JURADO DE LARGOMETRAJES
Álvaro Longororia
Spain
One of the founders of Morena Films (1999) with an extensive filmography as a director and producer. He won the Goya Award for Best Film with the production of "Ni distintos ni diferentes: Campeones" (2018) and has been nominated nine times with other productions. As a director, he was a winner in this festival, in the category of Best Documentary, with "Hijos de las nubes" (2012).
Sure, here it is in English: He has directed documentaries with extensive reach and international impact, such as the short film "Hope" (2016), based on one of Greenpeace's voyages to the Arctic, and "Sanctuary" (2019), a portrait of Greenpeace's campaign for the Antarctic Ocean, starring the Bardem brothers.
Here's the translation: He has produced three documentaries directed by Oliver Stone: "Persona non grata" (2003), "Comandante" (2003), and "Looking for Fidel" (2004). Among his most recent titles is "The Life of Brianeitor" (2023), which premiered in the Made in Spain section of the 71st Edition of the San Sebastián International Film Festival.
Paula Palacios
Spain
Here's the translation: He has worked for 18 years as a non-fiction filmmaker from the production companies he directs in Madrid and Paris. He has produced and directed over 25 documentaries and series for networks such as ARTE France, Al Jazeera, Public Sénat, France 3, and RTVE. He directed the only documentary master's program with a diploma from Al Jazeera in Spain. She is the winner of the International Documentary Association / Netflix Award for Best Emerging Global Director.
In 2020, her first feature film, 'Cartas Mojadas', premiered in the Official Section of the Malaga Film Festival. The film narrates the Mediterranean migration crisis through the most challenging rescue operation of the NGO Open Arms and exclusive access to the coast guard ships of Libya and areas in Libya where migrant trafficking occurs.
Here's the translation: As a reporter, she has worked as a host and presenter for several documentaries for Al Jazeera, as well as for the prestigious program Global Mosaic on the American network Link TV.
Victor Mendez
Mexico
Head of the Audiovisual and Multimedia Production Department at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Humanities of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Winner of the Iberoamerica Prize at the XXXI International Biennial of Scientific Film and Image, organized by the Spanish Association of Scientific Film and Image. First place in the competition 'The Mexico We Must Conserve' (in the professional category), organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature.
In 2014, with the documentary 'Collapses, Challenges and Alternatives to the Ecological, Economic, and Social Crisis' (2014), he/she won first place (shared) in the Environment and Sustainable Development category at the VIII Hispanic American Meeting of Independent Documentary Film and Video of Voices Against Silence.
He received an Honorable Mention for Short and Medium-length Films in the Women category at the VI Meeting of Independent Documentary Film and Video, Voices Against Silence, for the video 'Madame Cosmic Rays' (2010).
Lizette Vila
Cuba
Documentarian and musical advisor for film, television, and theater. She has worked as a professor at various universities in America, Europe, and Asia. She has received numerous national and international awards, such as the Ibero-American Ethics Elena Gil Award and the World Gold Medal of Special Education, among others.
Ha sido reconocida por la crítica especializada cubana, la Oficina Católica Internacional de Cine y otras organizaciones y festivales nacionales e internacionales. Durante 17 años transitó por diversas responsabilidades hasta resultar electa Presidenta de la Asociación de Cine, Radio y Televisión de la Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC). En el año 2002, fundó el Proyecto Palomas, Casa Productora de Audiovisuales para el Activismo Social, con la finalidad de fomentar una filosofía de las Culturas de Paz, Ternura y Vida Digna.
Su Artivismo se sustenta con la creación de obras audiovisuales y espacios de pensamiento para la edificación de un desarrollo humano desde la igualdad y la justicia de género, ambiental y social. En el año 2005 resultó nominada como parte del Proyecto 1000 Mujeres y un Premio Nobel de la Paz. En 2019 resultó elegida como una de las fundadoras de UNIDAS, Red de Mujeres de América Latina, el Caribe y Alemania. Su obra creativa cuenta con más de 80 audiovisuales dirigidos hacia temas de carácter social y humanista.
Silvana Birchenough
England
She is a researcher and scientific advisor on ecological changes resulting from climate and human activities in marine species. She provides technical advice on human activities related to mining, oil/gas, and renewable energies. She is a member of the Winston Churchill Travel Foundation and an associate editor of the Journal of Marine Science of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
She has studied the ecological effects on marine fauna of dredging, aggregate extraction, offshore wind farms, and more recently, oil and gas (and the direct effects of decommissioning these artificial structures).
