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THE FESTIVAL

THE JURY

 

The 25 shortlisted films are subject to both a public vote and a review by our international jury - luminaries from the fields of film, arts, story & communications.

The Filminute jury is responsible for the selection of BEST FILMINUTE and the awarding of five Jury Commendations. Jurors are asked to evaluate the one-minute films with the same discipline and criteria by which they might evaluate a full-length feature film, animation or documentary. We expect the best one-minute films to "resonate" beyond one minute.

Stay tuned for news about the 2018 jury coming soon to this page and our Facebook page.

2018 JURY
Sebastián Lelio - Chilean filmmaker & 2017 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film 'A Fantastic Woman'.
Filminute 2018 is thrilled to welcome Chilean director Sebastián Lelio to this year’s jury. He is the winner of the 2017 Oscar for Best Foreign Film ('Una Mujer Fantástica'), and has directed seven other award-winning films, including ‘Gloria Bell’, this year’s remake of his Berlin-awarded 2013 film ‘Gloria.’ The 2018 remake stars Julianne Moore and, after premiering this past September at the Toronto International Film Festival, has quickly begun garnering Oscar buzz and solidifying Sebastián’s reputation as one of today’s leading voices in international film.

Filminute’s introduction to Sebastián’s work began in 2007 at the Transylvania International Film Festival where his debut film 'La Sagrada Familia' won the top prize. Filmed over just three days, the film screened in over 100 film festivals and serves as an early showcase for his talents as a visionary director who actors love and who gives strong voice to women and the marginalized. These talents have burned bright in his subsequent films, all of which have wowed audiences and juries from Berlin, to San Sebastián, Cannes and Locarno.

“There's something about using the cinematic device as a tool to connect with dimensions of the world that you don't know too well, you're not too familiar with. It's like a creating a bridge, or a spaceship to travel to the unknown.” Sebastián’s passion for his craft and for cinema’s role in helping us embrace the complexity of life is inspiring. We look forward to following him on his future cinematic journeys and eagerly await his insights into this year’s one-minute films. Welcome Sebastián!
Juan Gabriel Vásquez - Colombian writer & multiple award-winner for 'The Sound of Things Falling'.
Filminute is honoured to welcome the acclaimed Colombian writer Juan Gabriel Vásquez to this year’s jury. His 2014 novel The Sound of Things Falling won a number of big awards including the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. His longtime translator, Anne Maclean, has won awards for her work on his novels and Juan himself has translated works by Victor Hugo, E.M Forster & John Hersey. In addition to fiction, he has also written two books of non-fiction and is a weekly columnist for the Colombian newspaper El Espectador.

Juan’s presence on the Filminute jury comes care of the festival’s thirteen year collaboration with The Santa Maddalena Foundation, the renowned Tuscan writing retreat that, over the years, has nominated so many great writers to our jury. Indeed, The Sound of Things Falling, was also a winner of Santa Maddalena’s own prestigious award, the Premio Gregor von Rezzori, which is named in honour of the foundation’s co-founder and award-winning novelist and screenwriter. Thank you Santa Maddalena and Bienvenido Juan!
Rita Di Santo - London-based Italian film critic and Vice-President of FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics)
For Filminute 2018, FIPRESCI (the International Federation of Film Critics) has nominated the London-based Italian film critic, Rita Di Santo. Rita is Vice President of FIPRESCI and a regular contributor to the Morning Star, The Tribune, and Daily Mirror. She has juried some of the most venerated film festivals in the world including Venice (2018), Locarno (2017), Moscow (2014) and Cannes – three times! She is also a member of the UK Film Critics’ Circle.

Since its launch, Filminute has attached great importance to the reach it brings to its films and filmmakers. Social Media has been a boon to this effort and we’re always excited to find others in the community, like Rita, who share this passion and these tools. Her Twitter feed celebrates all things cinema — from new festivals to iconic filmmakers. We encourage the Filminute audience to follow her both on social media and in the publications she writes for. Thank you Rita for joining us this year!
Nikki Weiss-Goldstein - American Talent Agent, Producer & Actress. Founder of L.A -based Nikki Weiss & Co.
We take great pleasure in welcoming Nikki Weiss-Goldstein to the Filminute 2018 jury. Nikki is a pioneering Hollywood icon, having boldly launched her talent agency, Nikki Weiss & Co. at the age of just 21!

