pivotal roles as Executive Producer at Bonaparte Films and Partner at Bonaparte Creative GmbH. With a deep understanding of both agency and production environments, Jana has honed her skills in bringing creative ideas to life.

As Head of Creative Production, Jana is known for her collaborative approach and knack for turning concepts into compelling visual stories. She's passionate about nurturing talent and fostering innovation, making her a respected figure in the industry.

Jana's dedication to excellence has left a lasting impact on advertising, and her influence continues to shape the creative landscape for the better.

Anna Roudaut is Executive Producer at La Pac, France’s top award-winning production company, which tallies 65 Cannes Lions and France’s only Grand Prix.
Alongside Managing Director Jérôme Denis, she has been instrumental in revitalizing its heritage for a new generation of clients and directors. When she is not producing films, you’ll find her spinning records or working as a music manager for several upcoming artists.

Her approach to production is grounded in filming music videos that pair trailblazing directors with some of the most culturally relevant musicians of our time and bringing the same passion to advertising projects. Thanks to her sharp eye, she has consistently been able to find the best young talent, formulate a long-term strategy for their development and help them fulfill their goals while bringing the best out of their artistic vision. She has also revived La Pac’s focus on luxury brands through collaborations with Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Fenty, Louis Vuitton and others.

Anna has produced films and music videos with directors such as Reynald Gresset, Roman Coppola, David Wilson, Nathalie Canguilhem, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rihanna, as well as adding promising talents such as Quentin Deronzier and Claire Arnold to La Pac’s roster.

Together with them, she has worked alongside musicians such as Drake, The Weeknd, Doja Cat, Partynextdoor, MIA and Travis Scott. The films she has produced have won awards such as Cannes Lions, D&AD Awards, MTV Music Awards, UKMVA and others.

She is currently working on Quentin Deronzier's first feature film and she is dedicated to expanding LE PAC (the partnership between LA PAC and Art & Sciences) in the US.

Cody Ryder is a Senior EP for commercials, films, television, and branded content at Park Pictures. Ryder possesses a vast knowledge and a passion for producing impactful storytelling within both the film and commercial spaces.

Highlight projects include the Kendrick Lamar short film, We Cry Together and the We Matter Too PSA produced with Common’s Imagine Justice
organization.

She has worked with brand clients including Coca-Cola, Old Navy, Verizon, McDonald’s, Chevy, Reebok, Instagram, and Kia, to name a few; and artists like LCD Soundsystem, Haim, Brandi Carlisle, and Questlove.

Her feature film work includes the 2024 BAFTA award winning, Earth Mama, directed by Savanah
Leaf. Other features include The Art of Self Defense, an O"icial Selection at SXSW; The Clovehitch Killer, and Other People, Cop Car, and Robot and Frank, all O"icial Selections at Sundance.

Alejandro is a distinguished figure in the advertising industry, known for his innovative contributions and leadership.
As the co-founder of Madrefoca in 2012, alongside Jorge Aguilera, Alejandro established a production powerhouse in Mexico City, earning numerous awards for representing the region's top talent. In 2022, Alejandro launched Madre, a bilingual company serving the General and Hispanic markets in the US, further showcasing his ability to adapt and lead in a dynamic industry.

Beyond his entrepreneurial success, Alejandro is passionate about discovering and fostering new talent, believing in the power of fresh perspectives to drive the future of advertising.

Wenxin She, a Beijing/LA/London-based film producer, known for "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" and "Wish Dragon."
Her global mindset has been pivotal in her cross-cultural endeavors, bridging the gap between East and West. She’s currently working on multiple film and TV projects in development with U.S. and Chinese studios.

With her extensive experience, including as former Head of International Production at Tencent Pictures, she's contributed to major global hits like "Venom," "Bumblebee," "Terminator," and "Top Gun." Wenxin's visionary storytelling and global mindset have earned her a place among Forbes China's Top 100 Most Influential Chinese Elites in 2023.

Tima Shomali is an Arab Director, Producer, Writer and actress from Jordan, as well as the founder of Filmizion Productions based in Amman - Jordan.
Her most recent work is the Netflix original, AlRawabi School for Girls Season one and Season two, a young adult drama that talks about the stories of young women at a prestigious school.

Tima is the creator, writer, director and showrunner of the AlRawabi School for girls and was produced by her company Filmizion Productions. The series is considered one of the most successful Netflix originals in the Mena region.
Tima was named as one of the most influential young Arabs in the world by Arabian Business Magazine for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Tima was on the Variety list of the Most Impactful women in Global entertainment in 2022.

David Stephan is a visionary entrepreneur, the CCO and Co-Founder of David+Martin, a creative agency for love brands which was founded in 2015 in Munich. Since its establishment, David+Martin has garnered recognition for out of the box thinking work, passion for exceptional brand experiences, innovation and bold creative ideas.

David’s career started a long time ago. Before founding his first Agency CAKE in Vienna, he was working as an award winning Creative Director for several agencies in Germany and Austria and journalist for Sueddeutsche Zeitung, NBC GIGA and the NEWS Network.

Rachel Stones is the Executive Producer at Epic's Innovation Lab in London, where she is specifically focussed on Brands and how they leverage Epic's technology and their hugely popular Fortnite platform.

Rachel's background is VFX and content creation having spent the 10 years previous to Epic working at renowned creative studio The Mill as an EP and Head of Brand Partnerships.

As the worlds of film making, entertainment and gaming begin to converge, her interactions with Brands traverse real time production (Unreal Engine) for linear film making and animation the new creative tooling in Fortnite (UEFN) which allows creators of all types to build highly sophisticated content and games and publish to the Fortnite audience.

Lyndy Stout edits and curates the online magazine and creative awards 1.4 which showcases the hottest international short-form filmmaking talent.
In other lives she edited shots magazine for over a decade, was deputy editor of Creative Review, and was also a travel writer.

Lewis Taewan Kim is a globally renowned Korean film and TV producer with a 23-year career in the industry. He is best known for frequently collaborating with multiple Academy Award-winning director Bong Joon-Ho on groundbreaking films such as "The Host" (2006), which won the Best Film Award at the Asian Film Awards and the Blue Dragon Film Awards, and "Okja" (2017), which was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

In addition to working with master directors, Lewis Taewan Kim is also known for discovering and nurturing the next generation of award-winning filmmakers by producing their debut films. This includes the writer/director Hong Euijeong, who debuted with the critically acclaimed film "Voice of
Silence" (2020), winner of the Busan International Film Festival's Kim Ji-seok Award, and another writer/director Jason Yu, who debuted with "Sleep" starring "Parasite" star Lee Sun-kyun and "Train to Busan" heroin Jung Yu-mi which was the oficial selection of 75th Cannes Film Festival Critic’s Week (2023).

Prior to joining The Corner Shop, Katie Taylor has had a 20-year career in film, television and commercial production. Having graduated from Auburn University as a 24-time All-American and a 2-time International gold medalist for swimming, she began her career at Fox Sports where she earned an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement: Television Program Series as a segment producer for SEC-TV.

Taylor was most recently a part of the producer team on the feature film Dark Asset staring Byron Mann. As an EP at The Corner Shop, Taylor is fortunate to work alongside powerhouse directors such as Peter Thwaites, Ellen Kuras, Malik Vitthal, and many of the award winning emerging young talent such as Varun Chopra, Luigi Calabrese, RELTA and BAFTA winning Sindha Agha.

Working across television commercials, branded content, scripted film and TV and documentary, Taylor’s experience and understanding of different mediums and ability to work with budgets, big and small is her superpower.

Katie is a member of the Television Academy and the Producers Guild of America.

Genevieve Triquet is MD and Executive Producer at DIVISION APAC DIVISION is an award-winning creative company with an exclusive roster of creators and filmmakers specialising in conception/production of branded and music content across its o"ices in Paris, Los Angeles and Sydney.
With a passion for craft, Genevieve has helped to nurture some of the most exciting talent.

Prior to opening Sydney O"ice, Genevieve had been working at DIVISION Paris as an EP and Head of production.

In 2023, DIVISION received, for the third consecutive time, the title of Production House of the Year from D&AD. DIVISION has been ranking Top 5 Production Company of the Year at the AWARD Awards, APAC in 2021,2022 and 2023.

Jean-Luc Van Damme is an award-winning film producer for many years. In recent decades, he has produced the first music videos in Europe, more than five hundred commercials, television shows, documentaries many short films and more than thirty feature films.

HAPPY MOON PRODUCTIONS, his company focuses on the development, production and co-production of films mainly in English, but also in French or Spanish. All these films are international co-productions.

Many films have been awarded at festivals around the world.
Happy Moon Productions produces quality films with strong concepts through contemporary themes.

Alice joined Film4 as Development and Production Executive in autumn 2021, supporting the slate editorially and working directly with both debut and established talent.
Recent Film4 credits include Molly Manning Walker’s HOW TO HAVE SEX, Savanah Leaf’s EARTH MAMA, Yorgos Lanthimos’ POOR THINGS and Steve McQueen’s OCCUPIED CITY.

Previously, she spent eight years working in talent development for BFI-funded agencies across the UK in London, Wales and Scotland, supporting early career filmmakers through training programmes, script development and short film funding.

Alice also has an interest in non-fiction, working across Film4’s documentary slate in partnership with Channel 4 Factual and previously producing two short documentaries, one commissioned by the Uncertain Kingdom fund and one on homelessness that featured on The Guardian.

Emma Wilcockson is the Managing Director and Executive Producer of ProdCo's US office. With more than 20 years of experience in the film industry, she has produced short format works for renowned directors such as Lance Acord, Adam Berg, David Fincher, Nicolai Fuglsig, Spike Jonze, Tom Kuntz, and Mark Romanek.

Emma's journey into the industry began at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where she was a producer on a number of short films, including "Five Feet High and Rising," which won the Cinéfondation First Prize at Cannes Film Festival and the Best Short Film Award at Sundance Film Festival. After university, she deepened her commitment to a career in filmmaking and would go on to various key roles on films such as "Human Nature" directed by Michel Gondry and written by Charlie Kaufman as well as Spike Jonze’s "Adaptation" starring Meryl Streep, Nicolas Cage, and Tilda Swinton and the Warner Brothers released live action film of Maurice Sendak’s beloved book, "Where the Wild Things Are."

Her expertise and dedication to the craft led her to become a Freelance Producer, which then took her to her next step as Executive Producer at MJZ, where she worked from 2010 to 2023.

During her tenure, Emma worked alongside esteemed directors including Steve Ayson, Nick Ball, Irv Blitz, Juan Cabral, Chris Cunningham, Nicolai Fuglsig, Craig Gillespie, Mike Mills, and Rocky Morton.

Kathleen Tax Wille has ping-ponged over the last few years, from Chicago to Seattle and now Minneapolis, where she’s currently the Chief Creative Oficer of independent agency Solve with leading brands like Two Hearted IPA, Raymond James, Porsche, Sunoco, and Goodwill.

Prior to Solve, Kathleen was one of the creative leads at VML West. And before that, she spent most of her career in Chicago at FCB and DDB. Over the course of 20+ years, she's flirted with the music business and interior design, but she’s finally admitted she’s an ad nerd before all else. Throughout her career, she's helped build iconic brands including Skittles, Michelob ULTRA, State Farm, Intel, and the American Cancer Society. Her work has been recognized by Cannes, D&AD, Clio, and the London International Awards, among others.

Kathleen will watch a documentary on any subject, hates sports but loves the Olympics, and is currently obsessing over light fixtures for the money pit of a mid-century modern house she shares with her husband Steve, their dog Ham, and cats Egg & Sharon.

Ray was born and raised in Seoul, but the love of art, film, and culture drew him in towards NYC in the mid 90s.
Residing in NYC and Brooklyn for 2 plus decades, Ray returned to his native country Seoul, with his family in 2021 to direct commercials with the inspirations he gained while living in NYC.

To this day, Ray’s love for the “city that never sleeps” is always in thought whenever he directs.

Kai started working at reception at Howard Guards Company. She then joined RSA Films where her first role was a Production Assistant.

Kai is a shining example of production meritocracy. At RSA, she became a Producer, later a Cannes Award-winning Executive Producer, and eventually Managing Director.

After having led RSA Films UK for 17 years, in 2020 Kai accepted the role of Global Managing Director. She works to ensure that RSA maintains its place as one of the world’s leading production houses, and that it continues to create some of the most culturally transformative and influential creatives across every medium.

Koby Adom is a Ghanaian-British director, writer, and executive producer. Best known for his work on Top Boy and Noughts + Crosses, Koby has worked extensively across TV and film. In 2019, Koby founded London-based DBK Studios to make film and TV content for untold stories, especially for black and diverse narratives.
The studio has since partnered with Sky Studios for a series of short films aimed at developing the representation of the Black community, empowering up and coming creatives to tell their stories from an authentic perspective. The five-part series of standalone short films shared a common theme of hard-hitting yet relatable stories. They aired on Sky Arts and are currently streaming on Now TV.
After graduating with a master’s degree from the London Film School in 2017, Koby wrote and directed his breakthrough short film, Haircut.
Haircut screened at the London Film Festival and was viewed over 900,000 times online, earning Koby a spot on the 2018 Screen Daily Stars of Tomorrow list and the Broadcast Hotshot list for 2019. By November 2018, Koby was in Cape Town preparing to shoot three episodes of BBC One drama Noughts + Crosses at the age of 28.
Koby is set to shoot his debut feature film ‘Jimmy’s Clipz’ based on his breakthrough short Haircut as well as writing, directing, and executive producing all six episodes of an original horror thriller series ‘House Girls’ commissioned for Sky Atlantic set in Accra, Ghana.

Rouba’s work has won multiple international and local awards for creativity, craft and effectiveness, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, Clio Awards, Dubai Lynx and the Effies.
Rouba has also been named producer of the year in industry publication the B&W Report in its first 3 years of publication. She has delivered all types of integrated campaigns and content back when she headed the production department of TBWA in the Middle East for a duration of 12 years.
Prior to TBWA, she co-managed the office of production house The Talkies, executive producing for many brands such as P&G, Emirates Airlines and others, and also worked on Cannes & Venice Film Festival selected feature films as well as TV series.
After holding these different positions, Rouba decided to open her own shop, Moreish, a production company focused on delivering well-crafted project to different brands in the Middle East.
Holding a masters in filmmaking, she knows the difference craft & quality make in achieving the creative and commercial outcome of a project.

After graduating from high school, I started working as an intern at Markenfilm. I stayed at Markenfilm for 5 years. In 2006, I became a producer at only 24 years of age, making me the youngest producer there.

Since 2007 I have my own production company RABBICORN FILMS together with my brother Jan.

We are based in Hamburg, Germany and work all over the world.

Co-founder and CEO of Quad, François Brun graduated from the Arts Décoratifs. He worked for 10 years as an artistic director in an advertising agency before continuing as a producer. In the past few years, François has developed several production divisions focusing on post production and VFX (Fix Studio), events and art (Artbridge) but also food (Where is Brian), content (Quad Stories), strategy (Madame de Sanzillon) or luxury (In Finé). Those divisions are now all gathered under the same banner: Quad Group.

In addition to the numerous international awards received for its advertising and branded content department, Quad Group has made a name for itself for its feature film, series, and documentary productions. Quad Group is an independent group that advocates excellence and the transversality of these different universes.

In the late 80’s, Bea obtained a Master in Audio-visual Arts at the Belgian Royal Film Institute RITCS. She freelanced for about two decades, as a casting director, assistant director, unit production manager and line producer, eventually becoming a freelance producer from 2002 till 2012.
Bea gave birth to her film company DENZZO Brussels in 2012. Since then she has produced nearly three hundred branded content and awareness campaigns for Broadcast TV, cinema and the web.
By the end of 2018 she raised a film department within her company. Since then, she has produced a feature film and several multi-awarded short films. One of them, 'Binge Loving', won the Special Jury and Gold Screen for best Humour Award at YDA 2022.
Bea believes that communicating through film is extremely important in this current period of overall change and challenge. On a personal level, she loves film production because it connects people - talented and skilled people, enthusiastic people - to tell great stories, to get things done, to create awareness, to entertain and eventually make a change.

Tony has 30 years of production experience between client and studio and his understanding of both Western and Eastern cultures are invaluable in how he works and adapts creative and production procedures for each brief, as Vice President of The Mill

Nicolas Celis, the founder of Pimienta Films, is a Mexican producer who has gained a reputation for working on original and meaningful projects. His production company Pimienta Films was named one of the three best production houses in Mexico by the prestigious magazine Variety.

Nicolas has collaborated with renowned directors such as Tatiana Huezo, Elisa Miller, Paz Fábrega, Jonás Cuarón, Rafi Pitts and Amat Escalante. Among his recent projects is ROMA (2018) by director Alfonso Cuarón, which received over 200 prizes, including the Golden Lion for Best Feature at the 75th Venice Film Festival, four BAFTA awards, two Golden Globes, and three Academy Awards®. Another recent project is Birds of Passage (2018) directed by Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego, which featured at the 71st Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight.

Nicolas has also worked to support the forthcoming generations of producers and
distributors. He frequently gives workshops and masterclasses in Mexico and abroad. In 2019, he served on the jury for both the Shanghai International Film Festival and the Tbilisi International Film Festival and in 2020 he was part of Sofia’s International Film Festival Jury. Nicolas is member of both the Mexican and American Academies of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Currently, Nicolas premiered Tatiana Huezo’s first fiction film, Prayers for the Stolen, at the 74th Cannes Film Festival, Un Certain Regard, which was shortlisted in the 94th edition of the Oscars®. He will be filming Christopher Murray’s Brujeria and Diego Lerman’s El Profesor de Literatura. He is also continuing his collaborations with Amat Escalante on his new project, Lost in the Night, and Jonás Cuarón on The Gringo Champion.

James has over 20 years experience in the advertising industry.

In the late 90’s, he spent 5 years working at TBWA, then one of London’s leading agencies , before branching into production. He spent 3 years learning the ropes in South Africa, then moved back to London to set down roots at the UK’s no1 commercial production company at the time, Academy Films. During his time there his work was recognised with a series of prestigious industry awards including Cannes Lions and D&AD design awards.

A year as EP at Stink London, was followed by a move to Los Angeles in 2015 to help launch Stink’s US office, where he stayed until the creation of Object & Animal in 2018 - he is one of O&A’s four founding partners.

In its first year of business, Object & Animal was named ‘Production Company to Watch for 2019’ and The UK Music Video Awards’ ‘Production Company of the Year’. Year 3 saw the company hit Adage’s A List of the Top 10 Production Companies in the USA.

Tania was born in Lisbon, Portugal, and raised in Macau, South China, having moved to London in 2007, where she completed a Masters Degree in Fine Art at Saint Martins.
She went on to work in production, and in 2010 co-founded ENID London - a creative consultancy with a network of award-winning talent and global production partners, working in advertising, across multiple disciplines.
Tania is currently in charge of the European division.

László Dreissiger is the Head of Production and one of the Partners at the Budapest based full-service production company 235 which focuses on commercials and music videos with domestic and international clients.
He started his career in the industry in 2010 and worked his way up in production step by step. He started producing and after several shorts, two of his features he produced premiered at international festivals in 2019. Zoltán Nagy’s On the Quiet was supported by the Hungarian Film Institute’s Incubator Program – a program dedicated for directors with their first feature project. The TV movie Captives was directed by the Academy Award winner Kristóf Deák.

He joined the 235 team in 2021 where along the operational managing he is also responsible for supervising most of the productions. Another Incubator movie he’s producing is in its post-production phase. The feature titled Some Birds won best development award in Karlovy Vary in 2019 is expected to be in cinemas this fall.

Simon is a Creative Director / Art Director and founder of the creative agency Seligemig, located in Copenhagen.
Has worked for many of the major international advertising agencies, such as Y&R, Grey and Accenture Song.
An avid film lover, Simon works both with commercials and short films at Seligemig.

Born in Singapore and raised in London, Mel stumbled into a job representing film directors for the advertising industry soon after completing a Sculpture degree. For the last 20 years she has represented some of the world’s most famous comedy, performance and arthouse directors from Wim Wenders to Harmony Korine, David Shane to Becky Martin…
She has also created art platforms for the advertising industry, particularly for women that evolved into hugely popular exhibitions in Soho, Shoreditch and Cannes.
Mel now represents Chelsea Pictures whose roster includes renowned photographer Nadav Kander, Super Bowl ad winner Goh Iromoto, Hollywood director David Gordon Green, award winning documentary makers Alex Gibney and Nadia Hallgren and skateboarding legend and Sundance winner Stacy Peralta.

Jesper is a music supervisor specialized in advertising.
From time to time, he is the music supervisor for directors such as Michel Gondry, Jonathan Glazer, Traktor, Fridman Sisters, Felix Brady, Frederic Planchon, Frerik Bond, Martin De Thurah, Martin Werner, Kim Gehrig etc.
He has worked for agencies like Adam&Eve & WK and for brands like Playstation - Burberry & Squarespace.
Jesper has been awarded over the years for best use in music, winning gold – silver & bronze at various festivals such as Lions - D&AD - Ciclope – ADC - Epica – Eurobest - MASA ... ‘
He is a speaker at music festivals & advertising festivals on music in advertising and has judged at various advertising festivals. He has also contributed on music in articles published in The Huffington Post etc.

Beto Gauss has a bachelor degree in advertising and a master’s degree in film and television.
As Partner and producer at Pródigo Filmes Beto has worked with film, television and advertising since 2003. His most acclaimed works on Theatrical releases include, “Matraga”, five-time award winner at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, and “Jules and Dolores”, Best Film Audience Award at SXSW.
He has produced several scripted and non-scripted series, such as: “SOB” for HBO, “Girls from Ipanema” for NETFLIX, among others. Recently Beto was responsible for the production and launching of one of the most watched Netflix shows; “Invisible City”, created by Carlos Saldanha.

Andzej Gavriss is a multi award-winning director originally hailing from Northern Europe - Latvia. Graduated from the University of Audio Visual Arts in 2015, Director has already cultivated a strong body of work that showcases his incredible appetite for experimental filmmaking. Gavriss work has won a Gold for Director of the year at Shots Awards 2021, Silver for Direction at Cannes Lions 2022, Bronze in Film at Cannes Lions 2022, Silver at Cannes Lions 2020-2021, Gold for Direction at CLIO, Grand Prize at CLIO, Gold Screen at YDA 2020, Graphite & Wooden Pencil for Direction at D&AD, Gold at UKMVA, best cinematography in the music video at Camerimage, Gold for Direction at One Club, been nominated several times at Camerimage, Ciclope, Raindance, UKMVA, Kinsale Sharks, Epica Awards, Eurobest, Berlin Commercial Festival, Staff Pick, BMVA, NIFF, Lift-Off Los Angeles and many other festivals. Gavriss joined Ciclope Festival 2021 as a speaker to showcase his work and share a breakdown of his craft. The distinctly stylised portfolio combines beautifully crafted shots with storytelling that packs a punch. Andzej is a keen traveler, now based between LA and Berlin and shooting projects internationally

Zeynep Güzel is a filmmaker, consultant and the head of Doc Station at Berlinale Talents. Zeynep was the head of the Yeni Film Fund founded by Anadolu Kültür and !f Istanbul Independent Films Festival. Zeynep directed and produced the documentary "Come Rain or Shine" (2019) and produced two other documentaries "Beginnings" (2013) and "Impressions of A Summer" (2020). Zeynep works as consultant on storytelling, international grant writing, pitching and co-financing strategies including the Doc Toolbox program at Berlinale EFM, DOK Leipzig Industry and East Doc Program. Zeynep was a fellow of the 2021 Berlin Artist in Residency (AiR) at Nipkow Program with her first narrative feature film "When the Sun Comes Out". Zeynep has been a senior consultant at the Documentary Association of Europe (DAE) since its foundation.

Daniel Huntley is News Editor and Social Media Manager at shots. He compiles the shots Unsigned database, focussing on global unsigned directorial talent, and curates the monthly ‘shots Unsigned’ showcase.

Alongside that, Daniel conducts written interviews with directors, primarily focussing on feature-film, unsigned and music video. He has also sat as a judge on many advertising and film awards, including the UK MVAs, YDA, Porsche Awards, EPICA Awards, shots Awards, Berlin Commercial, Creative Circle Awards, Hipnózis and the Shiny Awards.

Marko proclaimed himself the Ringmaster upon Cirkus’ formation back in 2006.
Marko has been active in the Animation industry for about 20 years, which in this trade makes him pretty much, uh well... a dinosaur.
Storytelling, design and character animation are his prime passions, as is using mixed media if it all possible. Marko puts Quality over Quantity for sure, and is always in for out of the box approaches to offer CLEVER and FUN storytelling alternatives. “The significance is that in a Cirkus anything goes - we love breaking the rules.”

A keen observer, ace crisis manager and a true people’s person.

For all those who have worked with Swadha, she’s not only all of the above but also a sounding board for her colleagues, a mentor for her juniors and leader who leads from the front and someone who is never averse to the idea of getting her hands dirty to ensure the job gets done.

Swadha has been in the business of film production for as long as she can remember. Over the years she has produced countless commercials, been a part of TV shows, International line productions, documentaries, music videos and even an IMAX film. In early 2000 Swadha decided to become an advertising producer. Since then, she has produced for some of the most talented directors in India.

Swadha is the EP at Breathless Films, The Go to person for everyone and everything, she is the backbone of Breathless Films. For all those who have worked with Swadha, the one thing that stands out about her is that she is someone who truly enjoys her work.

Swadha has been actively involved in the betterment of the advertising production industry in India and is the president of Association of Advertising Producers of India.

Charlotte Lepot started out at world-renowned production company Partizan in the 1990s, where she cut her teeth as head of Music Videos. Since that debut, she earned her stripes by working on iconic and unforgettable music videos for Daft Punk, Air, Radiohead, Kylie Minogue, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Bjork and U2. There are many more.
Since joining DIVISION, Charlotte has continued to innovate and evolve both herself and the industry, with the films she produces. Both fresh young directors and acclaimed household names have carefully but trustingly placed their visions in Charlotte’s hands. Just ask Michel Gondry, François Rousselet, Antoine Bardou-Jacquet, Alex and Martin, Quentin Dupieux, Jon Watts and Valentin Petit.
In turn, she has been internationally recognized through awards and prizes. She shows no signs of slowing down.

Having started his life in music in the thriving music scene of southern California in the early 2000s Seiya studied at Berklee College of Music, after which he returned to Los Angeles where he performed alongside notable musicians such as Flea, Cat Power, and Maroon 5, while also starting a career in music for film/tv/advertising. He launched Black Cat White Cat Music in Tokyo with his sister and composer Aska Matsumiya in 2018.

In the 5 years since its foundation Black Cat White Cat Music has produced music for adverts in the global market, and have won international awards including Cannes Lions and CICLOPE Berlin, where it was named Music Company of the Year in 2020. It has also expanded its reach into film including After Yang in 2022, and several network series for major streaming services in the US and Japan.

When away from Tokyo, Seiya resides on the seaside in the beautiful city of Kobe.

