INTERNATIONAL JURY / FEATURE FILMS FOR CHILDREN

• Jacek Piotr Bławut
  A director and screenwriter, graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław and Wajda School, member of the Polish Film Academy, anime cinema enthusiast. His artistic work revolves around musical documentary and feature film for young viewers. His feature debut, ‘The Chocolate Day’, received the Krzysztof Kieślowski ScripTeast award, the Teachers’ Award at the Ale Kino! Festival, and INNIS Prize in Montreal, just to name a few.
• Raško Miljković
  Born in Belgrade in 1991, he graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts. An author of several short films and documentaries, numerous commercials and music videos. His feature debut ‘The Witch Hunters’ (“Zlogonje”) premiered at the 2018 TIFF Kids Film Festival in Toronto, winning the Young Jury Award, and was screened at over 60 festivals, including Ale Kino!, Sundance, Giffoni, Busan, and Zlin.
• Hanneke Schutte
  An award-winning South African writer and director. In 2018, she was named one of the 25 screenwriters to watch by MovieMaker Magazine and the Austin Film Festival. Her second feature film ‘Meerkat Maantuig’ won the FIPRESCI critics prize at the Schlingel International Film Festival in Germany and has been invited to screen at more than 25 international film festivals.

INTERNATIONAL JURY / FEATURE FILMS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

• Kuba Armata
  Born in 1984, Kuba is a film journalist who has interviewed several big names of the cinema, including Darren Aronofski, Tilda Swinton, David Lynch, and Naomi Watts. He cooperates with ‘Cinema’ and ‘Lounge’ monthlies and has published in various magazines, such as ‘Dziennik Gazeta Prawna’, ‘Zwierciadło’, ‘Wprost’, and ‘Przegląd’. Programmer of the Mastercard OFF CAMERA festival in Kraków and FKE Cinergia festival in Łódź.
• Colette Bothof
  She studied psychology and communications, as well as attended the Dutch Film Academy. She works as a writer-director for film, TV and cross-media productions; including the feature films ‘Black Swans’ and ‘Summer’ and the 52-episode cross-media animation series ‘Kika and Bob’. Colette won numerous international awards. She was the head of the Fiction Department at the Dutch Film Academy, member of the board of the Dutch Directors Guild and VEVAM and a consultant in the creative industry.
• Mark Noonan
  An Irish director, alum of Berlinale Talents, TIFF Filmmaker Lab, and Jerusalem Film Lab. His debut ‘You’re Ugly Too’ (2015) premiered at the 65. Berlinale, where it was nominated for the Crystal Bear and Best Debut Feature. The film was nominated by the European Film Academy and won awards at festivals in Athens, Boston, Galway, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. In 2019, Mark received a Nipkow grant.

INTERNATIONAL JURY / SHORT FILMS

• Maria Eriksson-Hecht
  A Swedish filmmaker with a degree in film directing. For the past 10 years, Maria has made several short films recognised at festivals worldwide. When studying, she immersed herself in the director’s work with children, which resulted in the graduation film ‘Schoolyard Blues’ and the MA thesis ‘Directing Children’. Since the premiere, ‘Schoolyard Blues’ has won over 40 awards and has been screened at 100+ festivals.
• Emilia Mazik
  She studied philosophy and culture management at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Since 2014, she has been associated with the Ad Arte Foundation in Poznań, where she completed several projects in the field of audio visual culture, educational activities, and promotion of Polish short films abroad. Since 2015, she has been a programmer and programme coordinator for the international short movies festival Short Waves, and the director of the event since 2019.
• Sylwia Szkiladz
  A graduate of La Cambre in Brussels, Sylwia made two films during her studies: ‘Slug and the snails’ (2012) – co-directed with Gwendoline Gamboa – and ‘The Strawberry soup’ (2014). In 2015, she co-directed the short film ‘The Teeny-weeny fox’, produced by Folimage in France, with Aline Quertain. Currently, she is a freelancer, directs various animations, and works in illustrations. She lives and works in Brussels, Poland, and France.

ECFA JURY

• Marta Nieto Postigo
  Content co-director in Drac Màgic, a cultural cooperative based in Barcelona specialized in taking cinema and audio-visual culture to schools, children, and youngsters through a wide range of schemes. She is also a programmer at the Barcelona International Women’s Film Festival. Especially interested in the power of the intersection of education, film, and feminism in the context of global transformation.
• Mike Tait
  Based at Dundee Contemporary Arts, Scotland, Mike promotes the very best in international film for young audiences (aged 3–19). He produces the annual Discovery Film Festival, programmes year-round family-friendly screenings and supports schools and teachers in the development of film as a valuable classroom resource. He also coordinates the Discovery Young Ambassadors, a team of young film programmers (aged 15–19).
• Iris Verhoeven
  Iris is the head of JEF, a brand new organisation for youth film in Flanders, Belgium. JEF deals with distribution, film education, and media literacy activities in schools and beyond, as well as organises a yearly youth film festival in five cities. The festival has initiated the online platform JEF in the hospital, a project for children in hospitals and rehabilitation centres, which has gone international in 2018.