Nikki has gone on to launch the careers of many renowned film directors through her work representing leading directors in the commercial, music video, episodic and feature world to advertising agencies. She's had a consulting role on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, is a GLAAD award-winner, and is also a founding member of Free The Bid, a recently minted non-profit initiative advocating on behalf of women directors for equal opportunities to bid on commercial jobs in the global advertising industry.

With many of Filminute’s shortlisted directors coming from or interested in the world of advertising, Nikki’s unique position at the front lines between film and advertising, as well as her pioneering work on behalf of female directors, will be of particular interest to many in the Filminute community. “I’m always looking for something interesting, thought provoking points of view. I’m always about the new director that no one has heard of.“ We encourage you to listen to her full interview on the Movidiam podcast and learn more about this remarkable woman. Many thanks for joining us, Nikki!
Iram Parveen Bilal - Nigerian/Pakistani filmmaker & film entrepreneur.
Iram Parveen Bilal is a Nigerian/Pakistani filmmaker and film entrepreneur. Her debut feature film, ‘Josh: Independence Through Unity’ is a mystery thriller set in Karachi. The film has enjoyed theatrical and satellite distribution in three continents and is the first Pakistani film to be made part of the permanent selection at the US Library of Congress.

In addition to a variety of other award-winning films and TV series, Iram is deeply engaged as an activist for the rights of marginalized communities both in the US and in Pakistan. She is the initiator of the Pakistani Oscar committee and has also founded Pakistan's first professional screenwriting lab (QALAMBAAZ).

Iram joins the 2018 jury through our collaboration with Women in Film, an organization that also provided her with a grant for her debut feature and where she is a fellow. Levelling the playing field is a core aspect of the Filminute mission and that includes striving for gender parity among directors, something we will have more to say on during the festival. In the meantime, congratulations Iram on all the work you do and welcome to Filminute 2018!
Kaveh Jahed - Iranian filmmaker and winner of Best Filminute 2017 Best 'A Share of a Share'.
It is our great pleasure to welcome the previous year’s Best Filminute winner onto the 2018 Jury. Kaveh Jahed is an Iranian director whose tense, austere refugee camp drama, A Share of a Share, impressed the 2017 jury for its strong performances and emotional punch, as well as for the light is shone on a much talked about but little understood facet of life for refugees and migrants the world over.

As with many award-winners at Filminute, Kaveh’s talents extend beyond direction to include writer, editor, producer and assistant DOP. In addition to a number of other short films, Kaveh has recently worked as 1st AD with the acclaimed Iranian director Salem Salavati. Great to have you with us, Kaveh!
Sabaa Quao - Filminute Co-Founder & entrepreneur.
Sabaa Quao is the co-founder of Filminute and a standing member of the jury since the festival's inception in 2006. He is a career entrepreneur and has worked with marketing and technology innovations and teams in over a dozen countries. Sabaa is currently building a social-media marketing venture to help companies and brands reach their audiences locally, nationally, and internationally. Was the new venture inspired by the success of Filminute? Absolutely!
John Ketchum - Filminute Co-founder & Head of Jury.
John Ketchum is the co-founder of Filminute and has been the Head of Jury since the festival's inception. He has over 20 years of international film and marketing industry experience and, over the past decade, has built a worldwide community of indie filmmakers and creative producers with whom he is excited to join forces as Filminute enters its next stage of evolution.
 
2017 JURY
Priscilla Anany
Priscilla Anany is a Ghanaian filmmaker. Her debut feature, 'Children of the Mountain' won numerous international accolades and awards, including Best New Narrative director at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Priscilla is also the founder of New York-based i60 Productions.

Priscilla's filmmaking journey has taken her from Ghana to the United States where she studied Fine Arts at the University of North Carolina’s School of Arts’ School of Filmmaking. After a number of powerful short films, she returned to Ghana in 2015 to film her debut. The challenges she faced and overcame making the film are instructive and captured well in her interview here with No Film School.