Katie graduated from Bournemouth Media School with a degree in Scriptwriting for Film & TV and is also a graduate of the London Royal Court Young Writer’s and Invitation Only Groups.
For 19 years and counting she has provided strategy and submissions support to filmmakers worldwide, resulting in creating the consultancy brand Festival Formula in 2014. As an active member of the Short Film Conference and the Film Festival Alliance, Katie is also a key spokesperson on festival issues with coverage in The Hollywood Reporter and Screen Daily regarding suspect and fraudulent film festivals.
During the pandemic she co-created the Filmmaker Lounge in partnership with Film Festival Alliance – an online space for programmers and filmmakers to discuss their roles. Previous guests include: Tribeca, Slamdance, PÖFF Shorts, and many more. Previous speaking engagements include: HollyShorts, Heartland Film Festival, BFI Flare, Encounters Film Festival, Flickers Rhode Island Film Festival, Sundance, SXSW and many more. Selected prior jury service include: Cleveland International, Heartland International, St. Louis International, DC shorts.

With more than 20 years of experience, Murilo contributed as Creative (Art Director) and Creative Leader at several agencies, such as: GUT Agency, F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, Wunderman Thompson, Leo Burnett, Publicis Brazil, BETC/Havas, DDB Brazil. He has been recognized at the most prestigious Advertising Festivals like Cannes Lions, The One Show, D&AD, Effie, Ciclope, among others and won Grand Prix, Golds, Silvers and Bronzes. He is one of the most awarded Brazilian creatives at Clube de Criação (Sao Paulo Creative Club).

Besides advertising Melo is also a documentary maker.

Born into a film family with a writer father and film editor mother, Mara attended film school and began a career in film and television before transitioning into the world of advertising.
Mara went on to produce work for some of the world's biggest global brands, including Apple, Facebook, and Land Rover, and has served as head of production at kbs+.
A seasoned leader with a strong hybrid of brand, advertising, and television production experience, Mara embraces an ethos of integrity, transparency, and creative ingenuity.

Educated as an architect, Tommaso started his career staging art-performances in his hometown, Naples.
In his early twenties he entered the film industry assisting MARCO FERRERI and MILOS FORMAN. In the mid-80s he produced award-winning documentaries. Later he directed TV-Series, TV-Soaps and Commercials, wrote screenplays and directed multimedia stagings. His film debut was THE FLOATING ISLAND (1992).
In 1994, he founded the CAPALBIO CINEMA INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, and he has been its Artistic Director for 20 years.
A member of the Board of State Film Co-Production Commissions in the 90s, Tommaso has been a voting member of the European Film Academy since 2001.
He has directed the award-winning film KARENINA & I (2017) starring Liam Neeson and Norwegian actress Gørild Mauseth and the short documentary LOVE IS… (2019).
Tommaso is co-owner of Europe's Northernmost film company, Orto Polare.

Siobhan Murphy has been with Merman’s Branded arm since inception in June 2017, serving the company now as Partner and Executive Producer. Formerly a production company owner at ‘Cops and Robbers,’ Siobhan developed her keen eye for talent developing and producing music videos, shorts and animation projects.

Under the leadership of Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford who founded Merman in 2014, then a leading TV focused production company, Siobhan came on board to launch the Branded Entertainment & Commercials division in 2017, bringing acclaimed talent with her. Since then, Merman has become one of the fastest growing production companies in the business, remaining true to its roots grounded in comedy while also moving towards a more diverse range of projects in the visual and narrative arena. This has seen Siobhan develop and work alongside formidable talents MJ Delaney, Martin Krejci, Declan Lowney, Vaughan Arnell and Ben Liam Jones to name a few.

Siobhan’s enthusiasm for this industry has proven irrepressible throughout her career and she shows no signs of slowing down with Merman going from strength to strength. With some exciting developments on the horizon, Merman remains one of the best and most beloved production companies in the UK and beyond.

Guri Neby is founding partner and executive producer at Einar Film.
She has worked in the industry since graduating from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, in 1992.
She was one of the founders of Kraftwerk, and established Einar film with Academy Award-nominated director Morten Tyldum in 2004.
She has proudly produced many award-winning commercials, and is passionate about finding new talents and new areas in which directors can evolve.
In 2020 she, along with other great colleagues, produced 10 live music videos and established the tech plattform VIER.LIVE. This project was awarded Innovation of the Year in 2021, and is still going strong.

Einar Film has been focused on commercials, but they produced their first feature in 2016.
Today she develops features, TV series and commercials.

Rebecca Niles is the Managing Director of ArtClass, a premier production company that champions young talent and delivers exceptional results. With a non-traditional background, Rebecca has a unique perspective on the industry that allows her to stay ahead of the curve and constantly explore new techniques and creative approaches. She is known for her dedication to innovation and pushing boundaries, earning her a reputation as a trailblazer in the field.

At ArtClass, Rebecca curates a diverse roster of directors and fosters a culture of collaboration and experimentation, bringing her passion for creativity and business acumen inherited from her parents, a fashion designer and a businessman. Rebecca approaches every challenge with a can-do attitude, always finding a way to turn obstacles into opportunities.

Rebecca's impressive portfolio of work includes collaborations with top brands such as Peloton, GoDaddy, Google, Samsung, Versace, Vogue, and Maximum Effort, resulting in viral hits like the Peloton commercial featuring Chris Meloni and memorable Super Bowl ads like Carvana's "Oversharing Mom." She showcases her versatility and creativity in delivering exceptional results for her clients through a variety of traditional and non-traditional projects with agencies and brands directly.

As an avid traveler, Rebecca draws inspiration from the vibrant cultures and diverse communities she has experienced around the world. She believes exposure to different perspectives is key to unlocking creativity and bringing fresh ideas to the table. Having lived in New York, Mexico City, and Los Angeles, Rebecca has a keen understanding of the industry landscape and is always looking for new ways to innovate and elevate the work of ArtClass.

Raised in Seoul and Los Angeles, where he studied at UCLA and Art Center College of Design, John works internationally and has become renowned for his versatility and ability to combine eastern and western market principles. Skilled in multiple disciplines, John has an impressive list of commercial, documentary, and short-form content that's distinctive for mixing Eastern and Western traditions' narrative and image-driven styles. John is known for directing real people and actors, moving effortlessly from documentary to scripted productions. The result is a body of evocative, sensory work complimented by powerfully visual technique.
John has won numerous awards at Cannes, The One Show, LIA, NY Festival, Adfest and Spike Asia. Notably, his film, 'What does your mind see?' (Samsung) received a Grand Prix from Spike Asia and won him international acclaim. In 2015 John's 'A Message to Space' film for Hyundai became a viral hit as the second most-watched car commercial on YouTube.
Currently based in Seoul, John works worldwide and has become one of the significant new-wave directors in South Korea.

Morten Peglau has worked in the advertising industry since 2012, starting in production and working his way up. He was co-founder of EP of Octopuss, a danish commercial production company, that merged with two other production companies in the beginning of 2022.

During his years at Octopuss and Holy Ravioli, he has won numerous international and national awards for a broad range of films, working with experienced and new directors alike. He has previously been on the jury for Creative Circle awards.

Becky Perryman is a senior producer at Strange Beast and creator of The Greenhouse - the emerging talent roster for Strange Beast and PASSION PICTURES.

Becky is constantly on the lookout for new talent and works daily with schools and colleges across the UK and Europe to provide a stepping stone for artists and directors into the animation industry. Becky is a senior producer for commercial animation with Strange Beast and has worked with clients including Netflix, Meta, Hulu and many more.

Becky produced Anna Mantzaris’ commercial for Global Women entitled ‘Career Limiting Move’ which has won countless awards including D&AD and One Show Pencils, Creative Circle Awards and has played at festivals worldwide.

Named Creative of the Year twice by Campaign magazine, Ali Rez is the most awarded creative leader in the Middle East, and currently leads creative output for the IMPACT BBDO Group across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan region. Rez’s work has been instrumental in Impact BBDO Dubai being named the No.2 Agency In The World on the WARC report, while winning 10 different Agency of the Year accolades in 2022 for bringing tremendous business success and creative excellence to the Group, and positive impact to social causes.

Rez has won more than 750 international accolades in his career spanning four continents over 20 years, which include Grands Prix at all the major shows including Cannes Lions, Clio, OneShow, Effies, and a United Nations Peace Medal – awards which have led him to be ranked No.1 ECD in MENA and APAC on several creative rankings. He is the first jury president ever at Cannes Lions to represent the Middle East and Pakistan.

Moving from California, Rez currently lives in Dubai, where he is an avid mountain biker. Besides lecturing at Oxford University, Rez has exhibited at Tate UK, spoken at Tedx, and has traveled to 138 countries.

Ger Roe, is Board Creative Director at Publicis Dublin and sits on the Publicis Global creative council. He is an Executive Board member of the Institute of Creative Advertising and Design ‘ICAD’.

With Publicis Dublin he fulfils the role of creative brand lead, managing multi-disciplined teams across a large number of key accounts, namely Heineken, Virgin media Ireland, permanent tsb, Islands Edge, AXA, Tayto, Today fm, Irish Water and more.

He specialises in carving out personalities for brands, building engaging and memorable brand experiences, and working on innovative ways to help his clients to grow their business. Throughout his career, Ger has judged and chaired national and international awards across all creative disciplines. He has picked up all manner of domestic and international awards including Epica, Sharks, ADC’E, One Show, LIA and Cannes Lions, and won a Grand Prix at Eurobest last year.

Ger is part of the leadership team that helped Publicis Dublin become the most awarded Irish agency internationally in 2022.

And when he is not doing all that he is either trying to catch Salmon or training for another Ironman triathlon. And failing at both miserably.

Andreas began his directing career with his first client commercial at the age of 21 before enrolling at film school. Roth quickly gained momentum with a viral
film for "Dirt Devil" which accumulated over 30 million views on Vimeo and officially was titled the 5th most viewed online film of 2011.

Roth has since partnered with top agencies like R/GA, DDB, Publicis, JWT, WCRS, TM, Mc CANN, Spark44, Dentsu, Heimat, André, PUK, Leo‘s thjnk tank, Serviceplan, Jung von Matt and more. He has helmed campaigns for clients like Adidas, Audi, BMW, Fila, Heineken, Lexus, Mc Donald‘s, O‘Neill, Opel, Uniqlo, Xbox, Jaguar among others and worked with athletes like Novak Djokovic, Kei Nishikori, Willian, Marcus Rashford, Mark Matthews, Wayde van Niekerk, and Chris Robshaw.

He has won the Young Director Award in Cannes two times and was honored at the prestigious Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase along with winning
numerous other accolades and shortlists at festivals and marketing conventions, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, ADC, Epica, Eurobest and NYC Festival, to name a few.

Ben’s experience includes development and production of documentaries, TV series, live entertainment, art installations and award-winning brand campaigns. Ben is a creator/producer and an experienced media executive with a proven track-record of delivering premium content to audiences across multiple platforms and media. He now acts as SVP EMEA/APAC, MD and Executive Producer across RadicalMedia´s London and Berlin offices and oversees Radical´s operations, talent roster and development slate.

Over the years, Ben has collaborated with some of the most acclaimed directors in the industry, has produced substantial fashion and art projects and music videos for some of the world’s most celebrated artists. Earlier in his career, he worked on award-winning documentaries, including Joe Berlinger’s “METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER”, and Errol Morris´ Oscar-winning “THE FOG OF WAR” which inspired him to also pursue the development of original programming.

More recently Ben produced APPLE TV+´s “THE ME YOU CAN´T SEE” directed by Asif Kapadia, with Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry. Ben also co-produced the Independent films OMEN by Baloji which was selected as part of the official selection of Festival de Cannes 2023 ( Un Certain Regard). He is currently in development on the scripted series “SUPERPARADISE" about trans legend Romy Haag written by Our Lady J and directed by Rhys Ernst.

Faride Schroeder is a fourth-generation Mexican writer/director from a family of Lebanese immigrants, with a strong and intuitive female gaze. Her work as a Director has been featured in Los Angeles Times, Brut France, Vogue, Time Out; she was spotlighted by Nowness as one of the 5 rising international female directors to watch in 2022 and as one of the 100 Most Creative Mexicans in the World, by Forbes. This year CNN, after winning an Emmy for Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, got Faride to direct two of six episodes of Searching for Mexico with Eva Longoria as a Host and Executive Producer, which is premiering on March 26th, 2023.

For 4 years, Faride served as the Free The Work Ambassador for Mexico, the global initiative/platform for female filmmakers and underrepresented creators founded by Alma Har’el and she is co-founder of the Mexican female collective Dear Sisters,. She was an ambassador for the program ‘More Like Me’ at Cannes Lions, a speaker at the HP Diversity and Inclusion Panel during the Advertising Week in New York, and at the Gender Violence in Mexican Cinema Forum invited by the Mexican Film Academy.

She has a Communication and Film Studies degree from Universidad Iberoamericana - Mexico City. Strong of 19 years in the National and International Film and Advertising industries, she was an Assistant Director and Executive Producer along with Producers like Nicolás Celis (Roma), Jim Stark (Coffee and Cigarettes), Leonardo Zimbrón (Amazon Prime Video Latin America) or Gerard De Thame; she has worked in projects for world-class agencies like Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi or JWT. Since 2013 she has directed Advertising and Branded content for global brands like American Express, Cerveza Victoria, Chevrolet, Nissan, or Colgate-Palmolive as an exclusive Director for The Lift and Madrefoca, two of the most renowned production companies in Mexico. In 2020 she was invited by the Mexican Producers Guild to co-write and direct the piece ‘The Rebirth of an Industry’ starring the Oscar nominee Yalitza Aparicio (Roma) and Tenoch Huerta (Wakanda Forever, Narcos), which was a 2021 Ciclope Festival finalist.

She is Co-producer of the fiction feature films ´Black Minutes' (2021) which had 8 nominations and 3 wins at the Mexican Academy Awards and the New York Times Critic's pick 'Son of Monarchs' (2021) which won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at Sundance Film Festival. Faride was also Assistant Director of 'Prayers for the Stolen' (2021) by Tatiana Huezo, winner of 7 Mexican Academy Awards, a special jury mention at Un Certain Regard Cannes Film Festival, nominated for the Goya Awards, and shortlisted in the International Feature Film category for the 94th Oscars.

Faride writes and directs her own films screened at La Semaine de la Critique, Fantasia Film Festival, Cinélatino Rencontres de Toulouse, Morelia Film Festival, and SFC 'Best Mexican Shorts' at Cannes Film Festival, among others, directing actors like Yalitza Aparicio (Roma), Tenoch Huerta (Wakanda Forever, Narcos), Dolores Heredia (Get the Gringo, El Chapo) or Adan Canto (X-Men, The Cleaning Lady).

Faride’s short film 'Mercy' (2014) is one of the most-seen films on FilminLatino. Her short ‘Oasis' (2020) won both the 1st National and the 1st International awards of Nespresso Talents 2020. In 2021 she was part of the Nespresso Talents International Jury at Cannes Film Festival, along with the actors Zita Hanrot and Mark Chao. Her short ´Daughters of Witches´ (2021) won the Best Fiction Short film at FicMonterrey, it was produced by 20th Digital Studio/Disney and premiered on Hulu. Thanks to the successful results, she is now developing a feature based on it.

Her documentary feature 'Oasis' won the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund for post production at Los Cabos Film Festival and her dystopian feature script 'The Lovers of this World' was selected by Morelia Film Festival and the France Embassy/IFAL for the screenwriting lab led by the French writer Philippe Claudel, which is now in development too.

Faride is now represented by Madrefoca / Madre for Advertising and branded content, and by Alejandra Reyes / UTA for narrative in the U.S.

Sally Shi is a film and advertising professional with over 18 years of experience in the industry.
Starting her career in 2006, Sally had the opportunity to work with renowned director Li Yu on three of her feature films: Dam Street, Lost in Beijing, and Buddha Mountain, which was showcased at the 62nd Venice and Berlin Film Festivals and the 57th Berlin Film Festival. After that, Sally ventured into the world of advertising, where she has worked with notable directors such as Tony Kay, Alejandro González, and Rupert Sanders.
Currently, she is part of Stink Films, running Stink Shanghai and Beijing in China as managing director, where she continue to create compelling and innovative content for clients in Asia.

JD has been working in ‘the business’ for over 20 years, starting in production at Ridley Scott Associates before taking the chair as an editor of commercials, music videos, title sequences and short and feature length documentaries and narrative films, working with directors such as Errol Morris, Darren Aronofsky, Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, Johnny Hardstaff, Jake Nava, Patrick Daughters and Tony Kaye. 
Projects he has edited have been honored with Emmys, Lions, Pencils, Webby’s, the AICP and AICE. 
He is an editor and partner at internationally renowned editorial company Final Cut.

Lyndy Stout edits and curates the online magazine and creative awards 1.4 which showcases the hottest international short-form filmmaking talent.
In other lives, she edited shots magazine for over a decade, was deputy editor of creative review, and was also a travel writer.

Alejandro founded the film production company Sulafilms in 2008, the film and VR distribution company Neverlanding Pictures in 2014 and the same year he co-founded Sumo Studio, a 360 and Virtual Reality production company.
In 2021 established Sula Entertainment, a holding company that seeks to unify its entertainment companies into one.
Sugich is a member of Nalip, Canacine and he is the current Entertainment Vice President of the International Quorum of Motion Picture Producers (IQfilm.org).

One of Alejandro’s purposes within his career is to support new authors, as he believes that the basis of the evolution and continuity of the film industry are the young creators.

He has supported many first features for Mexican filmmakers, as in his words “you only need that person or company to support you, to trust your vision, as someone once did for myself”. Alejandro Sugich is a Producer, Director and Writer known for Casi Treinta (2014), Prometo no Enamorarme (2017), Menéndez: El día del Señor (2020), Los Hermanos Salvador (2022) and Perdidos en la noche (Oficial Selection, Cannes Film Festival, 2023).

Chris Watling is U.K. Managing Director / Executive Producer of Somesuch.

Prior to Somesuch, Chris spent 5 years as Head of Production at Droga5 London, overseeing award-winning work across a range of disciplines for clients including Amazon, Diet Coke, Maserati, Mini and Uniqlo.

He also spent ten years at BBH London – initially as producer, subsequently as Managing Director of Black Sheep Studios, BBH’s BAFTA-winning entertainment and content division.

Natasha Wellesley is an Executive Producer at Ventureland. Shestarted her career in film and television working on projects forParamount, 20th Century Fox, Sony, and MGM beforetransitioning into the advertising world. Her incredible industryknowledge positions her at the helm of entertainment. Forgingunrivaled global brand partnerships, Natasha works alongsidecreators to develop original entertainment properties, innovativebrand experiences, and breakthrough branded content.

Natasha continues to garner relationships with high-profilebrands such as Netflix, HBO, Ford, Victoria’s Secret, Target,Amazon, Stacy’s, LA Rams and Meta, across various platforms tocreate strong artistic and socially progressive statements thatdisrupt the branded entertainment landscape. Recentcollaborations include a film for Stacy’s Rise Project “RISE”(Sundance), Sephora’s documentary on “Beauty of Blackness”(TribecaX, HBO Max), KitchenAid’s documentary on womenfacing barriers in the culinary industry "A Woman's Place”(TribecaX, Hulu), and Planned Parenthood’s “Ours To Tell”(Sundance) and LA Rams “On The Clock”. Natasha co-createdIndeed’s “Rising Voices”, an initiative in support of the nextgeneration of BIPOC filmmakers and storytellers, the projectcarries on and is in its third season (Tribeca, Amazon Prime).

Natasha has won more than 100 industry awards, includingcampaigns for Boost Mobile’s “Boost Your Voice” (Cannes LionsTitanium and Grand Prix for Social Responsibility & Integrated),Expedia’s “Dream Adventures” (D&AD Awards), and lastly,UNICEF’s “UNfairy Tales” (Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Good).

Her other distinctions for that campaign include PresidentObama’s Call to Action to raise awareness of the Syrian refugeecrisis.

Natasha has judged the Cannes Lions Film, One Show, AICP,Shorty’s, Lisbon International Film Festival, and has participatedin various industry forums and panels, including the New Fronts,AICP Next Awards, the San Diego Film Festival, Tribeca, andSundance.

Award-winning Producer Ivy Duoduo Yang has proven herself in bridging the gap between the
China and US Film industry. Born and raised in China, she moved to Los Angeles at the age of
18 and has since built an outstanding reputation for herself. She’s recognized for her work in
feature films like “We are living things,” “Somewhere Winter.”, Short films “Yokelan, 66”,
“Swimming”, and TV series “The Brightest Star in the Sky”, “Negotiator”.

What makes Ivy unique is that she skillfully and meticulously balances the intersection of the
China and American film industries. She constantly researches the inner workings of both
markets and harnesses her ideas and creativity as a producing team leader. Ivy has since 2014
been involved in a good number of films, television, and commercials connecting both worlds.
An evolving talent, she has the ability to create a world of her own. She likes to tell stories
about women, minority, underrepresented groups, and as many that have the opportunity to
see any of her works get caught up in a world full of suspense and excitement.

Ivy joined EnMaze Pictures as a Producer in 2016. She spearheads the producing department
in developing EnMaze original and engaging content. Also, Ivy manages the overall production
business of the company. Over the years, she has established strong connections with
mainstream directors and actors, unions, and agencies while working creatively with
international-recognized award winners. She has also been involved in several feature films,
catchy Talk Shows, and TV series.

During her time as the Co-Founder of Melt Pictures, she has produced numerous commercials for
many big-time corporations like NetEase, Tencent, ByteDance, Lenovo, vivo, xiaomi, realme
and more.

Nicholas started his creative career at the tender age of 16 working as a writer, in a storeroom under the staircase of BBH Singapore.
Shortly after, and when it was legally possible to do so, he went on to start The Secret Little Agency (TSLA). A writer by training, Nicholas’s work whether in film, experiential, ambient or guerilla often threads a fine line with the Singapore’s notoriously strict regulation and censorship laws. This brand of cheeky creativity continues to live on in TSLA’s work till today.
TSLA remains the only Singaporean agency in recent memory to be named both Independent and Creative Agency of the Year numerous times by Campaign Asia.

Anna Hashmi is the Founder and Executive Producer of The Corner Shop, which opened in 2013 in Los Angeles, USA and opened a UK office in 2021 which helmed by partner and director, Sara Dunlop and Executive Producer Chia Tucker.
A south Londoner, Hashmi grew up in the industry in the UK where she graduated from Art College, and after a short affair as a radio playwright she discovered the world of commercial production, working as a PA for Tony Kaye.
Hashmi went on to produce award winning campaigns in the UK, Europe and US with a long list of talented directors, including Peter Thwaites in 2008, who went on to win the prestigious DGA awards for best commercial director in 2009.
From developing first-time commercials directors like Malik Vitthal, Hashmi has developed The Corner Shop into a production studio dedicated to creativity and developing talent, and in its nine years of existence has curated a roster of directors and young emerging talent with a focus on diversity and multiculturalism, investing in talent who are additionally accomplished writers, proactively supporting their roster to develop culturally relevant entertainment. Current commissions include a Channel 4 scripted comedy anthology series, written and directed by Emmy-nominated Sindha Agha, a global documentary series about life during the pandemic across 48 countries led by the legendary Ellen Kuras and A Revolutionary Act, a documentary short behind the scenes of the Black Panther movement by filmmaker and activist Malakai for Participant Media.
Hashmi produced Malik Vitthal’s inaugural commercial for P&G ‘The Talk’ which was awarded at the AICP, the Cultural Driver at the One Show, Addys best in Show as well as Film Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions where The Corner Shop were ranked 3rd in the Palme D’Or for most awarded production company in 2018 which culminated in a Primetime commercial EMMY.
In her spare time, Hashmi likes to read directors’ treatments, say hello and goodbye on conference calls and dance. Sometimes altogether, as producers are of course, multi-taskers.

Florencia was born in Argentina and from the age of 19 she worked in numerous advertising agencies in Buenos Aires until she moved to London in 2015 to expand her career globally.

In 2015, she joined creative agency 'New London', where she was in charge of setting up the company in the UK, US and Argentina. During her time there, she worked on the Peace Agreement in Colombia, advising the FARC guerrillas and the Colombian government on the peace process. She also advised NASA (National Aeronautica and Space Administration) on their own communications strategies.

In 2019, Florencia started 'Rebolucion' in the UK, the award-winning production house owned by director and Academy Award winner Armando Bo. With offices in Argentina, the US, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay and an ever-increasing presence in Europe, Florencia is now the Managing Director and Executive Producer at Rebolucion UK.

Nicky Barnes is the Senior Executive Producer at the international production company, Stink Films.

Nicky has led production for several award-winning projects, such as: Droga's “Life Needs Truth” for the New York Times and Media Arts Lab's “Snap” for Apple AirPods Pro and Wieden+Kennedy’s “Ankles” for Powerade, among many others. She has also worked with industry renowned directors such as Jonathan Glazer, Daniel Wolfe, Kim Gehrig, and Frank Budgen.

Like many others, her career began as a runner with a blank resume (save her experience as a gymnast in the British squad.) Today Nicky has one of the most decorated CVs in the ad game with 3 decades of trendsetting work under her belt. Early in her career she served as Head of Production at Fallon, working closely with Rich Flintham and Juan Cabral where they produced a trilogy of award-winning spots for Sony: “Balls,” “Paint,” and “Playdoh.” Other notable projects include the iconic Cadbury’s “Gorilla” and Skoda “Cake.” Later she worked at Mother as a Senior Producer. In 2016 Nicky relocated to the United States to kick off Somesuch US as their Managing Director and Executive Producer. Most recently, Nicky joined Stink Films, where she will be heading up the film and TV offering for the US in addition to commercial production and developing young talent.

With some of the world's most prestigious projects on his resume, Adam Berg is one of the most acclaimed commercial directors around. Decades of hard work and dedication for clients such as Nike, Apple, and Volvo have turned Adam's name synonymously with quality storytelling across the globe.

Adam creates emotionally charged and uniquely creative work across all genres, often blending in mixed media and VFX to enhance each story to its fullest potential.
Adam's debut feature film “Black crab” recently premiered worldwide on Netflix. It's now the third most watched non-english language film on the Netflix worldwide platform with over 100 million watched hours of the film.

Adam is a major creative force in advertising and entertainment but remains humble, curious, and completely dedicated to his projects.

Nicholas Berglund is a creative consulting company based in between France, Italy and Spain. Nicholas started in this industry when he became a manager of a still and film production studio in Copenhagen, which he also helped build.
He worked his way up as a runner, production manager, gaffer, grip and producer while getting a degree in marketing at night. By the mid-‘90s Nicholas was working in production on feature films, and in 1994 became head of TV at Y&R Denmark.
After starting and selling his own production company, Nicholas came to Paris and worked for The Gang Films and later QUAD to develop its international network and seeking talents. He then founded NB: in 2009. Now with plus 30 years of experience in the creative, advertising, fashion, and production industries he’s often referred to as a guy who knows everyone and everywhere. Taking pride in what he does and the talents he’s brought to spotlight Nicholas has the sharpest eye noticing that sparkle of genius that separates those who create the future from those who follow it.