She has also worked on time series and has used her knowledge of human activities to support the development of cumulative effects methodologies. During her tenure as a marine scientist at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, she was also Director of the 'UK Blue Belt Programme,' which assists Overseas Territories in managing Marine Protected Areas.
JURADO DE CORTOMETRAJES
Arturo Sotto
Cuba
Writer, playwright, screenwriter, and film director. Nominated twice for the Goya Award by the Spanish Academy of Cinema. Selected in 2016 as Director of the Year by the Latin Association of Show Critics of New York. He has been Special Jury Prize winner at the 40th New Latin American Film Festival and was chosen for the official selection of the international film festivals of Guadalajara (Mexico) and Taormina (Italy).
He was awarded Best Short Film for 'Talco para lo negro' at the festivals of Havana, Huelva, and Vitoria. Additionally, he won the awards for Best Actress and Best Actor for 'Amor Vertical' in Cartagena de Indias and Viña del Mar, respectively.
He was the director of the magazine Cine Cubano. In 2022, he writes, produces, and directs the short film 'La novicia jardinera,' selected as the best Cuban short film of the year by the Film Critics Association.
Florencia Santucho
Italy / Argentina
Cinematographer, cultural manager, producer, and programmer. In Argentina, she has directed the International Human Rights Film Festival for 20 editions, and the Environmental Film Festival for 6 editions. She is also the director of the Fincadh Festival in Paraguay, where she represents the DerHumALC Multimedia Institute, a non-profit civil association with over 25 years of experience of which she is vice president. She is a member of the Boards of Directors of the Green Film Network and the Human Rights Film Network.
Born in Turin, Italy, she moved to Argentina, her family's country of origin, exiled from the civic-military dictatorship, where she studied film at the Cinematographic Art Institute in the province of Buenos Aires.
She has specialized in reducing the environmental impact of film productions and cultural events. Since 2022, she has been working for Fremantle Italy as a Green Manager.
Antonio Bellia
Italy
Graduated in psychology, he made his directorial debut in 1997 with the documentary "Peppino Impastato: Story of a Free Sicilian." Since 2009, he has been the artistic director of the SiciliAmbiente Film Festival in San Vito Lo Capo, of which he is also the founder. He has directed more than 20 documentaries and has collaborated with major European television channels (Rai, Sky, Netflix, Arte, ZDF).
Recently, he directed a television documentary series about the history of the relationship between the Church and the mafia titled "Oltre le Ombre" and a documentary film titled "Chiesa Nostra".
In 2018, he won the Silver Ribbon with the direction and authorship of the fiction documentary "La Corsa de l'Ora".
Eduardo Boné
Mexico / United States
He is the Senior Manager of the Ocean Program in Cuba for the Environmental Defense Fund, where he leads partnerships to develop and implement projects that support fisheries sustainability. As part of this work, he helps build and strengthen learning networks that provide collaborative working platforms for fishing communities, scientists, managers, and conservationists.
Alongside Cuban colleagues, he facilitates scientific initiatives that include the development of a bioeconomic model for priority Cuban fisheries and an analysis of opportunities for the recreational fishing sector in Cuba.
He is a biologist from the Autonomous University of Mexico and an Industrial Engineer from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico. He holds a dual Master's degree in Conservation Leadership from Colorado State University and the College of the Southern Border in Mexico.
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Amaranta Díaz Carnero
Mexico
Graduate in Ethnology. She received honorable mention at the National School of Anthropology and History of Mexico. She has a master's degree in Documentary Film from CUEC-UNAM. Winner of the Ibero-American Fund Ibermedia Scholarship with the WEBDOC research project: Migrant / displacement stories, narratives and cross-border geographies in the Paso del Norte area (Mexico / USA).
She has extensive work experience. She was Co-director, researcher, and producer of the documentary "Madres que luchan-Nuestras hijas" alongside Grumpy Squared LLC / La Maroma producciones. She also coordinated "Reinas de la 57", a photographic exhibition of women truck drivers in Mexico, authored by Miguel Pérez. She was part of the preselection/programming committee of Ambulante-2023, Mexico. Additionally, she directed the programming and training at BATICINE, a community exhibition space in Tepoztlán.