Filminute welcomes Priscilla by way of our collaboration with Women in Film, an organization that also provided her with a grant for 'Children of the Mountain.' Leveling the playing field for filmmakers from all walks of life, including female filmmakers, is part of the Filminute DNA. Thus we are thrilled to welcome such a courageous, narrative-driven filmmaker dedicated to telling authentic stories about women and their strengths. Thank you WIF and welcome Priscilla!
Baronessa Beatrice Monti
Filminute is extremely honoured to welcome Baronessa Beatrice Monti della Corte Rezzori. Beatrice is the president and founder of Santa Maddalena, the acclaimed Tuscan writer's retreat, that has welcomed the likes of Bruce Chatwin, Michael Ondaatje, Zadie Smith, John Banville, Kiran Desai, and Bernardo Bertolucci. The Santa Maddalena Foundation was Filminute’s first supporter at our inception in 2006. Born in Capri and eventually moving to Milan in her early 20’s, Beatrice set up the Galleria dell’Ariette which focused on contemporary American artists. The gallery became a meeting point for cultural figures from all over the world.

Following the death of her husband, Gregor von Rezzori in 1998, Beatrice set up the Santa Maddalena Foundation. Since then it has welcomed over 170 established as well as young and talented writers. Beatrice's love of stories and storytellers, mixed with her incredible networking skills and innate understanding of the value inherent in supporting artists is legendary. One only needs to watch the Santa Maddelena video to understand the global impact she's had on storytelling over the past 50 years.

Thank you Beatrice for all the support you've given to writers, filmmakers, artists and Filminute. We're thrilled to have you!
Dana Duma
The Filminute 2017 FIPRESCI nominee for the Filminute jury is the established Romanian film critic, Dana Duma. In addition to being regularly published in a number of leading Romania journals and newspapers, Dana is also the author of a number of books including Self-Portraits of Cinema, Woody Allen: Bufon si Filosof (Jester & Philosopher), and more. She is also editor-in-chief of the Romanian magazines Film and Close-up, is a PHD professor at the National University of Theatre and Cinema in Bucharest, and a jury member at various high-profile film festivals including Venice, Berlin, and Locarno.

With the success of the Romanian new wave, and of Romanian films at the Filminute festival (second only to the UK in awards won), it’s high time we had a Romanian film critic on the jury! We look forward to Dana’s experienced eye and insights into the 2017 collection. Bine ati venit, Dana!
J.Joly & Brian Wideen
CineCoup's executive producers, J.Joly and Brian Wideen will join this year's jury. The CineCoup Film Accelerator delivers production financing and guaranteed distribution to indie filmmakers. Their disruptive studio model has garnered strong reviews and support and produced a number of successful films.

Since 2013, CineCoup has offered the annual CineCoup Prize at Filminute. This year the prize will include additional support from Filminute and be focused on developing the commercial potential of one of the films from the collection. More on this when we announce the prize. In the meantime, welcome J. and Brian!
Steve Clay
Filminute is especially pleased to welcome Steve Clay, Executive Creative Director of J. Walter Thompson – Vietnam. Steve has been a huge supporter of the Filminute initiative for many years, advising on programming, strategy, as well as helping us to secure communications experts for the jury. Born and educated in Canada, Steve has spent the past 20 years working for leading multi-national agencies throughout Asia, Europe & the Middle East. He has also won an impressive number of advertising awards from top industry competitions including D&AD, Cannes, One Show Design, CLIO’s and more.

Not only are we pleased to have someone of Steve’s unique stature and experience, we’re also excited to have him representing J. Walter Thompson. Our very first edition, back in 2006, featured Craig Davis, then worldwide creative chief of this pioneering advertising agency. Steve, it’s great to have you on board in an official capacity!
Rohin Raveendran
Filminute takes great pleasure in welcoming last year’s Best Filminute winner Rohin Raveendran to the 2017 jury. His film, Paijana (India) was lauded as a “deftly delivered, quietly captivating romance” set in the chawls of Mumbai. The combination of engaging, visual story with wider social issues, speaks to Rohin’s passion as well as his degrees in both journalism and cinematography.

