Persons

Terry Gilliam

Terry Gilliam was born in Minneapolis and earned a degree in political science at Los Angeles’s Occidental College. Initially employed as a magazine illustrator, he also worked from time to time in an animation studio and as associate editor of Help! Magazine. In 1967, he moved to London. Two years later, together with Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, John Cleese and Graham Chapman, he created the famous comedy group Monty Python, of which he was the only American member. He also appeared and acted in the television series Monthy Python’s Flying Circus. He co-directed the group’s first film, The Holy Grail (1975) and he produced the short film The Crimson Permanent Assurance, which was presented as an opener to the troupe’s final film, The Meaning of Life (earning the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1983). A number of other films would follow, including Brazil (a surrealistic fable blending sarcastic humour and nightmarish visions, which received an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Fisher King (Golden Globe nomination for Best Director, and winner of a Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival), Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (presented in competition in Cannes in 1998), The Brothers Grimm, Tideland, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. His last full-length feature film, Zero Theorem, was presented in official selection at the Venice Film Festival in 2013. Gilliam is currently working on a new film called The Carnival at the End of Days, which is set to premiere next year. In addition to film, Gilliam is a successful theater and opera director.

Mackenzie Leigh

Recipient of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s PBS INPUT Producer Fellowship, Mackenzie is a fellow of the Hot Docs Accelerator Program, JETS at the Berlinale, Telefilm’s Producers Without Borders at EFM, and Frontières International Co-Production Market organized the Marché du Film. Mackenzie produced the feature film, Son of the Sunshine (CSA Nominee, Slamdance), which was the first feature directed by Ryan Ward and the first feature lensed by Chayse Irvin, ASC CSC (BLONDE, BLACKKKLANSMAN). Mackenzie also produced In the Beginning was Water and Sky (PBS), AMERIKA (INPUT TV Best Film) and recently produced Our Secret, Memories of Youth (CBC), To All That We Are (Inside Out TIFF Lightbox), and Time Traveling Through Time (PÖFF Shorts, SIFF, Flickers’ Best Experimental Film). Mackenzie is currently developing her directorial feature debut, Northen Lights, supported by Manitoba Film & Music. Mackenzie is an alumni of Women in Film Los Angeles’ Creative Producing Program where she was mentored by Michelle Raimo (Silver Linnings Playbook) and Laura Caulfield (The Wolf of Wall Street).

Ryan Ward

Ryan hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba—Canada’s poverty and violent crime capital, home to the windiest street corner in the country, where the only thing colder than the weather is the reception to the idea that there is actually a film industry here. But as Ryan proves, sometimes the most interesting stories come from the most unlikely of places. Growing up in a frozen, cultural wasteland where he shoots the lion’s share of his films has imbued his work with a gritty realism and poetic search for any kind of meaning inspired by pastel Prairie sunsets, the urban decay of his home city, and outlier filmmakers like Joel Potrykus, Vincent Gallo, Gasper Noé, and his former University Prof, Guy Maddin. Ryan’s debut feature, Son of the Sunshine (Slamdance), was nominated by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television for a Canadian Screen Award (CSA). It screened at over 50 festivals, winning 13 awards, and was distributed by Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Hulu, and MUBI. Ryan also wrote and directed, In the Beginning Was Water and Sky (PBS) and Time Traveling Through Time (Tallinn Black Nights, Seattle International Film Festival, Flickers’ First Prize Best Experimental Film). His new feature film, The Aquanaut and the Shipwreck shoots in Los Angeles this spring.

Miguel Llansó

Based in Tallinn Miguel studied philosophy and cinema before leaving on his many adventures. A big fan of experimental-punk-weird music and films, his international recognition came when he started filming in Ethiopia. Among others his works has been shown at Sundance, Rotterdam, Locarno and received positive reviews from Variety, Screen Anarchy, New York Times, Hollywood Reporter etc. Miguel has mainly filmed in Ethiopia, his second home. Where is My Dog? and Chigger Ale were premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam and Locarno and screened at BAFICI, Tampere, Hamburg and more than 50 international film festivals. Crumbs (2015) – a postapocalyptic Afro-Futuristic adventure in Ethiopia – was Miguel’s feature film debut, premiering at Rotterdam International Film festival and screened at Fantasia, Los Angeles Film Festival and more than 100 film festivals worldwide. Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway (2019) – SciFi political satire shot between Ethiopia, Estonia, Latvia and Spain – is Miguel’s second feature film, and was screened at Future Gate Sci-fi Film Festival 2020, among others.

Darren Trumeter

Darren Trumeter is an American comedian and screenplay writer. He is a member of the sketch comedy troupe series The Whitest Kids U’ Know and starred in its television series for five seasons on the Independent Film Channel. He’s quite excellent at keeping his head still while getting a haircut.