Dan Blaney as Head of Production at Anomaly's New York headquarters, an advertising agency founded in 2004 with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Shanghai.

Blaney has been behind some of the industry’s most impactful and innovative work for over twenty years. From the Emmy & Cannes Grand Prix winning “The Talk” for P&G, to Bud Light’s epic “Up For Whatever” Super Bowl stunt, to AT&T’s “Close to Home,” and a myriad of iconic work across Brand Jordan, Macy’s and Dunkin’.

Previously Blaney served as Head of Production at Apple, overseeing all of Services. With prior roles at BBDO and W+K, Dan’s range of experiences have enabled work of all stripes. Always dedicated to finding a way to get to “yes.”

Loren Bradley is an Executive Producer at FINCH Company Australia. Loren’s relentless curiosity has allowed her to impact unique global advertising campaigns for some of the world’s best brands over the last 15 years.

In 2018, Loren was named one of AdNews’ Top 30 Emerging Leaders. In recent times, she has sat on juries for D&AD, Cannes, Ciclope, AWARD and New York Festivals and has served on the AWARD Awards & AICP Committee.

Loren’s journey to film production took a unique path, beginning in the world of fashion, art and design. She is a rare kind of talent, one that makes the industry more creative, personal and nurturing.

Loren believes in making work that inspires change. Through work with The Advertising Council Australia and the Australian Directors Guild, Loren has passionately campaigned for new talent and underrepresented creatives. Her role with the UN’s The Lions Share Fund 2021 campaign is another great example of her change advocacy.

In continuing to work alongside some of the world’s top Directors Loren is looking forward to telling more powerful, meaningful stories and identifying the next generation of talent.

Matthew is a founder and Managing Partner of Knucklehead.

He started his working life as a lumberjack before joining the film industry and becoming a runner. Matthew met Tony Kaye on a shoot. Tony asked him to produce for him. Matthew loved it. And he was much better at it than he was running.

Over the years he’s gone on to produce award wining jobs for most the companies you could care to mention. Outside of the commercial work he produced the Oscar Nominated short film The Tonto Woman, and the feature film Harry Brown starring Michael Caine.

And he’s judged for Creative Circle, Shots, the 1.4 Awards and the AICP show.

He’s also very proud of his GCSE pottery result, is a massive Leicester City fan, and knows more about bicycles than a grown man really should.

Evie is responsible for commissioning both Original and Branded Entertainment series for Channel 4’s Digital and Social platforms, including award-nominated series Secret Sauce and Celebrity Rebrand.
Working with a wide variety of the UK’s top production companies, directors and talent, Evie is overseeing the channel’s youth-skewing entertainment digital commissioning slate as well as working strategically across social to bring in new audiences.

Prior to working at Channel 4, Evie was Head of Development and Executive producer at Acme Films, an independent production company who champion new onscreen and offscreen talent, making TV, films and digital content for all of the major UK channels and platforms.
Evie has also worked at Bauer, Endemol and TwoFour, with experience across all factual TV genres.

Juliana is a New York-based Executive Creative Director who’s been at Droga5 since 2016, leading breakthrough work for a range of brands from Prudential to Blue Apron to Pinterest and, most recently, the award-winning global Huggies campaign “We Got You, Baby.” Prior to that, she led creative on brands like GE, AT&T and Starbucks as a Senior Creative Director at BBDO New York.

Fresh out of business school, Jérôme Denis got his first job onset at France 5 TV. Not long after, he had the opportunity to move towards the music industry. As a jack of all trades, he spent 10 years working in companies such as Virgin Music, Sony, Naïve and Warner before arriving at Wanda in 2005, where he began to produce clips and music documentaries. He has produced more than 150 videos for artists such as Madonna, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Mariah Carey... All before turning his energy towards to advertising, allowing him to become a partner at Wanda.

He has had the opportunity to collaborate with the best directors in the world : Terrence Malick, Roman Coppola, Virgil Abloh, Nathalie Canguilhem, Quentin Deronzier, Reynald Gresset, John McTiernan, Gary Freedman, Jeff Low, Noam Murro, Steve Rogers, Paul Hunter, Sebastian Strasser, Pep Bosch and Seb Edwards. He instigated the career of some atypical directors like Yoann “Woodkid” Lemoine.

As a fierce Capricorn with a youthful yet multiple award-winning career (more than 15 Epica awards and 10 Gold and Silver Lions), Jérôme is passionate and enthusiastic about accepting new challenges and creative opportunities.

In October of 2015, Jerome took over as CEO at LA\PAC. The company, who will celebrate it’s 50th anniversary in 2022, has won one Grand Prix, one Palme d’Or and over 100 Lions. Directors such as Ridley Scott, JP Goude, Richard Avedon, Oliveiro Toscani, David Lynch have collaborated with LA\PAC since its beginnings in 1972.

Today LA\PAC works hand in hand with three sister companies : De Gaulle, VERY/CONTENT and Terre TV

Born in Buenos Aires, raised between Tuscany and Rome and currently based in Milan, Luca Fanfani is one of the most passionate executive producers in the Italian advertising business.

Luca started his career working in agencies like McCann Erickson, Young & Rubicam and Saatchi & Saatchi before founding his own production company called Nemo Film. In 2001 Luca became Partner of Mercurio Cinematografica where he now works as Executive Producer.

Throughout his career, Luca has produced a vast array of audiovisual contents but he definitely has a soft spot for documentaries, producing several non-fictional films across the globe, from Japan to Montserrat.

Luca has a keen eye for talent and he has always liked working with young promising directors: as a matter of fact he has helmed campaigns with top-notch names such as Ivan Zacharias, Matthijs van Heijningen, Fredrik Bond, Martin de Thurah, Nicolai Fuglsig and Mark Molloy who worked with Luca before becoming internationally famous.

His personal motto is “In Directors We trust”, a claim adopted by Mercurio Cinematografica itself.

Born & raised overseas, Mona Lisa was interested in the entertainment industry ever since childhood!

After graduating from Columbia University in NYC, Mona Lisa moved to Los Angeles to purse her passion for film. She started as an assistant and worked her way up to VP of Development at a prominent production company at Sony Pictures Studios. During her stint in Hollywood, she worked on the development and production of many high profile movies – including IRON MAN, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, VENOM, GHOST IN THE SHELL, and UNCHARTED among others.

In late 2012, Mona Lisa decided to move back to NY. She then began working at BBDO - producing commercials, video content, films, and Super Bowl campaigns for brands such as Bud Light, Visa, Snickers, GE, Starbucks, HP, and many others. Her campaigns were recognized by organizations like Andy, AdWeek, AICP, Cannes, Clio, London International, NY Festivals, One Show, and Webby.

In 2016, Mona Lisa joined R/GA NY as their Senior Content Producer for Samsung North America. She worked on R/GA’s most prolific client and led numerous projects for Samsung, including the launch of their Galaxy S8 campaign.

In January 2018, Mona Lisa transitioned from the agency world to tech: Meta (formerly known as Facebook company). She currently works as a Senior Creative Producer in Creative X, where she produces campaigns and content for the Meta brand and products.

When not working or traveling, you’ll find Mona Lisa obsessing over Batman, hunting for amazing restaurants, or researching skin-care products!

Flora Fernandez Marengo is the Founder and Executive producer of LABHOUSE, a top production service company with offices in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Spain. LABHOUSE has over the years serviced productions for many of the most reputable directors worldwide.

Flora has worked internationally as a producer in advertising for UK and the US for leading companies such as Gorgeous, Academy, Anonymous. Over the years she has produced commercials for a number of talented directors who won several industry awards including Cannes Lions, BTAA, CRAFT awards, D&AD.

Flora has also produced various feature films including Ellen Kuras’ Oscar nominated and Emmy winner documentary “The Betrayal’”, Juan Cabral’s feature films debut “Two/One” and John Michael McDonagh’s “ The Guard”, “Calvary” & “War on Everyone”

Film and theater director, screenwriter and playwright. In 2008 he co-founded Akiracine in Colombia, through the years this became a very acknowledged and rewarded production house on diverse advertising festivals locally and internationally. In 2020 Akiracine managed to be fourth in the ranking of production company in iberoamerica, a place never given to any colombian before.

At the beginning Akira had its resources focused on creativity in advertisement but Pablo decided to recruit a multitasking team, each one specialized in different areas such as film directors, writers, screenwriters, strategists and producers.

In the cultural space that Akira has become nowadays, Pablo explores new filmmaking forms and formats, diverse stage shows and decides to develop stories for a variety of platforms.

With 25 years worth of experience Pablo has directed around 500 advertising projects, videoclips, documentaries, short films and feature films.

Franziska scouts stories, cinema features and new talents as a Development Producer in Berlin at X Filme as well as X Verleih.

At the age of 17 she experienced her first film set, when she had just finished her International Baccalaureate and looked for a job abroad in Brazil. Soon after she returned to Germany and completed her Bachelor of Arts in Film and TV studies. Curious about shorter formats, commercial and international producing, she began working forTony Petersen Film and was part of creating the sub-label Little Big Bang.

In 2020 she completed the one-year masterclass for up-and-coming producers Atelier Ludwigsburg Paris at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, la Fémis in Paris and the National Film and Television School in London. Within that year she started developing and producing projects with other creatives e.g a ZDF-Kleines Fernsehspiel: a long-term-observation documentary about young feminist rappers in Berlin by Clara Stella Hüneke which is about to go into post-production. Today she works as a Development Producer at X-Filme.

Fan He is an independent film producer and entrepreneur based in California. As a multi-cultural background producer, Fan is a member of Producers Guild of America and China Film Association. Fan lead produced 2020 Deauville American Film Festival and 2021 Slamdance selected film We Are Living Things.

Fan’s other feature films include 2020 Shanghai Film festival selected Model, 2017 Shanghai Film Festival selected Another Shot and 2015 Wanda Pictures’ 37 million-budget blockbuster Mojin- The Lost Legend. Fan’s TV producing works include hit Chinese Web/TV series The Way To World Culture , Negotiator , For You, Wait for You in Beijing and Wonderful Life, they have generated millions of views in China.

As a pioneer of multi-cultural co-productions, Fan co-founded EnMaze Pictures in 2013 and collaborated with major Chinese studios including Wanda Media Co, Huayi Brothers, Mango Film &TV, Croton Media, Iqiyi, etc. Fan also founded The North America Chinese Director’s Tour, discovered dozens of uprising Chinese directors studied in US.

Born in Hubei China, Fan He holds a Master of Fine Art degree from The City College of New York, and a Masters Degree in Information Science from Wuhan University, China. Fan is now pursuing an EMBA degree from UCLA and National University of Singapore

Daniel compiles shots and Source’s ground-breaking shots Unsigned, focussing on global unsigned directorial talent, and curates the monthly ‘shots Unsigned’ showcase.

Alongside that, Daniel posts daily news on the site and conducts written interviews with directors, primarily focussing on feature-film, unsigned and music video. He has also sat as a judge on many advertising and film awards, including the UK MVAs, YDA, Porsche Awards, EPICA Awards, shots Awards, Berlin Commercial, Creative Circle Awards and Shiny Awards.

Kayode Kasum is a Director and Producer who believes in the power of authenticity. His style and cinematography is often linked to the emotions of the characters and the core elements of each film.
His films have been screened and have won awards in various festivals around the world. Canada, France, Serbia, Kenya, Italy, United Kingdom and Nigeria. He shoots most of his films in English, Pidgin English and the African dialect because he also believes in the passing on of our cultural practices from one generation to the next, in Africa and the Diaspora.

His project “Oga Bolaji (2018)“ acquired theatrical distribution in the United States and Nordic countries. Kayode has shot as director for 10,860+ minutes on MNET’S telenovela series “UNBROKEN” and “RIONA”.
His filmography as a director includes films - Sugar Rush (2019), This Lady Called Life (2020), Kambili - The Whole 30 yards (2020), Quams Money, Castle and Castle S2, Soole (2021) and his first psychological horror ile Owo (2022).
Kasum understands the importance of going wherever the idea and vision take you. In 2021, he produced and directed Nigeria’s first travel film which Kasum has termed ‘one of the hardest films he has ever had to make.

He filmed Soole in a bus traveling from the western part of Nigeria (Lagos) to the Eastern part of Nigeria (Enugu) and back. Despite the security concerns, coupled with structural defects of the country like bad roads, he still made the film work. And despite all the obstacles faced, Soole still went ahead to become one of the box office hits of 2021.
In 2021, four of his films made it to the top 10 most streamed Nigerian films on Netflix, the majority of which was made through his one-year-old production company, FilmTribe Media. In 2021 FilmTribe produced three films which were all box office successes. Two of the films are on the top 10 box office releases in West Africa 2021.
Apart from film, he has been involved in other projects. They include a two-part documentary series for the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) which was aired across Nigeria. He has also created and directed music videos, TV series and has shot campaigns for brands like Forbes, Ndani TV, DHL, Manchester United, Best Ever Food Review Show, Belvedere, ARM Pensions, ART X Lagos, Union Bank Nigeria, African
Cable Television (ACTV), Clover Industries Tanzania and Lagos state Ministry of Tourism.

Kayode Kasum continues to push for telling authentic stories and capturing different levels of intensity in the day to day life of the ordinary person.

Katie’s career encompasses high-profile production house, agency production and account management roles. Recently returning agency-side, as Head of Production, Havas London & Global Head of Content, Havas Studios in an innovative, integrated dual role facilitating a genuinely holistic to production, Katie’s remit spans both production network and creative agency. Not only does this allow Katie to break down silos and create bespoke production models and strategies in response to every brief but also to work with diverse and emerging talent, something Katie has long been committed to.

Katie is best-known for a decade as ‘First Lady’ of multi-award-winning commercial production company Rattling Stick, combining company and Executive Producer responsibilities as well as working across campaigns for brands including the BBC, Chanel, Audi and the Guardian. During her time at Rattling Stick, the company won more than 50 Cannes Lions, including the coveted Film Grand Prix, as well as numerous British Arrows, Creative Circle and D&AD Awards.

Katie is a passionate ambassador of craft and an active force within the industry having served as a member of the APA Council for 4 years and is regularly invited onto Jury Panels – judging Film Craft in Cannes in 2019, British Arrows 2020, sponsor of the 1.4 Awards celebrating new talent, the Creative Circle Board 2016 – 2018 and was featured in the inaugural Pitch Fanzine,100 Superwomen. Katie also joined the board of the British Arrows in 2021.

A mother of three, Katie is also a self-confessed yogi and the co-creator of a new, eco-friendly swimwear brand Poolside Gossip.

Angus is a globally renowned creative pioneer and entrepreneur. In 2020, he launched the creative and technology studio Preymaker as a future facing collective of creatives and technologists who utilize an advanced custom cloud platform to craft content for leading brands and studios. Preymaker works in linear content, along with interactive immersive media including the Metaverse. Additional content includes commercials, branded entertainment and original short films.

Innovation is Angus’ specialty; in particular, leveraging emerging technologies and
utilizing the latest in computer vision, A.I. machine learning and cloud technology. He was one of the chief architects in creating breakthrough IP such as The Blackbird®, a unique vehicle for automotive content that creates photoreal computer generated vehicles. Blackbird® won a Cannes Innovation Gold Lion. In collaboration with Epic Games, Angus and his team pioneered the use of game engines in Media & Entertainment, rendering photoreal content into live action in real-time, showcased to wide acclaim at GDC2017.

Angus worked alongside the team responsible for the development of Mascot, a realtime animation system that enables CGI characters to be performed and animated live, using a combination of Unreal game-engine technology and motion sensors. Mascot was awarded Adweek’s Project Isaac Award, celebrating marketing and advertising inventors who are breaking the mold and pushing the industry forward using the latest technology and inspired thinking. He also directed PETA’s Cannes Gold award-winning “98% Human,” pioneering photoreal computer generated creatures. This fundamentally propelled the use of digital animals in media and entertainment. The spot received a standing ovation led by Dr. Jane Goodall at the Great Apes Summit, paving the way for films such as The Jungle Book and The Lion King.

Angus continues to pioneer the use of new technologies pushing what is possible and helping define the new world of content creation. Angus has been recognized by Adweek as part of their Creative 100, which celebrates the most inspiring minds in marketing, media and culture.

Award-winning animator with more than 30 years of experience in the film business. Sara Koppel previously worked on well-known Danish animated feature films, TV commercials and short films. I 2002 she founded her own independent animation studio, Naked Love Film & Koppel Animation.

Still working in the field of Handdrawn on paper Animation, making Artistic Personal Shortfilms, Animation Installations & AR-augmentet Reality Exhibitions all around. At the moment she is working on her next 12 minutes shortfilm "2nd Day & the End of the World"

Hi there, I'm Christian.
I‘m on fire for brands and emotional storytelling in every channel you can think of.
I believe in developing innovative solutions creating a dialogue between brands and their audiences and I love to explore new digital customer experiences.

Apart from helping the talented people around me, I develop integrated global campaigns with a digital first approach just like local market activations or daring, tailormade solutions. Whatever I do, it’s always my goal to break through and truly connect with the customers. Wherever they are, they’re not waiting to be entertained by advertising. It’s my job to make them care and to engage with the brand.

Currently, I‘m working at Scholz & Friends Hamburg taking care of the national McDonald’s account. As Creative Managing Director, I feel responsible for the creative output as well as for the performance of the account team and the overall financial success of the company. I’m always open to collaborate and try to enable and develop my team in a constantly changing industry.

As a proud member of the ADC Germany, I am a constant part of the film jury for years. My work has been rewarded with more than 333 national and international recognitions including a Grand Prix at the NY Festivals, Gold at Cannes and Gold at the Lovie Awards.
I‘m married with two kids but no pets.

Navi Lamba is the Head of Talent Development for BBC Comedy, where she is in charge of spearheading new talent outreach.
Before that Navi was a commissioner at Channel 4 with a focus on Entertainment and Teens, while there she led the curation of the teen strand - commissioning multi-platform shows across scripted and unscripted like One Night Stand (developing into long-form series), How To Be a Person, the award nominated Pete and Sam’s Reality News and Reset and Rewind. Navi joined Channel 4 in 2020 from BBC Three where she commissioned short-form formats for the channel before becoming head of social where she led on campaigns for key programmes like Fleabag, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK and Glow Up.
Prior to her time at the BBC, she was a senior social media producer for VICE Media and worked on a range of in-house productions across VICE News to Munchies.

Magne Lyngner is Executive Managing Producer and partner in Bacon and has been the leading figure at the company since 2008, establishing the Oslo branch Bacon in 2011. He has a vast producing experience from both feature films, short films, music videos, and advertising, bridging the gap between commercial and fiction filmmaking.

Magne's flair for strong narratives, converting ideas into film, as well as finding and nurturing talent has been pivotal in establishing Bacon as one of Europe's best and most sought-after production companies. His commercial and short form work with directors such as Martin de Thurah, Andreas Nilsson, and Kristoffer Borgli has been praised internationally, winning numerous times at the most prestigious award shows in the world like Cannes Lions, D&AD, and Eurobest.

Managing Director and Executive Producer at Iconoclast Paris, Charlotte Marmion started her way up in the 1990’s at the tender age of 19 as a line producer for renowned production company Partizan. She earned her stripes working on music videos and collaborating with game changing directors such Michel Gondry, Antoine Bardou-Jacquet and Quentin Dupieux.

Extending her collaboration with Dupieux, Charlotte produced his first feature film called « Nonfilm » and then pursued an international career as a freelance commercials producer, working with acclaimed directors Johann Renck, Gary Freedman, Patrick Daughters, MEGAFORCE and Romain Gavras, to name a few.

Charlotte finally joined forces with Iconoclast as an Executive Producer in 2013 where she continued to work with renowned talent, and now also develops new ones such as We Are From LA, Manu Cossu, CANADA, Frédéric Planchon and Jonas Lindstroem. Charlotte became the MD of ICONOCLAST in 2017 and produced her first tv show for CANAL PLUS in 2022.

Guneet Monga is an Indian film producer, a BAFTA nominee and amongst the first producers from India to be invited in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Recent recipient of second highest civilian honor of France, the Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, or Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, she is the founder of Sikhya Entertainment, a Mumbai based production house. She was part of the Global Media Makers fellowship by Film Independent and the US Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. In 2019, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation awarded her the prestigious Sloan Science and Film grant.

Under her able leadership, Sikhya Entertainment has carved an unprecedented space in Indian film industry by producing films that focused on heartland stories and also travelled globally. The Lunchbox, Masaan, Gangs of Wasseypur, Pagglait, What Will People Say, Soorarai Pottru, Haraamkhor, Monsoon Shootout, Zubaan, Peddlers and Oscar Winning Short Documentary - Period End Of Sentence are few of the many titles from her awe inspiring filmography.

Guneet Monga is one of the most renowned filmmakers not just in India but also across the globe, evincing that resonance of good content knows no boundaries.
She recently founded a cinema collective called Indian Women Rising aimed at discovering, amplifying & distributing the work of Indian women filmmakers across the globe.

Kabelo Moshapalo is a digital native and is responsible for driving creative excellence in modern marketing. He is a self-taught illustrator that traded his acrylic paints and paintbrushes for the digital canvas.

Kabelo was born and raised in Soweto and has over 20 years of advertising and digital interactive experience and over the years he has led key DX (Digital Transformation) initiatives in all the places he has worked.
In 2022, Kabelo joined the executive committee of the Creative Circle – a leading industry body for advertising creativity in South Africa.
He was appointed to the Creative Circle AB InBev Braintrust in 2020, a forum which seeks to elevate the standard of creativity and innovation across brands and respective agencies. An honor repeated in 2021. In 2015, he was featured in Destiny Man magazine’s Power of 40 List, which celebrates extraordinary men from all over South Africa under the age of 40.

Kabelo has sat on various local and international awards juries and has been invited to judge D&AD and CICLOPE Africa in 2022. He previously judged ADC New York, the Clios, the Loerie Awards (which is the leading African and Middle Eastern advertising award show).
Kabelo is currently serving as the Jury Chair for the Marketing Panel of the IAB South Africa Bookmarks; adjudicating work across diverse categories, ranging from Digital, Mobile, Social, Content, TV, Radio, Design, Experiential and Creative Effectiveness. His work has been awarded at major advertising festivals including Cannes Lions, ADC New York, The One Show, D&AD, Clios, and Webbys.

With a background in film, theatre and commercial production, Stephanie is passionate about the craft of storytelling and bringing the creative vision to life. Having run and owned a production company in New York and produced diverse international campaigns, Stephanie has years of experience bringing creative partners together to make eclectic, impactful work for global brands. Stephanie leads production and is part of the leadership team at 72andSunny Amsterdam, where she champions innovation and craft in our creative production approaches and is most proud of the insightful, human stories we tell through our work that have a positive impact on culture. When not telling stories, you’ll find Stephanie trying to paddle board on canals near Amsterdam.

Ever since Joon Park began his career as an assistant director, he has never stopped voraciously jumping in to every fields and genres of films he has had chance to for decades. As well as TVC, his passion also broadened his career to, but not limited
to be a part of renowned documentary films (Clean Up the Mekong), music videos (BTS, Anymotion) and TV series.

Since he became the leader of the global team of Planit Production from 2017, handling all the international projects, international awards including NYF, LIA, CLIO, AD FEST, RED DOT recognized him with all the awards he got over the years.

His versatility and audacity allowed him to be one of the most reliable international producers who covers all different notable jobs from all over the fields, from all over the world.

Marco Perez is a Swiss-Italian-American film editor.
He was born in Rome, attended the “Rome Swiss School”, and majored in classical studies. After obtaining the national fellowship for film studies, Marco attended the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.

At the end of his studies, he moved to Milan and began working as a film editor. A move to Paris followed three years later. Marco now lives between Los Angeles and his hometown Rome. He edits all around the world.
Marco has edited for the world’s best commercial and feature film directors such as Wim Wenders, James Grey, Spike Lee, Craig Gillespie, Floria Sigismondi, Ellen Kuras, Wally Pfister, Michael Hausmann, Joel Schumacher, and many others.

Marco has edited award-winning narrative and documentary feature films and many award winning independent short films.
Marco’s credits as a feature film editor include:
“Edge of the world” starring Johnathan Rhys Meyers and directed by Michael Haussman
“A Beautiful Curse” the award-winning feature film debut of director Martin Garde Albigaard
“The Sounding” the award-winning feature film debut of director Catherine Eaton
“Uncertain” a documentary feature film, winner of the Albert Maysles Award at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Marco’s work has been featured in all the major film festivals: Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance, SxSW, Tribeca, and many others.
Marco won the “Best Film Editing” award at the 2021 River Run Film Festival and the “Best Editing” award at the 2022 Paris International Film Festival for his work on “A Beautiful Curse”.

Marco loves working with visual artists.
He edited “RPM” for Marco Brambilla, “Gravity” and “The Kiss” for Michael Haussman, and “La Ballerina Blu” for Mario Greco.

Marco balances editing with writing. He co-wrote the screenplay “Ferdinandea” with Luca Maroni and Suzanne Reyenke based on a Wu Ming’s story idea. “Ferdinandea” won the national prize from the Italian Ministry of Arts and Culture for best screenplay.
He’s currently developing two TV shows with his co-writer Giulia Steigerwalt for DDLC - Dino De Laurentis Company.

The short film “Cose che facciamo per Amore - Things we do for Love”, was Marco’s directorial debut.
It was highly commended by the jury at the 51st London Film Festival – TMC Classic Shorts.

Esko Rips is the founder and Executive Producer of Nafta Films — the largest production company in the Baltic states with offices in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Nafta is member of Global Production Network (GPN) and The Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP).

When Esko founded Nafta in 2001, little was known about the film industry in the Baltics, but thanks to his endless energy, today the company hosts countless productions from across the world — be they commercials, features or TV series.
Esko has produced and co-produced multiple feature films and TV series as well as countless award-winning short films and commercials.
On his initiative Nafta Films has started providing production grants for students of film art at the Baltic Film, Media and Arts School (BFM) to support young local talent.

Esko is also one of the founders and leading members of Tallinn Film Wonderland — an upcoming modern film industry hub which will be home to the biggest studio complex in the Baltic Sea.

Esko is a member of the Europe Film Academy, as well as the Estonian Film Industry Cluster and the European Producers Club.

Sara Samsøe is an Executive Producer and Head of Production at new—land Copenhagen. Her career in film began at 13 years old with an internship as a Best Boy, and she quickly fell in love with the industry, trying her hand at everything from casting, to camera-in-hand, to production.

She graduated from the European Film College in 2010 and, after a string of freelance production roles, spent four years as a Senior Producer at VICE Media, going on to join new—land in 2018.

Alongside her judging work for Cannes, she is also a member of New York Festivals’ Film Craft Awards Grand Jury.