As with many shortlisted and award-winning filmmakers at Filminute, Rohin’s star is on the rise. In addition to the success he had on the festival circuit with his short film Little Hands, he is now working as a DOP and 2nd Unit Director on Sacred Games, India’s first Netflix original series. Good luck Rohin and welcome to Filminute 2017!
Sabaa Quao
 
John Ketchum
2016 JURY
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien is the founding father of the 1980's Taiwanese New Wave Movement, and the director of 18 films which together have won more than 50 major awards, including the director's prize at Cannes for 'The Assassin' (2015), his ground-breaking wuxia film. His restrained shooting style and cinematic sense have won him numerous accolades including being voted 'Director of the Decade (1990's) in a poll of international film critics (put together by the Village Voice and Film Comment) as well as comparisons to Ozu and Kiarostami. Jim Jarmusch has called Hou his "teacher."

In addition to being big fans of The Assassin and many other works of Hou Hsiao-Hsien, we at Filminute are also strong admirers of his wider concern for the future of cinema. A 1988 worldwide critics poll championed Hou as "one of the three directors most crucial to the future of cinema." In the intervening years he has certainly proven that. And so, we encourage all Filminute fans to explore his films as well as his many insights into the filmmaking process found in a variety of great online interviews, including Olivier Assayas' brilliant HHH - Un portrait de Hou Hsiao-Hsien. Thanks for joining us Hou Hsiao-Hsien!
Motke Dapp
Motke Dapp is one of only a handful of filmmakers who have managed to get two films onto one Filminute shortlist. His films Yellow and Drinking and Unicorns, both in the 2010 collection showed a filmmaker of immense comedic and storytelling talent. In the years since, Motke has gone on to direct a dizzying array of award-winning films and commercials. In 2012 , through his company, Paper Ghost Pictures, Motke directed his first feature, The Many Monsters of Sadness. Which screened at a variety of leading film festivals. Now in October of 2016, Motke is in pre-production for his second feature, Other Versions of You. For this film he’s keeping a production diary that he refers to as “the art of making a feature film.” Instructive reading for all filmmakers!

We’ve greatly enjoyed watching Motke’s career unfold, including his dynamic and instructive use of social media and marketing to bring awareness to his work. Motke, Good luck with your latest film and thanks for joining us on the 2016 jury!
John Vaillant
Filminute is very pleased to welcome the acclaimed writer and journalist John Vaillant to the 2016 jury. His powerful and award-winning non-fiction works include the The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed (2005) and The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival (2010). His first novel The Jaguar's Children (2015) has been called "a gripping survival story" and was shortlisted for the Rogers Writer’s Trust Fiction Prize. John's work has also appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and Outside.

We at Filminute are longtime fans of John's work and his impressive ability to engage audiences with his moving narration and suspense-filled stories while at the same time drawing attention to fascinating and vitally important issues and cultures. Welcome John!
Barbara Hollender
For Filminute 2016, FIPRESCI (the International Federation of Film Critics) has nominated the Polish journalist, film critic and author, Barbara Hollender. For more than 20 years, Ms. Hollender has been the film critic for Rzeczpospolita, Poland’s second biggest newspaper. Her work has seen her interview many film greats including: Robert Altman, David Lynch, Martin Scorcese, Bernardo Bertolluci and Meryl Streep. She has also worked as the Polish correspondent for Variety and has written two books about Polish film directors: „From Wajda to Komasa (2014), „From Kutz to Czekaj” (2016).
With last year’s success of the first jury commended Polish film Wojtek (Monika StpiczyÅ„ska & Bartek Tryzna), and the steady increase in Polish submissions over recent years, we look forward to the insights Barbara’s writing and jury experience (Cannes, Berlin, Venice) will bring to this year’s festival. Welcome Barbara!
Nayla Elamin
Filminute is especially delighted to welcome back Nayla Elamin to the Filminute jury. Nayla is an accomplished writer and artist as well as a member of the advisory board of The Santa Maddalena Foundation, an acclaimed writers' retreat and foundation in Tuscany, Italy whose focus is on celebrating and promoting the cosmopolitan and global reach of writing today.
For a festival focused primarily on story, the partnership has been a match made in heaven. Starting with the inaugural Filminute festival in 2006, Naila has been instrumental in bringing a long list of leading writers to the Filminute jury including Michael Ondaatje, Francisco Goldman, Kamila Shamsie, Carlo Pizatti and John Vaillant (a member of this year's jury). Together these writers have contributed enormously to the collective understanding of what makes a great one minute film. Great to have you back, Nayla!
Guillaume Renusson
As is now the tradition, Filminute is excited to welcome onto the jury last year’s Best Filminute winner. Guillaume Renusson’s film A Minute of Silence is a ground-breaking one-minute film that was lauded by the jury for its “searing story, originality and resonance.” He has gone on to direct After School¸and All the Cats are Pink in the Dark, short films that together have been selected in more than 60 festivals around the world. Guillaume is now in development with his first feature.

