JURIES

    Javier Martín-Domínguez (President)

    Javier Martín-Dominguez is a producer and director. He has worked as a journalist in press, radio, and television. He was a foreign correspondent with Radio Nacional and Televisión Española in the United States for ten years and with La Vanguardia in Tokyo. He has been awarded the Cirilo Rodríguez Prize for international journalism. Among other events, he covered three U.S. election campaigns, the trips of Reagan to Moscow and Gorbachev to Washington, the funeral of Hiro Hito, and the enthronement of Akihito. As a filmmaker, he is the author of the biographies of Paul Bowles and the surrealist artist Leonora Carrington and directed the Sevilla European Film Festival for 4 years. He has been a jury member at the Moscow, Sarajevo, and Documenta Madrid festivals and the Asian Film Festival in Barcelona.

    José Félix Collazos

    With a Master in Film Criticism from ECAM, he is currently a professor of Cinematographic Analysis and a collaborator in “Caimán, Cuadernos de Cine”. An architect by background, after finishing his university studies he moved to New York where he studied screenwriting at Hunter College and directing at the Millenium Center. He completed his training with writing workshops at Frank Daniel’s Associates and Robert McKee. He then shot his first short films in Super 8 and 16 mm. In 1993, he made Muy negro, his first work in 35 mm, which was presented at numerous national and international festivals. His next work Nocturno was selected to open the Chicago Film Festival and participated in different international festivals: Montreal, San Sebastian, and St. Petersburg, winning the Silver Horse at the Larissa New Directors Festival.

    Jonathan Harris

    Director of the Doctoral School of the University of Canterbury’s School of Creative Arts, Professor Jonathan Harris has taught at Leeds Polytechnic (1989-94), Keele University (1994-99), the University of Liverpool (1999-2011), Winchester School of Art at the University of Southampton (2011-2015) and Birmingham City University (2015-2020), where he was Head of its School of Art. Jonathan is a researcher with an extensive bibliography on art and globalization, in the different social and political contexts of the market.

    Kamyar Mohsenin

    Born in 1971 in Tehran, Kamyar Mohsenin studied Control & Instrument Engineering at Sharif University of Technology. After working as a film critic and translator with different film magazines as well as Iranian National Film Archive publications, he started an analytical TV Program, “Film 90’s”, as a researcher and co-creator in 1996. He co-wrote his first book, “James Bond, 35 Years with a Phenomenon” in 1997. Mohsenin began his collaboration with the Farabi Cinema Foundation as a Research Executive in 1998. During his cooperation with Farabi until 2018, he was involved in the organization of such international film events as Fajr, Iranian Film Market, Children and Young Adults, Kish, Urban, etc., and the publication of “Annual Selection of Iranian Films”, “Iranian Film Market Guide” and so on. Mohsenin has been a lecturer in different courses on the history of cinema and a film critic in the International Film Guide, film magazines, papers, and TV programs. As a board member of FIFF (Fajr International Film Festival) in the restructuring of the festival, he has been working with FIFF since 2016 as the Manager of International Relations and Programming Director. After leaving Farabi, with Amir Esfandiari and Mohmmad Esfandiari, he co-founded the private sector company, IRIMAGE, in late 2018.

    Andrea Rodríguez

    She reflects in an expanded way on space and time, image, narration, and storytelling. She develops curatorial projects and writes from and about affection to talk about art. She is interested in the forms and formats of production, dissemination, and transmission of contemporary art. Andrea Rodríguez Novoa (1979) is a curator, architect, and writer based in Spain and France. She is a member of IKT, International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art, and C-E-A, Commissaires d’Exposition Associés (France). She was part of the acquisition committee for FRAC Normandie, France (2017-2021). Since February 2022 she has been Co-Director and Head of the Professional Program of Barcelona Gallery Weekend (www.barcelonagalleryweekend.com). Together with Veronica Valentini, she directs, curates, and teaches at BAR project (@bar_project), a residency and training program in visual arts that she co-founded in Barcelona in 2012.

    Esteban Andueza (President)

    Esteban Andueza is a cultural manager, translator, art curator, and promoter of artistic projects. He has lived in China for 12 years where he has worked as a freelance and for prestigious centers such as the Iberia Center for Contemporary Art or the Instituto Cervantes in Beijing, always focused on promoting cultural exchanges between Spain and China. She assists Antoni Muntadas in his projects in the Asian continent.

    Nieves Martin Diaz

    Press and radio journalist, specializing in culture, Nieves Martin Diaz is known for directing the program “El planeta de los Libros”, a cultural program she founded in January 2005, which is broadcast at the FM of Radio Círculo, of the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. She has also been the founder of the Micro-story contest of this program, of which she was a jury member along with representatives of institutions and companies for six editions. A contributor to the Al Jazeera Documentary Film Festival, writing about Spanish documentaries, she has been a jury member at the Huesca International Documentary Film Festival for several years.

