Diretores

Born in New York in 1951. He had been passionate about cinema since high school, when he made super-8 movies in partnership with writers Nicholas St. John and John McIntyre. His first feature films, Driller Killer (1979) and Ms. 45 (1981), transformed him into a cult figure. He directed, among others, King of New York (1990), The Addiction (1995), The Blackout (1997), New Rose Hotel (1998) and Pasolini (2014). The features Bad Lieutenant (1992), Mary (2005), Go Go Tales (2007) and The Projectionist (2019) were exhibited at the Mostra. In 2011, he received the Leopard of Honor at the Locarno Film Festival.

Born in Nebraska, USA. He spent a decade working in Hollywood before making the jump to writer and director with his debut The Bunny Game (2011), which screened at many film festivals around the world. Currently, his miniseries Heartland is in development.

Born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1948. Started her career working with Krzysztof Zanussi and Andrzej Wajda. She also collaborated with the filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski in the Three Colors Trilogy script. Agnieszka made her debut as a director in 1979 with the movie Provincial Actors. Since then, she made films such as Angry Harvest (1985), Europa Europa (1990), nominated for the Oscar of best adapted screenplay, The Third Miracle (1999), Julie Walking Home (2002, 27th Mostra), In Darkness, nominated for the Oscar of best foreign language, Spoor (2017), winner of the Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, and Mr. Jones (2019, 43rd Mostra).

Born in Argentina in 1984. Studied cinema at Buenos Aires University and cinematography at SICA. His work has screened at international film festivals including Rotterdam, BAFICI, Busan, Montreal and La Habana. Lonely Rock is his first feature film.

Born in Athens in 1981. He works as a film director and a musician. Voulgaris has also acted and written original music for several films; he has directed music videos and theater plays. He made the feature films Crying? (2003), Pink (2006), Higuita (2012) and Thread (2016), which were presented in film festivals like Toronto, Karlovy Vary and IndieLisboa.

Born in Quebec, Canada, in 1979. Director and screenwriter, she made documentaries including Les Mains du Monde (2004), Le Petits Géants (2009), with Émile Proulx Cloutier, Se Souvenir des Cendres - Regards sur Incendies (2010), a documentary about the refugees who worked on Denis Villeneuve’s feature film Incendies (2010), and Le Plancher des Vaches (2015). She made the fictional feature films Le Ring (2007) and Inch’allah (2012), winner of Critic’s Prize and special mention of the Ecumenical Jury at Panorama section at Berlin International Film Festival, and was also presented at 37th Mostra.

Born in Moscow, Russia, in 1939. Works as a director, screenwriter and animator. He graduated in 1962 from VGIK, the film school in Moscow. His work is characterised by an interest in Russian history and culture. In 1966, Khrzhanovsky made his first film, the short Once Upon a Time There Lived Kozyavin. His most famous feature is A Room and a Half (2009), inspired by the work of the Russian poet and essayist Joseph Brodsky.

The brothers were born in Warri, Nigeria, in 1985. They studied screenwriting and directing in New York City: Arie studied at Columbia University and Chuko went to New York University. Together, they directed the short film Goose (2017). Eyimofe (This Is My Desire) is the duo’s first feature.

A graduate from Rhode Island School of Design, Jones is a cartoonist. He is the author of Post-it Notes Diaries, a book of his illustrations, and has directed animations and motion graphics to journalists and documentary filmmakers, working with companies such as The New York Times and VICE. Feels Good Man is his debut as a feature film director.

Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1962 and, since the 1980’s, he lives in France. Rahimi is a filmmaker and writer. He made his debut in feature film direction with Earth and Ashes (2004), awarded at Cannes Film Festival. The movie is an adaptation of his homonymous novel, released in 2000. In 2012, he directed the film The Patience Stone, also an adaptation of one of his books.

Tavoosi began his career as a journalist and filmmaker when he was 18 years old in Tehran, Iran. After making a few short films, Tavoosi moved to Canada, where he directed the documentary Dress Rehearsal for an Execution, exhibited in many festivals around the world. The Names of the Flowers is his first fiction feature.

Born in Baneh, Iran, in 1979. He began his artistic career as a painter and, later, started to write and direct movies. He directed short films, such as The Painter (2000), Ready for Death (2008) and Ask the Wind (2010), which won the Crystal Bear at Berlin International Film Festival, and the feature Mardan (2014). The Little Refugee is his second long-length film.

Born in 1979. He directed five documentary shorts and worked as a cinematographer in more than 80 films. Since 2009, Dezfoulizadeh has been a photo editor for several magazines, newspapers and news agencies. Soundless is his first feature film.

Born in Mexico City in 1982. There, he studied film at CCC Film Training Center. Arellano directed and wrote, among others, the documental short Zogocho (2008) and the features Entre La Noche y El Día (2011), El Comezo del Tiempo (2014) and Fuego Negro (2020), all of them presented and awarded at film festivals in Latin America.

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1964. He graduated in cinema from the FAAP and began his career directing music videos for bands like Titãs. He directed short films such as Aurora (1987), Dov’è Meneghetti? (1989, 14th Mostra) and Jó (1993, 17th Mostra), before releasing his first feature, Belly Up (1997). He also directed Friendly Fire (1998, 22nd Mostra), Delicate Crime (2005, 29th Mostra), Stray Dog (2007), Love According to B. Schianberg (2010, 33rd Mostra), I’d Receive the Worst News from Your Beautiful Lips (2011, 35th Mostra) and Pitanga (2016), winner of Critics Prize for Best Brazilian Feature at 40th Mostra. In 2019, Brant made part of the Jury of the 43rd Mostra.

Bill was born in 1980 and Turner in 1982, both in Sidney, Ohio, USA. The brothers made documentaries like Tchoupitoulas (2012), Western (2015) and Contemporary Color (2016), awarded at film festivals such as CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Cinéma du Réel, Sundance, SXSW and Tribeca.

Born in Bulgaria, Bojena Horackova lived in Czechoslovakia before settling in Paris. Her first feature film, Mirek n’est pas Parti (1996), was about a group of Czechs living in the French capital. After Fermeture Définitive du Kolkhoze, a documentary produced in 2000 thanks to a Villa Medici Hors les Murs grant in Bulgaria, her second feature film, À l`Est de Moi (2009), portrait a woman`s journey through the former - USSR. His latest documentary Fukushima no Ato (2017) follows Atsunobu Katagiri for two days in the forbidden circle around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Walden is his third fiction feature film.

Born in the United States in 1971. He has directed commercials and music videos for artists such as Sonic Youth, Cat Power and Yo La Tengo. With Laura Moya, King co-directed the documentary Dutch Harbor: Where the Sea Breaks its Back (1998). He has also directed the documentaries Looking for a Thrill: An Anthology of Inspiration (2005) and Homeland: The Story of the Lark (2010), about the artist Laurie Anderson. His first fictional feature film, Here (2011, 35th Mostra), was awarded at Sundance and Berlin
film festivals.

Born in Germany in 1980, Qurbani is the son of political refugees from Afghanistan. He lived in several German cities and studied film directing at the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy. Directed the short film Illusion (2007) and the features Shahada (2009) and We Are Young. We Are Strong. (2014, 39th Mostra).

Born in Vila Velha, Brazil, in 1981. He got his degree in film and video from the University of São Paulo’s School of Communications and Arts. He directed the short films Areia (2008), which opened the 2008 Semaine de la Critique in Cannes, O Menino Japonês (2009), Os Barcos (2012) and Merencória (2017). He also made the features The Moving Creatures (2012, 36th Mostra) and Your Bones and Your Eyes (2019), presented at International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Born in Patos de Minas, Brazil, in 1980. Cássio Pereira dos Santos studied filmmaking at University of Brasília, where he directed fiction and documentary projects. After graduating, he worked as assistant director and as a producer at an educational TV channel. He wrote and directed seven short films, such as The Scarecrow Girl (2008) and Iara (2018).

Born in Cape Town, South Africa. Studied Drama at the University of Stellenbosch, specialising in Theatre Directing. His feature film debut was in 2016 with Johnny is nie Dood nie. In 2018, he directed Canary and The Seagull.

Born in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 1986. Studied photography and filmmaking. He has directed the short movies Souvenir (2012), Über Uns Elektrizität (2013), Der Gast (2014) and I Gave Everything to the Sun Except My Shadow (2016). Spagat is his first feature film.