Pushing the boundaries and exploring new ways to surprise and engage audiences is the essence of one-minute filmmaking. And, as Guillaume is proving, it can be the start of a wonderful career. Allez Guillaume!
John Ketchum
Sabaa Quao
2015 JURY
Cathy Schulman
When it comes to role models in the film industry, Academy Award-winning Hollywood producer Cathy Schulman is one of the best. In a career spanning 27 years, she’s produced more than 20 films, won an Oscar (alongside Filminute Jury alum Paul Haggis) for ‘Crash’, programmed the Sundance film festival as well as worked with some of the best in the business including Martin Scorcese, Alan Parker, Kenneth Branagh, Robert De Niro, and Richard Linklater. Her recent appointment to Head of Production at STX Entertainment ensures that we will continue to see many more high-quality films with her stamp on them.

In addition to her impressive body of work and strong reputation in the world of independent film production, Cathy is also very active in the industry, including in the role of president of Women In Film where she is steadily emerging as a leading force for gender equality in the arts. Filminute's focus is on high quality, ultrashort filmmaking and our intention is to level the playing field for filmmakers from all walks of life and corners of the earth. As you can imagine, we are thrilled to have Cathy with us for our 10th anniversary edition of the festival. Cathy, great to have you on board!
Klaus Eder
Getting Filminute off the ground in 2006 required a great deal of hard work, yet we also counted on the belief and participation from the wider film community. One of the greatest early supporters was none other than Klaus Eder, a respected film critic, a prolific writer on film, and General Secretary of FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique).

As the head of one of the most respected and trusted organizations in the film business, Klaus was attuned to the massive changes the Internet was bringing to both the industry and to film criticism and was keen to make sure FIPRESCI stayed relevant by addressing new industry developments like Filminute. And he has remained a strong supporter of Filminute from serving on the jury in 2007 and by providing the festival with a leading FIPRESCI juror every year.

Klaus has been on the jury of close to 50 major film festivals, including Cannes, Toronto & Venice. He brings a mountain of experience and insights to this 10th anniversary edition. Welcome back Klaus! And thank you for everything you’ve done to support Filminute over the past 10 years.
Kevin Roberts
For our 10th anniversary, Filminute is thrilled to welcome back Kevin Roberts, Executive Chairman, Saatchi & Saatchi. In addition to his leading role in the industry as well as in one of the world’s truly great advertising agencies, his 2005 ground-breaking book SISOMO served as a big influence on the development of Filminute. Perhaps not sursprisingly, 2007, the year he juried the festival, Best Filminute went to 'GAME' one of the most moving and loved films the festival has ever had.

Almost a decade later, SISOMO (SIght, SOund, and MOtion as experienced on digital screens), remains highly instructive for Filminute, as well as anyone involved in the communication industry in the 21st century. The same can also be said for Roberts' best-selling book Lovemarks as well as his always-interesting blog KRConnect. Kevin is the recipient of numerous industry awards and accolades and we very much look forward to his insights at Filminute 2015 and on the evolution of the festival. Welcome back, Kevin!
Anton Groves
This year, Filminute is especially pleased to welcome back Anton Groves, the UK / Romanian director whose film 'LINE' was the inaugural Best Filminute winner in 2006. The film won the unanimous vote of our first jury, and it still manages to impress and move audiences almost a decade later. Groves' keen eye and ear for cinematic tension, combined beautifully with outstanding performances from Ana Ularu and Emilian Oprea, make this film a 60-second classic!

