Juries 2019

Dr. Swetlana Slapke

Jury president

Film researcher, curator (Germany). Swetlana Slapke is a Doctor of Philosophy and Art Studies. For many years she taught cultural history of the Turkic peoples at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Later on, she moved to the German public broadcaster ZDF (Channel 2) as a scientific advisor, editor and director of television documentaries about Central Asia. Afterwards, she became program Director of the Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Berlin, a member of the Artistic Council of Cottbus Festival of East European Cinema and responsible for Russian Film Fest as board member of the German-Russian Festival in Berlin. Currently she is managing director of the «Eurasia Global Connecting» Agency and engaged in scientific and cultural exchange. She develops and supports joint cultural and film projects, holding Film Days and screenings of various Eurasian countries in Germany. She is the author of several publications on culture and cinema of Central Asia.

Yilmaz Arslan

Yilmaz Arslan was born in Kazanll, Turkey, but has lived in Germany since 1975. In 1992, at the age of just 24, he made his debut film, Langer Gang, for which he subsequently won many awards. By his second film, Yara (1999) (Filmclub Award at the 1999 Max Ophüls Festival), he was simultaneously carrying out the roles of director, writer and producer. The same is true of his 2005 film Fratricide (Silver Leopard at the 2005 Locarno International Film Festival) coproduced by Tarantula Luxembourg and sold in 26 countries. Besides his activities of producer, screenwriter and director, he taught cinema at Goethe Institut network in Europe. He is consultant for script-development of the Medien-und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg (MFG). In 2016, he created a new production company: MaxMa Film UG.

Alexander Pavlov

Philosopher and cultural scientist. His area of interest lies at the junction of cultural studies and social (and political) philosophy. In the field of culture, he deals mainly with cinema. Three of his books are devoted to culture and, above all, cinema – “Shameful Pleasure” (2014), in the center of which is mass cinema, “Tell your children” (2016), which conceptualizes the concept of “cult cinema” and “Inglorious bastards, mad dogs , (2018) which analyzes all Quentin Tarantino’s works, including the latter’s screenplays. Also, Alexander Pavlov is the editor-compiler of several thematic issues of the Logos magazine, devoted to South Park, PornStudies, contemporary TV shows and cinema in all its diversity. In addition, Pavlov is the author of the introductory articles to the books “Introduction to Systems Cinema Analysis” (2018) by Helmut Korte and co-authors, to the texts of Slavoj иizhek “The Pervert’s Cinema Guide” (2014) and Fredrik Jameson “Postmodernism, or Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism” (2019).

Esther Niemeier

Children films Competition Jury president

Film director and producer working in both the UK and Germany. Her first short documentary WALZ screened in the official selection at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and was picked up for broadcast by Canal+, Future Shorts and Okto TV throughout Europe. Esther is currently working on BAD GIRL & CHAMPION, her first feature length documentary as a director – following a period researching new feminist approaches in indigenous Bolivian culture for her master’s thesis for which she was awarded a University of London scholarship. The project is part of a series in its development stages. In addition to her directorial work, Estherhas extensive experience in production and is also working as a producer on the feature length nature documentary «Natura Urbana: The Brachen of Berlin» funded by the European Research Council and the University of Cambridge. Esther is currently enrolled in the MFA Documentary Directing at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. TRACING ADDAI is her graduation film, funded by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and coproduced by German broadcaster rbb.

Children films Competition Juries

Sasha Pivovarova

Director and teacher of the Studio “Yes.” The director, animator of the charity TV series “Flying Animals”, “Kids” and “Cars”. Extensive experience of participation in international film festivals and workshops.

Maria Saskevich

The teacher is Studios “Yes” and the inclusive workshops “Simple Things”. For 6 years she was an art therapist in the charity organization “Step Towards.” He has experience of participation in international film festivals and workshops.