Born in Bucharest, Romania, in 1967. He studied painting and cinema in Geneva. Puiu is the director of feature films such as Stuff and Dough (2001); The Death of Dr. Lazarescu (2005), winner of the Un Certain Regard Award at Cannes Film Festival; Aurora (2010, 34th Mostra); Three Exercises of Interpretation (2013) and Sieranevada (2016). He also directed a segment of the collaborative film Bridges of Sarajevo (2014, 38th Mostra).

Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1979. Rosenberg studied at Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, in Jerusalem. He wrote and directed short films, such as Proyec Gvul (2003) and Homeland (2008), in addition to the documentary feature Uri Zohar Khozer (2018). The Death of Cinema and My Father Too is his second feature film.

Born in Portugal in 1978. He began his career as an assistant to Douglas Gordon and the centenary Manoel de Oliveira. Directed short films such as Heiko (2008), L’arc-en-ciel (2009) and Cigano (2013), presented in film festivals like Locarno, SXSW and IndieLisboa. The Last Bath is his first feature film.

Born in Michigan, United States, in 1975. As an author and journalist, Rothbart created Found Magazine. He directed the documentary feature Medora (2013), Emmy winner. 17 Blocks is his second feature.

Born in São Paulo, he began his career as a cinematographer, later working with film, television and advertising. His filmography includes the features Zagati (2001, 26th Mostra), Soluços e Soluções (2001), Musicagen (2007, 29th Mostra), Trilhos Urbanos (2007) and Inversion (2010). He also produced the Caco Souza’s 400 Contra 1 - Uma História do Crime Organizado (2010) and directed Warner’s Brazilian television series Bipolar (2010).

Born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1969, Esen has lived in Switzerland since 1990. She studied film at Zurich University of Arts. She directed a few short films and the feature Köpek (2015). Al-Shafaq - When Heaven Divides is her second long-length film.

These Canadian actors directed the short movie Tandem (2018) together. Étienne Galloy has acted in features such as Kuessipan (2019) and Avant qu’on Explose (2019). Christophe Levac is part of the cast of Jeune Juliette (2019). La Marina is the duo’s first feature film.

Born in Rome, Italy, in 1988, the brothers work as a duo in cinema. They spent their childhood in the outskirts of the Italian capital, practicing painting, photography and poetry. Without any formal film-making training, they directed video clips, films for TV and a theater play. Their debut film, Boys Cry (2018, 42nd Mostra), was presented at the Berlinale. In 2019 they
published their first collection of poems, Mia Madre È Un’Arma (My Mother is a Weapon).

Born in 1933, he was a Brazilian director and screenwriter. He directed features including Morte em Três Tempos (1964), Viagem ao Fim do Mundo (1968), Ladrões de Cinema (1977) and O Mágico e o Delegado (1983), awarded best film at the Brasilia Film Festival. He died in 1988.

Born in Las Varillas, Argentina, in 1977. Verdoia is a cinema, theater and advertising director, playwright and photographer. He directed his first film, Chile 672 (2006), with Pablo Bardauil, with whom he also made La Vida Después, in 2015. In 2017, together with Guto Pasko, he directed the first season of the Brazilian series Contracapa.

He is the founder of Lume Filmes and director of Lume International Film Festival, in São Luís do Maranhão, Brazil. Since 2007, he has been active in film distribution, privileging independent author films. He wrote and directed the medium-length film Litania da Velha (1997), the shorts Infernos (2006) and Vela ao Crucificado (2009, 33rd Mostra), and feature films such as The Exercise of Chaos (2013, 37th Mostra) and O Signo das Tetas (2015).

Born in Canada, Johnson worked with his brother, Evan, and filmmaker Guy Maddin in The Forbidden Room (2015, 39th Mostra), in departments like production design, animation and editing. With his partners, he also directed the short documentary Bring Me the Head of Tim Morton (2015) and The Green Fog (2017, 42nd Mostra).

Born in Asmara, Eritrea,  in 1964. Moves to New York, where he graduates from the New York University Film School in 1985. Following a journey to India in 1993, he produced and directed Boatman, his first movie. After the short Afterwords (2008), Rosi directed features awarded as best film in festivals such as Venice International Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival and Visions du Réel: Below Sea Level (2008), Sacro GRA (2013) and Fire at Sea (2016), also nominated for the Oscar for best documentary.

Born in Rio de Janeiro. After studying journalism, theater and graduating in economics, Coelho founded Matizar Filmes. His documentaries Fala Tu, Living Rap in Rio (2003, 27th Mostra), Fernando Lemos - Through the Image (2005, 30th Mostra), Pqd - Brazilian Paratroopers (2007, 31st Mostra) and A Sunday with Frederico Morais (2011, 35th Mostra) were screened at many festivals around the world, such as Berlin, Cinéma du Réel, Rio Festival and São Paulo International Film Festival. He produced Jogo de Cena and Moscow, by documentary filmmaker Eduardo Coutinho.

In 2015, Coelho participated in Belinale Talent Campus and, in that same year, directed his first fictional film, Orphans of Eldorado (2014, 39th Mostra). Written and directed by him, the film was presented at many festivals. In 2017, he participated in the Talents Program in Buenos Aires. He is currently working on his second feature script, Neuros, selected to Paris Co-Production Village and Script Circle, Berlin. In addition, he just finished the documentary Lights On, presented at the 44th Mostra.

Born in Canada in 1956. He graduated in economics at the Winnipeg University and started his career in film in the 1980s. Maddin had a retrospective of his work presented at the 28th Mostra, with films such as Archangel (1990), Twilight of the Ice Nymphs (1997), Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (2002) and Cowards Bend the Knee or The Blue Hands (2003). He has also directed the short film My Dad Is 100 Years Old (2005), the segment Colorful Cat of the movie Invisible World (2011) and the features Brand upon the Brain (2006), My Winnipeg (2007), Keyhole (2011) and The Green Fog (2017), all presented at Mostra.

Canadian filmmaker originally from New Brunswick now living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. After graduating from the University of New Brunswick and NSCAD University, she made several short films, like Fish (2016) and Milk
(2017). Murmur is her first feature film.

Born in Baku, Azerbaijan. He studied at the Sarajevo Film Academy under acclaimed Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr before going on to make his feature debut Hills without Names (2018). Baydarov has completed an award-winning trilogy of documentaries set in Katech, Azerbaijan: When the Persimmons Grew (2019), which won the Special Jury Mention at Visions du Réel, Mother and Son (2019) and Nails in My Brain (2020), which premiered at Cinema du Réel.

Born in Moscow, Russia, in 1975. His debut film, 4 (2005), won a Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. He began work on DAU, a multi-disciplinary project at the intersection of cinema, art and anthropology, in 2006. 

Born in Ceuta, Spain. She completed a bachelor’s degree in documentary cinema at the International Film School of San Antonio de los Baños, in Cuba, and a master’s degree in art & cinema studies. She made the feature Hotel Nueva Isla (2014) and the medium-length Diarios del Exilio (2019), presented at International Film Festival Rotterdam. Between Dog and Wolf is her second feature-length film.

Born in Morocco in 1983. Studied directing at La Femis film school, in Paris. Passionate about live music, Ismaël founded a concert recording company in the French capital, shot photos for music bands and made a video installation for the 2014 Venice Biennale of Architecture. Zanka Contact is his first feature film.

Born in Greece in 1984. She has a PhD in fine arts from the University of Leeds. Her work has been exhibited at venues and festivals such as the Viennale, BFI, Tate Modern and Rotterdam Film Festival. Kala Azar is her debut feature film.

Born in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), in Russia, in 1966, she grew up in East Germany. She studied at the Film and Theatre School in Moscow and worked as a freelance make-up artist on numerous films and television productions.

His undergraduate thesis film Natives premiered at SXSW in 2013. In 2015, his short Actresses screened at Sundance. The Surrogate is his first feature.

Born in Fenyang, Shanxi province, in China, in 1970. One of the most important filmmaker today, he made, among others, the features Platform (2000), The World (2004), awarded with the Critics Prize at the 29th Mostra, Still Life (2006), winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, 24 City (2008), A Touch of Sin (2013) and Ash Is Purest White (2018), all presented at Mostra. During the 31st Mostra, in 2007, the filmmaker came to São Paulo to present a retrospective of his work, and at the 38th Mostra, he was honored with the Leon Cakoff Prize. In 2020, in the 44th Mostra, Jia Zhangke signs the art of the edition’s poster and also shows the short Visit (2020) and the feature film Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue (2020).