Director Michelle Savill tells cinematic stories about the human condition, mining reality for moments both heartfelt and humorous.
Her deft treatment of story has led her to work with brands such as Sky, New World, Steinlager, Spark, Vodafone and Medibank. Michelle's debut feature 'Millie Lies Low' screened at this year's Berlinale and SXSW, and is scheduled for theatrical release in July.

Born in Tokyo.
After graduating from the London College of Communication and backpacking around Southeast Asian countries, Eri Sawatari has joined Qotorifilm inc, a film director collective in Japan.
Sawatari practiced her art in the field of commercial filmmaking at Qotorifilm. Later, she became an independent, freelance film director and has been directing commercials and music videos until present.

In recent years, she has been expanding her activities abroad, making contracts with British and French agencies since the establishment of the creative duo "SOJIRO&ERI".
She was awarded gold prizes in THE ONE SHOW and ADFEST, shortlisted in Cannes Lions, and also served as a judge at ADFEST in 2022.

Since her first encounter with stop motion in her childhood, seeing motionless puppets magically become animated, she has been captured by the playfulness of moving images which gives people excitement.

Sawatari's recent style shows more of her original taste by fusing different cultures such as those of Japan, London and Southeast Asian countries. She endeavors to create a work that gives the warmth of handcraft, a continuous focus since her college times. Her works express a pure yet dark sense of humour through unique, astonishing visuals.
With a passion for art since as a child, she is always willing to incorporate an artistic perspective in her works that brings a new value to life.

Scott Smith is an Executive Producer/Managing Partner at Radke Films, a Canadian commercial production company internationally recognized for its commitment to creative and outstanding production.
With a focus on developing talent, cultivating relationships, and the ompany’s overall creative output, Scott is known in the commercial community for bringing together the world’s top talent and creating impactful and inspiring work.

Formerly, the Head of Production at Radke, Scott’s creative relationships with directors and agencies naturally lead to the role of Director of Sales and Development. As Executive Producer/Managing Partner, Scott has been able to apply his production experience and creative insight to the Radke brand guiding the company creatively for the past 10 years.

Under Scott’s leadership, Radke has enjoyed long-running creative success resulting in recognition at the world’s top award shows including Cannes Lions, The One Show, LIAAs. As well as being named Production Company of the Year by the ADCC Scott’s passion for storytelling and his commitment to talent has made him a trusted creative partner for directors and agencies alike. And through his respect for the craft and process,

Scott continues to champion creative and facilitate the creation of iconic work.

Lyndy Stout edits and curates the online magazine and creative awards 1.4 which showcases the hottest international short-form filmmaking talent. In other lives, she edited shots magazine for over a decade, was deputy editor of creative review, and was also a travel writer.

Yoshi Suzuki was born in New Jersey and lived in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Los Angeles with his family.
After he graduated from his University in Tokyo he worked in numerous companies as a Creative Producer to expand his produce capability for the film production, advertising agency, e-commerce and the brand. You rarely see his variety of skills in a creative industry.

From the year of 2000 to 2014 he mainly produced global brands like Coca-Cola, Nissan,BMW, Sony for the global campaign. He is always proactive to the new technology in the film industry like the first 3D commercial spot for BMW AG and recently got in charge of virtual film production for the Japanese top music artist.
After he came back to AOI Pro. he worked as a managing director for a few years and now he’s working as an Executive Officer for the AOI Pro., global production department, direct client department and digital content creative team. Also he’s the board member of Directors Think Tank in Malaysia and the recently launched film production company Ampersand which is located in Santa Monica, Los Angeles.

Melody Sylvester entered the industry some 25 years ago now. Her track record has been outstanding and has covered agency producer at Mother, senior animation producer at Nexus and 10 years at Ridley Scott Associates as Executive Producer running animation, fashion, design and art projects.

Melody joined Engine as Head of Film in 2019. Currently leading a growing team of producers and editors in Engine Film, she has elevated the team to be a unified group of strong creative and strategic partners within the business and for their clients such as Sky, Santander, Warburtons, EON, Green Flag and Royal Navy.

Recently the agency has garnered a great deal of attention and awards for its work for Kiyan Prince Foundation, Born Free, Women’s Aid and Alzheimers Society. Melody is committed to making change through the craft and nurturing the talent of her team.

Her strong leadership shows a careful balance of sentiment and impact, always hitting the right cultural notes and striving for inclusivity and excellence behind and in front of the camera.
As a senior Black woman in the industry, as a role model, her mentorship extends beyond Engine to the wider community.

Philip Töpfer is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Bonaparte, a creative production house based in the heart of Berlin.

Philip started his career at a radio station in Vienna before switching to the in-house production unit of an agency. There he discovered a love for film and nurtured his talent for bringing people together to make them happen. Soon after, he enrolled at the Filmakademie, where he met director Nico Kreis. Their collaboration evolved and grew from strength to strength to become what it is now — an award-winning production company with cinematic storytelling at its core.

With an international and diverse team, Bonaparte is a community of open-minded, enthusiastic people with a passion for film and a thirst for adventure. Bonaparte’s philosophy is to continue the journey with exciting, fresh directors from all walks of life and push the limits of cinema further than ever before.

Mike Turoff is Head of Production at Passion Pictures, an Academy Award-winning independent animation production company based in London.

With Mike as Head of Production, the studio has produced iconic characters and campaigns including Aleksandr the Meerkat for Compare the Market as well as creating engaging and memorable stories for Nike, McDonalds, Erste Group, the BBC and many more.

Prior to Passion, Mike worked in animation and visual effects for multiple features at Jim Henson’s Creature shop and other studios. Going way back in time, Mike worked in New York on projects for MTV Animation, Curious Pictures, Broadcast Arts and Pan Productions.

Co-Owner of The Rudeboy Collective, director Mpho Twala has cemented a reputation for creating thoughtful emotionally authentic work. Mpho comes from a producer background and spent years honing his filmmaking craft in Belgium. These experiences, along with an innately perceptive eye and a love for collaboration, have laid the foundation for where he is right now. For over a decade he has partnered with some of the most distinguished agencies and brands on the continent creating socially and creatively conscious advertising. Amplifying African storytelling, Mpho brings a distinctive voice to commercial filmmaking, while exploring how blackness is envisaged, depicted and viewed. With a love for innovative cinematic work, he is always in search of what will best serve the
idea.

Patient, personable and passionate, he has a unique way of gently navigating his team towards the mercurial. A selfless mentor who is deeply committed to transformation in the local film industry, he is defined as much by his work as he is by his love for his family and his generous demeanour.

Wang Lu Ka is an independent producer based in Beijing, China. She holds an MFA degree in Creative Producing from Columbia University.

Her recent award-winning works such as “Hair Tie, Egg, Homework Books” and “Nights and Days in America” have been selected into Venice International Film Festival, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Cairo International Film Festival, and other 20+ festivals. Her commercial works have premiered at Paris Fashion Week.

Her works have been supported by Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum, Pingyao International Film Festival, China Golden Rooster Film Festival, FIRST International Film Festival. Her works have also been presented at ARGO and featured on Nowness, Fabrique du Cinéma, and other platforms.

In 2021, She founded Shylight Films, a production company that centers around developing and producing Chinese feature films and international shorts and commercials.

Gijs Determeijer, partner at HALAL, and the producer behind 2019's Special Jury Award winner ‘The Walking Fish’ (dir. Thessa Meijer) and winner of the YDA Producer’s Award 2019, joins the YDA as Jury President for 2021.

Gijs is a photography producer gone rogue, with a thirst for all things creative. He is one of four partners at HALAL, a bespoke film production company and photography agency. Together with Gijs Kerbosch, Roel Oude Nijhuis and Olivia Sophie van Leeuwen, Gijs set up the agency in 2005 with the aim to create an environment in which talent could work across documentaries, feature film, photography and commercial work.

Keenly seeking out new challenges with the aim to break borders and push the limits, Gijs’ out of the box mindset has steered HALAL from its infancy in the Netherlands to adulthood as a player on the international field (most recently awarded the Producer Award in Cannes). As Partner and Executive Producer, Gijs is always on the lookout for new collaborations. Passionately matching the company’s growing roster of diverse talent with next level brands, agencies and projects, he has overseen the production for global makers and shakers such as Nike, Swatch, ASOS, Patta, Samsung, Stella McCartney, adidas and Coca Cola, to mention some.

With a digital rolodex across five continents (growing faster than your Tinder matches), the networker extraordinaire has built a community of influencers and decision-makers which the company taps into in its global expansion. Driven by the spirit of collaboration, Gijs is devotedly on a mission to lay the foundations that facilitate work with true cultural impact.

Wuthisak is a spearhead film director in the Thai advertising industry. He is also founder of FACTORY01, production company which recently won the Spikes Palm. His solid years of experience as a creative in many front row agencies allowed him to make his work stunning and different as a film director. He owns many of the ‘first of its kind’ film formats in Southeast Asia. Some describe him as an innovative film director with mind of peculiar comic genius. His choices as a filmmaker can be expected to be crazy and ridiculous, but polite and hilarious.

We have seen so many of his works such as ‘THE SECRET’ and ‘THE BOX’ for Voiz Monde Nissin. Recently his ‘BFF’ for Central Department store won Grand Prix from Spike Asia. Wuthisak has scored Gold from Cannes Lions, and many more from D&AD, CLIO, One Show, etc.

Rey is a designer / ECD from El Paso, Texas living and working in Amsterdam at 72andSunny where he’s been for the past 9 years.

He’s played an instrumental role in building the creative and culture of 72andSunny and working across many genres of brands from Activision and Sonos during his tenure in LA and more recent global work for the likes of Google, Uber, AUDI, and IKEA in Amsterdam.

Rey wants to help build a more culturally inclusive voice, both through the agency’s culture and through their work.

Nik Beachman is a Producer and Executive Producer of acclaimed and award winning short films, feature films, commercials and digital screen content. Nik has a diverse background in the NZ Film industry. His first role was on ‘The Piano’ as a stand-in. Nik ran a NZ Film Commission short film fund that developed and funded a hat trick of three Cannes selected short films and three consecutive NZ Film Best short film Awards in addition to multiple international film festival selections and awards.

Nik then took his skills of talent development into commercials. Nik co-founded Thick as Thieves with director Alex Sutherland. Nik has been successful in developing and fostering the vibrant careers of many celebrated NZ directors; David Rittey, Sima Urale, Leo Woodhead, Zoe McIntosh, Michele Saville, Michael Duignan and THUNDERLIPS. In 2014 Zoe McIntosh’s spot ‘Demand Equal Pay’ won a coveted YDA award. In 2014 Nik was a finalist for the Producer Award at the Cannes Young Director Awards. Nik has also Executive Produced and co-produced two acclaimed NZ feature films, ‘Mahana’ and ‘Vermilion’

Nik’s work has been awarded and recognized locally and internationally at the Axis Awards in NZ, Award in Australia, Clio in the US, The Cannes Lions, and D&AD Award in London, and others.

Prudence is a co-founder and exec producer at Odelay Films.

She oversees the production of commercials, branded content and music videos, with budgets up to seven figures. She has worked on a Tim Burton Feature and has produced numerous short films that have showcased at BAFTA-accredited festivals, as well as a feature art film with Film London.

Prudence was selected as one of the Pitch 100 Superwomen in advertising, has mentored young women as part of the Women of the World (WOW) Festival and is a member of OWNED which promotes women in business. As an alumna of Goldsmiths University she often returns to talk about career progression post education and has mentored a number of ex students.

Prudence and the team at Odelay host a quarterly event ‘Odelay Presents’ to showcase directors’ short films on the big screen. Work screened here includes commissions from the BFI and Red Bull Media House.

The road to being the hardest working Executive Producer in the industry started in Simoné’s city of origin, Cape Town. With her BA in Film & Media from UCT, Simoné was to pave a way for the best ideas through her producing. Today, Simoné Bosman is the Founder & Executive Producer of the integrated production company, Osu Creative Productions.

Her passion for production and collaborating with talented creatives has been the instrumental vehicle for her growth. She has been a Senior TV Producer at leading Ad agencies from Saatchi & Saatchi Cape Town to MetroplitanRepublic, Ogilvy SA. She has produced work that has scooped a few birds, pencils and lions. During her years at agencies, Simoné has learnt a great deal about what makes great advertising. Having worked alongside top industry creatives, as well as on renowned brands, Simoné saw the need to become the conduit for new eyes and ideas, particularly in the talents of black film directors and photographers - thus opening the creative economy to be more inclusive.

Facing the realization that digital platforms are fast overhauling transitional media, Simoné believes that we need to have the very generation we are speaking to, be the creators of the content. Every frame and every second needs to be meticulously considered and creatively crafted.

Simoné had the honour to be part of the jury panel for various industry international awards shows such as The Loeries (2017), D&AD (2019), Ciclope (2019-2020) and Gerety (2020).

Alice is a Creative Director at Apple.

Before moving to California she was based in Berlin, where she told the story of Bertha Benz's pioneering journey, glitter-bombed an old casino for Sony Bravia, and created Wi-Fi sniffing dogs for T-Mobile. Most of the time, though, she was complaining about the weather.

Her work has been awarded at Cannes Lions, The One Show, LIA, Eurobest, ADC Europe, New York Festivals, The Webbys and with a Grand Prix at the Euro Effies. She has judged Cannes Lions, Ciclope, Eurobest and many other shows, and is a speaker at international events about marketing and creativity. Tired of being the only woman in the room, in 2015 she founded the Berlin chapter of SheSays, an organisation offering free networking events to women in the creative business.

She speaks four languages, all with weird accents.

Francesco Civita has a degree in Business and Marketing from Boston College (USA).
He is a partner, CEO and Producer of Iconoclast Brazil. For the past 18 years he has produced award winning advertising (Cannes Lions Gold Film Craft, Clio, Ciclope, D&AD, and others).

He is also a partner and producer of Prodigo Films, a prominent Brazilian production company that produces distinguished, relevant entertainment.

He has produced award winning films such as ‘Jules & Dolores’, which premiered at 2016s SXSW Film Festival in Austin winning the SxSW Audience Award.

He is the Producer of the successful NETLFLIX Original Series ‘’Cidade Invisível’’ (Invisible City) as well as two seasons of “Coisa Mais Linda” (Girls from Ipanema).

Anne-Marie is the founder and MD of Arrow Films and is one of Ireland’s leading commercials producers. She has a passion for producing successful, effective work that can connect with and persuade an audience.

Anne-Marie has deep roots in the industry in Ireland, having worked on hundreds of award-winning commercials with some of Ireland’s top directors.

Anne-Marie is the current Chairperson of the Commercial Producers Ireland and actively supports and mentors young talent through the Irish Emerging Director Awards.

Valentina Fronzoni is an Italian Executive Producer with an extensive International background, and founder of the BigMama, a production company based in Milan, Italy.

Born in Milan, she moved to London at a young age, where she graduated in Media Studies and went on to become involved in several projects for Mike Leigh’s London Film School while gaining junior experience at a number of London Production Companies (Blink, theBrave Film Company, Joy Films).

Moving back to Italy in 2001, she continued her professionalgrowth at FilmMaster, the most prestigious production company at the time.

In 2008 she co-founded the BigMama with the aim of creating an agile, cutting edge multimedia production company. The company, now 13 years old, produces campaigns for several clients and has a flair for producing jobs that are talent-based and creative-driven within the realm of the advertising world and content creation.

The BigMama’s work for both local and International Clients has won awards in Cannes Lions, Clio and ADCI.

Valentina currently lives in Milan with her husband GB and their two children.

Peter Grasse is an awarded producer who shaped the reputation of Asia-Pacific’s most dynamic production companies in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. For more than a decade Grasse has produced some of the world’s most talked about and awarded commercial campaigns. Having been ranked in the Top Three Production Companies of the Decade by BestAds, he continues to cultivate the Asia-Pacific region’s most inspiring new talent as Mr+Positive.

Peter began his career as a filmmaker in Auckland, NZ. Soon thereafter he launched new production offices in Sydney & Singapore to supply a growing demand for crafted commercial filmmaking worldwide. Under his leadership, Grasse’s team was awarded 3 Grands Prix, 3 Gold Lions, the Cannes Film Festival’s Semaine de la Critique Grand Prix for Stephen Kang’s Blue, as well as being name Ciclope’s Asia Pacific Production Company of the Year from 2013 to 2015.

Peter moved to Japan in 2016 in search of fresh thinking and new challenges. There Grasse soon produced work which would go on to win top advertising honours worldwide including awards at AICP, Kinsale, Straight 8, Ciclope and D&AD.

Grasse has chaired the film craft jury at Ciclope, Spikes, Australia’s Award and served on juries for Cannes Lions, Shots, Adforum, Adfest, Axis, and Adstars. Grasse has also led sessions on craft at advertising events around the globe. With ‘My Mutant Musical Mind’, Peter returned to Cannes as a speaker in 2017 after speaking on the ’Redefinition of Production Value’ at the 2016 Entertainment Lions. Grasse’s latest film, ‘Shoseph’, has been officially selected for film festivals in Berlin, London and New York.

Dimitri started his career by making a 52 minute documentary about traditional music in India, in Mongolia and Morocco. He was then drawn to fiction narratives and directed short films including « Fausticide » which was shortlisted at the Gerardmer film festival.
In 2009, Dimitri directed « 2012, the Apocalypse Conspiracy » for France 4, a 90 minutes mockumentary in which he explores and blends fiction with documentary. He turns this same theme into a book for Michel Lafon.

Since 2010, Dimitri focuses on documentary and video clips as well as Web Docs for MSN.

His latest documentary « The Era of Man », an exposé of the environmental crisis was awarded the gold Green Award at the Deauville film festival.

In 2017, he created GANG LIFE, a production company, which blends the depth of documentaries with the creativity of advertising.

Rory Hamilton is Chief Creative Officer and Founder at Boys + Girls - an independent agency who produce branded entertainment for ambitious brands. With 20 years experience in Advertising, Rory has won more than 100 creative awards and been a judge at D&AD, Cannes Lions, LIA, ADCE and is a board member and former President of ICAD.

Anna Hashmi is the Founder and Executive Producer of The Corner Shop, which opened in 2013. A south Londoner, Hashmi grew up in the industry in the UK where she graduated from Art College, and after a short affair as a radio playwright she discovered the world of commercial production, working as a PA for Tony Kaye.
Hashmi went on to produce award winning campaigns in the UK, Europe and US with a long list of talented directors and has over 25 years of experience. She now resides in Los Angeles where The Corner Shop USA office is based. 2021 sees the launch of The Corner Shop UK, helmed by partner and director, Sara Dunlop and Executive Producer Chia Tucker, where the company will continue promoting equality, diversity and championing important new voices, including emerging female talent such as Tamara Kotevska, the Oscar-nominated director of Honeyland, and MOMA photographer and filmmaker Diana Markosian.
The Corner Shop is perhaps more accurately an entertainment company, notably with award-winning relationships in TV commercials but also proactively developing their own content for alternative platforms. Current commissions include a Channel 4 Teen Content series to be written and directed by Sindha Agha and a global documentary limited TV series of curated stories from almost 50 countries around the world during the pandemic created with the legendary Ellen Kuras.
In 2018, first-time commercials director Malik Vitthal won best new commercial director at the YDA for P&G ‘The Talk’, making history by winning the Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix the next day, where The Corner Shop were ranked 3rd in the Palme D’Or for most awarded production company in 2018. The film was also awarded the Cultural Driver at the One Show, Addys best in Show and also received a Primetime commercial EMMY.
In her spare time, Hashmi likes to read directors’ treatments, say hello and goodbye on conference calls and dance. Sometimes altogether, as producers are of course multi-taskers.

Espen Horn is a merited Norwegian commercial, TV and film producer.

He was educated at the University of Stirling, Scotland where he graduated with a Bachelors with honours in Film and Media and a Bachelors in marketing. In 2002 he founded Motion Blur with his partners Harald Zwart, Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg and Veslemøy Ruud Zwart. Motion Blur became the most awarded commercial production company in Scandinavia in 2008. In 2013 he founded Motion Blur Films and sold 49% of the company to SF Studios.

Horn has produced six feature films, two TV shows, as well as over 1,000 commercials and numerous promos and short films. Among them Long Flat Balls and The 12th Man won The Amanda The Peoples Award in 2006 and 2018.

In the last couple of years, Espen Horn has produced the first Scandinavian Netflix film Kadaver, and is currently in post-production with a new Netflix Original TV show called Post Mortem and in pre-production for their next big upcoming Netflix film Troll which has its principal photography in August 2021.

Espen Horn has always been busy and active in the Norwegian commercial, TV and film industry
and is currently a member of various business boards, organisations and industry networks.

Daniel compiles shots and Source’s ground-breaking ‘Scout’ section, focussing on global unsigned directorial talent, and curates the monthly ‘Presents’ showcase.

Alongside that, He posts daily news on the site and conducts written interviews with directors, primarily focussing on feature-film, unsigned and music video. He has also sat as a judge on many advertising and film awards, including the UK MVAs, Young Director Awards, Porsche Awards, EPICA Awards, shots Awards, Berlin Commercial, Creative Circle Awards and Shiny Awards.

Daniel also manages all shots social media.

Florence Jacob is managing director of Caviar Paris and President of the APFP.

In parallel with a Masters in Business and International Trade at La Sorbonne, Florence Jacob began her career in Germany at Markenfilm before joining Gang Films in France.

After two years at EuropaCorp, she joined Bandits, then Wanda where she developed the brand’s international identity and created offices in Berlin, Hamburg and later Shanghai, where she worked as an executive producer.

In 2013, she joined Caviar Paris. Florence Jacob was named, President of the APFP (Alliance des Producteurs de Films Publicitaires / Vice-President of UPC (Union des producteurs cinéma) in November 2019, representing the French independent production industry in advertising and film.

Ellie began her career as an editor at Speade where she was mentored by critically acclaimed talents Sam Sneade and Leo Scott. There she developed her deep love of storytelling and creative collaboration which lead to long-running relationships with some of the strongest young talent in the UK.

Since joining tenthree in 2018 Ellie has won the top editing awards at the British Arrow, Creative Circle, UKMVA, and D&AD awards, was nominated for Shots editor of the year in 2019 and placed at number 5 in Televisual’s top ten editors 2020. She has built relationships with directors and production companies across the world, being represented by tenthree in Europe and Cartel in the US.

In 2020 Ellie became a partner at tenthree, which has afforded new opportunities to encourage and support new talent, and have a deeper impact on company culture. She is passionate about filmmaking being a tool for change, and champions underrepresented voices across the industry in both those she works with and the stories they tell.

Alexander Kalchev is the Chief Creative Officer of DDB Paris, where he oversees a variety of brands such as Volkswagen, Hennessy, Ubisoft, Uber, TAG Heuer, Amnesty International among others.

Born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria, he joined DDB Paris right after his graduation. In 2011 Alexander was profiled in Creativity’s “Creatives to Know” and in 2014 he was chosen as one of the ADC New York’s Young Guns 12 class. At just 29, he became the youngest Executive Creative Director in the history of the agency.

Since taking over the creative leadership of DDB Paris, the agency has been named twice in a row agency of the Year at the French ADC with Alexander becoming the only foreigner to win Creative Director of the Year twice in a row.

Alexander and his teams have won Cannes Lions, multiple Eurobest Grand Prix, D&AD Yellow Pencils, One Show Golds and trinkets from all other major advertising festivals. “The Centaur” for Honda - the first film he directed himself – was awarded a silver film lion in Cannes.

Alexander has sat on all major international juries, including the Cannes Lions and D&AD Film Juries.

He respects good, solid work that speaks for itself.

As a Producer of 10 years, Ismail had been developing film directors throughout his entire career and turned many young up-and-coming into big names in the Malaysian industry.

After winning numerous awards for his producing work with many film directors, including co-writing and producing the critically acclaimed feature film ‘Guang’, the longtime executive producer finally decided to strike it on his own and flex his creative chops in 2016 and start film directing.

In less than a year, his career catapulted with the release of ‘Rubber Boy’ a Petronas Chinese New Year film that earned him two silvers at Adfest, and a shortlist at the prestigious Cannes Lion.

His name in the industry around the region as a storyteller was sealed and enabled him to go on and direct over 15 Petronas festive short films, each more touching than the next, and each rooted deep in culture just the way multicultural Malaysia likes it. Today, brands and agencies not only come to him for his eye in directing, but his ability to write true to life dialogues in different languages and culture, most of all his ability in structuring stories for maximum emotional effect.

As the founder and partner of Reservoir Production Malaysia, Ismail acts as the creative head and continues to train new blood, curating all of the work and production that goes in and out.

Half Iranian, half British, born and raised in Austria, Dav is a BAFTA winning producer and partner at Pulse Films now based in Los Angeles.

In his time as President he has helped establish Pulse Films as a truly diverse, global next-generation film studio. This year they have been awarded PRODUCTION COMPANY OF THE YEAR by SHOTS Magazine, the ADC, One Show for Creativity and Campaign Magazine, With apple “Bounce” established as one of the most globally awarded commercials of 2020 and the more recent Nike “You Can’t stop sport” one of the most viewed/shared.

Pulse Films is a next generation studio that develops, creates and finances films irrespective of format or platform. A global home for directors, producers and writers shaping the future of visual storytelling.

Aside from the award winning Commercial output Pulse FILMS this year released the EMMY nominated BEASTIE BOYS STORY (directed by Spike Jonze), the feature film MOGUL MOWGLI starring Riz Ahmed as well as the now critically acclaimed SKY Atlantic TV Show GANGS OF LONDON which is now in production on its second Season.

YK Kim is the commercial film director and CEO at Space Monster Contents, based in South Korea.

He started his career in Los Angeles(USA) after graduating from Pasadena Art College of Design with a BA in Fine Arts in Film, then moved to Seoul to develop his strength in his hometown. With over two decades of experience across two countries, he has contributed over 500 pieces of commercials as a producer or a director. Many of his works has been awarded in major advertising festivals such as Clio Awards, New York Festivals, ADFEST and more, including Grand Prix at Clio Sports in 2017(Norface 'McMurdo Adventure' digital campaign).

Throughout this time, he has worked with a variety of brands worldwide both big and small. Some of these include: Coca-Cola, Reebok, Gillete, Canon, Infiniti, Hyundai, Intel, Samsung, LG and etc.

Nico Kreis is Managing Partner and co-founder of Bonaparte Films, an ambitious production house based in the heart of Berlin.
With cinematic storytelling at its core, Bonaparte believes that the art of filmmaking should not be bound by any particular duration or format.

Since kickstarting his journey into commercials at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Nico relentlessly followed his calling, constantly trying to evolve and break boundaries. Along the way, he has built a network of skilled and determined collaborators which led to the formation of Bonaparte Films.

With an international and diverse team from all over the globe, Bonaparte Films is a community of open-minded, enthusiastic people with a passion for film and a thirst for adventure. Our aim is to continue our journey with exciting, fresh directors from all walks of life to push the limits further than ever before.

As a long time supporter of YDA and proud winner in 2015, Nico has the honour of taking part in this year’s competition as a jury member.