James Bristow

James Bristow is an American filmmaker, animation art director, and independent artist. He has produced both live action and animated films and content for music videos, video games and fine art. James is a swiss army knife and can jump into film projects in any department, has built sets, storyboarded whole films, and is currently writing multiple films and tv shows.

Yannis Veslemes

Born in Athens in 1979, Yannis Veslemes is a film director and music composer. He has directed feature films such as She Loved Blossoms More (2024, premiered in Tribeca), The Field Guide to Evil (2018, anthology film /Greek segment, premiered in SXSW, Norway (2014, premiered in Karlovy Vary). He has released music records in international labels (Optimo Music, Invisible Inc, Macadam Mambo a.o) and has composed numerous soundtracks for films (Wednesday 04:45, Suntan, Cosmic Candy a.o).

Denver Jackson

Originally from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Denver Jackson is a self-taught animator and visual effects artist who got his start making films in high school before emigrating to Canada with his parents. As a filmmaker, he leans heavily on the fantastical while still being grounded by real world characters and situations. He works in both live action and animated films, blending the conventions of both mediums to create his own unique style, and is known to write, direct, film, edit and animate almost entirely on his own. THE WISHING JAR (2016) has screened around the world, including at three Academy Award-qualifying festivals and won Best Animated Film at both San Diego Comic Con International Film Festival and Heartland Film Festival, while his first animated short film CLOUDRISE (2013) cut through the 400 hours of content uploaded every minute on Vimeo to become a prestigious Vimeo Staff Pick. He wrote, directed and animated three feature length projects from a webseries (Esluna: The First Monolith) to two feature films (Esluna: The Crown of Babylon and Esluna: The Worlds Divide).

Helena Bendová

Helena Bendová graduated in film science and currently works at FAMU as a lecturer and researcher, focusing on the history and theory of film and computer games. For several years, she was the editor-in-chief of the bimonthly film magazine Cinepur and editor of the Illuminace journal for film theory, history, and aesthetics. She also worked for several years as Vice-Dean for Science and Research at FAMU and Chair of the Council of The Czech Film Fund. She is the author of two scholarly books on the medium of computer games and co-editor of two anthologies on Jean-Luc Godard and theoretical thinking in relation to audiovisual.

Leoš Hort aka HRTL

HRTL is a force of nature on modular synthesisers, his chosen weapon of over a decade, performing unique and electrifying improvised sets that fuse breakbeat rhythms with liquefying acid and synths sliced from the utmost peaks of euphoria. Performing in cities from Riga to Ankara, and major clubbing capitals such as Berlin, London, Amsterdam and Vienna, the Prague-based musician brings a decade of experience to bear in exhilarating live performances, held in his inimitable style from the very centre of the dancefloor.

Jana Plodková

has been acting, singing and dancing since the age of 12. After studying at the JAMU, she gained engagements at the Polárka and Na Fidlovačce theatres and also at HaDivadlo, where she was noticed by casting director Kateřina Oujezdská.

Her first feature film was the Danish drama Prag where she starred alongside Mads Mikkelsen.

This was followed by the comedy Vratné lahve (Empties) by Jan Svěrák and the period film Protektor, for which she won the Czech Lion Award in the Best Actress category.

Her film career then took off and Jana became one of the most frequently cast Czech actresses.

Leoš Kyša

is a writer and former journalist. His alter ego, František Kotleta, regularly tops the best-selling book charts and is among the absolute top in domestic fiction. He is also currently the host of the podcast Jadrná věda, which is aimed at popularising serious scientific topics with guests from the ranks of scientists and publicists.

Lucia Kajánková

is a screenwriter, director, dramaturge, festival programme director and university lecturer at FAMU. Her web series TBH on ČT (Czech Television) was praised as “the first real teen & queer series” in the Czech Republic and won awards at domestic and international festivals (Serial Killer, Finale Plzeň, Main Jury Prize in Marseille). She is currently working on her feature debut, the pre-apocalyptic queer road movie Porcelina. She likes swimming pools and pictures of owls in the wilderness. Lucia lives in Prague with her dachshund Leoš.

Saša Michailidis

“Presenter and manager in the field of culture and media. He hosts the critical-reflective cultural programmes ArtZóna on ČTart and Akcent on ČRo Vltava. He works for the HBO television station and SVOD platform MAX as an acquisition manager and cooperates with the Karlovy Vary IFF. He moderates conferences and gala events of cultural events. Previously, he held the positions of Director of Radio 1 and Project Manager at the Ministry of Culture, focusing on digitalisation and innovation in the field of preservation and presentation of cultural heritage.”

