Jury

Rada Şeşic

2025

Head of Documentary Competition, Sarajevo Film Festival

Rada Sesic is one of the most influential figures in the international documentary scene. She heads the Documentary Competition at the Sarajevo Film Festival, co-founded the Docu Rough Cut Boutique, and serves as a programmer at Trieste Film Festival and advisor to IDFA and Rotterdam. Her award-winning documentaries have screened at major festivals.

Reyçel Pronqer

2025

Film writer, curator & co-founder of Invisible Women

Rachel Pronger is a film writer, curator, and co-founder of “Invisible Women”, a feminist film collective. She has worked with leading UK festivals and cinemas, and her articles have appeared in “Sight and Sound”, “The Guardian”, “Documentary Magazine”, “MUBI Notebook”, and others.

Malika Muxamecan

2025

Filmmaker & founder of Qyzqaras Film Festival

Malika Mukhamejan is a filmmaker and curator from Kazakhstan. She is the founder of Qyzqaras, a feminist initiative based in Almaty that amplifies women’s voices in cinema, with a focus on Central Asia. Her debut film “Longer Than a Day” premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival, and she is currently developing her second feature. Malika’s poetic and personal films explore themes of loneliness, womanhood, and emotional alienation. Through Qyzqaras, she curates screenings, lectures, and an annual festival committed to dialogue and community-building.

Marina Belikova

2025

Animation filmmaker

Marina Belikova is a Berlin-based animation filmmaker and multimedia artist. Her film “The Astronaut’s Journal” has screened internationally. Her work explores memory, urban traces, and everyday life. She is part of the Factual Animation Film Festival team and lectures on documentary animation.

İradə Bağırzadə

2025

producer, screenwriter

Irada Baghirzade is a producer, screenwriter, writer, and the founder and director of ADARI Films. She has produced several acclaimed films, including “Chameleon” (2013, dir. Rufat Hasanov & Elvin Adigozel), “Bilesuvar” (2019, dir. Elvin Adigozel), and “Cold as Marble” (2022, dir. Asif Rustamov), which have screened at prestigious international festivals and received awards.

In 2016, Baghirzade received the “Qızıl Peri” national film award. Since 2022, she has been a member of the European Film Academy.