Since that win, both actors have gone on to become leading lights in Romanian cinema while Groves continues to hone his craft and wow audiences in Europe and around the world with his innovative short films (including the top rated film at Filminute 2008, 'IMMERSE') and prolific output from Studioset, his Bucharest-based production house. Anton, good to have you back!
Ignacio F. Rodo
When Filminute launched in 2006, one of our goals was to build incredible reach for each of the 25 films in the competition. Filminute has delivered on that promise, growing the reach of the festival consistently year over year. Yet, it was with Spanish director Ignacio F. Rodo's 2014 film ‘TUCK ME IN’ that the word “reach” took on new meaning. With more than 5 million views of his film since it was awarded Best Filminute, tweets from the likes of Wes Craven (RIP), and coverage in many of the world's leading online media, ‘TUCK ME IN’ set the high mark for reach at Filminute.

Successful directors at Filminute, we’ve found, are most often highly prolific and multi-talented individuals. Ignacio, who is also the co-founder of Barcelona-based Pio Pio Stories, is no exception. His more than 20 short films and dozens of other writing, producing and assistant director credits over the past 7 years have resulted in selections at more than 200 international film festivals! Ignacio, we’re very pleased to have you on this year’s jury.
John Ketchum
Sabaa Quao
2014 JURY
Jennifer Baichwal
Jennifer Baichwal is one of Canada’s leading documentary filmmakers. Her eight films over the past 20 years, in collaboration with her cinematographer / producer partner Nick de Pencier, have won numerous accolades and awards from the likes of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Hot Docs & The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

She is best known for her ongoing collaboration with acclaimed photographer Edward Burtynsky which began with Manufactured Landscapes (2006) and continued with their latest film Watermark (2013) which has its world premiere at TIFF 2013, and its European premiere at the 2014 Berlin Film festival. Both films explore the intersection of humans and nature.

Ms. Baichwal sees her role as opening up a space for the viewer to think rather than advancing a particular position. Filminute applauds her approach and her powerful films. Coming off the recent win by a documentary filmmaker at Filminute 2013, we eagerly look forward to Ms. Baichwal's thoughts around the 2014 collection. Welcome Jennifer!
Isabelle Danel
For Filminute 2014, FIPRESCI (the International Federation of Film Critics) has nominated the French journalist, film critic and author, Isabelle Danel. Ms. Danel holds the distinguished position of President of the French Union of Film Critics and is a regular contributor to Premiere , Bande a Part and Filmoline. She is also the author of numerous French books on cinema including, 'Marylin Monroe de A a Z,' “Bluwal: Pionnier de la Television,’ and ‘Conversation avec Robert Guédiguian.’

In her opening remarks at the 2013 French Union of Critics Awards, Ms. Danel quoted the great French film critic Andre Bazin who said, “The function of criticism is not to bring on a silver platter a truth that does not exist, but to extend as far as possible in the intelligence and sensitivity of those who read the brunt of the work of art." With these words in mind, we eagerly look forward to Ms. Danel’s observations. Welcome Isabelle!
Kristen Schaal
With a big smile, we welcome American actress, writer, and comedian Kristen Schaal to this year’s Filminute jury. Ms. Schaal’s prolific acting career includes Mel in the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, as well as memorable roles on many other popular shows and series including The Daily Show, 30 Rock, Mad Men, and the Hulu original series The Hotwives of Orlando.

As a comedian, Ms. Schaal has performed across the U.S. and internationally including London’s Albert Hall, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the Melbourne International Comedy festival where she shared the winning Barry Award in 2008. Ms. Schaal has also performed in more than 20 feature films including Dinner with Shmucks, Despicable Me 2, and the upcoming A Walk in the Woods.

Ms. Schaal’s writing career includes work on South Park, Comedy Central Presents, as well as The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex, a (not surprisingly) very funny book she co-wrote with partner Rich Blomquist.

We received more comedy submissions for this year’s festival than we ever have in the past. It seems very fitting, therefore, that we welcome a great comedy actor and writer with worldwide appeal. Welcome Kristen!
Wain Choi
We take great pleasure in welcoming Wain Choi to the Filminute 2014 jury. Wain is Global Executive Creative Director at Cheil Worldwide Inc. Cheil, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, was founded in 1973 and ranks as the one of the world's largest advertising agencies, with branches and partnerships across Asia, Europe, & the Americas. Wain's career has spanned multiple continents and his work with leading global brands has won him many awards including The One Show, Communication Arts, London International Festival, Clio and Cannes Lions. Wain also has the distinction of being named one of Business Insider's "50 Sexiest Advertising Executives alive." We're not sure what to make of THAT, but we thought it was worth mentioning. Google him... #Hawt.