Ian Nathan

Ian Nathan is an author, presenter and filmmaker based in London. He makes his debut as writer-director with Aliens Expanded, the definitive documentary on the perfect sequel. He has written over twenty books, including Alien Vault, Anything You Can Imagine: Peter Jackson and the Making of Middle-Earth, Stephen King At the Movies, Ridley Scott: A Retrospective, Wes Anderson: The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work, James Cameron: A Retrospective, and The Legend of Mad Max. His next book, Steven Spielberg: The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work, will be published in October 2024. He is the former editor and executive editor of Empire, still one of the world’s biggest movie magazines. He has also contributed to The Times, Times Radio, The Independent, The Radio Times, and Cahiers Du Cinema. And is the writer-presenter of the Classic Movies series on the UK’s Sky Arts channel.

Michael Ironside

Michael Ironside has made a strong and indelible impression over the years with his often incredibly intense and explosive portrayals of villains. He was born Frederick Reginald Ironside on February 12, 1950, in Toronto, Canada. Ironside first began acting in films in the late 1970s. He gained recognition for his role as Darryl Revok in director David Cronenberg’s Scanners (1981). Subsequently, another charismatic role followed another. Among the most famous ones are V (1983), Top Gun (1986) and Highlander 2 (1991). Collaboration with director Paul Verhoeven was also a success and Ironside appeared in two of his entertaining science fiction feature films. As the villainous Richter in Total Recall (1990) and as the tough Lieutenant Jean Rasczak in Starship Troopers (1997). Ironside showed his softer and more suggestive side with his moving performance as a convict who befriends a disabled man in the drama Chaindance (1990); he also co-wrote the screenplay and executive produced the film. He has starred in a large number of TV series, including SeaQuest DSV (1993), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993), ER (1995), The Outer Limits (1997), Andromeda (2000), Desperate Housewives (2004), Stargate (2006), Patient Seven (2018) and Barry (2022). Ironside’s most recent film is a Canadian drama about the creation of the BlackBerry mobile phone (2023). In addition to his significant film and television work, Ironside has lent his distinctive deep voice to television commercials and video games.

NICOLAS GIRAUD

The talented and versatile Nicolas Giraud (born 1978) is a French actor, director and screenwriter. As an actor, he has played roles in the blockbuster 96 Hours (2008, directed by Pierre Morel), the romantic drama What the Day Owes the Night (2012, directed by Alexandre Arcady) and the drama Letters from the Front (2017, directed by Xavier Beauvois). Nicolas is also a director; Astronaut is his second feature film. His short film Weaknesses was awarded at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

ALEŠ SVOBODA

Aleš Svoboda (born 1986) is a Czech fighter pilot, Captain in the Czech Army. He serves at the 21st Tactical Air Force Base in Čáslav, where he flies the JAS-39 Gripen aircraft. In November 2022, he succeeded in the European Space Agency selection process and became a member of the astronaut reserve team. He succeeded among more than 22,500 applicants. He is the first astronaut of the independent Czech Republic.

YEMI A.D.

Yemi Akinyemi Dele (born 1981) is a world-renowned Czech choreographer, actor, visual artist, art director, performer, influencer and entrepreneur. He was selected out of 1 million candidates to be a member of the crew of dearMoon – the first civilian space journey around the moon, organized by Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa with SpaceX. Yemi will undergo special training for the newly developed Starship, which is the most powerful spacecraft ever built and is currently still under development.

Tan Bee Thiam

Tan Bee Thiam is a filmmaker and educator. He directed short film Kopi Julia (Sharjah Biennale 2013) and co-directed Fundamentally Happy (Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2015), a film adaptation of the 2006 award-winning play by Haresh Sharma and Alvin Tan and was shot by Christopher Doyle. His debut solo feature Tiong Bahru Social Club was the Opening Film of the Singapore International Film Festival 2020 and won the Roger & Julie Corman award at the 19th Fargo Fantastic Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at Guam International Film Festival and the Special Jury Prize at the 38th Los Angeles Asia-Pacific Film Festival. An alumnus of Berlinale Talents and Rotterdam Lab, he produced Daniel Hui’s Demons (2019), Snakeskin (2015), and Eclipses (2013); Lei Yuan Bin’s 03-FLATS (2014) and White Days (2009); Liao Jiekai’s As You Were (2014) and Red Dragonflies (2010); and Yeo Siew Hua’s In the House of Straw (2009).