Born in Mozambique, in 1969, Pinto moved to Portugal when he was 5 years old. In the last few years, he has been living between Lisbon and São Paulo. He directed the short films Don’t Swim (2015) and Skype Me (2008). His first feature, America (2010), was screened at the 34th Mostra. Mosquito is his second long-length film.

Joe Lawlor was born in 1963 and Christine Molloy was born in 1965, both in Ireland. They graduated from the Dartington College of Arts, in the United Kingdom, in 1992. Among their works are the fictional features Helen (2008) and Mister John (2013) and the documentary Further Beyond (2016).

Born in Miami, USA. He graduated in film school in 2016 and made short movies like Kuru (2017) and The Horse and the Stag (2018). My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell it To is his feature debut.

Filmmaker and lecturer, he studied cinema at the Royal College of Art, in London. Costa has taught at several institutions, such as Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ). He is also the author of the book Power to the Cinema!, from 2002. The filmography of the director includes fictional shorts, such as The Case of J. (2017), and documentary feature films, like In Between Walls (2002), directed in partnership with João Ribeiro, and Red Line (2011).

Born in London in 1981. She is an actress, writer and director. Josephine has in the curriculum the direction of several short movies, such as Where Are You Going, Elena? (2009) and Me the Terrible (2012), and some feature films like Butter on the Latch (2013), Thou Wast Mild and Lovely (2014) and Madeline’s Madeline (2018, 42nd Mostra).

Born in 1970, Julie is a history graduate. From 2011 to 2014, she studied documentary directing at Ateliers Varan and video and sound editing at École des Gobelins. Back to Visegrad is her first film.

Directors graduated from the School of Communication and Arts at USP. Taubkin and Arantes are founders of Massa Real Filmes. They directed the short A Guerra de Arturo (2009) and TV shows like Massaroca and Viajandona.

Born in Burgas, Bulgaria, in 1975. His debut feature film Eastern Plays (2009, 33rd Mostra) was selected to the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes and was exhibited and awarded at other international film festivals. He also made The Island (2011), Face Down (2015) and the segment My Dear Night (2014) of The Bridges of Sarajevo (2014, 38th Mostra), which also featured works by directors such as Jean-Luc Godard and Ursula Meier.

Born in Japan in 1996. In 2020, Umemura graduated from the film production department at Kyoto University of the Arts. Silence and Sunset is his first feature film.

Liu is an actor, director and screenwriter. He worked in television, acting and also directing series, like Hello Again! (2019). In the movies, he directed the feature 22nd Catch (2016). Your Name Engraved Herein is his second film.

Born in 1980 in Lesotho. He is a self-taught filmmaker and visual artist based in Berlin. He made the fictional feature film For Those Whose God Is Dead (2013) and the documentary Mother, I Am Suffocating. This Is My Last Film About You (2019), and had his films presented at film festivals like Berlin, Sheffield, Venice and Rotterdam.

Born in Berlin, Germany, in 1985. From 2009 to 2016, she studied directing at Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. She directed Looping (2016) as her graduation film. Cocoon is her second feature.

Born in Brasília, Meireles has a degree in cinema. Director and screenwriter of short films, he finished in 2020 his first feature film, the documentary Candango: Memórias do Festival.

Born in Vigo, in the Galicia area of Spain, in 1983. After studying film at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Patiño directed the short films Remembering the Faces of Death (2009), Into Vibration (2011) and Mountain in Shadow (2012), among others. His first feature film, Coast of Death (2013), was awarded in Locarno and screened at the 38th Mostra.

Born in Canada in 1970. She majored in fine arts at the Concordia University, in Montreal. For several years, she worked as an assistant director, scenographer and producer. She made the feature films Familia (2005, 29th Mostra), Gabrielle (2013), which was chosen to represent Canada at the Academy Awards and received the Audience Award at the Locarno Festival, and Merci pour Tout (2019).

They were born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and studied film at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS). Both directors and screenwriters, they are partners at the production company Pátio Vazio. They made the short documentaries Antes do Lembrar (2018) and Os Olhos na Mata e o Gosto na Água (2020), in addition to the feature film Sisters in the End of the World (2020, 44th Mostra). Their films were selected at film festivals such as Berlin, Rotterdam, Tiradentes and Havana. Ana’s Farewell is their second feature film.

Born in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1983, he has a master’s degree in film directing from the Polish National Film School in Lodz. During the course, he directed short movies such as Radek (2007), Echo (2008) and Without Snow (2011). The Here After (2015), his first feature film, was screened at the 39th Mostra and at Director’s Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival. Sweat is his second feature film.

Born in Bern, Switzerland, in 1976. Wilkins worked in various departments on more than ten feature films projects across Europe. Among his works are the short movies Twilight (2008), Hotel Pennsylvania (2013) and Bon Voyage (2016). The Saint of the Impossible is his first feature film.

Brennand graduated from the New York Film Academy. In 2008, he wrote, directed and produced the documentary Porta a Porta (2008). In 2015, he directed the short film Two Women, awarded at international festivals.

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1980, and studied film at the University of São Paulo. Dutra directed short films like Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening (2006) and Sleeping Hammock (2010), and the features When I Was Alive (2014) and The Silence of the Sky (2016). With Juliana Rojas, he made short movies such as The White Sheet (2004) and A Stem (2007), and the feature films Hard Labor (2011) and Good Manners (2017, 41st Mostra), winner of the Jury Special Prize at Locarno Film Festival.

Born in Lisbon in 1947. He studied directing and theatre at INSAS, in Brussels, and graduated in direction and photography at IDHEC (Institute for Advanced Cinematographic Studies), in Paris. He is one of the most notorious cinematographers of portuguese cinema, and worked, among others, with Manoel de Oliveira, João César Monteiro, Raul Ruiz and Jean-Claude Biette. He directed, in addition to television movies, the feature films Le Miracle Selon Salomé (2004) and Doomed Love (2008, 32nd Mostra).

Born in Rauma, Finland, in 1938, Markku became a ranger in 1963. His life changed when he lost everything in a fire. Interested in photography, he bought a 16mm camera and made films for the Finnish TV. He directed movies like The Blue Mammy (1985, 10th Mostra), Uhri – The Sacrifice (1999, 23rd Mostra) and A Bride of the Seventh Heaven (2003, 28th Mostra). Anerca, Breath of Life was directed in partnership with Johannes Lehmuskallio, his son.

Studied film direction at film academy VSMU in Bratislava and as guest student at the film academy HFF in Potsdam, in Germany. In 2007, she established her own production company Projector23 in Berlin. Summer Rebels is her feature debut.

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1979. Mariani studied film at NYU and directed the short movie Rear View of the City (2003). He produced, among others, the features Kirill Mikhanovsky’s Fish Dreams (2006, 30th Mostra) as well as Heitor Dhalia’s Drained (2006, Jury Prize at the 30th Mostra) and Adrift (2009). He had his debut as a director beside Maíra Bühler with I Touched All Your Stuff (2014), presented at 38th Mostra.

Born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1989. His graduation work, the short movie I Am Jupiter, I Am the Biggest Planet (2016), went on to screen at over 20 international film festivals. He directed, among others, the features Butterfly Flower (2017), Melodrama/Random/ Melbourne! (2018) and A Bigger Jail (2019).

Born in Kassel, Germany, in 1972, he grew up in Zurich, Switzerland. Studied film and psychology and worked as a journalist, editor, cultural organizer and musician. Before his debut as a director, he wrote several screenplays. Directed the short film Herr Goldstein (2005), winner of the Golden Leopard award at the Locarno Film Festival. Mostra presented his features The Friend (2008) and A Decent Man (2015).

Mina Mileva entered the British animation industry in 1996 and worked as animation director, animator and line producer for films, commercials and TV series. She also co-directed several animated shorts. Vesela Kazakova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1977, and studied acting at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts. In 2003, she graduated from the University of National and World Economy, in Sofia. Together, they directed the documentaries Uncle Tony, Three Fools and the Secret Service (2014) and The Beast Is Still Alive (2016), in addition to the fiction film Cat in the Wall (2019), presented at Locarno Film Festival and at 44th Mostra.