Wain is an Executive Creative Director with extensive jurying experience including D & AD, CLIO Awards, the Marketing Awards Show (Canada), Cannes Young Lions, New York Festivals Worlds Best Advertising and many other Asian & Korean award shows. Filminute looks forward to the many insights that Wain's global experience and passion for creative will bring to our collective understanding of what makes a great one-minute film.
Khris Burton
With 9 editions under its belt, FILMINUTE is more than ready to make space for one of its own shortlisted directors on the festival jury. There are many who are deserving, yet we had to pick one. And so we have chosen Khris Burton from Martinique whose 2013 film 'Maybe Another Time' scooped up 3 big awards - the most of any film at Filminute to date.

Winning the 1st Jury Commendation, the People's Choice, AND the Top Rated film, is not only super impressive, but leads us to believe firmly that Khris' take on this year's films will be extra valuable in terms of expanding our understanding of what makes a great one-minute film. Enlighten us Khris!
John Ketchum
Sabaa Quao
2013 JURY
Richard Linklater
Filminute is greatly honoured to have Richard Linklater on this year's jury. The highly acclaimed screenwriter and director of 17 feature films was among the first and most successful talents to emerge during the American independent film renaissance of the 1990s. His films Slacker (1991) and Waking Life (2001) were groundbreaking and highly influential to many — including founding members of the Filminute team.

Linklater's outstanding “Before…” trilogy with Ethan Hawke & Julie Delpy, which began in 1995 and finished with this year's Before Midnight, has averaged a phenomenal 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The series has been called “one of the finest movie trilogies of all time” by Indiewire.

The global independent filmmaking spirit that Filminute celebrates will no doubt be strengthened and inspired by the presence of this original, fearless, and influential filmmaker. Welcome Richard!
Tor Myhren

Filminute 2013 is thrilled to welcome Tor Myhren, President and Chief Creative Officer of Grey New York, to this year's jury. Grey was recently named one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World by Fast Company Magazine. Tor, who made Fortune Magazine’s “40 under 40” as well as their “Creativity 50” list (honouring the most influential creative minds), is best known for his groundbreaking and culturally relevant work including The E*Trade Baby, and the Obama/McCain ‘Race Switch’ posters (which became collector's items!).

The Filminute community will also be impressed to learn that in addition to shaking up and influencing the world of advertising, Tor is also an award-winning filmmaker. His first feature-length documentary, ‘City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story’ aired on ESPN and won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Sonoma International Film Festival. There’s no question that Tor’s input at Filminute 2013 will advance the collective understanding and appreciation of what makes a great one-minute film.

Carmen Gray

FIPRESCI (the International Federation of Film Critics) has nominated prolific film critic and Dazed & Confused Magazine Film Editor, Carmen Gray. After growing up in New Zealand, Carmen spent many years working in Eastern Europe, Asia, and South America, before making London her home. In addition to Dazed, she works as a freelance critic and arts journalist for Sight & Sound, The Guardian, Screen International, Little White Lies and a host of other film and entertainment titles. With FIPRESCI, she has participated as a juror on a variety of top international film festivals including Toronto, Locarno, Reykjavik, and Warsaw. Carmen is also deputy film programme manager for education charity FILMCLUB UK which sets up film clubs in schools and other education and care establishments in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.

Carmen’s passion for global cinema and filmmakers with interesting things to say will no doubt make for some compelling insights into this year’s very international collection of films. Welcome Carmen!

Téa Obreht

Filminute is very pleased to welcome Téa Obreht to the 2013 jury. Téa was born in Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia in 1985 and has lived in the United States since the age of twelve. Her New York Times bestselling debut novel The Tiger’s Wife won the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction and was a 2011 National Book Award Finalist. Her writing has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s, Vogue, Esquire and The Guardian, and has been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Nonrequired Reading. She has been named by The New Yorker as one of the twenty best American fiction writers under forty and included in the National Book Foundation’s list of 5 Under 35.