Svenja Liebrecht is a Global Television Agent at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
Liebrecht is based in Berlin, Germany, where she represents many of the world’s leading producers, directors, and writers, including Warner, BTF, StickUp, Jan Martin Scharf & Arne Nolting (Barbarians - Netflix) and Neuesuper, and is a member of the global television team that put together such international hits as Black Mirror, Narcos, Selena, Tehran, Fauda, and War of the Worlds.

Liebrecht has 16 years of in-depth experience and expertise in the global entertainment industry. Previously, she served as an executive for several film production companies, overseeing creative and development, and working hand-in-hand with directors, filmmakers, artists, agencies, talent and international film production companies.

Liebrecht, who forayed into the U.S. market as an international representative in 2016, has also been credited with introducing new European talent into the U.S. television marketplace. She joined CAA in 2019.

Liebrecht graduated from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University with a degree in psychology and sociology.

She is in the “Circle Of Friends” of the German Producer’s Alliance.

Nkanyezi is an Executive Creative Director at King James in Cape Town.

His career began at TBWA Hunt Lascaris in 2002 as a junior writer. When he discovered that creativity has no cultural boundaries, he decided to take his talents to TBWA Hong Kong in 2007. And immediately got the once-in-a-life-time chance of working on adidas for the Beijing Olympics.

His work has been recognised multiple times at Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, Epicas, LIAs, New York Festivals and Webbys. In South Africa, he’s won countless Loeries and 2 Ad Of The Year awards consecutively, at the Creative Circle.

Nkanyezi has been a jury member at major festivals including:
One Show, Art Director’s Club, New York Festivals, Young Guns and Ad Stars in South Korea, where he was also a keynote speaker. In 2018, he was the Chair of Judges at the Perth Advertising and Design Club.

A champion for diversity in the creative field, he founded Blackboard, an initiative that aims to raise awareness for creativity as a career to high school students in disadvantaged communities. Blackboardcommunity.co.za

Kate Oppenheim is managing partner at m ss ng p eces, which she joined in 2010 to transform the company into a new wave production partner for the integrated age. In doing so, she’s become a sought-after industry leader, including being named to the AdAge 40 Under 40.

m ss ng p eces' mission to create work that inspires culture has led to heralded projects for the world’s leading brands and agencies, and accolades from the Emmy Awards, Cannes Lions, Andy Awards, ADC, One Show Awards, Clios and the Tribeca Film Festival, among others. By 2015, m ss ng p eces had catapulted to Creativity’s Production Company A-List and has been named to the list every year since. m ss ng p eces was named the Webby Awards Production Company of the Year in 2020.

Kate has been instrumental in building a diverse roster of live action and immersive talent. Under her leadership, m ss ng p eces has become a pioneer in new, non-linear storytelling platforms, and blossomed into a home for some of the most exciting directors in the world.

Kate has served on numerous awards juries and spoken at industry events including the Cannes Lions, and was previously a member of the AICP’s National Board of Directors.

I’ve been passionate about TV and Cinema since my early years. I started working in Television at Tele+ right after my master degree in Communication Science, while I was collaborating as assistant professor at the University and as freelance journalist for newspapers and radio stations.

I was part of Sky Italia’s startup and development and I collaborated at the creation of Planning&Promotion Hub, becoming Head of Marketing Production for Sky Italia editorial and adv communication.

I believe in teamworking and value networking, reason why I created, along with a “swat team” of friends and workmates, initiatives like the Sky Producers Community and the workshops for Audiovideo Production Master at Cattolica University of Milan.
In September 2020 I became Head of Creative Project Management of the brand new Italian Sky Creative Agency, the Sky Italia internal creative and production agency, who works cohesively with Sky and the Comcast Group.

I am the president of a cultural association that develops initiatives of networking and mentorship for the students of my district.

I live near Milan with my husband and my beloved 9 years old daughter, who became my special assistant during this lockdown period.

Argentinian collective PANTERA is an award-winning trio of filmmakers composed of Francisco Canton, Brian Kazez, and Pato Martinez. Their eclectic body of work ranges from music videos, short, and commercials, to branded content. Being a trio, they can take on a wide variety of projects, of different scales and types, always keeping a trademark style that has defined their work over the past years.

The trio premiered their first film at TIFF, BFI and Camerimage in 2020 and their commercial work has been awarded several times at festivals including Cannes Lions, One Show, and YDA, with their branded short Woza receiving a Bronze Lion for Film/Craft at Cannes Lions in 2017. They are signed with Anonymous Content in USA and UK, BWGTBLD in Germany, and SOLAB in France.

Pato, Brian and Frankie started working together around 6 years ago, first for bands and fashion brands and later in advertising, music videos and fiction/narrative projects. With background in graphic design, cinematography, music and still photography, they have a very “hands on” approach to production, from scripting and treating projects to editing and grading and thoroughly working on music.

Ulia Petrova is a co-founder and CEO of BLACKLIST MGMT established in 2019 once she left her job as a senior producer at BBDO Moscow. Prior to BBDO she was Head of TV at JWT (now Wunderman Thompson).

Over her 12 year career in advertising, and even a longer one in the film industry, she aspired to create something of her own to help young and local talent.

As the Russian market differs a lot from the European and American ones, Ulia made a great effort to build a boutique talent agency that supports and launches careers in all sorts of formats from music videos and commercials to TV series and features.

Her company is proud to now represent award-winning directors and cinematographers whose work has been mentioned by respectful editorials worldwide and who now work with advertising agencies, production companies all over the world and such giants as HBO and Netflix as well as many local companies.

Jens Pfau was born in Germany in 1978. He studied graphic design and computer science before he decided to do more conceptual work and attended the Miami ad School Europe programme.
After interning in London and New York he started his career as an art director at Jung von Matt Hamburg, where he – six years later – founded his own unit in 2011.

Today he is Executive Creative Director of the largest and central unit Jung von Matt/Next Alster and Partner of the Jung von Matt AG.

He worked on many national and international clients, including Vodafone, EDEKA, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Nintendo, IWC, DHL and Konzerthaus Dortmund.

Jens is member oft the Art Directors Club and teaches at Miami Ad School Hamburg.

He has won more than 200 international awards, including Grand Prix‘ in Cannes, Eurobest & ADCE, as well as golds and silvers at Cannes, One Show, D&AD, Eurobest, New York Festival, CLIO, LIAA, ADC and others.

Michael Ritchie is the Managing Director/ Co-owner of Revolver, an Australian based production company known for its commitment to producing memorable work.

Michael began his career in agencies, Head of Broadcast at Ogilvy in Sydney, then a more regional gig at DDB HK. From there he moved into production side and in 1999 saw his most successful collaboration when he joined and later became partner with Steve Rogers at Revolver.

He has been involved in international juries at every major advertising show including Cannes Lions, D&AD, LIA, Ciclope and has twice been chairman of the Craft Jury at AWARD Awards.

In 2018, Revolver/Will O’Rourke were awarded runner-up for the prestigious Palme d’Or at Cannes Lions, the first Australian production company to ever do so, in 2020 they were ranked third in the Spikes Palm.

On home soil, Revolver took home Production Company of The Year from both AWARD Award and Campaign Brief’s ‘The Work,’ in 2020.

Kazoo Sato started his professional career at Sony Music Entertainment as a music producer in 1997; later joining Leo Burnett Tokyo to lead creative works on various global brands.

In 2009, Kazoo joined TBWA\HAKUHODO and after four years as Executive Creative Director, Kazoo was named Chief Creative Officer, TBWA\HAKUHODO Japan.

Since joining the agency in 2009, Kazoo has helped TBWA\HAKUHODO secure awards across all major international award shows, including; Gold Cannes Lions; Clio Gold; D&AD Yellow Pencil and NY ADC Gold amongst many others.

Kazoo has also served on the jury of international and domestic awards shows across various categories including; Cannes Lions Film, Design, Digital and Activation. He was also awarded 'Creative of the Year' Medalist by the Japan Advertising Agencies Association in 2011 and Campaign Magazine Japan/Korea Creative of the Year in 2013. He has also played an essential role in the agency securing seven consecutive Campaign Creative Agency of the Year titles, more than any other Creative agency in Japan and recently winning ADFEST 2018 Agency of the Year, as well as Global ADC 98th Annual Awards 2019 Agency of the Year.

Kazoo's work has moved beyond the boundaries of advertising and he now also produces live music concerts and interactive events.

Philipp Schmalriede was born in Stuttgart in 1973. After studying in Aachen, he worked for several TV productions and TV stations in Germany.

Philipp first joined Cobblestone more than 20 years ago, working as an inhouse production manager for several years. After a short break working as freelance production manager and 1st AD for different production companies, he returned to Cobblestone as a producer in 2006.

Since 2010 he is partner/managing director and executive producer at Cobblestone.

Alisha Sharma is a young Creative Director at leading advertising agency, Leo Burnett.
Based in Mumbai, she has more than nine years of in-depth experience in the industry and has worked for some of the biggest networks.

Over the course of her career, Alisha has worked with some of the world’s most influential brands like Amazon, Lenovo, ITC and has also played a key role in launching and introducing the world’s biggest music streaming app, Spotify in India.

Alisha was born in Delhi, after changing 7 schools and 9 cities she stumbled into advertising at a young age of 19. Last year Alisha was included in Impact’s top 30 under 30 list for best talent in media, advertising and marketing. She has also been awarded ‘Changemaker’ of the year and the Adobe Young Lantern award in 2017.

Andrea Siqueira is executive creative director at BETC São Paulo, winner of Caboré 2019 as Best Creative of The Year, was one of the panelists at Cannes Festival in the same year and one of the judges at the 2018 Cannes Festival. In 2019, Andrea was also elected one of the 5 creatives of the year by PropMark and top 10 by Meio Mensagem.

Under her leadership, BETC São Paulo has stood out in the Rankings winning various New Business, and has been recognized at awards and festivals for such projects as The “9’58 Biography” and #eKingPele for PUMA, the #Hershe campaign for Hershey's, “Vanishing Stories” for Vanish and, more recently, the newly launched campaign for the Peugeot 208.

Before arriving at BETC, Andrea worked as a copywriter at DM9DDB, JWT, where she was promoted to Creative Director, AFRICA ZERO and digital agency Isobar (Dentsu Aegis Network).

Throughout her career, Andrea has won many local and international awards and has contributed as a jury member to major awards such as D&AD, One Show, Clio, Lisbon Awards, El Ojo, Wave Festival and Gerety Awards as jury and Ambassador.

Andrea has 2 children that wait for her to tell stories before bedtime.

Lyndy Stout edits and curates the online magazine and creative awards 1.4 which showcases the hottest international short-form filmmaking talent.
In other lives she edited shots magazine for over a decade, was deputy editor of Creative Review, and was also a travel writer.

Jing Wang is a Beijing-based film producer.
Her credits include Johnny Ma's To Live To Sing (Cannes 2019, Winner of Best Picture and Best Actress at Shanghai International Film Festival's Asian New Talent Awards); Pei-Ju Hsieh's Heavy Craving (Busan 2019, Winner of Best New Talent at Taipei Film Awards, FIPRESCI Prize at Golden Horse Awards) and Johnny Ma's Old Stone (Berlinale 2016, Winner of Best Canadian First Feature Film at Toronto International Film Festival, Best First Feature at Canadian Screen Awards). She is in post-production on Wen Shipei's debut feature Are You Lonesome Tonight?

Her projects were supported by Berlinale Co-Production Market, Berlinale Talents, La Biennale di Venezia's Biennale College, CineMart, Produire au Sud, SIFF Project, Golden Horse FPP and Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum.

She has received a M.F.A. in Creative Producing from Columbia University.

Karim Bartoletti is a multi-award winning producer with great international experience. Born in Switzerland, Karim grew up in Iran, Italy, and the USA, and now lives in Milan, Italy.

Karim is a Radio/TV/Film graduate of Northwestern University in Chicago, city in which he started his career in advertising. DDB/Chicago was his first stop after graduation working in the Budweiser, McDonald’s, Mobil Team.

Karim moved to Y&R in 1999, to become the youngest SVP/Head of Production in the US at the time. At Y&R/Chicago, Karim did award-winning work for brands such as Sears, Nascar and Miller Beer, helping turn the agency into a creative entity to recon with in the USA

In 2002 Karim moved back to Italy, to become a Partner of Filmmaster Production, on of the most solid production companies in Europe at the time. Times changed though, the business changed, so, in 2015, Karim left the company he had been partners of for 13 years, to become Partner/Executive Producer and MD of Advertising and Brand Content at INDIANA Production, a multi-media, multi-platform, Advertising, Film and TV creative production company with offices in Milan, Rome and Los Angeles.

Karim has won every award in the industry, has participated as a Juror in some of the best Award Shows in our business and is a regular lecturer, presentor, guest speaker in various schools, shows and events in Italy and abroad.

Karim is also an Elected Board Member of the ADCI – The Italian Art Director’s Club as well as Board Member of CPA – the Association of the Italian Advertising Production Companies.

He speaks 4 languages – of which 3 on a daily basis – and lives in Milan with his wife Mariana – who he married 20-years ago in 3 separate ceremonies in Chicago, Campinas(Brazil) and Washington DC – and his 2 kids, Yasmin and Leo.

Eve Ashwell came to the world of editing at the age of 18. Her editing career had a rapid trajectory and in 2010 she became a Partner at Cut+Run, becoming one of the youngest and most acclaimed editors in the industry.

In 2015 Eve joined The Assembly Rooms as a Company Owner and Editor. She has a pivotal role in the evolution of the London office and in the last 5 years both Eve’s and The Assembly Rooms’ profiles have expanded into the U.S. where Eve had already spent time working on campaigns for clients such as Wrigley’s, VW, Facebook, Coca Cola and Travellers.

Eve edits a wide variety of work, but is best known for her emotional storytelling. Her collaborations with directors Pete Riski, Daniel Kleinman, Charlie Crane, ThirtyTwo, Andy McLeod, DARYL and Stella Scott amongst others, have been recognized internationally with lovely shiny metal coming in from AICE, APA, Cannes Lions, BTA, D+AD and many others.

As a Senior Editor and Company Owner, Eve is passionate about the development and mentoring of assistants and young editors within The Assembly Rooms. Alongside her partners, the company is committed to providing equal opportunities for men and women – the 50/50 gender split within their company is testament to that.

Gijs Determeijer, partner at HALAL, the producer behind last year’s Special Jury Award winner ‘The Walking Fish’ (dir. Thessa Meijer) and winner of the YDA Producer’s Award 2019, joins the jury for YDA 2020.

Gijs is a photography producer gone rogue, with a thirst for all things creative. He is one of four partners at HALAL, a bespoke film production company and photography agency. Together with Gijs Kerbosch, Roel Oude Nijhuis and Olivia Sophie van Leeuwen, Gijs set up the agency in 2005 with the aim to create an environment in which talent could work across documentaries, feature film, photography and commercial work.

Keenly seeking out new challenges with the aim to break borders and push the limits, Gijs’ out of the box mindset has steered HALAL from its infancy in the Netherlands to adulthood as a player on the international field (most recently awarded the Producer Award in Cannes). As Partner and Executive Producer, Gijs is always on the lookout for new collaborations. Passionately matching the company’s growing roster of diverse talent with next level brands, agencies and projects, he has overseen the production for global makers and shakers such as Nike, Swatch, ASOS, Patta, Samsung, Stella McCartney, adidas and Coca Cola, to mention some.

With a digital rolodex across five continents (growing faster than your Tinder matches), the networker extraordinaire has built a community of influencers and decision-makers which the company taps into in its global expansion. Driven by the spirit of collaboration, Gijs is devotedly on a mission to lay the foundations that facilitate work with true cultural impact.

Jo Marie has been hiphopping around in the German communication business for 15 years.

After a decade of learning from the best, she decided to make it even better and opened up Überground, "A HOLISTIC IDEA COLLECTIVE MAKING HIGH CLASS COMMUNICATION PROJECTS REAL" in 2015.

From scratch and without clients to kick-off with she and her team managed to come up with some of the most renowned campaigns in Europe, e. g. the well-known international campaign for famous fitness brand Freeletics.

In Christmas 2016 the team rocked the market with the 1000degree #SANTACLARA Campaign for Europe’s biggest discounter Lidl which replaced Santa Claus, entered all main European charts and was celebrated as the best and most shared XMAS Viral 2016.

One year later Jo Marie’s foundation Überground was honoured with the Dare Greatly Award from Cadillac Europe and the title Rookie Agency of the year.

Recently the team invented a new worldwide lottery-product called Thankyou Million für Tipp24, wowed the audience with "Own the experience. Not the car." for AUDI and launched the campaign "Break the rules of fashion" for REBELLE.

In Germany they say "Wirbelwind" and thats how she leads her team of übercreatives and manages the whole enterprise: FOR the idea and FOR the people.

Being herself a mother of a 2-year-old called Parker, she is always up for solutions to not only make perfect work but also to live a life.

Maybe because of this, her übercrew consists of the perfect 50/50 balance of women and men, and eventually a nanny that looks after the kids that are around from time to time.

The last 24 months were defined by a fat campaign production for LIDL international called #kidsgone – a mini movie starring 40 kids from around the world with a message for grown-ups to stop messing things up, what they normally do at Christmas time, a massive campaign concerning sustainability issues, the launch of a new car selling platform involving a Ninja defeating walrus, a lot of Snapchat filters and a very funny 2020 Start-Campaign for LIDL.

Jo is a member of the German Art Director’s Club and was a teacher at Miami Ad School for 5 years. She is a trusted “Kapitän” and responsible for the Curriculum at Texterschmiede, the most awarded german copywriter’s school.

Jo’s career has seen her based in London, New York, Sydney and her home town Melbourne.

4 years in London saw her work with some of the most iconic companies and creatives including @radicalmedia and RSA Films and with BAFTA award winning director Declan Lowney, and her time in New York saw her produce for Oscar nominated director Bennett Miller at Hungryman, as well as helping to establish Droga5 where Jo was ‘Number 4’.

Recognised as Australia’s best Creative Producer at the B&T Women in Media Awards, Jo has worked with some of the biggest names and projects in the entertainment and advertising industries worldwide, including, rock stars, politicians, and the current President of the USA. (As I am sure you can imagine there is an interesting story behind that project!)

Jo makes up one of the team behind 50 Shades of No, the only work from Australia ever to be shortlisted for a Glass Lion; an entirely pro bono initiative launched on IWD 2018. And in 2019 she guided 15 year old director Charlotte McLaverty to direct a compelling piece which garnered national acclaim and was supported with music by Billie Eilish. Known as a producer who can make anything happen, with a deft eye for spotting and nurturing talent, Jo solely owns and operates her award winning production company OTTO , founded in 2009.

Jo has been invited to judge D&AD, The Young Ones for The One Show, Spikes Asia, Ciclope Europe and Latino and AWARD Australia.

Her credits include films which have screened at MIFF, Toronto, Palm Springs and Cannes Festivals.

Laura is founder and CEO of the global award-winning content and music video company Great Guns Global. Founded in London, she now spends more time in other parts of the world, tending and building new offices.

Her recent awards include; three Cannes Lions, Webbys, D&ADs, LIA's, APA Top 50, SHOTS, Epica, Sharks, Spikes, Clios, LIA, Sharks, One Show, Ciclope and Berlin MV Awards. Over the last 2 years Great Guns won the Epica Production Company of the Year and LIA Europe Production Company of the Year and was nominated by Shots as 2019 Production Company of the Year.

Laura has served on multiple juries. She was president of Cannes Lions Film Craft Jury 2016, foreman of D&AD next director and juror D&AD black pencil 2016, One show in 2018, speaker at the LIA Creative LIAsons ‘Journey to the Jury’ 2017. Her 2019 jury appointments included President of Euro Awards and in 2020 she is a juror on the Immortals and the 2020 YDA, Young Directors Award. Laura considers winning a YDA one of the most important awards a new director could receive. The names of directors who have won a YDA at the start of their career includes many of the most coveted directors in our industry today.

When it comes to mentoring, that has always been a huge part of Laura’s legacy. She has tirelessly helped young talent find their way, either through the early days of Young Guns at Great Guns, or though the courses and panels she speaks on with one voice. “If you don’t support young talent you will lose future creative thinkers who will force change and leave you in their wake”. She was juror on the first USA AICP-CDDP Diversity Awards 2017 and juror on the first Cannes 2017 Vowss, SheSays/ The Voice of a Woman Award. Laura continues to support young, diverse talent to establish themselves in film and advertising.

Laura was a D&AD board trustee and member of The Bigger Bounce committee which to date has raised over £2.5 million for Breast Cancer Now. She has produced four independent movies and prime-time television drama and is a firm supporter of #freethework.
Laura is a fully-licenced landlady and has her own pub, the Great Guns Social. The pub offers pop-up residencies to exciting young chefs mirroring the spirit of Great Guns.

Morten has 20 years of experience in the Danish Production Industry. Since 2004 Morten has been an independent Executive Producer leading his own production houses Far From Hollywood and since 2014 Circus Alphaville. Circus Alphaville is a creative production hub representing some of the most promising talent within directing in Denmark and Scandinavia - not just in the commercial arena but within fictional, documentaries and artistic projects. Morten co-owns Circus Alphaville with two of the most well esteemed Danish directors, Christoffer Boe and Jonas Arnby.

His career has allowed him to work for the biggest brands and companies both in Denmark and internationally i.e. Coca-Cola, Danfoss, Toyota, Opel, Skoda, Peugeot, Maersk, Nestlé, Carlsberg, Arla etc. and let him to shoot in +20 countries around the world.

Morten has always been driven by discovering new ways and new talent. Especially helping directors to make the cross over from other genres such as fictional films, documentaries and TV and in to the commercial and corporate production industry to introduce fresh blood and alternative perspectives of the creative process. His main objectives within production has always been to create and shape the perfect space for the talent to express him- or herself.

Morten is not only engaged in the commercial industry but through Circus Alphaville he is also involved in anything from arthouse feature films, artistic projects, web-documentaries and lately also mainstream TV-series.

Daniel compiles shots and Source’s ground-breaking ‘Scout’ section, focussing on global unsigned directorial talent, and curates the monthly ‘Presents’ showcase.

Alongside that, Daniel posts daily news on the site and conducts written interviews with directors, primarily focussing on feature-film, unsigned directors and music video. He has also sat as a judge on many advertising and film awards, including the UK MVAs, Young Director Awards, EPICA Awards, shots Awards and Shiny Awards.

Born in Paris, Young-wook (Wookie) has spent an extensive period of time living aboard while growing up.

Before directing, Young-wook began his career at HS Ad one of the top renown ad agencies in Korea. He started as a Copywriter working on accounts for Nike, LG, Mercedes-Benz, and Korean Air. During that time he helped the agency garner several awards at the Cannes Lions and New York Festivals. He also represented the Korean Creative Team during the Young Lions Competition in Cannes back in 2002. The campaign he produced for Korean Air’s “Mongolia” campaign won the Grand Prix at the Korean Broadcasting Advertisng Awards back in 2007.

Since working as a Director at MassMessAge, one of the top production companies in Korea, Young-wook has shot several campaigns for clients such as Samsung, Hyundai, LG, McDonald's, Korean Air, and Finnair. He has also ventured into directing short films where his first short "One Shot," was officially selected and screened at the International Kurzfilmwoche Regensburg in Germany, the San Diego Asian Film Festival in the U.S., and I Filmmaker International Film Festival in Marbella Spain. His second short film "Seoul Tour" won Best Short at the Roma Cinema DOC festival in Italy. His work on ‘East and West Side Story,’ the branded content short film presented by Finnair/Finavia, has been selected as Ad Forum’s No.1 campaign. His recent short film “Scent,” which is still on its festival run, has officially been selected for the Silk Road International Film Festvial in Ireland, Boston Sci -Fi Film Festival, and has went on to garner awards for Best Cinematography and Grand Jury at Seoul’s prestigious Chungmuro Short Film Festival.

Young-wook is currently preparing to shoot his first feature-length film.

After studying in Berlin, Andrea moved to Prague and got into production, eventually starting up her own company there.

Once back in Berlin she worked as a freelance producer, shooting all over the planet. And, 20 years ago, she joined BIGFISH, becoming Managing Partner. In 2018 Andrea founded Zauberberg Productions.

Central to the company’s identity & mission is its group of experienced, fun producers AND a treasure box of the most highly-awarded national and international directors working today in both Germany & around the world.

Andrea has produced many award-winning commercials, amongst them: a Golden Cannes Lion (and 20 other diverse lions), One Show, D&AD Pencil, British Arrow, Grand Prix at the ADC Germany...

Aside from the Masters Degree in Slavic Literature, which, for reasons unknown, happened along the way, Andrea loves humour, stories and film – ideally in combination.

Rebecca Skinner is a Founder and Managing Director of Superprime Films. Skinner began her career in production working for RSA Films, before joining HSI Productions. There, she launched HSI’s music video division, Mars Media, and played an essential role in transforming the company into a world-renowned producer of music videos.

She has worked with numerous award-winning directors and recording artists including Beyoncé, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, Madonna, Taylor Swift and Pharrell Williams. She played an integral part in David LaChapelle’s transition from photographer to moving image director and was an Executive Producer on his long-form documentary RIZE. Now partnered with Michelle Ross at Superprime, Skinner leads this new venture at the forefront of an ever-changing industry, working with acclaimed directors including Damien Chazelle, Yorgos Lanthimos and Terrence Malick.

Having most recently worked with Chazelle on a short film, which will be released later this year. Her long list of clients includes brands such as Adidas, Apple, Google, Louis Vuitton, Nike and Under Armour. Skinner executive produced a VR project directed by Terrence Malick, which debuted at SXSW & Tribeca Film Festival in 2018. She was the Film Craft Jury President at Cannes Lions 2019. Skinner is currently developing a feature film starring movement artists Jon Boogz & Lil Buck.

Gabriel Stavenhagen is the Mexico City based founder and managing director of Cineburo.

Never afraid to embrace the unexpected, Cineburo is a creative studio for the creatively ambitious. Since the company's inception in 2017, he's been developing enthusiastic and talented young directors within the bold identity of Cineburo.

He continues to nurture talent and create groundbreaking work while leading the way for socially conscious production in Mexico.

Multilingual and multicultural, after a degree at the Economic Sciences University in Italy, Andrea worked as a contemporary art critic and as a DJ. In 1989 he began his career in advertising where he worked in the Italian, British and French markets.

Andrea worked for Canard Advertising and BDDP in Italy before being made Deputy ECD of JWT Milan in 1999.

In 2002 Andrea moved to JWT London as Global Creative Director for Unilever.

In 2004 he moved to JWT Paris as VP and ECD, where under his leadership JWT became the second most awarded French agency at Cannes in 2006.

In 2007 Andrea joined Grey Paris as Co-President and Chief Creative Officer. In 2009 Grey Paris became the most awarded French agency in Cannes.

In June 2010, he launches the Paris based 100% independent agency HEREZIE that today counts 100 employees and more than 30 clients.

HEREZIE has won over 200 international awards in film, digital, press, poster and integrated campaigns including Gold at Cannes, Andy, One Show, Epica, LIIA, Grand Prix at New York Festival, Eurobest….it's the most awarded independent Agency in France.