Born in Kyrgyzstan in 1982. He played the lead role in three films directed by his father, Aktan Arym Kubat: The Swing (1993), The Adopted Son (1998, 22nd Mostra) and The Chimp (2001, 25th Mostra). Abdykalykov made his debut as a director with the short Pencil Against Ants (2010). In 2015, he directed his first feature film, Heavenly Nomadic (39th Mostra).

Born in Shiraz, Iran, in 1973. He graduated in sociology from the Shiraz University and studied editing at the Sooreh University in Tehran. From him, Mostra presented the features The Twilight (2003), Iron Island (2005) and Goodbye (2011), for which he received the prize of best director of Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival. He also made Manuscripts Don’t Burn (2013) and A Man of Integrity (2017), best film at Un Certain Regard. In 2010, Rasoulof was arrested on set while working alongside Jafar Panahi and sentenced to a year in prison. Since 2017, he has been officially barred from leaving Iran.

Born in Ardebil, Iran, in 1977. In 2004, he graduated in film directing. Even before studying cinema, Nemati was directing short movies. He debuted with Like the Umbrella of the Kids (1993), followed by The Lost Homework (1999), The Children’s Songs (2000), Free Line (2005) and With Him (2006). Those Three, his first feature film, was presented at Locarno Film Festival. He is also the director of the feature film Three and a Half (2011), shown at various film festivals, such as the one in Busan, in South Korea.

Born in Nara, Japan, she studied at the Osaka School of Photography. Naomi made her directorial debut with Embracing (1992), a documentary short about the search for her father, who left during her youth. She also directed feature films such as Suzaku (1997), winner of the Caméra d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival; Shara (2003); The Mourning Forest (2007, 32nd Mostra), winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes; Hanezu (2011, 35th Mostra); Still the Water (2014, 38th Mostra); An (2015), winner of Audience Award to the Best Foreign Fiction at the 39th Mostra; Radiance (2017, 41st Mostra) and Vision (2018).

Botter Jr. is a director, producer and screenwriter. He directed short films, such as Espírito de Natal (2007) and O Nervosinho (2011), the feature Os Under-Grounds (2018) and animation series to channels like Disney Channel, Netflix and Nickelodeon. The Red Scroll is his second feature film.

Savignone is a film director graduate from the University of Cinema and has a master in playwriting from the National University of the Arts. In 2013, he directed the film Los Desechables. Neither Hero nor Traitor is his second feature.

Born in Simferopool, in the region of Crimea, Ukraine, in 1976. Gamer (2011), his first feature film, was screened at the 36th Mostra. In 2014, Sentsov was condemned to a 20 year sentence, accused of terrorism. He protested against the unification of Crimea and Russia. In jail, he made a hunger strike in 2018, becoming one of the most famous Russia’s political prisoners. After many protests held by film institutions around the world, Sentsov was released in September, 2019.

Born in Canada. Screenwriter, director and sound designer, Plante studied film production at Concordia University in Montreal and is a co-founder of Nemesis Films production company. Fake Tattoos (2017), his debut feature-length film, won the best canadian feature award at the 2017 Festival du Nouveau Cinéma in Montreal.

Born in Irbit, Russia, in 1986. Ganin graduated from the Moscow State Humanitarian Institute and, for ten years, worked in advertising agencies. He directed commercials and music videos, in addition to short films. Trigger is
his feature debut.

Born in Sainyaa, near Agra, in India, in 1978. After studying at the Film and Television Institute of India, in Pune, he worked as an actor and assistant director. In 2014, he released his first film, The Honour Keeper.

As a freelance photographer and filmmaker, Golchin shows social issues in his works. He began his career as a photographer: he has a master from the Art University of Tehran and was a professor at the University of Guilan. He directed short documentaries, such as Dollhouse (2018) and Twilight (2018). Anima is his debut as a feature film director.

Born in Chile, Litorriaga has lived between South America and Europe. He currently lives and works in Santiago, Paris and Brussels. He directed short films, such as Noctis BXL (2006) e J’y Étais, le Ptit Muret (2007). La Francisca, a Chilean Youth is his first feature film.

Born in Mexico City in 1987. He graduated from the CCC Film Training Center with the short film Australia (2016). Patterson wrote and directed the shorts Paradisio (2013), Arreglo Napolitano (2020) and We All Want to Sleep (part of the collective film La Danza de las Fieras, 2017). He also co-directed the documentary Bad Hombres (2020).

He works as a screenwriter, playwright, film director and professor at University of São Paulo. He graduated in film from the University of São Paulo’s School of Communication and Arts. His short films were Lyrics (1991) and Mutant… (2002, 26th Mostra). His feature length debut came with codirecting the film Body (2007, 31st Mostra), in partnership with Rossana Foglia, following it up with Waiting Telê (2009) and Super Nothing (2012, 36th Mostra).

Born in Styria, Austria, in 1983. Made her first feature film, The Impossible Picture, in 2016. The Trouble with Being Born is her graduation film at the Film Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg.

Born in Baranovitchi in 1964, while Byelorussia was still part of the Soviet Union. Amongst his films are the documentary features The Settlement (2001) and Landscape (2005); and the fictional features My Joy (2010) and In The Fog (2012), all shown in a retrospective of his work at the 36th Mostra. He was a member of the International Jury of the 37th Mostra. In 2018, he won the director’s award at the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes Film Festival with the movie Donbass.

Sevgi is a director, screenwriter and editor. She lives in Munich, Germany, and has worked in different film departments: she started as an editor and, later, began to write scripts. Toprak is her debut as a feature film director.

Born in Tehran, in Iran. Siamak studied cinema in Athens and worked as assistant director in various feature films, TV series and series of documentaries. He has also worked as an actor, both in theatre and cinema. His short film Cavo D’Oro premiered at Locarno Film Festival in 2012. Pari is his first feature film.

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1950. Tendler majored in history from the University of Paris, with a master’s degree in cinema and history from the School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences. His filmography includes the documentaries The JK Years: A Political Trajectory (1980), Jango (1984), Retrato Falado do Poeta Castro Alves (1997) and Marighella - Retrato Falado do Guerrilheiro (2001). He presented Glauber The Movie, Labyrinth of Brazil (2003) at the 27th Mostra and Utopia and Barbarism (2009) at the 33rd Mostra.

Born in Argentina in 1996. Recently graduated in film direction at the University of Cinema, in Buenos Aires. In 2017, she was awarded the first prize of a contest for new filmmakers, from the INCAA, the Argentine Film Institute, which supported the making of her debut film Mum, Mum, Mum.

Born in Rome, Italy, in 1975. Director, writer and actress, she studied philosophy and editing. Her filmography includes several shorts, the documentaries Il Terzo Occhio (2003), The Last Sentry (2008) and Per Tutta la Vita (2014) and the features Cosmonauta (2009), La Scoperta Dell’Alba (2013) and Nico, 1988 (2017, 41st Mostra), winner of best film award at the Horizons section at the Venice Film Festival.

Born in Sysmä, Finland, in 1975. He has directed numerous shorts, music videos and commercials, and made his feature debut with Simo Times Three (2012), followed up by Lovemilla (2015), based on the popular Finnish TV dramedy of the same name, of which he has directed several episodes. Nikki also made Euthanizer (2017, 41st Mostra), which was the official Finnish Oscar entry for the Academy Awards, and Nimby (2020, 44th Mostra).

Was born in 1969 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Graduated at the National Film School of Denmark. Launched the Dogma manifest along with Lars von Trier in 1995. Made his debut feature, The Biggest Heroes, in 1996. His second feature film, The Celebration (1998), won a Special Jury Prize in 22nd Mostra. He followed up with two English language films: It’s All about Love (2003, 27th Mostra), Dear Wendy (2005, 29th Mostra), Submarino (2010), The Hunt (2012) and Far from the Madding Crowd (2015).

Toumani Kouyaté is a griot, who, in the African tradition, are storytellers. In addition to singing, dancing, playing, telling stories and photographing, he is a university professor and festival organizer in several countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and in Canada. Between Us, a Secret is his debut film as a director and screenwriter.