Lei Yuan Bin

Lei Yuan Bin (Looi Wan Ping) is a founding member of film collective 13 Little Pictures. Lei directed, shot and edited White Days, 03-FLATS, A Dance for Ren Hang (short film), and I Dream of Singapore (Berlinale Panorama 2020). He co-directed Fundamentally Happy with Tan Bee Thiam. A Berlinale Talents 2016 alumnus, Lei shot and edited Tan’s Tiong Bahru Social Club, and was the Director of Photography for Daniel Hui’s Demons and Liao Jiekaiʼs Red Dragonflies and As You Were.

Marc Fehse

Marc Fehse is a graduate art director, focusing on Film & Design.

Because of his love for moving and not moving images, he studied design at Academy of Fine Arts in Braunschweig. Before his bachelor’s degree, he spent one semester in Los Angeles, to work in various companies and schools.

After 20 years working in the professional music business he founded the film and design agency Marctropolis, realizing various advertising and feature film projects. His own fim productions include Sex, Dogz and Rock ‘n’ Roll, Spores, The Power of Soul and Sky Sharks.

To the Agency a publishing house is connected which successfully published audio books and radio plays.

Since 2013 several international films for the German market were published under the label Marctropolis Film Entertainment. Marc won two Lionel Design Awards and for his publishing products, he was awarded several times for the radio play of the year!

Eight years ago he founded the Genre Film Festival “Cinestrange”. Star guests of the last editions were Dario Argento, Joe Dante, John Badham amm…

Chino Moya

Chino Moya, takes a multidisciplinary approach to his work, combining filmmaking, photography and comic book writing. His short films, music videos and commercials have screened in competition at festivals around the globe winning multiple awards, including a Cannes Lions. Chino directed St. Vincent’s Digital Witness music video which was voted one of the top 10 music videos in 2014 by Rolling Stone. Undergods is Chino’s film feature debut.

Danielle Kummer

Danielle Kummer, born in North London studied film and media at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, she has been working as a videographer and editor in London for the past 8 years on short films and promos. Alien on Stage is first feature documentary film directed by Danielle Kummer and Lucy Harvey.

Neill Blomkamp

South African born writer-director Neill Blomkamp moved to Canada at the age of 18, beginning his career as a visual effects artist in film and television.  He is best known as the co-writer and director of District 9 (2009), Elysium (2013), Chappie (2015) and his latest feature film Demonic (2021).  Since 2015 he has been developing experimental films for his independent studio, Oats Studios.  The most notable works include Rakka (2017), Firebase (2017) and Zygote (2017).

Jan Lukačevič

Jan Lukačevič is a NATO2030 Young Leader, a member of secretary general Jens Stoltenberg’s advisory board. Since 2017, he has been working at the Czech Academy of Sciences, and in addition to his PhD studies at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University, he founded the Marsonaut laboratory, a project for growing plants in Mars-like conditions. He also brings science closer to the general public on social media where he belongs among one of the most successful popularizers in the Czech Republic. He works at the Neuron Foundation as Neuron Founder. For his earlier research under the European Space Agency, he was selected by Google and the Financial Times for the New Europe 100: a list of 100 people from Central and Eastern Europe with the greatest influence on our future.

Jiří Flígl

The current director of Prague’s iconic Aero cinema, festival dramaturge and former film publicist. He co-creates the programme of the Shockproof Film Festival and the Summer Film School, and in the past, he has also collaborated with film and TV series events Serial Killer, Filmasia, Febiofest and Fresh Film Fest. He has contributed essays to the anthologies Krev, slzy a sperma: Čítanka filmového braku (Blood, Tears and Semen: ABC Book of Trash Cinema) and Made in Japan: Eseje o současné japonské popkultuře (Made in Japan: Essays on Contemporary Japanese Pop Culture). His articles on cinema and video games have appeared in Cinepur, A2 and Aktuálně.cz. A few years ago, he co-founded the website about Asian films Rejže.cz. He has also worked as a TV dramaturge for Czech Television.

Kurt van der Basch

Kurt van der Basch, 1975, a Prague-based storyboard artist and illustrator, grew up in Canada’s East coast maritime region, where he studied classical piano. In 1999, he entered the film and television industry as an office assistant but was soon designing and illustrating props, working as a scenic painter and later conceptualizing and illustrating props and sets on “Alien vs Predator” and Terry Gilliam’s biographical fantasy film “The Brother’s Grimm”. With a knack for quick drawing, Kurt turned to storyboarding in 2003. He has since applied his drawing skills to a wide range of media in Europe and the United States, from production illustrations on music videos for Janet Jackson, Kanye West, and Madonna’s 2009 “Sticky and Sweet” tour, to drawing storyboards for J.J. Abrahms’ monumental 2015 reboot “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. Kurt’s most recent projects include the hugely anticipated fantasy series “The Lord of the Rings”.