Andrea has been on the jury of all the major Advertising Festivals as Cannes Lions, Clio, LIAA, NYF, Eurobest, One Show and all the most important French festivals.

He lives in Paris with his wife and his 2 daughters.

Lyndy Stout edits and curates the online magazine and creative awards 1.4 which showcases the hottest international short-form filmmaking talent. In other lives she edited shots magazine for over a decade, was deputy editor of Creative Review, and was also a travel writer.

Advertising works led by David have won many awards at London International Awards, One Show Taiwan Times Gold Award, IAI International Advertising Award, China Content Marketing Awards, ROI Festival Award and other awards for marketing contents.

Leading the team for to create more than one thousand marketing video contents of different kinds, including TVC, micro movies and viral videos for P&G, Tencent, Huawei, Netease, oppo, vivo, Alibaba. He has accumulated ample experiences at diversified positions from creativity to director and producer. Now Dotwell has grown into one of the best video creation companies, supporting various top-class clients in successful marketing.

He has also hosted the creation of a large number of documentaries, among which Zhu De, a six-episode TV documentary, was on air at CCTV.
Industrial Tourism in Germany, a 9-episode documentary of the 365 Chinese Stories project was on air at CCTV. In addition, David had a large number of film and television advertisements, micro movies and other projects with extensive influence.

David is a senior film, television and advertising lecturer at Shenzhen University, and on the final review jury of IAI International Advertising Award.

Lisa Mehling is an Emmy award-winning Executive Producer and Owner of independent production company Chelsea Pictures. Chelsea, a creative content company with production offices in New York and Los Angeles, has cultivated a unique and diverse culture of producers and filmmakers who have become leaders across broadcast, digital, film, branded entertainment and print.

Lisa and Chelsea are proud to have launched the commercial careers of directors David Gordon Green, Lauren Greenfield, Alex Gibney, Jack Cole, and Nadav Kander. And their list of celebrated work includes the paradigm shifting campaigns for Always #LikeAGirl directed by Lauren Greenfield for Leo Burnett, which, has amassed 200+ million views, 4 billion impressions, over 200 awards, including 14 Cannes Lions and the Emmy for Outstanding Commercial. “Listen” the chilling Cannes winning Super Bowl spot for NFL directed by Nadav Kander which won a Silver Lions at Cannes. Multi-Award winning “Halftime in America” featuring Clint Eastwood, directed by David Gordon Green for Wieden & Kennedy, Audi “The Heist” for McKinney & Silver and most recently the Gold Lion and D&AD winning Christie’s “The Last da Vinci” for Droga5 as well as “Answering The Call” for Verizon and McCann, winner of four Lions.

Lisa’s love for and commitment to the art and business of filmmaking is reflected in her deep pride in Chelsea’s critical and commercial success and a growing list of Directors whose work has been showcased in International Advertising Award Shows and Film Festivals from Sundance, Venice, Toronto and Berlin to Cannes. Lisa was an Executive Producer on Lauren Greenfield’s breakaway hit documentary The Queen of Versailles and is also an Executive Producer on Lauren’s forthcoming film Fantasy Island slated for a 2018 release. Lisa served as the Chairperson of the 2017 AICP Show at the Museum of Modern Art and is currently Vice Chairman of the AICP (Association of Commercial Producers) National Board. And while she doesn’t believe in ending bios philosophizing about her philosophy, Lisa will, when pressed, admit to being a true believer in the power of seamlessly merging art and commerce, partnership and leadership, talent management and client service. Lisa lives in New York’s East Village with her husband and two children.

Karim Bartoletti is a multi-award winning producer with great international experience. Born in Switzerland, Karim grew up in Iran, Italy, and the USA, and now lives in Milan, Italy.

Karim is a Radio/TV/Film graduate of Northwestern University in Chicago, city in which he started his career in advertising. DDB/Chicago was his first stop after graduation working in the Budweiser, McDonald’s, Mobil Team.

Karim moved to Y&R in 1999, to become the youngest SVP/Head of Production in the US at the time. At Y&R/Chicago, Karim did award-winning work for brands such as Sears, Nascar and Miller Beer, helping turn the agency into a creative entity to recon with in the USA

In 2002 Karim moved back to Italy, to become a Partner of Filmmaster Production, on of the most solid production companies in Europe at the time. Times changed though, the business changed, so, in 2015, Karim left the company he had been partners of for 13 years, to become Partner/Executive Producer and MD of Advertising and Brand Content at INDIANA Production, a multi-media, multi-platform, Advertising, Film and TV creative production company with offices in Milan, Rome and Los Angeles.

Karim has won every award in the industry, has participated as a Juror in some of the best Award Shows in our business and is a regular lecturer, presentor, guest speaker in various schools, shows and events in Italy and abroad.

Karim is also an Elected Board Member of the ADCI – The Italian Art Director’s Club as well as Board Member of CPA – the Association of the Italian Advertising Production Companies.

He speaks 4 languages – of which 3 on a daily basis – and lives in Milan with his wife Mariana – who he married 20-years ago in 3 separate ceremonies in Chicago, Campinas(Brazil) and Washington DC – and his 2 kids, Yasmin and Leo.

Rebecca Bourke is the Founder and Executive Producer of Assembly, an award winning Irish production company which represents directors, photographers, illustrators and composers.

In 2016 she was named Producer of the Year at the YDA at Cannes.

In 2017 she produced Wave, a short film which had its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival. It has since screened at over 70 film festivals worldwide, winning awards at 20 of them including Best Live Action Short Film at The Irish Film and Television Awards in 2018.

Rebecca is a member of the Commercial Producers of Ireland and is one of the main organisers of the Emerging Directors Awards Ireland.

Samuel Cantor, acclaimed producer at Scandinavian production company Bacon, found his way to the industry through his background in music and talent management.

As a DJ and event maker during his high school years and start 20’s, Samuel became a familiar face in the Copenhagen culture and nightlife scene. His sense of creative management quickly brought him affiliation with various artists and labels across Denmark and Europe.

Samuel's interest for the creative and his background in the music industry led him to start producing music videos, and later into filmmaking and advertising. After working with various production houses for a few years he joined Bacon in 2014 as a producer.

Even though Samuel keeps busy working with directors like Andreas Nilsson, Martin De Thurah or Martin Werner, he always strives to focus on spotting new talent or cultural trends. This has added great value to Bacon over the last years, contributing to defining and re-strengthening Bacons roster and strategic orientation.

Despite his relatively young age, Samuel has established himself as one of the most sought out producers in Denmark because of his endless commitment to delivering work that stands out. With an eye for strong ideas, Samuel pushes the boundaries to create distinctive results, no matter the size of the given project.

Adrian D’Amario is the Managing Partner of LANDIA, a global Production Company and Ad Age’s Standout production company in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Adrian, graduated with a Business Administration Degree, starts his career in 1994 in The Coca Cola Company as Brand Manager of Sprite. In 1998 he moves to Philip Morris as a Marketing Manager.

During this period his first company is born, a BTL Agency, later acquired in 2003 by McCann Erickson group.

That same year his career as a Producer starts, and he founds his first advertising and content production company, which becomes part of the Havas group in 2008. His work helps him specialize in contents and TV formats.

After leaving Havas, he resumes his independent career as an Executive Producer, founding Ursula production house in Buenos Aires and San Paulo. During those years his work is awarded in Cannes, New York and Clio Festivals and in the main Latin American and Argentinian festivals.

In 2013 he joins Landia as Managing Partner and works as EP and Head of Content and New Business, taking Landia’s offices in Buenos Aires, Brazil, Mexico City, Spain and LA to a new level.

As an Executive Producer Adrián has collaborated and led global acclaimed projects of Brands such as The Coca Cola Company, Renault, Movistar, Unilever, and is proud to have accompanied the growth and recognition of many Artists, Directors and Producers. He is a firm believer in consistency, challenging oneself and in the constant search of new planets to always improve our beloved industry.

This January 2019 he launched within Landia, The Movement, an emerging talent platform and division focused on Music Videos, Short Films, Digital Content and other Original Media formats.

Born in East Germany in a city named after Karl Marx a career working in advertising wasn’t the obvious choice.
After graduating in Media Management and a short excursion into the documentary world commercials have been the main focus ever since.
Since 2011 he is co-running TPf, one of Germany’s leading production companies.
Michael is a Ph. D. student at the Babes Bolyai University in Cluj, Romania. He is also supporting, with TPf, the new founded production studies at Hamburg Media School.

Corey oversees production in New Zealand and Australia, as Managing Director and Executive Producer at FINCH.
Corey began his career at Australia's iconic agency Publicis Mojo, eventually running production for the Publicis Mojo group across Australia and New Zealand.
In 2010 he joined Fallon Minneapolis as the Head of Integrated Production.
Returning to the APAC region in 2013, Corey headed up EXIT films as Managing Director and Executive Producer.
In 2015 Corey joined FINCH, since then, FINCH has gone on to win awards at every major show and has been awarded numerous Production Company of the year titles in the region. Most recently he was EP of the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Good winning “Project Revoice”.
Corey has judged Film Craft at the Cannes Lions, AICP, AWARD, Axis and was Jury President of Craft at Adfest in 2017.

Tara Ford is the Executive Creative Director at DDB, Sydney and Board Member of the Communications Council Australia.

She has worked at some of the most creative agencies around the world. Her experience ranges from cars, banks and politics to fashion, alcohol and gaming, and everything in between. Brands include PlayStation, Nike, McDonalds, Virgin, Absolut, ANZ Bank and VW to name a few.

Her work has been consistently recognised throughout her career, at every major international award show, on a range of clients and disciplines. This includes her GAYTM campaign for ANZ Bank which won a Cannes Grand Prix (amongst others) and was also named the ‘Best Direct campaign in the World for 2014’ by the Big Won and #1 ‘Best of Print/Outdoor/Design for 2014’ by Creativity-online.com

Tara has also judged and chaired many award shows including Cannes, D&AD, Clios, Spikes, APAC Effies, New York Festivals, AWARD Award (Aus), AXIS (NZ), Adfest (Asia), AADC (Aus), Women in Media Awards (Aus), AdNews (Aus) and the Creative Circle (UK).

She has been an active mentor to young creative talent through the Cannes 'See It Be It' and young Lions Program, RMIT student program, Miami Ad School and AWARD School.
And she was a panelist at the inaugural 3% Conference Australasia.

In between this, Tara her raises her four boys.

Leanne Fremar is the Chief Brand Officer for JPMorgan Chase. She leads brand strategy across Chase, J.P. Morgan, and JPMorgan Chase. Her responsibilities cover consumer insights, branding, creative, advertising, content, video, and employer brand across the firm. She manages Chase's internal agency Inner Circle and leads our relationships with the company's external creative agencies.
Leanne joined JPMorgan Chase in September 2018 from Starbucks where she was its executive creative director for two years, leading global brand initiatives and creative campaigns. Before Starbucks, she was the executive creative director at Under Armour women's business, and the architect of the company's award-winning "I Will What I Want" campaign. Leanne has won many awards and has held leadership roles with other luxury fashion brands including Theory, Gucci, and Polo Ralph Lauren.
She has deep experience in social impact marketing and also in retail sales and store branding.

AWARDS:
Cannes Lions Grand Prix - 2015
U.N Women – Breaking Gender Stereotypes Award - 2015
Advertising Age Marketer of the Year – 2014
Women’s Leadership Award Honoree - 2014

Lebanese-native Laura was born in Canada and spent much of her childhood between Beirut and Halifax, before moving yo Asia in her early twenties.

Laura’s multilingual and multicultural assets have propelled her as a successful producer on different countries, languages and cultures. Fluent in English, French, Arabic, Mandarin and Spanish, Laura has worked all over Asia both as a freelance producer and as Sweetshop’s Executive Producer and now Managing Director. A seasoned producer with experience across all types of media , Laura has been the lead on projects as diverse as art installations, photoshoots, commercials and feature films.

In 2017, she opened the company’s office in Shanghai in response to the market’s growing need for content produced to an international standard, by a company with an intimate understanding of local brands and agencies. Laura now manages Sweetshop Bangkok and Sweetshop Shanghai.

Soizic Gelbard started her career as a business lawyer before joining Studiocanal’s international production department in 2009. She moved to Brazil in 2011 where she was managing international coproductions at Bossa Nova Films after consulting for Investimage that handles most the important investment funds in the Brazilian audiovisual industry. In 2015 she became head of Studio+ productions for Latin America and delivered 2 series nominated at the international Emmy Awards. Back to Paris in 2017, she was appointed special advisor for international content at Vivendi before joining the producer’s team at Gaumont TV.

Marco Giannelli (a.k.a. Pernil) started his career as a copywriter at Ogilvy Brasil after which he worked at agencies such as Giovanni/FCB, Euro RSCG and Lew’Lara TBWA, with just over a year of work experience in Portugal.

He has been at AlmapBBDO for more than 10 years: starting out as a copywriter, then 6 further years as a Creative Director before more recently being promoted to Executive Creative Director.

Pernil’s resume has a total of 68 Cannes Lions, as well as dozens of awards from the Clios, the One Show, D&AD, the Effie Awards, etc.

In 2015 he was the 7th-most awarded Creative Director in the world in the Cannes ranking, rising to 2nd place in 2016, where he remained in 2017.

Pernil also helped AlmapBBDO become Agency of the Year at Cannes on three separate occasions: in 2010, 2011, and 2016.

Over the course of his career, he’s worked for global clients including Audi, Bayer, Fiat, Gatorade, Getty Images, Gillette, Honda, HP, Mars (Petcare and Food), Nike, Pepsi, Samsung, Visa, and Volkswagen, as well as major Brazilian clients such as Bradesco Seguros, O Boticário, Gol Linhas Aéreas, and Havaianas.

Daniel Huntley is the News Editor/Social Media Manager at shots. He compiles shots and Source’s ground-breaking ‘Scout’ section, showcasing global unsigned directorial talent.
Alongside that he curates the monthly ‘Presents’ showcase, posts the daily news and conducts written interviews with directors, primarily focussing on feature-film, unsigned and music video. He has also sat as a judge on many advertising and film awards, including the UK MVAs shots awards and Shiny Awards.

After a 25 year career in producing commercials, short films and music videos, Rikke Katborg has produced her first feature film, A Beautiful Curse directed by fellow Dane Martin Garde Abildgaard. Rikke was MD at Bullet in Copenhagen – exec producing for the likes of Kasper Wedendahl, Martin Werner & Jonas Arnby – before becoming a partner at the renowned Les Producers production company in Paris. She later co-founded Superette also in Paris – one of the first hybrid creative production companies as well as a boutique art gallery before returning with her family back to Copenhagen.
Her latest venture producing A Beautiful Curse is a co-production between Les Producers and Circus Alphaville in Copenhagen where Rikke also produces.

Nick Klinkert is an Art Director and Creative Director originally from Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Since landing in the U.S. Nick has had the good fortune to oversee and help to create award winning campaigns for iconic brands including the NBA, Hennessy, Johnnie Walker, HBO and Levi’s while holding senior creative positions at some of the most respected creative agencies in the world such as BBH, Goodby Silverstein & Partners and most recently, Droga5 in NY.

Mzilikazi "Mzi" Kumalo is a well respected commercials director within the South African Commercials industry. Best known for his profound of way delivering memorable character performances coupled with a strong aesthetic eye that he inherited from his late father, Alf Kumalo, who was one of South Africa's legendary Photographers.

Mzi is a vibrant, positive and energetic being, who has an appetite for new cultures and global trends. This is translated through his work that is culturally relevant and engaging. He continues to surprise audiences with a refreshed outtake of his creative work. He has a keen interest in telling authentic stories and showing the unspoken dynamic in human relations, Mzi says “the subtleties we exchange speak volumes. That’s partly why I enjoy being a director, there is so much involved in our communication as human beings and its great that one gets to craft and curate that for screen, be it through advertising or telling stories’.

As co-owner and Creative Partner at Osu & Kumalo Creative Production, he has found his groove and looks forward to being more instrumental in the change the industry needs.

Allison Kunzman is Executive Producer at international production company SMUGGLER whose work spans television commercials, feature and short films, TV series, Documentaries, VR immersive media, fine arts branded installations, as well as Theater. Smuggler has become well known throughout the community and the world for a clear focus on storytelling and for collaborating with first-class talent to create impactful and acclaimed work. At its core, the work she has produced champions storytelling and creativity with passion, precision, integrity, and excellence and regardless of medium or platform.

During her tenure at Smuggler since their inception, SMUGGLER has twice taken home the coveted Cannes Lions Palme d’Or as well as the Cannes Lions Grand Prix, AICP Awards, Tony’s, Olivier’s, the Emmy, the Grammy and D&AD Pencils. SMUGGLER has also been recognized as Production Company of the Year several times by the Clio Awards, British Arrows, and Creativity Magazine.

With well over a decade and a half of production experience all over the globe, SMUGGLER has become a trusted brand for many of the world’s largest corporate clients and a beacon to the best writing and directing talent in the business.

Katie Lambert is the Global Head of Music Videos and Stink Rising at Stink Films. Stink Films is an award-winning and creatively-driven production company with offices in LA, New York, Sao Paulo, London, Berlin, Moscow, Prague, Beijing and Shanghai. It is home to a diverse international community of filmmakers.

Katie has been working in music videos since 2010, and has EP’d and produced over 120 music videos, recognised across the MVAs, Kinsale, Creative Circle, and the VMAs but to name a few. She has created a name for herself in recognising and developing exceptional new talent.

Katie spearheaded the opening of Stink’s first new talent roster; ‘Stink Rising’. Stink Rising goes beyond music videos, including talent across shorts, content, commercials and photography. Since its launch last year, Stink Rising has been working actively in these fields and has opened offices in Paris, Prague and Berlin alongside LA and London.

Liao graduated from the elite Beijing Academy of Film, major in Film Arts Direction. After a film he art directed won an awards at the Venice Film Festival, he devoted himself to the production of Chinese film and television commercials and directed for 15 years. He was honoured as one of the top 30 Chinese advertising film directors. He has participated in the shooting of international films and TV commercials for many times and has won in severalinternational film awards.

Liao established the TPSS Production Company in 1999 with office in Beijing and Shanghai. He also went further to study at the Southen California Academy of Film and the New York Academy of Film, leading the company to become a first-class TV advertising production company in China.

Liao has served as a film craft jury for the ADFEST and London Advertising Festival.

He is now engaged in film, Internet and other content production field!

An English Literature graduate, Ted joined Dentsu as Chief Creative Officer, South-East Asia in 2013 after an illustrious career at DDB and a stint at Leo Burnett. Elevated to Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu Asia-Pacific in 2015, he now works with 26 offices across 15 countries from China to Australia.

A creative strategist, Ted believes “we are in the business formerly known as advertising” and marketing in the digital economy requires a creative strategy that is more relevant and personalised to make the human connection necessary for business transaction.

He repositioned Dentsu Asia-Pacific as an “Innovative Business Solutions” network beyond advertising that produces non-traditional work in the mobile, digital and social space. Different and better ideas that make a difference, work that moves people and business, from engagement to transaction.

His first integrated digital/social campaign for Toyota Asia-Pacific ‘Wakudoki’ garnered over 10 million views on Facebook and YouTube to rejuvenate an aging brand. TIME magazine wrote, “This Toyota ad is utterly insane – and wonderful” and deemed it, “The most delightful two minutes of your day.”

Creative luminaries like Andy Greenaway, Merlee Jayme, Santosh Padhi and Rob Belgiovane joined him and helped Dentsu win a slew of new business across the region including Coca-Cola, Sprite, Zespri, Prudential, Unilever, Adidas, Qantas, Uniqlo, Toyota and Yamaha.

The work his team produced – ‘Project Revoice’ for ALS Association in Australia, ‘Dead Whale’ for Greenpeace in the Philippines, ‘Odds’ for Adidas in India, ‘Single Belief’ for Glenlivet in Taiwan, ‘Clean Light Hand Soap’ for Zantiss in Thailand, ‘Air Pollution Discount’ for Kobayashi in China, ‘No Detail Too Small’ for Singapore Airlines and ‘Instazoom’ for Canon in Singapore – got global attention. Grand Prixs at the Cannes Lions, AdFest, Spikes Asia and AdStars, accolades at D&AD, One Show, Clio, London International Awards and the Facebook Award for Innovation. Dentsu was crowned Campaign Brief Asia’s Most Creative Network 2017 and 2018, and AdFest Network Of The Year 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Ted pushed the envelope to further differentiate Dentsu Asia-Pacific from traditional advertising networks. He took the concept of a strategic support unit from Dentsu Tokyo, remodelled it into a specialised business solutions network by mothers for mothers and launched MamaLab Asia-Pacific. BBC took notice of the massive potential of marketing to the “mom economy” and featured MamaLab on World News. MamaLab has since won projects from Nestle, Wyeth and Johnson & Johnson.

Ted spends an inordinate amount of time on people and product development. This includes a yearly Innovators Conference in Bangkok, a Young Innovators Workshop in Tokyo, digital immersion with Google, Facebook, Amazon and Snapchat in Palo Alto and Best Of Month creative reviews. In 2018, he spent four months in Beijing to help transform the structure, system, people and culture of Dentsu’s biggest office outside of Japan. His emails to the network typically end with two words, “Keep pushing!”

On top of the work he is paid to do, Ted served as Jury President at the Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia and the Asia-Pacific Advertising Festival (AdFest). He judged D&AD, Clio Awards, New York Festivals, London International Awards, the APAC Effies, sits with the AdFest Collective and on the New York Festival Advisory Board. An engaging speaker, Ted spoke at the World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, the P&G Asia Brand Managers College in Singapore, CreativeFest in the Philippines and gave postgraduate Integrated Marketing Communications students from the Northwestern University of Chicago a session on Innovative Business Solutions.

Former DDB Worldwide Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Bob Scarpelli has this to say, “Not only is Ted an outstanding creative person and inspiring leader, he is just an outstanding person. He’s the kind of person you’d want to work with. In the words of Bill Bernbach, he’s ‘talented and nice,’ the best combination to be. The work he has done and inspired at DDB was always among the best in Asia-Pacific and in our network. The people who have worked with him have learned, grown and soared under his nurturing style of leadership.”

On Dentsu’s consistent success since Ted joined the network, Dentsu Aegis Network Global Chairman and CEO, Tim Andree said, “This sustained excellence has many contributors but I want you to know that I know it would never have happened without you.”

Gabriel Mattar has been working in advertising for more than 17 years. Originally from Brazil he moved to Germany for the good weather and great sense of humor.

He has worked in Europe, Asia, North and South America. With over 300 industry awards, his Math Teacher from the 5th grade is now sure, that advertising welcomes anyone.

Managing Partner and founder of Hungry Man Brazil, an International production company with sister offices in Los Angeles, New York, London. In Brazil, it has offices in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, its flagship office for the country. The first international production company in Brazil, opening its doors since 2005, it has become one of the leading production companies in both advertising films and entertainment properties in various formats.

It has structured itself with development & production division for entertainment, having developed feature films, tv episodic series, factual and documentaries. Just recently has been nominated for an International EMMY for its 5-part series “Words In Series” in the Arts Programming category.

In Advertising, the Brazilian offices have garnered over 40 Cannes Lions in various formats from Films to Promo & Activations stretching its creative approach to storytelling.

Marco Monteiro, the Creative Director at FCB Brasil since 2017, is an award-winning and renowned advertising professional, having already won 25 Lions at the Cannes Festival. With a career spanning 20 years and a background in Art Direction, he came from TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles, where he worked as an Associate Creative Director for three and a half years on accounts like Nissan, Airbnb, The Grammys and Gatorade.
In Brazil, he worked at F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, AlmapBBDO and Loducca over a period of more than ten years. He was a member of the creative teams that won the Agency of the Year award at Cannes for F/Nazca in 2001 and AlmapBBDO in 2008.
He has garnered the most important national and international awards, such as Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, Profissionais do Ano and Clube de Criação. In 2001, Marco was the sole gold winner in the print category at the Young Lions Brasil.

Born and raised in Beirut, Jessy Moussallem wrote and directed a music video for pop band Mashrou' Leila in 2017 - a film that included one hundred cast members in an ode to the strength and grace of Arab women. The film trended &s number one on YouTube, was nominated at the UKMVA and the Cannes Glass Lions, won gold at the Young Director Award and was showcased at the Riddley Scott conference as one of the most inspiring films in 2017. In 2018, Moussallem continued using her native Lebanon playing as the backdrop in a study of heroics and masculinity for French DJ Agoriaʼs song Embrace and & 15 minute short film on the communities that cultivate the countryʼs infamous red hashish for Damian Lazarusʼ album Heart of sky. This determined young directorʼs work is characterised by the raw humanity of her subjects and the mastery of her visions, rich with emotion and & nuanced insistance on freedom.

Emmie is an award winning creative, most notably winning the first ever Mobile Grand Pix in Cannes for Google's Project Re: Brief and honored last year at the 3% conference as a top female in the industry.

Emmie has worked across a wide array of clients and industries most recently at Droga5 working on The New York Times, Pier One, Chase, Diet Coke, Quilted Northern and Google. After almost 4 years at Droga5, she accepted a job as Creative Director of Brand and Agency at Beautiful Destinations this past October. At BD Emmie is responsible to help oversee all creative from the agency and brand, working for clients that include Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Brand USA, Egypt, Dubai, Palau, and Beautiful Destinations itself. Her focus now is on nation branding, content creation, and implementing work that has a positive impact on the world. Working with BD's inhouse content creators Emmie has also been tasked with fostering the talent of these young directors and shooters. Guiding them to become better storytellers and push their shooting styles in order to create impactful work across all platforms. When not working you can find Emmie on a plane going to visit friends and to see far off locations.

Julien Pasquier, 43, was the owner and founder of Cosa Production for 13 years until July 2012.
In September 2011, he’s been asked to become President of APFP, the Association of Publicity Films Producers, which he is still in charge of. He is at the head of all the operations that have been done for the French market. He is still in charge of the office today, and recruits new members every year. Julien is also member of the European Producer union, the CFP-E and member of the World Producer Summit.
The two co-founders of Iconoclast have recruited him in 2012 to run Standard films Production company. He made the company grow through years since then, at an exponential rate. He left the Iconoclast group in January 2018 for new challenges in the advertising business.
The Standard team has developed talents like Louis De Caunes, Rob Chiu, and many others. Julien Pasquier leaded numerous award-winning campaigns, lauded at Cannes Lions, Young Director Award, Yellow pencil at D&AD, London international award…

Adina Sales is founder of Blacklist, a division of Psyop bringing studios with distinctive and artful voices in design-led storytelling from around the world to US commercial market. Since its first inception in 2006, Blacklist has been both home and incubator to these specialized artists, helping them gain exposure in the US by supporting them throughout the production process. Blacklist's work has been nominated for an Emmy, a Visual Effects Society Award, Sundance accolades, and many Advertising industry award prizes including permanent placement in the Museum of Modern Art archives.