Born in Malaysia in 1957, Tsai Ming Liang moved to Taiwan in 1977. He is one of the most prominent film directors of Taiwan’s new cinema movement. He directed films such as Vive l’Amour (1994), Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival; The River (1997, 21st Mostra), Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival; The Hole (1998), Critics’s Prize at the Cannes Film Festival; What Time is it There? (2001, 26th Mostra); The Skywalk Is Gone (2002, 27th Mostra); Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003, 27th Mostra), The Wayward Cloud (2004) and Stray Dogs (2013), Grand Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, and Days (2020, 44th Mostra). He has also directed Aquarium, a segment of the feature Welcome to São Paulo (2004), produced by Mostra. He has also directed the feature Face (2009), on invitation of the Louvre Museum.

Born in Prishtina, Kosovo, in 1979. He studied at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, Germany. Morina directed the short movies Sirens (2008), Death by Suffocation (2010) and Of Dogs and Wallpaper (2013). Babai (Father) is his first feature film.

Born in Beijing, China, in 1991. Shujun began his career in film as an actor, when he was 14 years old. He graduated from the Communication University of China. He directed the short film On the Border (2018), special jury distinction at Cannes Film Festival. Striding into the Wind is his first feature film.

Specialized in documentaries, Goldstein is a director and cinematographer who focuses on social issues. Meredith Zielke is an editor and cinematographer based in Chicago. Together they directed the short film La Curación (2008), about alternative
healing techniques in the northern Andes. A Machine to Live In is their first feature.

Born in Hebei, China, in 1992. He graduated from the Tsinghua University, in Beijing, where he studied at Academy of Art and Design and School of Journalism and Communication. Zhang Qi made his debut in direction with the short movie Long at Night, Short in Day. Single Cycle is his first feature film.

Born in Bacau, Romania, in 1987. Visky studied film directing at the University of Theatre and Film in Budapest. During his studies, he wrote and directed several short films which received awards at international festivals. Tales from the Prison Cell is his first feature-length movie.

Born in Piatra Neamt, Romania, in 1974. He works as a historian, and is currently director of the Wilhelm Filderman Center for the Study of Jewish History in Romania. Cioflâncă has worked as a consultant for various film and theatre productions and made his debut at film direction with The Exit of the Trains.

Born in Beijing, China, in 1957. Political dissident and one of the most important contemporary artists, Ai Weiwei also acts as filmmaker, photographer and architect. Son of Ai Qing, one of the most successful poets in China, he grew up in exile in his own country. When he was young, Ai Weiwei went to the USA and entered Parsons School of Design in New York, but most of his learning came from experiences with local artists and intellectuals. Back to China, he produced some of his most important works, like the destruction of an ancient urn dated from the Hun dynasty and the widely known series of images called Study of Perspective. He directed documentaries such as Disturbing the Peace (2009), So Sorry (2012) and Ordos 100 (2012). In 2017, at the 41st Mostra, Ai Weiwei signed the concept art to the edition’s poster, presented the documentary Human Flow and was honored with the Humanity Award. At the 44th Mostra, he exhibits Coronation and Vivos.

Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1985. Piperno studied film directing in Argentina, at University of Cinema, in Buenos Aires. He directed several short films, such as Hello to the Fjords! (2016) and The Zebus (2018). Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine is his debut as a film feature director.

Panamanian film director, visual artist and actress. She studied psychology, performing arts and documentary filmmaking and has specialized in screenwriting and film restoration at the School of Conservation and
Restoration of Cultural Property in Madrid. Panquiaco is her first feature film.

Born in Santiago, Chile, in 1965. Although he graduated in Economics, he gave up his profession, and went on to course filmmaking at the New York University in 1990. As early as 1994, he launched his first film, the short film Reunión de Família. Three years later, he filmed his first feature, Football Stories. Afterwards, he directed Loco Fever and Machuca (28th Mostra and 30th Mostra).

Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1957. A political science graduate, he worked as a journalist. Later, he began to write for cinema and theater and to teach at film schools. He directed the short film Déposer les Enfants (2012). Back to Visegrad is his first feature.

Born in Helsinki, Finland, in 1980. He graduated from the Arcada University of Applied Sciences with a bachelor of arts in 2009. He directed short films, documentaries and television shows. The Hypnotist is his feature documentary debut.

Co-founder of the production company Isme Film, Aslaug has studied media, fashion design and comparative politics. She is also a yoga instructor, rock climber and journalist. The Art of Fallism is her debut as a film director.

Born in France in 1980. He works as a press illustrator for the national daily Le Monde and the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné. He has also worked on numerous graphic reports for various french newspapers. As a cartoonist, Aurel has published around 20 books,including two non-fictional comics, Clandestino and La Meritiense. In 2011, he co-directed with Florence Corre his first animated short film, Octobre Noir. Josep is his first feature film.

Chelli studied film directing at LV Prasad Film and TV Academy, in Chennai, India. He worked as an assistant director and directed five short films and a few commercials. The Tremor is his debut feature film.

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, she made her debut as a director with the short film Uma Menina Como Outras Mil (2001). She also signed the direction of two others shorts, Roda Real (2004) and Índias (2005). She directed the features Bollywood Dream (2009, 33rd Mostra), the first co-production between Brazil and India, and Los Silencios (2018, 42nd Mostra).

Born in 1962. A Quebec filmmaker, he graduated in film studies from Concordia University, in Montreal, Canada. He worked as an assistant director as well as directing documentaries such as Roger Toupin, Épicier Variété (2003), Nestor et les Oubliés (2006) and Northern Greetings (2007). He made the feature fiction films The Necessities of Life (2008), Décharge (2011), presented at the 36th Mostra, and Iqaluit (2016).

Aguiar is a professional musician since he was 11 years old. He worked with great names of Brazilian music, like Caetano Veloso, Marisa Monte, Gilberto Gil, Carlinhos Brown and Arnaldo Antunes. In film, he is a musical producer (in 2007, he signed Ó Paí, Ó: Look at This’ soundtrack) and he directs documentary shorts, such as Dona Cadu (2018) and Chegança, no Jardim das Belas Flores (2020). Samba of Saints - An Afro-Bahian Resistance Movement is his first feature.

Born in Switzerland in 1972. She graduated from the Zurich University of the Arts and made traineeships in New York and Berlin. She directed, among others, the feature films Im Nordwind (2004), Late Bloomers (2006), Lovely Louise (2013), presented at the 38th Mostra, and With the Wind (2018).

Born in Opava, Czech Republic, in 1967. He graduated from the Prague Film School. Directed by him, Mostra presented the features Wild Bees (2001), his feature film debut, awarded with best film at the International Film Festival Rotterdam; Something like Happiness (2005), best picture at San Sebastián International Film Festival, Four Suns (2012) and Ice Mother (2017).

Born in Zagreb, present-day Croatia, in 1956. He made, among others, the films for television Ruski Umetnicki eksperiment (1982) and Sumanovic - komedija umetnika (1987), and the documentary Sugar Factory (2016).

Born in Brazil in 1978. Bruna is a photographer, writer and documentary filmmaker. She began her career in 2009, directing the short film 448 and co-directing the short Moths. She participated in other productions, as a
producer and actress. Checkmate is her debut as a feature film director.

Born in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in 1971. From 1989 to 1994, she worked as a director assistant in the Mongol Public Television. She studied film at the Munich Cinema School (HFF). Her first feature, The Story of the Weeping Camel (2003), was screened at the 28th Mostra and nominated for best documentary at the Oscars. Since then, she also directed The Cave of the Yellow Dog (2005) and the documentary The Two Horses of Genghis Khan (2009).

Carlos López Estrada’s debut film, Blindspotting, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018. He directed music videos for artists such as Billie Eilish, Father John Misty, Thundercat and Flying Lotus, and in 2012, he won a Latin Grammy for video of the year. The filmmaker recently joined Walt Disney Animation Studios, where he currently works as director of Raya and the Last Dragon.

Born in São Paulo, Brazil. Meneghetti studied film at FAAP and also took courses in London (at London Metropolitan University) and in Rome (at Experimental Cinematography Center). He directed videos for art installations and short films, presented in many international festivals, like Veneza and Turim, in addition to the Bienal de São Paulo. He came back to Brazil in 2017, where he makes integrated arts work, TV shows and documentaries.

Born in Chile, Pardo has lived in Mexico since he was 14 years old. In Mexico City, he studied at Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC) and at Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos (CUEC-UN AM). He directed short films and the feature Gonzáles (2014). Sanguinetti is his second long-length film.