    Jean Marie del Moral

    Jean Marie del Moral began his career as a photographer at the age of 21, working as a photojournalist for the communist newspaper L’Humanité. After covering the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, and working in New York and Toronto, he abandoned photojournalism when he met Joan Miró and took his first portrait of him. From then on, as his photographic archive reveals, his production focused on the art world and its creators, documenting the life and work of artists in their studios, understanding that these places are great laboratories of creation. In 1988, he participated in the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie de Arles, and in 2004, after the publication in four countries of his book Barceló, fotografías de Jean Marie del Moral (Thames and Hudson, Steidl, Actes Sud and La Fábrica) he exhibited at the IVAM- Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, at the Centro Cultural Conde Duque (Madrid), at the Museo da Cidade (Lisbon) and at the Fundación Antonio Pérez. He is also the author and director of two documentaries: Picasso y la tauromaquia (1993) and Los estudios de Barceló (1991).

    Biel Mesquida

    He was born on January 9, 1947, in Castellón de la Plana, the son of Majorcan parents, where he spent his childhood. He graduated in Biology and later in Information Sciences. As a writer, he was formed and matured during the Franco regime, but his work was influenced by Barthes, Julia Kristeva, Maurice Blanchot, and Georges Bataille. Mesquida was one of the first writers who dared to deal with gay themes in Spain during the Transition. In 1974 he wrote El bell país on els homes desitgen els homes (The beautiful country where men desire men), which he was unable to publish until 1985. The book deals with homosexual love as something revolutionary and transgressive, based on radical poetics. He has collaborated in several magazines, such as Diwan magazine, and in newspapers, such as Diario 16, El Día and Baleares.

    Esteve Soler

    In 2010 the Institution of Catalan Letters and the Ramon Llull Institute considered Esteve Soler one of the most international Catalan authors. His plays have been translated into 17 languages and have been performed in Germany, the United States, France, Switzerland, Greece and Mexico. With a degree in Performing Arts from the Theatre Institute and the University of Barcelona, he teaches at the University of Lleida and Sala Beckett, a creative center with which he has been involved for more than a decade. He has also worked as a playwright for international companies such as La Fura dels Baus, Pere Faura or Insectotròpics.  As a filmmaker, he has participated in the festivals of Clermont-Ferrand, BFI London, Malaga, Sitges, and New York’s Rooftop Films.

    Aránzazu Núñez (President)

    Mexican architect Aránzazu Núñez Velázquez is the executive director of the First International Book and Audiovisual Media Fair (FILMAQ). Aránzazu has worked in the analog and digital publishing industry for over a decade and a half. With a background in Architecture, Visual Arts, and Literature, and an undoubted passion for literature, she has found in transversal work, new technologies, and the design of alternative models and strategies for the publishing and entertainment industries an inexhaustible source of creative and commercial possibilities.

    Briccio Santos

    Born in Manila, Briccio Santos received most of his education and training abroad, principally in Europe and the United States. In the mid-70s, after returning from Germany he made his first of many full-feature films, Manikang Papel, Damortis, being one of the Philippines’ early independent filmmakers. He chaired the Film Development Council of the Philippines for 6 years (2010-2016) where the National Film Archives was established, and active restorations and preservation of Philippine heritage films began. The Sineng Pambansa (National Cinema) program and Cinematheques were established in various parts of the country. In 2013, French President François Hollande knighted Santos as Chevalier dans l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur for his advocacy of promoting Philippine culture through cinema. Last October 2016, he was Knighted by the Italian President in the order of ‘UFFICIALE’ the Star of Italy for his contribution to film and culture. Santos is currently the president of Film ASEAN, composed of 10 lead agencies for film and audiovisual industries in the ASEAN region.

    Teodoro Granados

    Teodoro C. Granados is currently the Project Director of the Southeast Asia Film Development Foundation Inc.  (Film ASEAN) based in the Philippines. He was previously the Executive Director of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) from 2011 to 2016. He supervised the production of over 30 films that received funding from the agency. He was also an Associate Producer: at Muchachos Bravos Filmworks.

    Aditya Bhattacharya

    Aditya Bhattacharya (born 1965) is an Indian film director and screenwriter, most known for his feature film, Raakh (1989), which garnered three National Film Awards. He is the son of film director Basu Bhattacharya and Rinki Bhattacharya, the daughter of Bimal Roy. He started his film career as an actor in Shyam Benegal‘s Mandi (1983), where he played the role of Smita Patil‘s boyfriend. He followed it up with Rihaee (1988) and Sudhir Mishra‘s Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003). He made his debut as director with Raakh (1989), which received three National Film Awards, and a Best Directorial Debut Award at the Bengal Film Journalists’ Association Awards. Meanwhile, he also worked as a photojournalist. Subsequently, he shifted base in 1988 from Mumbai to Rome, where he made an Italian film and some music videos. His film Dubai Return (2005), which he also produced under the banner Aditya Pictures, premiered at the IFFI Goa 2005. In 2012, he produced and directed Bombay’s Most Wanted (BMW), which was screened at the Mumbai Film Festival.