CHILDREN'S JURY / FEATURE FILMS

• Laura Budzyńska
  Thirteen-year-old student of the seventh grade at the Primary School in Lotyń. In her free time, she enjoys reading, drawing, and skateboarding. She is also passionate about watching films, ‘Dirty Dancing’ being her favourite. When she steps into the movie world, you better not disturb her. When watching her favourite genre – drama – a cup of hot cocoa and handkerchiefs keep her company.
• Alina Bławut
  Aged 11, she lives in Łódź with her parents, two brothers, and a big dog. She loves drawing and watching films, including animations, especially about mythological heroes and animals – what is important, though, is that they are not harmed. Recently, she watched the films ‘Nine Lives’ and ‘Your Name’ several times. She loves new challenges — that’s why she’s thrilled to spend the whole week at the Ale Kino! Festival.
• Bazyli Jędrzejewski
  He likes riding a bike, hanging out with friends, performing experiments, playing chess and Minecraft, as well as reading books. Among his favourite readings, he names the Ranger’s series, Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, The Hobbit, and Fablehaven. Bazyli creates animated films as a hobby. He has already made several – some of them gained recognition at festivals and film events.
• Weronika Maternik
  A student of the sixth grade at Primary School No. 7 in Poznań, Weronika is passionate about athletics, gymnastics, riding horses, and watching movies. A talented and successful runner and an avid reader, Weronika skilfully manages her passions, while achieving very good results at school. In love with animals, especially her dog – a York named Milusia. She values friendship.
• Adam Trejter
  Twelve-year-old Adam has been interested in animations for the past three years. He enjoys reading books, watching adventure movies, and playing games with his friends.

CHILDREN'S JURY / SHORT FILMS

• Aleksandra Fortuna
  Aleksandra is a thirteen-year-old student of the seventh grade of primary school, interested in film and computer graphics. While she enjoys classic cinema, which she discovered during her school’s film education programme, action movies and science fiction are the closest to her heart. Her favourite Polish and foreign directors are Juliusz Machulski and Steven Spielberg, respectively.
• Katarzyna Góralska
  An enthusiastic thirteen-year-old scout, always hungry to learn more about the world. She loves bonfires and enjoys running in the woods at night. Passionate about music and dance, Kasia plays the piano and explores hip-hop. She enjoys fantasy movies the most, as they allow directors to manifest their imagination and creativity.
• Wojciech Kopka
  Eleven-year-old student of the sixth grade of primary school. He completed three grades of ballet school and currently attends the second grade of music school. Wojtek plays the accordion, classical guitar, and ukulele, but his biggest dream is to master electric guitar. Although adventure movies are his favourite, he enjoys watching Charlie Chaplin and Monty Python with his dad the most.
• Anna Kruszel
  A twelve-year-old living in Szczecin. She is passionate about mathematics and music, singing in a children and youth music band. In her free time, she reads books and watches movies – musicals and adventure films are her favourite. A cheerful girl with a great sense of humour, always willing to help others.
• Sandra Szafrańska
  Sandra enjoys many genres: from animated films to horror movies. She also loves to comment on and talk about films. Bursting with energy, she is an eternal optimist looking at the world through rose coloured glasses.

YOUNG PEOPLE'S JURY / FEATURE FILMS

• Dawid Bandosz
  He’s been fascinated by cinema from the earliest age. The passion has led him to various personal discoveries and has drawn him especially close to the films of outstanding directors, Federico Fellini and Robert Bresson remaining his favourites. Currently, he indulges his passion while recording his amateur feature ‘Speedcuber’. He is addicted to working with people who have an opinion and who – like him – want to create meaningful culture, as far-reaching and challenging a task as it may be.
• Tymoteusz Górski
  Odyssey of the Mind creativity contest 2019 world champion and winner of a local film competition ‘Let’s not waste this opportunity!’. At the age of nine, he came up with the idea for and organised a workshop for children, ‘Lego for everyone’. Now, instead of building blocks, he uses sounds and images as a building material for his films. He is fascinated by the phenomenon of choice in life, which he expressed in the first Polish interactive horror film.
• Martna Świątek
  A student of the K.K. Baczyński High School No 2 in Konin. While she dropped the “y” from her name, she holds a tenacious grip on her creative force. In her free time, she slows down and expresses herself by pouring humanity into photos, words and sounds, but most importantly: she sleeps. Preferring a cozy space and a non-munching audience, in the cinema, she’s after strong women, a mysterious aura, the complexity of the (non)human psyche, and... inspirations for this year’s final exam. A laureate of the Criticize! Competition.

