Filminute is thrilled to welcome Taketo Oguchi to our 2008 jury. Mr Oguchi is editor-in-chief/publisher of SHIFT Magazine, hailed as one of Japan's and Asia's leading cultural webzines. Today, SHIFT serves as a vibrant cross point between Japanese and overseas creative cultures with a focus on international lifestyle, culture, art & design. The magazine is translated into 12 languages, features innovative applications like World Culture Maps, and generates 1,500,000 page views per month.

SHIFT is dedicated to promoting new artists and ideas and goes to great lengths to ensure that they are covering the leading creative events and happenings in Japan and around the world. SHIFT's own DOTMOV Festival in November happens to explore the possibilities of digital films and reaches out internationally with events in Sapporo, Sendai, Shizuoka, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Sao Paulo, to complement the online presentation of works.

Filminute welcomes Mr Taketo Oguchi and his vision of SHIFT as a perfect complement to the Filminute 2008 jury.

The Filminute 2008 jury extends a warm welcome to Francisco Goldman, prize-winning Guatemalan-American fiction writer and journalist. Mr. Goldman is the author of three acclaimed novels about cultural and political conflict in the Americas: The Long Night of White Chickens (1992), The Ordinary Seaman (1997), & The Divine Husband (2004) and has been hailed by critics as one of the freshest and most original new voices in American fiction as well as a "literary emissary between North America and its seething Hispanic underbelly." - "Guardian" (UK)

Francisco Goldman began his writing career covering the Central American wars in the 1980s, first for Esquire and later for Harper's, the New Yorker, and the New York Times. Like other Latin American writers, his relationship to narrative journalism has remained strong, resulting recently in his first book of non-fiction The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?(2007). The book, which began as an article in the New Yorker, is an account of the assassination of Guatemalan Catholic Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi Conedera, a crime perpetrated by the Guatemalan military.

We look forward to Francisco Goldman's worldly and insightful critique of this year's collection of one-minute films.

Filminute once again would like to thank the Santa Maddalena Foundation through whom the invitation to Mr. Goldman has come. The Santa Maddalena Foundation, a writer's retreat located in Tuscany, has supported Filminute since the festival's inception in 2005.

Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) is one of the largest, independently-owned advertising agencies in the world. With offices in Portland, New York, Shanghai, London, Tokyo, Amsterdam, New Delhi, and Beijing, W+K is also one of the most awarded and respected agencies of the 20th century. W+K was recognized as AdWeek's "Global Agency of the Year" in 2007.

The agency was founded in 1982 by Dan Wieden and David Kennedy. The agency's memorable campaigns for Nike, ESPN, Coke, and Honda, among others, have left an indelible mark on contemporary culture, eg. "Just Do It". The agency's creativity extends well beyond ads and into the creation of original content in music, graphics, and film.

Filminute 2008 is thrilled to welcome W+K co-founder David Kennedy to the Filminute 2008 jury.

Once again, Filminute is pleased to welcome a jury member from the prestigious International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI).

Dr Andrea Dittgen is a board member of FIPRESCI and head of the German Film Critics Association. She is also the editor of the German daily newspaper Die Rheinpfalz, and writes for the bi-weekly film magazine filmdienst. She has published a book on German silent movie director Franz Hofer and contributes to various books on Cinema such as the International Film Guide.

Ms Dittgen has been a FIPRESCI juror at numerous international film festivals including Cannes, Miami, Mannheim and Oberhausen.

As a journalist, film critic, and seasoned juror well-versed in the history of film, Ms Dittgen's comparative insights and opinions at Filminute 2008 will be highly valued.

Welcome Dr Andrea Dittgen.

Filminute is very excited to welcome Academy Award-winning screenwriter, producer and film director Paul Haggis to the Filminute 2008 Jury. In 2005, he became the first person in history to have penned two consecutive Best Picture Oscar-winners for Million Dollar Baby and Crash. His other screenplays include Letters From Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers, In the Valley of Elah (which he also directed), Casino Royale and the upcoming Bond film Quantum of Solace.

In addition to numerous other prestigious international film awards including a BAFTA , the Writers Guild of America in 2005 awarded Paul Haggis the Valentine Davies Award for "bringing honor and dignity to writers everywhere."

Given the emphasis Filminute places on strong narrative, we look forward to Paul Haggis' insights and experienced eye for good stories.

Welcome Paul Haggis

Michael Ondaatje is an award-winning novelist and poet. His Booker Prize winning novel, The English Patient, was adapted into a film by director Anthony Minghella and went on the win an Academy Award for Best Picture in 1996. Michael Ondaatje has also won numerous other awards for fiction and poetry.

Filmamkers also owe a debt to Michael Ondaatje for his book The Conversations: Walter Murch & The Art of Editing Film, an invaluable non-fiction work that explores the uniquely powerful role of the editor within the creative process of filmmaking. "This is a sublime example of how to produce a fearsomely intelligent book about the aesthetics of film-making." Sunday Times (London)

The invitation to Michael Ondaatje comes through Filminute's ongoing relationship with the Santa Maddalena Foundation, the acclaimed writers' retreat and foundation in Tuscany whose focus is on celebrating and promoting the cosmopolitan and global reach of writing today.

Samira Makhmalbaf is an award-winning Iranian filmmaker. In 1998, at the age of 18, Makhmalbaf's first film Sib (aka The Apple) was accepted to the official selection at Cannes Film Festival making her the youngest director to achieve that feat. Makhmalbaf has gone on to win numerous international awards including Cannes jury prizes in 2000 and 2003.

Widely recognized as one of the best directors of contemporary world cinema, Samira Makhmalbaf is also a leading light in the New Wave movement of Iranian cinema. Artistically, Iranian cinema is consistently ranked among the world's most important cinema traditions.

The Filminute 2007 invitation to Samira Makhmalbaf was enabled by Wild Bunch, a film company dedicated to the development of the radical, the innovative, the visionary, and the truly extraordinary in cinema worldwide.

Kevin Roberts (http://www.saatchikevin.com/) is Chief Executive Officer Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, one of the world's leading creative organizations, employing over 7000 people in 83 countries.

Kevin Roberts is also the author of Sisomo: The Future on Screen, a book that looks at the central role of sight, sound and motion and the impact these element have in accelerating emotional connections in the digital age. In 2005, we first started exploring the significance of one-minute films as a valid, contemporary, and relevant genre. Our readings of Kevin Roberts and the concept of Sisomo were particularly inspiring. A great one-minute film will indeed bring sight, sound, and motion together to deliver a memorable impact.

Klaus Eder is the General Secretary of FIPRESCI (Federation Internationale de la Presse Cinematographique) , the international body of professional film critics and film journalists based in Munich.

Filminute believes one-minute films need to be critiqued at the same level of scrutiny as feature films.. Klaus Eder's presence at Filminute 2007, as well as the presence of the other respected jurors, sends a clear signal to filmmakers and creative producers worldwide that Filminute's core interest is in featuring one-minute films that reach the highest standards of quality available today.

Kenichi Kondo is a curator with a specialty in video art at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. The Mori Art Museum is one of the most exciting and innovative international contemporary art museums in Asia.

The Mori's acclaimed open attitude toward contemporary art and culture was clearly demonstrated in its massive 2006 Bill Viola retrospective and its 2007 John Wood and Paul Harrison Show, both of which Kondo was involved in. These and other exhibitions underscore the Mori's commitment to showcasing ground-breaking work from the contemporary, moving image field, as well as to providing an international platform for emerging and established artists and filmmakers throughout Japan, Asia and the world.

Filminute Executive Director, Head of Jury.

Filminute Executive Director.