Cláudio Marques was born in Campinas, in the state of São Paulo, in 1970. With Marília Hughes, he directed the short films O Guarani (2008), Nego Fugido (2009), Carreto (2010), Sala de Milagres (2011), Desterro (2012) and the feature films After the Rain (2013, 37th Mostra), The City of the Future (2016, 40th Mostra) and The Cotton Wool War (2018, 43rd Mostra).

Born in Porto Alegre, Brazil. She has worked with cinema and advertising since 1989. In 1996, Toffoli started to make her own movies. Among her main works as a director are Divagações num Quarto de Hotel, a program produced for a French TV channel, and the documentary Dona Helena (2005).

Born in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1967. She studied stage design in Paris and politics in Hamburg. She made the documentary Make Up (1999) and the feature Madrid (2002).

Born in Michigan, USA in 1959. Filmmaker, non-fiction author and investigative journalist, he made his directing debut with How to Survive a Plague (2012), which, alongside numerous other awards, it was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary. France also directed The Death and Life of Marsha P. (2017), screened at Sheffield Documentary Festival and in Tribeca.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1977. She worked as an actress in features such as Meu Nome É Dindi (2007), directed by Bruno Safadi, Falsa Loura (2007), directed by Carlos Reichenbach, and Light in Darkness: The Return of Red Light Bandit (2010), directed by her mother, actress and director Helena Ignez, and Ícaro Martins. Ocean Woman is her debut feature film.

Tanzanian American, Ekwa is a screenwriter and a director. She has written and directed several drama series for mainstream broadcasters in Kenya and South Africa, including The Agency, MNET’s first-ever original hour-long Kenyan drama series. She received scholarships from the Tribeca Institute and the Sundance Institute. Farewell Amor is her debut as a feature film director.

Born in São Paulo and graduated in cinema at FAAP. Director and screenwriter, his first feature film, The Famous and the Dead (2009, 33rd Mostra), was presented at international film festivals such as Berlin and Locarno. His short movie Something like That, directed in partnership with Mariana Bastos, won the best script prize at Cannes Film Festival in 2006 and became a feature film with the same name made by the two directors in 2017. Esmir Filho also created television shows like Tudo o que É Sólido Pode Derreter (2009) and Kissing Games (2020).

A one-time student of Guy Maddin, he first worked with the director as additional camera operator in My Winnipeg (2007, 32nd Mostra). In The Forbidden Room (2015, 39th Mostra), his feature film directing debut, he also served as screenwriter, visual effects supervisor and assistant editor. Johnson also directed The Green Fog (2017, 42nd Mostra).

Son of exiled Iranians, Shariat was born in Cologne, Germany, in 1994. He
studied dramatic arts at the University of Hildesheim and focuses his work
on the experiences of immigrant families. He directed short movies such as
The Dichotomous Trilogy (2015) and Aïcha (2020). No Hard Feelings is his
first feature film.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1981. He studied film at Enerc (Escuela Nacional de Experimentación y Realización Cinematográfica), where he currently works as a professor. Márquez made his directorial debut with the documentary After Sarmiento (2015), screened in many festivals around the world. The Long Night of Francisco Sanctis (2016), his first feature film, was presented in the Un Certain Regard section, at Cannes Film Festival.

Born in Chester, England. He directed fiction and documentary features, among them The Great Dome Robbery (2002), I Am Slave (2010) and Little Matador (2012). Death of a President (2006), presented at the 31st Mostra, won the International Critics’ Award at Toronto Film Festival.

Born in Greece. He studied social psychology in the UK before completing a master’s degree in directing fiction at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield in 2012. Since 2007, he has been writing and directing short films which have been screened and awarded at dozen international film festivals. Digger is his debut feature.

Born in Paris in 1975. After graduating from the French film school ESRA, in 1997, he started directing short, television and documentary movies. Among his works are the short films Choose or Lose (1999) and Behind (2005), and the documentaries Calamity Jane: Wild West Legend (2014), Michel Legrand: Let the Music Play (2018) and Racing Through Life: Toulouse-Lautrec (2019).

Half Icelandic, half Norwegian director, writer and photographer. She worked with short films and music videos and, in 2018, she made her debut as a feature film director with the movie Forever and Never.

Borges is a director, screenwriter and cinematographer. He is a member of the collective Plano 3 Filmes, in Bahia, where he has carried out over 15 projects, such as the short film Sonhos and the documentary Jonas e o Circo sem Lona (2015), in which he was writer and cinematographer. Filho de Boi is his debut as a feature film director.

Born in Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 1949. His first work as a director was the documentary Em Nome da Razão (1980, 4th Mostra). Mostra also screened Menino Maluquinho (1994, 31st Mostra), Love and Co. (1997, 22nd Mostra) and The Secret Diamonds (2014, 38th Mostra).

Born in Denmark in 1977. Comes from a background in mountaineering and long expeditions into the Arctic and Amazon. He worked as a high altitude cameraman before launching his own expeditions to remote mountains. Studied cinematography at the Danish Film School. The Trouble with Nature is his first film.

Russian director with a doctorate in philosophy. His works in video art were presented in museums and galleries including the Moscow Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Modern in London.

Born in Ukraine in 1982. She graduated from the Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinematography and Television. Her short film Home (2016) and her first feature, Invisible Battalion (2017), were presented and awarded at various international film festivals. In addition, Iryna has been working as a writer.

Born in Minaeh, Iran, in 1960. He studied film and TV directing in Tehran. Most important Iranian filmmaker in activity, he was Abbas Kiarostami’s assistant director in Under the Olive Trees, winner of the Critic’s Prize at the 18th Mostra). The White Balloon (1995, 19th Mostra), his first feature film as a director, was awarded with the Golden Camera at the Cannes Film Festival. He has also directed titles such as The Mirror (1997, 22nd Mostra, in which he was also member of the International Jury), winner of Locarno Film Festival, The Circle (2000, 24th Mostra), winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, Crimson Gold (2003, 28th Mostra), winner of Un Certain Regard Jury Award, and Offside (2006, 30th Mostra), winner of Silver Bear at Berlinale. In 2010, he was charged with six years in prison and was forbidden to film or leave Iran for two decades under the accusation of doing advertising against the Iranian government. One year later, Panahi directed This Is Not a Film (2011), shown at the 35th Mostra and awarded with the Silver Bear for best screenplay at the Berlinale. He also signed the direction of Closed Curtain (2013, 37th Mostra), best screenplay at Berlin, Taxi Tehran (2015), best film at Berlinale and 3 Faces (2018, 42nd Mostra), best screenplay at Cannes. The filmmaker was honored with the Humanity Award at 42nd Mostra, in 2018.

Born in Charleroi, Belgium, in 1936. Bernardet is professor emeritus at University of São Paulo, cinema theorist, critic, filmmaker, screenwriter, writer, playwright and actor. As an actor, he participated in films such as Orgia (1969), by João Silvério Trevisan, Sweet Thieves (1977, 44th Mostra), by Fernando Coni Campos, and Before the End (2017, 41st Mostra), by Cristiano Burlan. He signs the script for films such as Case of the Naves Brothers (1967, 37th Mostra), by Luís Sérgio Person. Bernardet directed Eterna Esperança (1972), São Paulo, Sinfonia e Cacofonia (1994) and Sobre Anos 60 (1999).

Jenni Kivistö is a filmmaker and is completing her master’s in documentary at Aalto University, in Finland. Her first documentary, Land Within (2016), portrays the people who live in the desert between Colombia and Venezuela. Jussi Rastas is a documentary filmmaker and cinematographer. His work is focused on social issues and, in recent years, he has been filming in conflict areas, like Syria, Ukraine and Colombia. Colombia in My Arms is his directorial debut.

Born in New York in 1996. Dylan is the founder and creative director at the media production company Wondros. He directed series and specials for television, short films and music videos for artists like Bob Dylan and Nelly Furtado. He also directed the comedies American Wedding (2003) and Kicking & Screaming (2005).

Born in Lamego, Portugal, in 1949. He studied film at the Portuguese National Conservatory. After working as a film critic, his first feature film was The Other One (1981). His filmography includes A Portuguese Farewell (1985), Hard Times (1987), Three Palm Trees (1994), Traffic (1998), Who Are You? (2001), The Woman who Believed She Was President of the United States (2003), The Fatalist (2005), The Book of Disquiet (2011), The Maias - Story of a Portuguese Family (2014), Cinema, Manoel de Oliveira and Me (2016) and Pilgrimage (2018), all screened at Mostra. In 2005, Botelho was part of the Jury of the 29th Mostra.