In 2018, Sales’ role expanded to the entire Psyop family of talent. Now, as the current co-Managing Director, Sales’ focus is on helping the larger company pivot and problem-solve in an ever-evolving marketplace. She has taken Blacklist and Psyop's combined legacies of strong agency connections, client relationships, and network of global creative resources and has translated that into a creatively collaborative and multi-disciplinary production company whose work blurs the lines of advertising and entertainment.

Sales started her career exploring the documentary world which led to an unexpected offer in Advertising. With a passion for photography, writing, art creation, and international travel, a career path was cemented. Sales spent 11 years within Advertising Agencies as a Producer and Executive Producer before switching to production. She hasn’t looked back since.

Adina lives in Brooklyn with her beloved children, husband, and dog.

Driven by passion for film, art and culture, Ana leads Story: Production Company based in Barcelona, Mexico City and Lisbon.

A company that’s always on the lookout for up and coming talent in its three markets whilst always aiming for excellence in craft and execution to cater for the ever evolving industry.

Ana strongly believes in empowering and developing women in the industry, especially female Directors and DoPs. She has helped many young people grow because equality and fairness have always been her key values.

Ana’s story started when she was very young working at her father’s production company in Mexico City. At the age of 18 she went to study film in Paris and then moved to London looking for an international work experience.

In 2001 she moved to Barcelona to co-found The Lift with the help of investors (NSF & Stillking). The company started working with TOP international names like TRAKTOR, Steve Ayson and Andreas Nilsson, amongst others.

In 2012, The Lift in Spain changed its name to Story:

Later, in 2013, Story: merged with La Fabrica Films in Mexico City, to create Story: Mexico. In mid 2015, Story opened its Lisbon office.

During this exiting journey, she has produced award winning work and has created innovative artistic projects, events, short films, fashion films and is now exploring new angles of the business.

In 2018, Story produced two series which will be aired in 2019 and is now developing more content for TV for the Spanish, Mexican and Latin American markets.

Lyndy Stout edits and curates the online magazine and creative awards 1.4 which showcases the hottest international short-form filmmaking talent. In other lives she edited shots magazine for over a decade, was deputy editor of Creative Review, and was also a travel writer.

Born and bred in Brisbane, Australia. Bart started out in the music industry, working for Warner Music across sales, PR and design. He also managed a metal band called Sakkuth on the side. He moved to London in 1999 and secured his first role in advertising as a runner at WCRS, then quickly moved up to production assistant then agency producer. In 2002 he became a producer at Blink, one of London’s top production companies.

In 2005 he founded Blinkink, their dedicated animation division. Over the years he’s helped develop Blink into the multi-faceted creative studio that we are today, with the inception of Blink Art in 2009 and Blink Industries, our long-form entertainment arm, in 2015.

Personal highlights along the way include last year’s BBC Christmas film “The Supporting Act”, this year’s embroidered BBC World Cup trailer, last year’s “Great British Bake Off” trailer for Channel 4, Harvey Nichols’ Grand Prix winning “Shoplifters”, John Lewis’ animated classic “The Bear & The Hare”, their cult web-series “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared” and for the last year they've produced all of the Gorillaz' music videos with Jamie Hewlett.

Ali Brown is Partner/Executive Producer of PRETTYBIRD, a production company devoted to pushing creative and brand opportunities across all distribution outlets. With offices in Los Angeles and London, PRETTYBIRD is home to a diverse roster of filmmakers, creatives, and collaborators producing entertainment that is creatively led and platform agnostic.

Brown began her career in the commercial and music video industry before moving over to feature films where she served as Director of Creative Affairs at Spirit Dance, a production company helmed by veteran director/actor/producer Forest Whitaker. Upon her return to advertising, she helped build the PRETTYBIRD roster and reputation, expanding its reach across commercials, short films, features, web series, and music videos. PRETTYBIRD’s work has been recognized worldwide, including by the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the One Show, the Clio Awards, the London International Awards, D&AD, British Arrows, the AICP Awards, as well as being named Creativity Magazine’s Top Production Company of the Year for 2015.

Brown has been able to combine her background in long and short form, leading PRETTYBIRD’s foray into the narrative realm. She has produced several films under the PRETTYBIRD banner, including the Daniels’ award-winning Sundance New Frontier film Possibilia; Showtime’s The Drew: No Excuse Just Produce directed by Baron Davis, and feature film The Trust, written and directed by PRETTYBIRD duo Brewer.

Through the keen creative eye of Brown, PRETTYBIRD has quickly grown its roster with a reputation for building talent and being a collaborative creative community that welcomes filmmakers from all disciplines and projects of all formats.

Ali served two terms as AICP/West President and has been a mentor for Project Involve, AdCan, and Women in Film. She also partnered with Sapient Nitro to curate the diversity-oriented panel Make Some Room at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Ali Ali is an acclaimed director from Cairo, Egypt and former Executive Creative Director
and founder of the independent agency Elephant. He is one of the region’s most soughtafter
directors, and was recently named by the Gunn Report as one of the ten most
awarded Directors in the world today.

With over six Cannes Lions under his belt, as well as the coveted yellow pencil for direction
at last years D&AD awards. His other Cannes Lions include a Silver Lion for Panda
Cheese in 2010. With more than 90 million views, “Never Say No to Panda” was named
one of the most watched TV spots of all time by The Guardian.

He initially earned a degree in computer science from the American University in Cairo.
However, preferring storyboards to motherboards, he quickly abandoned a programming
career to study Art Direction and Graphic Design in Miami. His first job was in
2003 as an Art Director with D’Arcy Bucharest. Over the next few years he built an impressive
career as creative director for some of the world’s top agencies – Leo Burnett,
JWT and McCann Erickson – before topping it off as ECD of DDB Berlin.

In 2010, he founded Elephant with his creative partner Maged Nasser, with the two-man
shop quickly becoming the region’s most awarded agency. In 2011 it was named one of
the three most exciting new agencies in the world by the Cannes Lions Festival.

Despite the agency’s success, Ali quit the ad world to focus on his directing career fulltime
in 2012. Born in Egypt and raised all over the world, his work has an attentiveness
to local realities as well as an international sensibility. He is currently repped by Sonny
in London, Anorak in Germany and Carnibird in France.

He spends his time between Cairo and Athens.

Managing Partner and Creative co-founder of AIRBAG, Adrian Bosich is equal parts dreamer and doer. After graduating from RMIT with a computer degree, and a successful early career at Deloitte Consulting, Adrian followed his passion for filmmaking and graduated from film at The Victorian College of the Arts, where his debut short film won at The Palm Springs International Short Film Festival. He has spent twelve years as a commercials director, where he quickly established himself internationally.

With a passion to combine technology and storytelling, Adrian co-founded modern production company, AIRBAG, a collaborative creative hub consisting of filmmakers, visual effects artists, idea generators, live experience curators and technology evangelists. They have established a reputation as the go-to team for engaging film work and innovative brand experiences.

AIRBAG’s work has won metal around the world, including Grand Prix at Cannes Lions and D&AD, and took out the accolade for London International Award’s 2017 Global Production Company of the Year. Wins at international festivals include Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, London International Awards, Spikes Asia, Adfest, AWARD and New York Festivals. Campaigns span ‘Meet Graham’ for TAC, ‘Made Possible by Melbourne’ for University of Melbourne, Marriage Equality ‘For every Bachelor and Bachelorette’, ‘Phubbing’ for Macquarie Dictionary, ‘Impossible Orchestra’ – Care Aware, and Melbourne International Film Festival’s ‘Emotional Trailers’.

With over 30 years experience in the South African commercials industry, Janette De Villiers is considered one of the top producers and a prominent industry figure, regularly serving on various discussion panels and juries. Having produced for and collaborated with various award winning South African directors, and servicing some of the world’s most renowned international directors with top international production companies, Janette has an exceptional background in the film and advertising world.

Janette opened Groundglass in 2001 as a director focused production company but soon expanded the business to include service production work. More recently she launched another division of the company, “inc.creative”, which specializes in online content development and non-traditional forms of advertising – including mentoring and nurturing young creative talent. The digital age has created new platforms from which advertisers can engage with their target markets, and Janette is at the forefront of bringing this type of advertising to local and international clients. With strong views on social responsibility and the necessity to create a sustainable advertising industry, Janette is tireless in her endeavour to uncover and develop new talent.

Rafael started his advertising career in London in 2004. He worked for 2 years at Grey London as an art director, and later freelanced in various agencies. In 2008, Rafael was called to join the Ogilvy Brazil team in São Paulo, this time as a copywriter. He had a crucial role in the agency’s creative transformation that led up to its Agency of the Year win in Cannes 2013. He also won several awards including Cannes Lions in Film, and was lead creative for the Coca-Cola 2016 Olympics campaign, among other global campaigns.

In 2016 Rafael took the role of Creative VP at DAVID São Paulo and has been there ever since, working with clients such as Burger King, Coca-Cola and Nestle.

Rudi Haller started his career in the early eighties with an apprenticeship as a film technician at Schwarz Filmtechnik AG in Berne. After this he subsequently worked his way up from assistant to the position of a producer at Condor Films in Zurich.
Since 1992, as the founder and executive producer of the company Solid & Hallerfilm Ltd.

Rudi Haller has successfully produced numerous commercials around the world.
As a result of his commitment to the branch, Rudi Haller is, since 2006, board member
of the Swissfilm Association and Vice President of the CFP-E (Commercial Producers of Europe).

Hanna Maria Heidrich first burst onto the directing scene in 2010 with her environmental campaign “We miss you”, which took the internet by storm. Her intense focus on human nature is underscored by her tightly-structured narratives and visually fascinating images. She loves storytelling and is constantely searching for that magical or humurous film moment. Often touching on the surreal, her grasp of narrative, coupled with a genuine affinity with actors, has led to films of cinematic style, clever editing and an individual handwriting.

Hanna Maria graduated from the renowned German Film Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg and did an in-depth, one-year-course focusing on directing actors at Central Saint Martins College in London. She also received a scholarship for an intensive training program at UCLA in Los Angeles.

Since then she has received more than 40 awards for her commercials and is working internationally.

Judy Hill is Executive Producer at Nexus Studios, the multi award-winning film, animation and interactive studio based in London and LA.

Responsible for new business and marketing for all regions outside of the US, Judy works closely with co-founders Chris O’Reilly and Charlotte Bavasso in connecting some of the world’s most forward thinking agencies and brands to the talent and teams who can tell their stories.

At Nexus Studios and throughout her career, Judy has nurtured the careers of some of the most talented Directors in the world including Daniel Kleinman, Dom & Nic, Smith & Foulkes, Scott Lyon and James Rouse.

Judy has judged creative work at some of the industry’s most prestigious awards events including British Arrows, Ciclope, Shots and Creative Circle and Adcan and her opinion and insight is sought after by industry press including Campaign, Shots, David Reviews and LBBonline.

Working closely with industry bodies including the Advertising Producers Association (APA), the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), the Advertising Association and the Department for International Trade (DIT), Judy works to represent the UK commercials/creative industry overseas.

Nexus Studios’ work includes an Oscar nominated short, Grammy nominated and MTV Award winning music videos, multiple Cannes Grand Prix and Cannes YDA winners, Gold Lions and Black D&AD pencil winning commercials and D&AD white pencil, Lovie and Webby winning digital and immersive experiences. Prior to joining Nexus Studios, Judy held senior leadership roles at leading production companies Outsider and Spectre – both holders of multiple Cannes Grand Prix wins, British Arrows Production Company of the Year awards plus too many other accolades to list here.

Mette Jermiin, Managing Director & Executive Producer at Bacon, started her career in the advertising business as an agency producer. Her creative passion for the storytelling craft later introduced her to the production business where she worked as a producer for several years before joining Bacon CPH and becoming an EP.

Mette´s passion for intriguing narratives has made her one of the most awarded Danish producers and she has produced ground-breaking and internationally awarded work which has given Bacon both a Palm D´Or, Eurobest Grand Prix, Epica Grand Prix and a black Pencil at D&AD for being the most awarded production company of the year 2014.

Her relentless energy and determination has resulted in a career producing everything from smaller projects to large scale ones but always with one focus – there has to be a good idea before you can create something that is beautifully crafted and emotionally capturing.

Luli Krämer is the Managing Director and Executive Producer of Agosto Buenos Aires. She started her career in the Advertising Industry as an Agency Producer at Del Campo Nazca Saatchi and Saatchi and from that moment onwards she has been privileged to work with the most influential creative leaders of the region for local and global clients such as Mondelez, P&G, Renault, Unilever, Nike and Pepsi amongst others.

Chosen by Nacho Gayan to launch Agosto in Latin America, from its opening in 2012, she has produced some of the most memorable campaigns of Argentina achieving recognition from prestigious Festivals in the world, such as the Almost Identical campaign for Beldent, awarded with 8 Cannes Lions. Her latest project was a short Film for Fox Premium, ¨Who¨, that was produced in three different countries over the course of one year.

Her neverending passion, professionalism and love for storytelling – mixed with a huge dose of Argentinian and Catalan upbringing- has taken Luli Krämer to inspire other young female leaders in the industry, creating funny, elegant and fresh campaigns.

Born and graduated in Hong Kong with a Communication Degree, Jimmy has been working with international and mainland Chinese ad agencies, rising through the ranks from Copywriter to Executive Creative Director, Chairman and CCO. In between he took four years sabbatical to get his fix as TV commercial film director.

Jimmy was the first Hong Kong native to judge the Cannes Film Lions in 1994. Two years on the role, he was jury president of China Great Wall Advertising Creative Festival. In 2015, Jimmy was invited to be Direct Lions jury. In 2016, he was Jury President of the Brand Entertainment & Brand Content categories Crystal International Business in 2015.

He joined LEO Digital Network as Chief Creative Officer on 2016.

Heather has been running Missing Link Films since co-founding the company with her husband Ben Link in June 2016. They started the company in order to uncover and support diverse new talent in the arts, and their roster of rising stars is a testament to this. Her outlook comes from hopping around the world as a child, moving constantly around US, Canada and the UK.
Luckily her chosen career allows for this love of travel to continue.
A passion for storytelling, people and culture is at the heart of everything she does.

Heather started her marketing career at CNN, working there for 6 years before moving to HSBC where she ran global campaigns for 10 years. She was part of the team responsible for building the brand through advertising, including the infamous airport jetbridge campaigns and many award-winning TV commercials.
Her final project before leaving the bank was to run one of the biggest agency pitches in advertising history. It was through all of these experiences that she found her true calling in production and is thrilled to work with some of the most talented directors in the industry.

After two years as a designer in New York, Bettina began her career as an Art Director at Springer & Jacoby, Hamburg in 1990.

In 1992, she went to Jung von Matt, helping to make it one of the best creative agencies in Germany, before rejoining Springer & Jacoby in 2000. As an Executive Creative Director there, she was responsible for prestigious clients such as Coca Cola, Mercedes Benz, Miele, DWS and McKinsey & Company, producing TV, print and interactive campaigns. 2007 Bettina decided to change to the client side and joined Apple, Cupertino to work with them on the iPhone launch for Germany.

2009 she returned to Germany and worked as ECD for TBWA\ Hamburg on accounts like Häagen Dasz, NIVEA, Hansaplast and Merck, before joining THJNK (formerly KemperTrautmann) as a Creative Partner in 2010. There she was responsible for clients like IKEA, Deutsche Bahn, Filmfest Hamburg, Mumm/ Geldermann, Commerzbank, Henkel/Schwarzkopf, Spiegel and Vaillant among others.

In March 2018, she joined Geometry Global Hamburg as CCO.
Bettina enjoys travel and taking pictures and has been one of the First LOMO Ambassadeurs in Germany. She curated various exhibitions of Lomo Photograpy and has been on the jury of the Körber Stiftung-Foto-Award for young photography twice.

During her career, Bettina has won numerous awards including Cannes Gold, Clio, OneShow, Epica, Eurobest, D&AD, ADC of Europe and German ADC Awards. She is a member of the ADC Germany and has been invited to judge the ADC New York, the One Show New York, D&AD and the Clio Awards as well as the Kancil Awards, Malaysia. She teaches Conceptional Thinking at the Miami Ad School, the Muthesius Kunsthochschule in Kiel and has been lecturing at the One Show China Workshop in Beijing.

Petra Ondřejková, a founder and executive producer in Amazing Production, introduced numerous directors into the both Czech and international ad world.

In 2007 she left Bistro Films, a production company she had founded and run for 5 years, and moved to NYC where she focused on developing her voice through photography & documentary.

In 2013 she returned to Prague and became a managing director at the Prague office of the international production company Caviar.

In 2016 Petra founded Amazing Production, a company she’s currently extending into a creative studio.

Timo grew up between Germany and Japan.
In his early 20s, he decided Tokyo was where he wanted to be. Timo cut his teeth at the small Japanese production firm Ame before moving to Creative Hybrid, a production company aimed at bringing the best of east and west together in Tokyo.

After Hybrid, Timo took a position at Japan’s largest production company, Tohokushinsha. He was the company’s international producer.
Trilingual in Japanese, English and German, Timo handled any project with an international element.

In 2012, Timo joined Cutters and helped open the company’s Tokyo studio changing and influencing the Post-production landscape in Japan. Timo is greatly responsible for the deep influence and grand reputation the company has garnered on the Japanese market. And in 2018 he opened a new company named Connection (Production&Post) and is trying to change the landscape in the industry again.

Timo is no-nonsense. He tells it how it is and believes open, honest communication to be the key to effective commercial filmmaking. Timo is a problem-solver. He approaches challenges with giddy delight, seeing problems as opportunities. He understands that there are many answers to a problem, and that it is his job to deliver the best one.

Guilherme Passos began his career in marketing at companies such as Parmalat and Reckitt Benckiser.
After a few years developing advertising strategies, he decided to give in to his greater passion and began producing and crafting films at all the major Brazilian production houses. He also worked as a broadcast producer at CW/Mccann producing campaigns for the whole Latin America region, and later as head of broadcast production at Wieden + Kennedy São Paulo, where he produced global award-winning campaigns for clients such as Nike, Ambev and Coca-Cola. His drive has always been to raise the bar of the industry.

Currently at Stink São Paulo as Senior Executive Producer, he is also responsible for scouting new talents that can be part of Stink’s local and global roster.

born in postwar stuttgart 1947 to an actress and an officer.

today a convinced hamburg guy since over 60 years.

with no proper education apart from 6 months as a hippie kid travelling across the usa in 1967. Plus 1 term of sociology in 68.

assisting still photographers for 3 years. after 5 years of photo-journalism for magazines like STERN + GEO, shooting musicians on and off stage, and giving company to a few feature films, I occasionally entered the world of moving media in marketing.

opened my first company in 1985 and stayed managing director/executive producer ever since.

stopped producing in 2014 in order to tell young creatives how to make good commercials.

Since over 4 years looking after our german producers association as member oft he board. Heading the CFP-E as president since january ’17.

Working harder than foreseen.

That’s it.

Elsa Rakotoson started off working for fashion and photography magazines in Paris & London. Passionate about photography, music and film, she joined the world of audio-visual production and advertising in 2003. In 2009, Elsa founded her own production company FRENZY Paris.

FRENZY represents and develops a roster of multidisciplinary talents, directors, photographers, art directors and digital natives from all over the world whose creative talents express themselves in the field of visual narrative, luxury and music videos.

Talent scouts, creatives and production company at once, FRENZY’s upper and foremost goal is to develop and create compelling ideas into inventive and visionary projects.

Rozanne Rocha-Gray grew up both behind and in front of the camera. Starting her film education in diapers, Rozanne’s keen sense of performance was honed in her mother’s casting studio. In her teens, she embarked on a (somewhat average) international modeling career, using the opportunity to absorb the skills of the film crews around her and cultivating a love of film by spending her off time in dark Parisian cinemas. Since then, she has never doubted that production was where she wanted to be.

By steadily working her way through the production ranks, she combined her knowledge and experience to become a creative producer invaluable to those who work with her. Rozanne is not only recognized for her prowess as one of South Africa’s top producers, with more than 20 years in the industry, she is highly-respected for her flexible and astute production style.

Over the last ten years she has nurtured a close creative relationship with director Terence Neale, playing a pivotal role in developing his career and evolving his directorial approach. Together they have created critically acclaimed commercials and music videos for brands and artists such as Skrillex, Beats by Dre, and Adidas – the latter awarding Terence as the first ever South African director to win a Cannes Grand Prix. In 2017 they joined forces with director/producer team Greg Gray and Helena Woodfine to form ROMANCE. Through this platform Rozanne plans to expand her capacity as a producer to collaborate with young directors and produce work for like-minded local and international clients.

Stephen is one of Ireland’s most recognised Creative Directors. His early career took him from Ogilvy, to Leo Burnett and then onto TBWA Dublin where he developed award-winning work for stellar clients such as McDonalds, Jameson and 02.

Stephen has been Creative Director at Rothco | Accenture Interactive for 8 years. He led Rothco to their first Cannes Lion win with his work for Marriage Equality with Daintree Paper. His most recent and notable work is for global campaigns for The Times, Heineken and Amnesty International.
His work has been recognised internationally with awards from The One Show, Cannes Lions, Eurobest, Epica and the Kinsale Sharks. In his spare time he puts his adblocker on and watches football. Lots of football.

Selena Schleh is the deputy editor of shots, the world’s leading commercials title, which provides news, insight and inspiration for the global creative community. As well as overseeing the shots Rising Stars young talent initiative, she has served on several awards juries including D&AD Next Director and the Berlin Fashion Film Festival.
During the course of her career as a features writer and editor, Selena has contributed to publications including the Telegraph, Dazed & Confused/Satellite Voices and Harrods Magazine. Prior to joining shots in 2015, she spent three years in Shanghai as Time Out’s Associate Editor, covering the city’s cultural and creative happenings.

As Managing Director and Executive Producer of Pulse Films’ award-winning Commercials and Music Video divisions, James Sorton oversees the studio’s output and manages its diverse roster.

Sorton joined Pulse Films’ in 2012, having spent the previous decade working in production as a producer and production manager. Since then he has led the division’s continued growth and helped establish it as a leading global player. Overseeing the studio’s award-winning roster, Sorton has a direct hand in attracting and signing established directors and is passionate about developing new talent.

Pulse Films’ Commercials and Music Video divisions have won international awards at Cannes Lions, British Arrows, D&AD, Ciclope, YDA, Creative Circle and Shots as well as winning Best Production company at the UK MVAs 2017.

Lyndy Stout edits and curates the online magazine and creative awards 1.4 which showcases the hottest international short-form filmmaking talent.

In other lives she edited shots magazine for over a decade, was deputy editor of Creative Review and was also a travel writer.

Laura Thoel is a highly experienced production executive and managing director with a comprehensive background in live action, visual effects, and post production. She has supervised hundreds of commercials, winning multiple awards and accolades.

Born in London and raised in Germany, Laura came back to America for college and graduated from Syracuse University double majoring in Broadcast Journalism and German. After moving to Los Angeles, she began freelance producing, cutting her teeth with some of the biggest commercial productions of that time, before joining JGF as their Head of Production at the tender age of 26. In 2004, Laura returned to line producing and freelancing bidding for such companies as Biscuit, HSI and Anonymous Content.

For over eight years Laura was an Executive Producer for SMUGGLER in Hollywood, CA. During her stint, Smuggler twice won the Palmes d’Or at Cannes for campaigns she was involved with. In 2013, Laura moved over to the widely recognized and globally diverse Sweetshop where she has built a stable of amazing award-winning talent to work with.

Ferdinando Verderi is an Italian Creative Director based in NY.
As Founding Member, Partner of Johannes Leonardo, Ferdinando has led global creative and strategic direction on brands that range from technology to art, Google to Diet Coke, from Goldman Sachs to Yale University, and more.

From agency inception, Ferdinando envisioned a new type of creativity for the fashion and luxury industry, which has led to in-depth partnerships with Chanel, Alexander Wang and Adidas. His team’s work with Adidas Originals over the past 3 years has coincided with unprecedented company growth in both scale and relevance, and is some of the most awarded work in the industry.

Most recently, Ferdinando has been working closely with Versace on a brand repositioning, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the house.
Ferdinando has received the most prestigious accolades in the industry.

Edie Weiss is Founder and CEO of the Radke Film Group. She received her Master’s degree in Social Work in 1981 and had a successful career as a family therapist. In 1986, she chartered a new course by becoming a marketing representative for some of Canada’s most respected commercial photographers. Fascinated by the film industry, she moved into the world of commercial film in 1990, forming her first company, Radke Films, in 1994. Over the past 12 years, she has co-founded Steam Films, Soft Citizen, Film Group, Vapor Music, OPC, Common Good, Collective Agreement and, most recently, Free Society.

Edie spends much of her time nurturing relationships with clients, directors and other industry partners. Under her skilled and entrepreneurial management, the Radke Film Group has garnered dozens of international awards and has grown into one of the most successful commercial production companies in Canada.

Committed to expanding access to the film community, Edie co-founded a registered charity called POV, Presenting Our Vision, in 2008. POV provides a film training and job mentorship program for economically disadvantaged youth.

In 2009, Edie received the RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Award.

Zhu Jinjing is a Cinematographer, Movie Director and Visual Artist. He was born in 1978, Beijing China. He got his degree of art from Beijing Film Academy in 2003, majored Cinematography.

From 2003-2008, he worked with other artists as an independent photographer and director. In 2008, he established JQK Production. This is his own studio. His role is the Managing Director and Chief Art Director.

In his career advancement, he won over 80 awards for his master pieces in commercial advertisement from both domestic and abroad.

Among these awards, the highlights are:

· Silver Simorgh for Special July Prize – Cinematograhy, Fajr Film Festival, 2017
· The Best Cinematography – nomination, Asian Film Awards, 2017
· Arles Photographer Season Curator, 2016
· T.I.F.F Best Art Contribution, Tokyo International Festival, 2016
· Gold, Spikes Asia, 2013
· Gold, China International Advertising Festival, 2013
· Gold, Spikes Asia, 2010
· Gold, China International Advertising Festival, 2010
· Gold, ADFEST, 2009
· Gold, London International Advertising Festival, 2009
· Film Silver Lion, Cannes Festival, 2009
· The Best Director of Asia 2009，ADFEST

His career aspiration is coming from his love to the motherland. He is making unremitting efforts spreading the great Chinese civilization, the beauty of the country and the Chinese culture to the world.

Since establishing Stink in 1998, Daniel Bergmann has been one of the most fascinating figureheads in the industry and has been on the forefront of award-winning film and production globally. As Stink continually evolves with changing technologies and innovation, he stays ahead of the curve and focuses on what he’s best known for, honing in on the world’s best talent.

Today the company is defined by Stink Films- an inspiring home for talent and independence, which is reflected in our culture and through our work and Stink Studios, that produces award winning content and craft across advertising, entertainment, music and the arts.

Daniel has been responsible for some of the world’s most famous films and commercials, which reflects his passion and determination for good story telling. He has made it Stink’s mission to continue to discover and nurture local and international talent, especially in places that the mainstream industry overlooks.

