Jury
Jon Wengstron
Born in 1964, in Sakara, Sweden. He studied literature, psychology, and cinema at Stockholm University from 1984 until 1990. He worked as a programmer for the Film Library at the Swedish Film Institute from 1990 until 2003, a period in which he was responsible for presenting classical films, retrospectives and new films that were not selected by Swedish distributors. A curator for the collection of films in the archives of the Swedish Film Institute since 2003, he presents films and lectures on Swedish cinema, mainly silent films, in festivals such as Berlin, Bologna, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon, and Madrid.
Marie-José Sanselme
Born in Paris, in 1963. Cultural attaché to the French embassy in Tel-Aviv from 1994 until 1998, Marie-José Sanselme is film maker Amos Gitai's favorite script writer. Amos Gitai was acknowledged with a retrospective at the 28th Mostra. She wrote the scripts for Kippur (2000, 28th Mostra), Eden (2001, 28th Mostra), based on Homely Girl, by Arthur Miller, Kedma (2002, 26th and 28th Mostra), 11'09"01 – September 11 (2002, 26th and 28th Mostra), Alila (2003, 27th and 28th Mostra), Promised Land (2004, 28th Mostra), and Free Zone (2005, 29th Mostra). She has also translated Amos Gitai's poem Mont Carmel into French.
Christian Berger
Director, producer, director of photography, and author of countless documentaries and films, Christian Berger was born, in 1945, in Austria. He founded his own company, TTV Film, in 1973. He directed his first feature, Raffl, in 1984, selected for the 11th Mostra. He was part of other editions of Mostra and responsible for photography in films - 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance, 18th Mostra; The Piano Player, 25th Mostra, and Benny’s Video, 16th Mostra, all of these directed by Michael Haneke. He was also one of the photographers for The Eye of the Typhoon, by director Paulus Manker, selected for the 18th Mostra. The winner of several international and Austrian prizes, Berger is a professor at the Vienna Academy. He is one of the founders of the Bartenbach Light Academy. In collaboration with Bartenbach Lichtlabor, Berger developed a new system of lighting for cinema known as the "cine reflect light system". This system affords new aesthetic possibilities for the camera and provides greater flexibility and freedom of movement for the actors and directors. The technique was utilized by Berger in the films The Piano Player, Dead Man's Memories, and Hidden.
Zuenir Ventura
Writer and journalist, Zuenir Ventura is one of the great names of the Brazilian press. He has worked as a reporter, a writer, and editor for magazines. He won the Esso and the Vladimir Herzog prizes for journalism in 1989. With a Bachelor's degree and a Licentiateship in Neo-Latin Languages, Zuenir was a professor for over 40 years at the Federal University in Rio de Janeiro and at the ESDI - the Upper School of Industrial Design, of which he was one of the founders. He wrote a book, 1968 - O Ano que Não Terminou, that was the inspiration for the miniseries Os Anos Rebeldes, by Gilberto Braga, produced by Rede Globo Television and also for the film O Homem que Disse Não, by film maker Olivier Horn, for French TV. Amongst others, he also wrote, Cidade Partida, a book-report on violence in Rio de Janeiro, translated in Italy, O Rio de J. Carlos, Inveja - Mal Secreto, and Minhas Histórias dos Outros. He has written texts, scripts, and interviews for cinema and been part of documentaries: A Semana de 22, by Geraldo Sarno, Que País é Este?, by Leon Hirszman; 3 Antônios e 1 Jobim, by Dodô Brandão, Um Dia Qualquer, and Paulinho da Viola - Meu Tempo É Hoje, both in partnership with Izabel Jaguaribe. Today he writes for O Globo newspaper and for the nomínimo site.
João Botelho
Born May 11, 1949, in Lamego, Portugal. He was a designer, illustrator, and professor, before becoming director, producer, script writer, and editor. He studied at the National School of Cinema and, in 1976, founded the magazine M, in which, for years, he wrote critical reviews on films. Conversa Inacabada, his first feature, from 1980, was part of the 15th Mostra that also showed A Portuguese Farewell, from 1985, awarded a prize at the Berlin Film Festival. He also directed Hard Times, in 1987, presented at the 12th Mostra, Three Palm Trees, in 1994, shown at the 18th Mostra and Traffic, in 1998, part of the 22nd Mostra. Quem És Tu, from 2001, was part of the 25th Mostra and The Woman Who Believed She Was President of the United States, from 2002, was shown at the 27th Mostra. O Fatalista, his most recent film, is part of the selection for the 29th Mostra.
Clemens Klopfenstein
Born in 1944. He studied cinema with Kurt Fruh in Zurich. In 1974, he won a scholarship for painting in Rome and, later, exhibited his paintings in Italy and in Switzerland. His first film was Geschicht Der Nachte (1979). Soon after making his first film as director, he completed a second course in cinema, in Berlin, and made a second film: Transes - Reiter Auf dem Toten Pferd, selected for the Berlin Festival. Two of his films have been shown at previous editions of Mostra: Macao (1988 - 13th Mostra) and Whoafraidwolf? (2000 - 24th Mostra). The 29th Mostra presents his most recent film, St. Francis Birds Tour.
Fernando Meirelles
Born in São Paulo in 1951. He began his career shooting experimental videos with a group of friends, while studying architecture at the University of São Paulo. In the 80s, the group founded the independent production company Olhar Eletrônico, which became well known for its inventive creations like Crig-Rá and TV Mix, as well as the hilarious TV reporter Ernesto Varela (Marcelo Tas) and his inseparable partner Valdeci, a character played by Fernando Meirelles. At the end of the 80s, Meirelles and the team of Olhar Eletrônico started producing advertisements. In 1990, Olhar Eletrônico was shut and O2 Filmes was created. In a short time, Fernando Meirelles became one of the most requested Brazilian advertisements directors. At the end of the 90s, he decided to devote himself to his greatest passion, cinema. He worked as assistant-director in The Nutty Boy 2 in 1997 and, in 2001, he directed the awarded Maids, together with Nando Olival. But it was with City of God, shot between July and August 2001, that he has achieved international prominence. Praised by critic and audience, the film obtained four Oscar nominations: Directing, Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Film Editing and Cinematography, besides several national and international awards. His most recent feature, The Constant Gardener, has been selected in the official competition of the Venezia Film Festival 2005.
Antonella Costa
Actress, born in Rome, Italy, she grew up in Argentina. At the age of 18, she acted in her first film, Garage Olimpo, from Marco Bechis, shown at the 23th International Film Festival. She has already acted in 13 films, among which La Fuga¸ from Eduardo Mignogna, Sons and Daughters, from Marco Bechis (shown at the 27th International Film Festival), Nadar Solo, from Ezequiel Acuña, Today and Tomorrow, from Alejandro Chomsky, shown at the 27th Mostra, El Viento, from Eduardo Mignogna (part of 29ª Mostra) Motorcycle Diaries, from Walter Salles, and Cobrador, from Paul Leduc, currently in the post-production phase.