Born in Porto Feliz, Brazil, in 1982. In 2015, he directed the short film Command Action, selected for the Semaine de la Critique at the Cannes Film Festival, to which he returned in 2016, this time to the short film competition, with The Girl who Danced with the Devil, which received a Special Jury Mention. His latest short film, Meninas Formicida (2017), was selected for the Orizzonti section at Venice International Film Festival. Memory House is his first feature film.

Born in Kauniainen, Finland, in 1973. He started his career in film as an actor. Later on, he has worked as a camera assistant, sound recordist and still photographer. Johannes made his debut in feature films direction with the documentary Pyhä (2017). He shared the direction of Anerca, Breath of Life, his second film, with his father Markku Lehmuskallio.

Born in Portugal in 1969. He graduated in filmmaking in Lisbon and completed his studies at the International School of Film and Television of San Antonio de los Baños, in Cuba, and at New York Film Academy, in the USA. Barahona has worked as a sound engineer in many feature and documentary films and has directed, among others, the short movies Pastoral (2004) and Quem É Ricardo? (2004) and the documentaries Corn (2008), The Lost Manuscrit (2010, 35th Mostra), Far From Home Movie (2012), I Was in Lisbon and Remembered You (2015, 39th Mostra) and Clandestine Soul (2018, 42nd Mostra).

Film director and teacher. He was one of the founders of LUCKY STAR - Cineclube de Braga and teaches the subjects of history of cinema and direction at Cascais School of Arts & Design.

A graduate in radio and TV from Universidade Belas Artes, in São Paulo, Joyce works with documentaries, fictional films and advertising as director and producer. After working in production companies, such as Gullane and Primo Filmes, she founded Oxalá Produções, a production company that makes contents with special focus on afro-Brazilian culture. Chico Rei Entre Nós is her debut as a feature film director.

Nasceu na Carolina do Norte, EUA, em 1975. Filho de pai mexicano e mãe guatemalteca, Cordón foi criado entre México, Costa Rica e Guatemala. Estudou comunicação e jornalismo na Guatemala e cinema na Cidade do México. Dele, a Mostra apresentou Gasolina (2008), Marimbas do Inferno (2010) e Pó (2012). Realizou ainda Te Prometo Anarquía (2015), Atrás Hay Relámpagos (2017) e Compra-Me um Revólver (2018).

Born in 1985, Pavlović graduated at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb, Croatia. He participated in workshops in festivals, such as Berlin and Sarajevo festivals, and directed a few short films, like Picnic (2015). Mater is his first feature.

Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1977. Director, screenwriter and producer, Hosseini  entered the world of cinema as a child actor in his father’s films. He studied  theatre and cinema in university and directed some short films and TV  movies. In 2016, he worked as an assistant director for Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman (40th Mostra). He is the director of the feature films Night Outdoor (2013) and Buffalo (2015). 

Kislay studied at the Film and Television Institute of India, in Pune. Before his foray into films, he was an active member of the Delhi theatre community and directed five plays between 2006 and 2010. Kislay also made three independent shorts. Just Like That is his first feature film.

Born in the Philippines in 1958. He is the most important filmmaker of his country, and in 2013, the 37th Mostra presented a retrospective of his work, with the presence of the director, who joined the International Jury. In 2014, his feature film From What Is Before won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival and the Audience Award at the 38th Mostra, and in 2016, for The Woman Who Left, he won the Golden Lion at Venice International Film Festival. Diaz also participated on the Mostra with A Lullaby to a Sorrowful Mystery (2016) and The Halt (2019).

Born in Böblingen, Germany, in 1984. In 2005, she started her studies in film directing at Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, where she received a scholarship to participate in a masterclass in UCLA, in Los Angeles. Lena directed short films, such as Sidelights (2009) and From the Spirits that I Called (2012). Equinox is her feature debut.

Born in Debrecen, Hungary. Linda studied film at the Faculty of Arts, Catholic University Péter-Pásmany and has a master in directing. She directed short films, such as The Third Day (2013), Cubeman (2017) and Rebirth (2019). Pilate is her first feature film.

Born in Yuncheng, China, in 1983. Liu Ze began to make films when he was still in college. He directed short films, like The Other Side of the Mountain (2006) and River (2018), in addition to the documentary The Third Uncle (2017).

Born in Freiburg, Germany, in 1977, and grew up in Paris. He studied film in San Francisco and film directing at the German Film & Television Academy (DFFB), in Berlin. He directed, among others, the short films Bonzenkarren (2008) and You Know the Park Is Filled with Flowers (2011). 1986 is his first feature film.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1949, she studied economics and joined a student political group. During the military dictatorship in Brazil she was in hiding and was arrested in 1971, and then tortured and imprisoned for three and a half years. Her first feature film was the docudrama How Nice to See You Alive (1988). She also directed features like Brave New Land (2000), Almost Brothers (2003), Foreign Eye (2005), Another Love Story (2007), A Long Journey (2011), In Three Acts (2015) and Praça Paris (2017), all of them presented at Mostra. In 2011, she was a member of the documentary Jury at the 35th Mostra.

Graduated in industrial design at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Abramo started his career as a cameraman and, later, assumed the position of cinematographer. He worked in films such as O Chamado de Deus (2001), by José Joffily.

Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1959. He first worked as an actor in the student theater. His experience in theater, professional and amateur, continued until 1979, the year of the Islamic Revolution. After that, he became a film actor and started producing short films. From him, Mostra exhibited Baduk (1992), Father (1996), awarded in San Sebastián and winner of the honorable mention of Critics at Mostra, Baran (2001) and The Song of Sparrows (2008).

A graduate in film from FAAP, Marcela is a screenwriter, director and producer. She worked as an assistant director with filmmakers like Walter Salles, Hector Babenco and Carlos Nader. She directed TV series, short films and the documentary Ouvir o Rio: Uma Escultura Sonora de Cildo Meirelles (2012). In 2018, her online short film, Ser o que se É, had 5 million views in one month.

A director and screenwriter, he directed the documentary Jards Macalé - Um Morcego na Porta Principal (2008) with João Pimentel. He also codirected Mário Lago (2013, 37th Mostra) with Markão Oliveira. In theater, he was the musical director of the play A Dog’s Will, directed by Antonio Abujamra.

Marília Hughes was born in Vitória da Conquista, in the state of Bahia, in 1978. With Cláudio Marques, she directed the short films O Guarani (2008), Nego Fugido (2009), Carreto (2010), Sala de Milagres (2011), Desterro (2012) and the feature films After the Rain (2013, 37th Mostra), The City of the Future (2016, 40th Mostra) and The Cotton Wool War (2018, 43rd Mostra).

Born in Lodz, Poland, in 1960. The filmmaker and professor of animation at the Lodz Film School has been creating animated auteur cinema for over 20 years. Retrospectives of his work have been presented at venues including MoMA, the National Museum of Brazil, Tokyo International Forum and the National Museum in Warsaw. His animations have also screened at the National Gallery, in London, and in Berlinale Shorts. Kill It and Leave This Town is his debut feature and took 11 years to complete.

Born in Portugal in 1984, she graduated in architecture in Lisbon. Marta collaborated, during the last ten years, in the production, editing and making of independent films.

Born in Saudi Arabia in 1985. She studied film directing. Since 2014, Marwa has worked as a programmer for the Sudan Independent Film Festival in Khartoum. She lives in Sudan and Germany, where, since 2018, has been studying at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne. Khartoum Offside is her first feature film.

Born in Winnipeg, Canada in 1980. He studied at the department of History and Classical Studies at McGill University in Montreal, as well as Laval University in Quebec. He made numerous short films, like Tabula Rasa (2011) and Tesla: World Light (2017). The Twentieth Century is his first feature film.

Born in Dachau, Germany, in 1992. She graduated with a degree in screenwriting from the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB) in 2017. Her short films, among them, Like in Africa (2014), Motten (2016) and What We Were (2018) have screened at several festivals. Naked Animals is her feature-length debut.