Daniel has collected a multitude of global awards including Grand Prix and Gold Cannes Lions, D&AD, BTAA, named Production Company of the Year by Campaign and Ad Age. Stink has been recognised as the second most awarded company by the Gunn Report, Ad Age and positioned third at Cannes Lions Palm D’Or in 2016. Daniel has served as a judge for a number of awards shows including Cannes Lions, Eurobest and as Jury Chairman for British Arrows and Ciclope.

After reading Ayn Rand's novel Fountainhead, Bo has found herself in a film school, and then started her career at a commercial production company in 1996. She has been producing commercials with DEPOfilm for the last 9 years.

DEPOfilm is a full service production company, that is gaining it's success from a friendly, visionary, young but extremely experienced crew and directors. Not to count, World's leading brands and celebrities served and the ads and the awards that has been left behind, it is the leading production company in Turkish market.

Bo is extremely proud to be a part of the YDA jury, as she believes "Investing in Youth always brings back benefits" thus applies to film making!

Max Brady is Managing Director and Exec Producer with Pull The Trigger, where she has built a business that specialises in producing advertising content for advertising agencies and the provision of production services to International Production companies wishing to shoot in Ireland.

Pull The Trigger provide high end production in the genres of corporate videos, documentary films, stills provision, digital films, TV and cinema commercials. Most recently Pull The Trigger have been involved in generating content in the IP arena.

Max Brady’s background in production comes from a freelance career built working for independent production companies, establishing the success ful Maxfilms, and now Internationally known Pull The Trigger Ltd.

Since 2014, Max has pushed Ireland as a location based filming centre across the globe.

She is a regular attendee at the Cannes Lions International Film Festival, Pull The Trigger, and Max in particular, is an active member of the Global Production Network, representing Ireland on a world stage for collaborative projects for creative, and advertising, film making.

Thor Brammer Jacobsen is MD and Executive Producer at New Land Copenhagen. In 2014 he founded the production company New Land together with Erik Torell and the directors Gustav Johansson, Casper Balslev and Daniel Kragh-Jacobsen.

Prior to that he worked as head of DDB Copenhagen’s production company, Spoiled Productions from 2004 - 2014 winning numerous International awards at Cannes Lions, Eurobest and UK Music Video Awards.

In Sweden 2015 and Denmark 2016 New Land was named as the production company of the year. During its first 3 years of business New Land has won numerous international awards including Gold Lions at Cannes Lions, Eurobest, The One Show and D&AD and is every day aiming to create content pieces on a high international level.

Ali Brown is the Vice President/Executive Producer of PRETTYBIRD, a production company devoted to pushing creative and brand opportunities across all distribution outlets. With offices in Los Angeles and London, PRETTYBIRD is home to a diverse roster of filmmakers, creatives, and collaborators producing entertainment that is creatively led and platform agnostic.

Brown began her career in the commercial and music video industry before moving over to feature films where she served as Director of Creative Affairs at Spirit Dance, a production company helmed by veteran director/actor/producer Forest Whitaker. Upon her return to advertising, she helped build the PRETTYBIRD roster and reputation, expanding its reach across commercials, short films, features, web series, and music videos. PRETTYBIRD’s work has been recognized worldwide, including by the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the One Show, the Clio Awards, the London International Awards, D&AD, British Arrows, Ciclope, the AICP Awards, as well as being named Creativity Magazine's Top Production Company of the Year for 2015.

Brown has been able to combine her background in long and short form, leading PRETTYBIRD’s foray into the narrative realm. She has produced several films under the PRETTYBIRD banner, including the award-winning Sundance New Frontier film Possibilia directed by Daniels; The Drew: No Excuse Just Produce directed by filmmaker Baron Davis and acquired by Showtime, Atlas Entertainment’s films The Monster directed by Brian Bertino and William Moynahan’s Mojave, which was acquired by A24; and feature film The Trust, which was written and directed by PRETTYBIRD duo Brewer, with a 2016 theatrical release.

Through the keen creative eye of Brown, PRETTYBIRD has quickly grown its roster with a reputation for building talent and being a collaborative creative community that welcomes filmmakers from all disciplines and projects of all formats.

Ali served two terms as AICP/West President and was a mentor with Project Involve, Film Independent’s diversity program. In addition to appearing on several panels including at Sundance’s New Frontier, The Side Project, and Women in Film, she also partnered with Sapient Nitro to curate the diversity-oriented panel Make Some Room at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Janette De Villiers has been in the South African Film and Commercials industry for over 30 years and has become one of South Africa’s top Producers and a prominent industry figure. Working at some of Johannesburg’s premiere production companies meant Janette collaborated with various directors and producers in the local market, streamlining her experience in the film and advertising world.

She worked for many years as Iain Campbell’s producer. Iain was a pioneering director in the tabletop and high speed cinematography genre and worked for top brands both internationally and in the local advertising market. Janette opened Groundglass in 2001 as a Director focused production company. Based on the businesses success, over the years she has expanded the company to cover both local director based work and service work. She has approached the service market with the same vigor and professionalism, making Groundglass one of the top service facilitation companies in Cape Town.

More recently Janette has launched another division of the company, “inc.creative”, which specializes in online content development and non-traditional forms of advertising – and nurturing young talent. The digital age has created new platforms from which advertisers can engage with their target markets, and Janette is at the forefront of bringing this type of advertising to local clients. This is in addition to her tireless personal efforts to uncover, develop and mentor new creative talent, which she views as part of her social responsibility towards the continued sustainability of the industry she owes her success to.

Janette has attended the Cannes Film Festival in 2013 with her short film The Man with the Heavy Leg, and won a bronze award at Cicolpe 2016 for the shortfilm  “Numbers”, a piece created in collaboration with SA artist Manuela Gray.

Jen Dennis is Head of RSA VR, RSA Films’ immersive media division. With RSA Films’ co-founder Ridley Scott, Jen recently executive produced ALIEN: COVENANT In Utero for Scott’s new sci-fi blockbuster, Alien: Covenant. In Utero, directed by David Karlak, is a 360-degree virtual reality journey into a living  nightmare that offers a terrifyingly close and personal encounter as an alien Neomorph at the time of its birth. This comes on the heels of the groundbreaking The Martian VR Experience, which Jen also executive produced with Scott. Winner of a Cannes Silver Lion and an AICP honor in VR, The Martian VR Experience is an unprecedented 25-minute immersive entertainment experience directed by Robert Stromberg that enables viewers to navigate the 360-degree landscape of Mars in the very capable spacesuit of stranded astronaut Mark Watney.

Since joining RSA in 2014, Jen has executive produced highly praised branded content, as well—Nike’s first-ever scripted YouTube series, the viral blockbuster “Margot vs Lily,” via Wieden + Kennedy. Winner of a Cannes Gold Lion and a Webby, the eight-episode original series directed by Tricia Brock follows the adventures of two sisters who challenge each other to go beyond their comfort zones with some very creative New Year’s resolutions.

Jen brings over 20 years global production experience to RSA. She began her career in her native New York as an agency producer at MVBMS (now RSCG) before moving to California. There she embarked upon a prolific 15-year freelance career that included many years in a fixed role with Wieden + Kennedy, producing all the Asia-Pac Nike business and eventually Nike Global work through the Portland office. The work took her around the world collaborating closely with celebrated athletes and icons such as LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rick Ross, Samuel L. Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Spike Lee and many others. And many of those commercials garnered the industry’s top honors at Cannes, D&AD, AICP and the One Show.

In addition to her long relationship with W + K, Jen worked at other top shops such as Crispin Porter & Bogusky, 72andSunny, 180 and GSD&M, as well as on the production side as a line producer and executive producer. In 2013, Jen was tapped to partner with the ECD of Samsung’s global business to open a boutique division of Leo Burnett in Los Angeles where she acted as SVP, creative content production. In that role she culled together her expertise in traditional advertising to broker strategic partnerships with celebrities and brands and develop innovative campaigns utilizing emerging technologies.

Jen lives in West Hollywood and when she’s not knee deep in projects as a creative producer, she spends her time walking Georgie Girl, her rescue dog, in Runyon Canyon.

Spencer has worked alongside some of the UK advertising industry’s most creative and successful figures in his 20-year career. He cut his teeth working for two of London’s legendary creatives in Dave Trott and Geoffrey Seymour. Several years later, he moved into feature production, progressing from Runner to Production Assistant and Assistant Director on a number of seminal UK films, including Bridgette Jones’ Diary, Dirty Pretty Things, Vera Drake, Charlotte Gray and East is East.

In 2001, Spencer joined Gorgeous Enterprises, the most awarded production company in the world. During the 10 years he spent there, Spencer worked on some of the UK’s biggest TV commercials, for brands including Barclays, Hovis, HSBC, Master Card, VW, Mercedes, Lexus, Sky, Heinz, McDonalds, Sony, Nike and Shell.

Spencer joined The Sweet Shop in 2011, and has quickly established the company amongst the UK’s best production companies, picking up awards at all the major awards shows alongside various other accolades. In 2016 Televisual Magazine ranked The Sweet Shop 16th overall, while UK industry site David Reviews ranks the company amongst its Top 5.

An Economics graduate, Matthieu Elkaim decided to interrupt his university studies for his first training period at Publicis when he was 18 years old.

In 2001, he joined TBWA/Paris for three years as a Junior Copywriter, working for brands such as Sony Playstation, McDonald’s, Amnesty International and more.

Then he joined DDB Paris.

After five years working for clients such as Volkswagen, Nike and Audi, he became European Creative Director in charge of Lipton Unilever and Lipton Ice Tea.

In March 2012, Matthieu joined CLM BBDO as Executive Creative Director.

Three years later, he was appointed Chief Creative Officer of BBDO Paris.

Passionnate about advertising, he loves big ideas, innovative approaches and risk-taking.

In 2013, Matthieu was named French Creative Director of the year. So far, he has won numerous national and international awards including Canne Lions, Eurobest, One Show, Clio, D&AD, in a wide range of categories (Film, Promo, Cyber, Direct, Outdoor, PR, Press…)

Rudi Haller started his career in the early eighties with an apprenticeship as a film technician at Schwarz Filmtechnik AG in Berne. After this he subsequently worked his way up from assistant to the position of a producer at Condor Films in Zurich. Since 1992, as the founder and executive producer of the company Solid & Hallerfilm Ltd. Rudi Haller has successfully produced numerous commercials around the world. As a result of his commitment to the branch, Rudi Haller is, since 2006, board member of the Swissfilm Association and Vice President of the CFP-E.

First graduating from Vilnius University where she got a degree in Cultural History and Anthropology, Ieva continued on studying filmmaking in London Film Academy and later FAMU - Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

Always genuinely interested in storytelling - let it be theatre piece, a novel, a short film or a TV ad - Ieva applied her skills working in film and advertising production houses in Prague, Barcelona and Vilnius as concept developer, talent scout and supervisor and producer.

Today - producer at a boutique yet a top five full service production company in Lithuania called SomeFilms Ieva gets to try out herself in projects surpassing advertising - together with engineers making a car drive on 4G for an ad or together with artists and programmers working on an interactive art installation for half a year to make another one - are few examples.

Has weakness for jokes, strong coffee, basset hounds and big hands.

Jan Kallista is a producer and owner of Ad Wood Production Company based in Prague that specializes in TV commercials.

Jan is a board member of the Audiovisual Producers’ Association (APA) in the Czech Republic and board member of the CFP-Europe (Commercial Film Producers of Europe) as well as jury member of the Young Director Award (YDA) during Cannes Lions Festival for 2014.

More as a hobby he time to time escapes to work for various feature film projects as an executive producer or line producer (Rockstar – Indian feature, Detective downs – Norwegian feature, Lunacy – Czech feature, Nowhere in Moravia – Czech feature, …)

Recently he is in the process of establishing another production company called Film Kolektiv together with his three other partners. Film Kolektiv aims to serve as a platform for feature films, TV ads, Docs and TV series for all four producers that merged their strengths and knowhow.

Jan was born into a filmmaker’s family. His father showed him a lot from film alchemy and magic. So there is no wonder that Jan chose to study Film academy FAMU in Prague. During the studies he realized that he needed to do a job for a living. So he started as a runner. After few months he realized he would like to do more - so he became an assistant, coordinator, production manager, producer, …

Jan graduated at FAMU film academy with the Master of Arts title on the production department.

Father of two, and original founder of Social Club, Henrik Lagercrantz is the backbone of the company. His roll as both director and executive producer means he is pretty much always on call but he still finds time for some fly fishing and photography.

Having won numerous awards as a director, Henrik’s thirst for knowledge brought him on to the path of executive producer. What Henrik doesn’t know about commercials probably isn’t worth knowing. What not many people know though, is that Henrik actually wanted to be a baker when he was a kid. Everybody in the office is eagerly awaiting Henrik taking up his childhood dream. Yum!

Oh and also, everybody calls Henrik “Lager” but he is in fact much more of a wine drinker.

After graduating from Duke University, Dan decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and go into commercial filmmaking.  He was an asst. cameraman for a couple years, but he was not very good at it, so he decided that directing commercials would be better for him, so off he went.

Dan soon realized that he enjoyed working with other filmmakers, so he started Moxie Pictures. The company was going along fine, but Dan felt he needed to make a splash, so Moxie started signing feature film directors, and soon Moxie was on it’s way.  Christophxer Guest, Wes Anderson, and Todd Phillips were a few of the early signings, and their success propelled Moxie into the upper echelons of commercial production…

Moxie has always been a home for filmmakers with very distinct POVs

Moxie continues to be a leader in tv commercial production with offices in NY/LA/London, representing some of the most talented filmmakers/commercial directors in the world…

In 2007, the company started a political media firm, a-political, and soon it had it’s first big success, the election of their first client, Governor Eliot Spitzer.

Right from there, they were hired to be a part of the Hillary Clinton media team as she ran for president in 2008. Moxie learned a lot from the loss, but the excitement of being a part of a Presidential run was fascinating.

Later, with the media world fracturing, Moxie decided to go into the world of documentary television and film. Moxie produced numerous television shows, documentaries and sponsored content for such diverse networks as Animal Planet, FYI, ESPN, and NBC. They started the REEL MOMENTS film series for Glamour Magazine . Some of their recent docs include THE LURE, and Tribeca Film Festival Audience award winner, MALA MALA. They have also produced Errol Morris’s last four films, and are currently in production of a series with Errol for release on Netflix in the fall of 2017.

Moxie has also produced critically acclaimed narrative feature films AUSTENLAND, DEEP POWDER, and THE MEND.

Their latest documentary, DINA won the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival....That was very, very exciting.

Dan is divorced and lives in NYC and has two children, Ava 18 and Jed 15.

For fun, you can find him on the golf course. He played in his first USGA event when he qualified for the 2016 US Senior Amateur.

After graduating from the AAA School of Advertising with a student Loerie, Ryan McManus has worked as a creative in South Africa, London, Amsterdam, Lisbon and Munich.

He has served as a Creative Director, a film director, has conceptualised many global campaigns at leading agencies like EURO RSCG Amsterdam, Serviceplan Munich, and various think tanks. He has worked across all mediums and for many well-known brands such as BMW, Nike, Sony Ericsson, M-TV, Vodafone, Volvo, Smirnoff, J&B, Evian, Shell, Levis, Expedia, Continental, Citroen and more.

After collecting many awards at leading global and local awards shows (Effie, Cannes, Eurobest, Art Directors Club, New York Festival, London International Awards, One Show and D&AD, Loeries) Ryan was included in the Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans 2013. He has brought his wealth of global experience all back to SA as the Executive Creative Director of NATIVE.

Diego Medvedocky has been recently designated CCO of Grey Latin America, previously held the position of Vice President and Creative Director of Grey Argentina. Diego has been named Chairman of Latam’s Regional Council, has formed part of the global council and has in addition recently been chosen as part of Grey’s select P&G Global group.

He is 40 years old, during his career he worked at agencies such as Turner, Euro RSG, Publicis and Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi. Diego has been recognized in numerous national and international festivals, highlighting more than 40 Lions at the Cannes Advertising Festival. He was chosen by the Circle of Creatives of Argentina as the Best Copywriter of Argentina and integrates the Directive Commission of the CCA.

Under his management, Grey has been chosen as the Best Agency in Argentina in the Diente awards in 2014 and 2015, and was the most award-winning agency in the country at both national and international festivals in 2015 and 2016. He grew up in José Mármol and has a daughter named Lola. He likes movies, reading and his last medical checkup the level of cholesterol yielded a result of 256.

Tom Murphy is Co-Chief Creative Officer of McCann New York. He and his partner, Sean Bryan, have led at the agency during a period of creative rebirth.

McCann NY was the most awarded U.S. agency at Cannes 2016, Shoot Magazine's 2016 Agency of the Year, the Andy's 2017 Agency of the Year, ADC's 2017 Agency of the Year and Digital Agency of the Year.

McCann was featured on the AdAge A-List and Creativity Innovators list in both 2016 and 2017. An art director by trade, Tom has been at McCann since 2005 when he was hired as a Creative Director on the Verizon business.

Prior to that, he was at DDB Chicago, working on Budweiser and McDonalds. Tom is a devout believer in the power of the big, beautiful, simple idea.

Managing Director and Executive Producer of The Brownie Film Company, Spain, Chad was born in New York. He obtained a BFA in Cinema and Television at New York University and began his career at the visual effects production Company, Peter Corbett & Co. After working in Manhattan based production companies, he relocated to Spain where he went on to work as a Producer for the local advertising market as well as for production services. Chad has an MBA from the École de Management in Lyon (France) and speaks Spanish, French and English

Axl Newrkla who was born into a „commercial family“ , his grandfather directed the first Austrian commercials in the 1950ies, and his father co owened Austrians biggest agency, beeing president of the European Art Directors Club ADC*E for many years.

Started his own career in 1983 as a production assistent. Between 1987-1989 he accidentally studied architects, which was not very successful, so he continued in film and run through all steps in featurefilmproduction including, Line Producer, Location Manager, Safety Consultant and finally production manager and assistent to the producer on local and international productions like Three Musketeers and Before Sunrise.After the birth of his 3rd (out of 4) doughter Axl founded Wiener Klappe in 1999.

Since then he produced over 300 local and international commercials, music videos and shortfilms. 2015 he teamed up with internaional DOP Thomas Kuerzl and founded Austrias first Serviceproduction – babelfish and produced allready more then 30 internationalcommercials with it´s first 2 years.

Axl is restless coming up with new ideas and projects including documentaries, feature films, theater .. etc.
He represents the Austrian Commercialfilmproducers within the Austrian Producers Association (AAFP) since 2009.

Since 1987, Maiko has been creating distinctive TVCs, TV dramas and short films at HAKUHODO, which is a major advertising agency in Japan.

She is also the author of many screenplays which are known for their unique and lovely writing style. Many actors and actresses are keen to make appearances in her films. People who have watched her films are often reminded of a ‘euphoria’ feeling.

HAKUHODO Creative Vox has won numerous national and international awards such as Cannes Lions, NYADC gold, Adfest Grand Prix, and One Show.

She lives with her husband, daughter and six cockatiels that sing ‘SUKIYAKI SONG’ besides her while she is drinking wine in the house.

Jean Ozannat started his career in film production at La Pac in 2000.  From 2000 to 2002 he managed the music video department where he produced videos for bands like Air, Phoenix, Sébastien Tellier and many others. From 2002 to 2008 he served as Executive Producer in the TV commercial department, producing more than 100 TV commercials.

In 2008 he joined Gang Films as Partner and Executive Producer.

In 2010 he created a new production company, Henry (henry.tv) with Jean Luc Bergeron, that soon became one of the most successful commercial production company in Paris, and created Henry affiliates companies such as Slowdance (luxury, fashion and beauty films), Troopers (young directors development) and Anomalie Films (Feature films, fictions).

Since 2002, Jean has been rewarded for prestigious French and International advertising awards counting as many as 6 Lions (2 gold, 1 silver & 3 bronze), 9 Eurobest (2 Grand Prix, 1 gold, 3 silver & 3 bronze), 3 D&AD (1 Yellow pencil, 1 nomination, 1 in-book), 2 Clios (1 silver & 1 bronze) and also, Epica, LIA, Club des AD, etc…

Henry was named 5th most awarded production company in the world in the Gunn report 2013.

Jean has worked over the years with many renowned and talented directors such as Lionel Goldstein, Bart Timmer, Lieven van Baelen, Martin Werner, David Lynch, Martin de Thurah, Andreas Nilsson, Kasper Wedendahl, Rob Sanders, Markus Walter, Joachim Back, Pleix, Jeppe Ronde, Lawrence Dunmore, Didier Barcelo, Wiflrid Brimo, Adam Hashemi and many others.

He gave his input and experience for many brands like Canal+, Nissan, Renault, Peugeot, Infiniti, Citroen, Dior, SNCF, BNP Paribas, Amnesty International, AIDES, Pepsico, P&G, Danone, Volkswagen, EDF, Mc Donalds, AXA, Rayban, Disney, SFR, etc...

And for Advertising Agencies such as TBWA Paris, BETC, Publicis, Havas Paris, CLM BBDO, DDB Paris, Y&R, Being, Buzzman, Fred&Farid, Les Gaulois, JWT, Leo Burnett, McCann, Marcel, Ogilvy, Saatchi&Saatchi, etc...

Born in postwar stuttgart 1947 to an actress and an officer.

Today a convinced hamburg guy since over 60 years.

With no proper education apart from 6 months as a hippie kid travelling across the usa in 1967. Plus 1 term of sociology in 68.

Assisting still photographers for 3 years. after 5 years of photo-journalism for magazines like STERN + GEO, shooting musicians on and off stage, and giving company to a few feature film, I occasionally entered the world of moving media in marketing.

Opened my first company in 1985 and stayed managing director/executive producer ever since.

Stopped producing in 2012 in order to tell young creatives how to make good commercials. Since over 3 years involved in our german producers association. Working harder than foreseen. That’s it.

Executive producer/partner at emote films., an award winning production company based in Stocholme and Belgrade.

With 13 years of experience worked for the agencies as Satchi& Satchi, McCann Erickson, JWT, Publicis, Leo Burnett, TBWA, HAVAS, Grey, Ogilvey & Mather and clients as, Gevalia, Betser Coca Cola, Uni credit bank, Banca Intessa, Kinder, Nordic bet, Nestle, Telenor, Three mobile, Raiffesen bank, T mobile, Libero, Husqvarna, Credi agricole bank, Philips…

He is also one of the founders of the Serbian association of producers in advertising SAPA.

Hughie Phillips is co-­founder and Managing Director of MindsEye, an award-­winning commercials production company based in London. He has brought together some of the best comedy directing talent in the UK under the banner of MindsEye and is known for developing and nurturing new directing talent.

MindsEye’s work has been recognised by everyone from BAFTA to Cannes Lions and have had back-­‐to-­‐back D&AD nominationsin 2015 & 2016. http://mindseye.london/
In 2015, Hughie also co-­founded Billion Dollar Boy, an influencer marketing agency which now has offices in London, New York, Istanbul & Sao Paulo. The business also looks after online Rights Management for over 4000 film titles for some of the world’s largest independent film producers. His business partners in this venture include Guy East and Nigel Sinclair, whose film credits include Ron Howard’s Rush and Daniel Radcliffe’s Women In Black. http://billiondollarboy.com/

Selena Schleh is the deputy editor of shots, the world’s leading commercials title, which provides news, insight and inspiration for the global creative community. As well as overseeing the shots Rising Stars young talent initiative, she has served on several awards juries including D&AD Next Director and the Berlin Fashion Film Festival.

During the course of her career as a features writer and editor, Selena has contributed to publications including the Telegraph, Dazed & Confused/Satellite Voices and Harrods Magazine. Prior to joining shots in 2015, she spent three years in Shanghai as Time Out’s Associate Editor, covering the city’s cultural and creative happenings.

1.4 is a self-funded project which has been featuring the very best directing talent in short form filmmaking since January, 2012. Curator Lyndy Stout has been at the forefront of championing this work for many years – first as deputy editor of Creative Review and latterly as editor of shots for over a decade.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Julie Thomas-Toda joined AOI Pro. Inc. in 1991, at a time when very few foreign women were working in the Japanese advertising industry.

Her strong passion for pushing creative beyond cultural and language barriers led the company to be a leader in Japan to collaborate internationally with creative professionals and filmmakers from around the world. She thrives on seeing the multi-faceted creative possibilities in production and delivering work that goes beyond the client and agency brief.

Her work as a creative coordinator has led her to the farthest corners of the earth, working with the best in the industry, on productions for such clients as Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Sony, Panasonic, Coca Cola, Shiseido, Nike, Kirin, Asahi, and Nestle.

Julie prides herself on being an advert junky, easily geeking out several hours a day to get her daily fix on who's doing what in the world of persuasive filmmaking.

Julie lives in Tokyo,Japan with her husband and two children.

Much aloha.

Andreas Tsilifonis started his career in 1974 as commercial films Director, while he was 20 years old. He has being the youngest director to direct commercials (more than 700 in the next 17 years) and he has being awarded for many of them with local and international awards. He was also the youngest director in Greece to direct a feature film in 1981.

On the side of his directorial career, Andreas wrote screenplays for feature films as well as some of the most successful television comedy series, having more than 70 weeks of highest audience ratings. Has composed also several rock songs which have been awarded with platinum records.

He was active also in the institutional side of the film industry, being a member of the board of Greek Director’s Guild and General Secretary in the Greek Screen Writer’s Guild. He served also as a member of the board of the Greek Film Center, the state production organization, authorizing 20-25 feature film productions annually. Since 1990 he is constantly re-elected as a member of the Board of Directors of GREEK PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION (PACT), being now for the last two terms the President of the BoD.

In 1989 he produced the Greek segment of the feature film LIFE WITHOUT ZOE for TOUCHSTONE PICTURES , directed by Francis Ford Coppola and since then he gradually summons his creativity to producing, having produced until now more than 3.000 commercial spots, hundredths of TV hours, telefilms and all types of audiovisual productions.

From 1990 to 1999, he was the Managing Director/ Executive Producer and partner in MANGOS STUDIOS (one of the biggest post-production studios of the time in Europe); in POWERNET (one of the first and biggest web developing applications in Greece) and SIERRA POST (the biggest sound studio in Greece offering dubbing services to DISNEY INC, etc).

In 1999 he establishes his own production company CENTRAL ATHENS FILM PRODUCTIONS, which until today is the leading production company in Greece for international commercial and TV projects shot in Greece (www.AthensCentral.gr)

As a personal interest he has developed software for audiovisual applications; published numerous articles and gave lectures on Film Production, as well as composed and produced very successful rock songs in Greece.

Andreas Tsilifonis started his career as commercial films Director but 700 spots later, he switched to Producing. Additionally he directed for cinema and television, as well wrote screenplays for feature films and comedy series. He has been a member of the board of Greek Director’s Guild and the Greek Screen Writer’s Guild. He served also as a member of the BoD of the Greek Film Center, the national production organization.

Today he helms CENTRAL ATHENS FILM PRODUCTIONS, an active member of the GREEK PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION (PACT), while he is now for the last two terms the President of the BoD.