YOUNG PEOPLE'S JURY / SHORT FILMS

• Maria Banout
  Final year student at the Silesian Insurgents High School No 1 in Rybnik. In her free time, she perfects her drawing and painting skills at Ludwik Konarzewski Senior Art Centre in Rydułtowy. At nights, she writes stories and film scripts. In love with strange, disturbing and puzzling stories. In art, she is fascinated by blurring the boundaries between opposing concepts: the sacred and the profane, life and death, fiction and reality. A psychological and social cinema lover with a soft spot for animation. A laureate of the Criticize! Competition.
• Bruno Palatyński
  Final year high-school student, he is eighteen years old. Filmmaking is his greatest passion. He creates films end-to-end: from scriptwriting, through directing, cinematography and sound, to editing. His second passion is music – he is a DJ. In the future, he would like to become a cinematographer.
• Maja Szklarska
  Passionate about travels, film festivals and music concerts. Her favourite artists include Hozier, James Bay and Bastille. She is also interested in acting, literature (especially feminist literature and the works of Haruki Murakami) and widely-understood cinematography. Among other filmmakers, Xavier Dolan and Tim Burton occupy a special place in her heart.

FILM EDUCATORS’ JURY

• Frida Lindberg
  A visual arts educator and founder of Den Pedagogiska Designbyrån, an organisation dealing with film and art education for children in Stockholm, Sweden. Since 2010, they have been reaching about 2000 children every year – through school workshops, at museums, and during festivals. Frida also teaches extracurricular film classes and incorporates film education as a part of play therapy at Karolinska University Hospital.
• Robert Pruszczyński
  PhD in Humanities (University of Warsaw), senior coordinator at the Center for Citizenship Education Culture and Media Department, expert on audiovisual education. He works with the New Horizons Association on an on-going basis. He gained experience running projects with the National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute, Helios, Multikino, and Against Gravity. Co-author of a Polish language textbook and author of a lexicon.
• Susanne Wad
  She has been working in film and education since 1995, among others for the Danish Film Steering Committee and the Danish Film Institute. She is one of the founders of Station Next – a film school for young people. Her work revolves mainly around film education concepts, as well as printed and digital materials. Susanne has also been a member of several juries at national and international film events.

ARTHOUSE CINEMAS NETWORK JURY

• Bolesław Drochomirecki
  A mathematician by profession. From the early 70s, he has been involved in cultural initiatives in the region of Opole. For more than 20 years, he has been responsible for organizing events at the Youth Culture Centre in Opole. It is also there that, 17 years ago, he brought Studio cinema back to life. He has been co-organizing the Zero Nudy Children’s Film Festival in that city and since 2011, on behalf of the New Horizons Association, he has been the coordinator of the New Horizons of Film Education project in the city of Opole, as well as the Opole New Horizons project. As a member of the board of Arthouse Cinemas Network, he is responsible for film education. Wishing to screen premiere films in the cities of the Opole region, he founded the digital Opole Travelling Cinema.
• Jolanta Myszka
  She has been working in the film and cinema industry for over twenty years now. From 2003, she has been one of the managers of the Rialto cinema in Poznań. Since 2006, Jolanta is the co-creator and coordinator of the media education programme implemented in the cinemas and schools of Wielkopolska. She completed training organized by the International Art Cinema Confederation (CICAE), ARTCINEMA = ACTION + MANAGEMENT, Venice 2OO7. She was a member of the CICAE Off Prize jury at the Circuito Off Venice International Short Film Festival 2007. In 2016, she received the SKSiL award “Kiniarz roku” (Cinema Manager of the Year).
• Agnieszka Piotrowska-Prażuch
  A deputy head of Amok – an arthouse cinema in Gliwice. She has initiated and is currently running many projects in the field of broadly defined cultural education, among others the Preschool Film Academy and the Children’s Film Club. Agnieszka received the Award of the President of the City of Gliwice in the field of Culture in recognition of her efforts to spread and preserve culture, as well as the Sunflowers 2016 Award – for the best initiative for children in the Silesia and Zagłębie regions. One of the people behind Amok’s success – in 2013, the cinema was recognised by the Polish Film Institute as the Best Cinema in Poland, whereas in 2017 it was awarded the title of the Best Film Education Unit in Poland.