Born in Mexico City in 1979. He earned a degree in film direction from the New York Film Academy and began making films with his production company, Lucía Films. His directorial credits include Daniel and Ana (2009, 33rd Mostra), After Lucia (2012), winner of the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes Film Festival, A Los Ojos (2015), Chronic (2015, 39th Mostra), awarded best screenplay in Cannes, April’s Daughter (2017, 41st Mostra), winner of the Special Jury Prize of the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes Film Festival, and New Order (2020, 44th Mostra), Silver Lion winner at Venice Film Festival.

Born in Bratislava, current Slovak Republic, in 1977. Her first feature film, Little Foxes (2009), premiered at Venice International Film Festival. My Dog Killer (2013), second feature film directed by Mira was awarded as best film at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and was chosen as the Slovak national entry for best foreign language film at the Oscars.

Born in Brazil, Moara currently lives in New York City, where she is a MFA candidate at Columbia University. She graduated in Sociology, Anthropology and Political Sciences at USP (University of Sao Paulo) and has a Master in Documentary Theory from Unicamp (University of Campinas). She worked as an associate producer and co-writer in the documentaries Olmo and the Seagull (2015) and The Edge of Democracy (2019), both directed by Petra Costa.

Born in Gerede, Turkey, in 1980. In 2000, he moved to Istanbul, where he registered in the cinema department of BSF (Science, Arts, Philosophy Academy). In My Dream is his first feature film.

Najwa is a writer and director. She has worked in both documentary and fiction since 2000 and made the feature films Pomegranates and Myrrh (2009) and Eyes of a Thief (2014), which was the Palestinian nomination for the 2015 Oscars best foreign film.

Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1970. She studied Persian literature and is an author, director and screenwriter. In addition to writing fiction books for children and adults, Narges directed the short documentary Yek rooz pas az dahomin rooz (2008) and the fictional features Objects in Mirror (2013), Track 143 (2014) and Breath (2016, 41st Mostra).

Born in Colombia in 1962. He wrote more than a dozen feature films and documentaries for television. He worked for many years at Cali Experimental Theatre. In addition to writing fiction books, in 2005 he made the documentary Le Charme des Impossibilités.

Born in the Netherlands in 1961. She studied stage direction at the  Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, in Utrecht, and made her debut with her film documentary The Saved (1998). She also made the documentaries The Holocaust Experience (2002) and The New Rijksmuseum (2008).

Born in Salvador, Brazil, in 1960. Paloma began her career as a theater actress and, in movies, acted in films like The Age of the Earth (1980), directed by her father, Glauber Rocha. In the 1980s, she was an assistant director in documentaries and, later, she worked as an assistant director in television. She directed Anabazys (2007) with Joel Pizzini.

French cartoonist, he is known for his realistic and grotesque style drawings. Has been publishing his comics since the end of the 80’s. Has directed the feature film Les Petits Ruisseaux (2010). In 2011 he directed Holiday by the Sea (35th Mostra), a tribute to Jacques Tati’s classic Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (1953).

Born in Ranchi, India, in 1984. After graduating from the University of Delhi, he completed a master’s in film directing at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). His debut in direction was with the documentary feature- length A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings (2017). As well as making his own films and teaching, he is involved in the Ektara and Phase I film collectives. Eeb Allay Ooo! is his first fiction feature film.

Born in Romania in 1977. He graduated in the filmmaking department of media at the University of Bucharest. In 2009, he made his debut in feature films direction with The Happiest Girl in the World. From him, Mostra presented the feature films Aferim! (2015), winner of the Silver Bear for best director at the Berlin; Scarred Hearts (2016), winner of the Special Jury Prize at Locarno; I Do Not Care if We Go Down in History as Barbarians (2018), best film at Karlovy Vary; and Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (2021), winner of the Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival.

Born in Portugal in 1978. He studied audiovisual at the Portuguese Catholic University and later specializing in film at NYU’s Tisch School of Arts. He has produced and co-produced films, including for authors such as Edgar Pêra, João Canijo and F.J. Ossang, and he was responsible for the cinema production for the Guimarães 2012 - European Capital of Culture. Areias directed feature films like Thebes (2007), Hay Road (2012), 1960 (2013), Ornament and Crime (2015), Blue Breath (2018) and Surdine (2019) and Down By Life (2020), all of them presented at Mostra.

Born in Mexico City in 1983. He made the documentaries Memorias del Futuro (2012) and Purgatorio: Viaje al Corazón de la Frontera (2013), and the feature drama Lupe Under the Sun (2016).

Akhbari was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1992. Kalmenson was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 1987. Both of them are artists and work, together, with video installations and cinema. Threshold is the duo’s first feature film

Born in London. Graduated in film directing at the American Film Institute. As a screenwriter, she’s written for Participant Media and been a Nicholl Semifinalist. Lorelei is her feature debut.

Sarah grew up in Beirut, Lebanon. There, she studied at Institute of Scenic, Audiovisual and Cinematographic Studies. Since 2005, she has worked as a freelance director. She directed Birds of September (2013). As Above, So Below is her second feature film.

He collaborates as a teacher at the ARTE 7 film schools, the University of Communication and the UPAEP. Master’s degree in documentary film from the University Center for Cinematographic Studies (CUE C), of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Pedro Ros has a degree in history from the University of Valencia. Yo’emian Labyrinth is his first film.

Born in Siauliai, Lithuania, in 1964. He studied cinema at VGIK Institute, in Moscow. He made his directorial debut with the short movie Tofolaria (1986) and, in 1991, directed his first feature film: Three Days. Bartas is also the director of other features, such as Few of Us (1996), The House (1997), Freedom (2000), all presented at Mostra, and Seven Invisible Men (2005), Eastern Drift (2010), Peace to Us in Our Dreams (2015) and Frost (2017).

The four directors were born in Syria. Sidra Rezwan, 13 years old, and Ekhlas Heydar, 15, are from Sinjar. Salva Soleiman Sedo is 14 years old and was born in Shengal, while Adnan Faroq is 15 and is from Kobani. Before Life on the Road, the teenagers directed segments of the documentary Life on the Border (2016, 40th Mostra).

Born in Zlín, Czech Republic, in 1975. Horák studied directing at the Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). He began his career as an assistant director and, for 20 years, directed commercials. In 2015, he wrote and directed the film Home Care, screened in many festivals around the world, like Karlovy Vary. Havel is his second feature.

Born in Belgrade, former Yugoslavia, in 1972. He directed the feature films Absolute Hundred (2001), Trap (2007), presented at 31st Mostra, and Circles (2013), awarded at film festivals like Berlin, Sundance and Sarajevo.

Born in France in 2000. In 2018, she decided to take a preparatory course in sketching before joining the National School of Decorative Arts of Paris. Spring Blossom is her debut feature film.

Born in Brighton, England, in 1979. At the age of 19, he made his first medium-length film, Motion (2001), together with producer and co-writer Joseph Lang. Clay made his debut in feature films direction with The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael (2005).

Born in Portugal in 1971. He graduated in advertising at Fernando Pessoa University, in Porto, and directed TV spots and videoclips. He made the feature films Bad Blood (2006), Noise (2008), Sadness and Joy in the Life of Giraffes (2019, 43rd Mostra) and The Domain (2019, 44th Mostra).

Born in Kahnawá:ke, Canada. Directed the documentary features One More River: The Deal that Split the Cree (2004), Mohawk Girls (2005), and Club Native (2008). She was also co-creator, writer, producer and director in the TV series Working It Out Together, and the TV adaptation of Mohawk Girls.

Born in Gelibolu, Turkey, in 1974. He graduated in cinema and television at the University of Ege. He is known as director of famous Turkish TV series, such as Içerde, Ezel, Menekse ile Halil and Karadayi.

Viviane is an activist, lawyer and filmmaker. Her work in cinema is influenced by Zózimo Bulbul and Joel Zito Araújo, among other filmmakers. She directed the short film Jerusa’s Day (2014), screened at International
Film Festival Rotterdam, and documentaries such as Pessoas - Telling to Live (2019, 43rd Mostra).

He made the short films An Untitled Story about Loneliness (2012) and Binding Paper (2013). Summer Knight is his first feature film.

Born in London in 1976. Received her BA in oriental studies from Oxford University and MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts graduate film program. Her directorial debut, The Imperialists Are Still Alive! (2010), premiered at Sundance Film Festival.