Trained in theology and Romance philology at universities in Göttingen, Barcelona, Munich, and San José (Costa Rica), Heinz-Martin Krauss has worked as a pastor in Caracas and La Paz, later serving the Neue Vahr Lutheran community in Bremen before becoming a school pastor and teacher at Nebelthau-Gymnasium, a role he concluded upon retirement in 2025. He has long been involved in the dialogue between church and cinema as a member of the “Church and Cinema” team of the Church of Bremen and a member of INTERFILM since 1987, serving on juries at numerous international festivals including Venice, Riga, Kyiv, Yerevan, Miskolc, and Warsaw.
 

Olimpia Melinte is a theatre and film actress, a graduate of the “George Enescu” National University of Arts in Iași, where she studied acting and completed a master’s degree in Acting. She has performed in numerous productions at the Iași National Theatre while also building an international film career. Her film debut in The Floaters (dir. Mircea Daneliuc) brought her two Gopo Award nominations, followed by roles in Seven Works of Mercy, Killing Time, and Caníbal, screened and awarded at major festivals including Locarno, Toronto, and San Sebastián. In 2022, she completed her PhD at UNATC Bucharest, focusing on female representation in television series, and is a member of SIGNIS Romania and Honorary Co-President of the FILMIKON Festival.
 

Olimpia Melinte is a theatre and film actress, a graduate of the “George Enescu” National University of Arts in Iași, where she studied acting and completed a master’s degree in Acting. She has performed in numerous productions at the Iași National Theatre while also building an international film career. Her film debut in The Floaters (dir. Mircea Daneliuc) brought her two Gopo Award nominations, followed by roles in Seven Works of Mercy, Killing Time, and Caníbal, screened and awarded at major festivals including Locarno, Toronto, and San Sebastián. In 2022, she completed her PhD at UNATC Bucharest, focusing on female representation in television series, and is a member of SIGNIS Romania and Honorary Co-President of the FILMIKON Festival.
 

Marian Țuțui is a film critic and historian who has dedicated himself to the study of Balkan cinema and Romanian film. Since 2017, he has been a full professor of film studies at Hyperion University in Bucharest, since 2014 a researcher at the 'George Oprescu' Institute of Art History of the Romanian Academy. Since 2018, he has been the head of its department 'Performing Arts. Theatre and Cinema.' Between 1996-2013, he was curator (editor-in-chief) of the Romanian Film Archive. He is the author of four books on cinema written in Romanian and English: The Manakia Brothers or the Image of the Balkans (2005), A Short History of Romanian Cinema (2005, 2018 in Chinese), Orient Express. Romanian and Balkan Cinema (2008), as well as Studies of Romanian and Balkan Film (2021). He has regularly published film articles in Romania (Film, ProCinema, Films in Frame) and abroad.
 

Marian Țuțui is a film critic and historian who has dedicated himself to the study of Balkan cinema and Romanian film. Since 2017, he has been a full professor of film studies at Hyperion University in Bucharest, since 2014 a researcher at the 'George Oprescu' Institute of Art History of the Romanian Academy. Since 2018, he has been the head of its department 'Performing Arts. Theatre and Cinema.' Between 1996-2013, he was curator (editor-in-chief) of the Romanian Film Archive. He is the author of four books on cinema written in Romanian and English: The Manakia Brothers or the Image of the Balkans (2005), A Short History of Romanian Cinema (2005, 2018 in Chinese), Orient Express. Romanian and Balkan Cinema (2008), as well as Studies of Romanian and Balkan Film (2021). He has regularly published film articles in Romania (Film, ProCinema, Films in Frame) and abroad.
 

Veronika Zakonjšek writes for the Slovenian publications Dnevnik and Ekran. Since 2023, she has headed the Slovenian branch of FIPRESCI. She also coordinates the industry program of the Slovenian Film Festival and is a member of the selection committee of the Slovenian International Animation Film Festival.
 

Veronika Zakonjšek writes for the Slovenian publications Dnevnik and Ekran. Since 2023, she has headed the Slovenian branch of FIPRESCI. She also coordinates the industry program of the Slovenian Film Festival and is a member of the selection committee of the Slovenian International Animation Film Festival.
 

Steffen Moestrup is a film critic for Le Monde diplomatique Scandinavia and a lecturer at the Danish School of Media and Journalism, where he teaches and researches documentary film, digital storytelling, and cultural criticism. He is co-editor of the online publication 16:9 and host of the TV program film:syn.
 

Steffen Moestrup is a film critic for Le Monde diplomatique Scandinavia and a lecturer at the Danish School of Media and Journalism, where he teaches and researches documentary film, digital storytelling, and cultural criticism. He is co-editor of the online publication 16:9 and host of the TV program film:syn.
 

Guillaume Calop began his career at the Annecy Animation Festival, later moving to Los Angeles to work as webmaster for Animation World Network and subsequently as artistic director of CANAL+’s online division (1998–2004). In 2004, he founded a DVD publishing company and the DVD store Chalet Pointu. In 2009, he co-founded Les Arcs Film Festival, dedicated to European cinema, where he currently serves as General Director. He is also the co-founder of Le Village, which develops professional platforms for film festivals and film projects, as well as Le Lab Femmes de Cinéma, a think tank focused on improving the representation of women in the film industry.