    Julián Sánchez

    Born in Barcelona in 1966, he has lived in San Sebastian since 1993. As a writer, he has published four novels: El Anticuario, El restaurador de arte, La voz de los muertos and El rostro de la maldad.  His work is characterized by its visual impact and elaborate plots in which diverse literary styles are adopted. It has been translated into twelve languages and has received wide critical and popular acclaim. Currently, he has begun writing screenplays and collaborating on content with the company RIO BRAVO.

    Sandra Sotelo (President)

    Journalist and news correspondent at ABS-CBN Corporation. A teacher, freelance journalist, and active member of the Filipino community, Sandra Sotelo Aboy understands the value of news and believes in applying transversality in the journalistic activity she carries out. To manage her time, she jumped into the world of digital commerce with a 24/7 business project that allows her to dedicate herself to the promotion of her country’s culture and projects such as Contracorona which we will be projecting at the AFFBCN 2023.

    Álvaro González

    Graduated in Screenwriting and Dramatic Writing from the Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (ESCAC), Álvaro González collaborates with the distribution company Brigante Films (2017 – 2018). This is the company responsible for the distribution in physical and digital formats of Psycho Raman (Anurag Kashyap, 2016 – India) and Confession of Murder (Jung Byung-gil, 2012 – South Korea). He is also a content creator for the Asian film dissemination Atlas of Asian Cinema (TikTok/IG: @atlasdelcineasiatico).

    Natalia Díaz

    Natalia Diaz Peñalver (Barcelona, 1967) is the director and co-founder of the Korean culture blog “Korea in Barcelona”. Created in 2017, it reports on all activities related to Korean culture that take place in Barcelona and Catalonia, with special emphasis on South Korean cinematography. She also publishes articles with cultural content and interviews with film directors, actors, and writers. On a personal level, she is passionate about Asian cinema and participates as an accredited press in several film festivals.

    Eugenio Rivera (President)

    Eugenio Rivera Claudio (Madrid, 1959) is a writer and illustrator. He currently directs the digital magazine ENTRELETRAS, where he is a film critic. He is a contributor to OMC Radio and a member of the Association of Critics and Writers of Madrid. Among his publications are Sombras de bohemia (Vitruvio, 2013), Poesía dibujada en el parque (Vitruvio, 2017), Madrid 1939 (Vitruvio, 2019) and Madrid 2020, Pandémica y celeste ((Vitruvio, 2020), both co-authored with Pablo Méndez, Lorca habla aquí (Vitruvio, 2020) and the poetry collections Memorias del derrumbe (Vitruvio, 2021) and Manual de desvanecimientos (Ayuntamiento. de Torrejón, 2023).

    Sandra Mur

    Sandra Mur Puyuelo (Huesca, 1986) has a Master’s degree in Specialized Communication and a PhD in Linguistic, Literary, and Cultural Studies. She has specialized in the Eurasian space, Russia, and Central Asia. She collaborates with distributors in this geographical area and film festivals as an intercultural interlocutor and mediator.

    Qazi Abdur Rahim

    Qazi Abdur Rahim (1962) graduated from the Autonomous University of Madrid and started working in Radio M-80 and with “Gomaespuma”. Qazi is the first Indian to be nominated for the Spanish Film Awards for Best Original Score for the film El Próximo Oriente. He is the founder and director of the Imagineindia International Film Festival in Madrid, which has just celebrated its twentieth edition. He has been a jury member at several festivals and a programmer at the Macta Women’s Film Festival, the Rain International Nature Film Festival, and the Turkish Film Festival.

    Yeung Hiutung

    The founder of AURUA Art Fund. As the film producer behind films such as Hope Island, The Rain Keeps Falling, A Road to Spring, and Where to Grow, Yeung Hiutung has consistently pushed the boundaries of storytelling and visual artistry. His dedication to cinematic excellence has earned him prestigious accolades, including A Road to Spring shortlisted in the 24th Busan International Film Festival New Wave section, Growing Apart shortlisted in the 16th FIRST Youth Film Exhibition, and shortlisted in the 13th Beijing International Film Festival’s “Eye for the Future”. Yeung Hiutung ‘s commitment to creative innovation extends beyond the silver screen.

    Adriano Calero

    Cultural manager, graduated in Humanities and Film Direction. As a film critic, he specializes in Asian cinema. He publishes his texts in Las Furias Magazine, Transit: cine, and other media such as +1 UIC Magazine. He is the creator, editor, and broadcaster of the Pódcast Empanada Cultural, which is broadcast on Radio Fabra and Radio Desvern. He is also linked to Asian culture through Martial Arts, as a qualified instructor of Kali Filipino and Kuk Sool Won (traditional Korean AAMM).