Téa’s deep appreciation for strong, original narrative, mixed with her international background, make her a splendid addition to the Filminute jury.

Jeremy Azevedo

Gamers everywhere (and many of our animation fans) will be well familiar with Machinima, the dominant online video entertainment network for young males around the world, serving an astounding 2 billion + monthly video views and reaching over 200 million uniques each month with scripted episodic series, original animated content, weekly and daily news shows, and more.

Filminute 2013 is therefore very excited to welcome Jeremy Azevedo, Machinima’s Sr. Director of Original Programming, to this year’s jury. With a focus on premium short-form live action and animated content at Machinima, and as the creator of the "Machinima Interactive Film Festival" and the popular "Happy Hour" animation brand, Jeremy brings a novel eye to this year’s films and filmmakers. It’s just a matter of time before a Machinima film arrives on one of Filminute's annual shortlist of one-minute wonders. Enjoy the films Jeremy!

John Ketchum
Sabaa Quao
2012 JURY
Radu Jude

Filminute is honoured to have Radu Jude on this year's jury. Romanian films have enjoyed incredible international success in recent years, taking top prizes at the world's leading festivals in both short and feature-length categories. Radu's films have been an integral part of that success starting with his short 'The Tube With A Hat' which ranks as the most awarded Romanian short of all time, taking top prizes at a long list of leading film festivals including Sundance, Los Angeles and Hamburg. His debut feature film ‘The Happiest Girl in The World’ took the CICAE award at Berlin and the FIPRESCI award at Sofia. IndieWire calls his latest film, ‘Everybody in Our Family,’ a "Masterful Black Comedy." The film, which premiered inBerlin, has already garnered top awards at a number of festivals including Best Film honours at this years Sarajevo International Film Festival in July.



It's no surprise that Romanian films have also done very well at Filminute and thus we're extra thrilled to have Radu with us. With his deep appreciation for great stories and strong characters and his extensive experience with short format (he's also directed over 100 commercials) filmmakers and audiences alike will no doubt look forward to his input and thoughts on the films in this year's 7th edition.

Prasoon Joshi

Filminute is very excited to welcome to the 2012 Jury, Prasoon Joshi, Chairman of McCann Worldgroup India as well as an award-winning Indian lyricist, poet, and screenwriter. Prasoon, who has also served as McCann Worldgroup’s Regional Creative Director for South and South East Asia, is widely considered "The Ad Guru of India" with over 200 national and international advertising awards to his credit including the Cannes lion-winning 'Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola' campaign with Amir Khan. His Happydent television commercial  is often heralded as India’s best ad ever. He was also named 'No.1 Creative director in Asia Pacific 2007' by Media magazine, and in 2008 served as the Cannes Lions Jury Chairman.

Prasoon’s remarkable talent and success in the world of advertising will no doubt be of
great interest and inspiration to the Filminute community. Yet, it’s his boundless creative
energy and talents which extend to film (screenwriter & award-winning lyricist for songs in more than20 Indian films), and literature (has had 3 novels published), that make him a truly remarkable addition to the jury and one whose insights into the films in this year's collection we look forward to with great anticipation.

Welcome Prasoon!

György Kárpáti

FIPRESCI, the international federation of film critics, through its general secretary Klaus Eder, has nominated Hungarian film critic and FIPRESCI Vice President György Kárpáti to the Filminute 2012 Jury.  György, who holds a PHD in communications, was the co-founder, publisher and editor of the Hungarian monthly movie magazine Mozinet Magazin, a film critic with Magyar Nemzet,  the second biggest national daily in Hungary,  and publisher of reviews, essays and interviews on the subject of films for a variety of periodicals and magazines. He is also the publisher-editor-co-writer of ‘The Grindhouse: The Forbidden Era of Film History essay book (2007) and has been a part of FIPRESCI juries in Moscow, Montreal, Turin, Genevaand Kiev.

Filminute is very pleased to continue its relationship with FIPRESCI and is delighted to welcome such a distinguished film critic. Gyorgi, who believes that we are now witnessing a rebirth of the short film format, is looking forward to judging this year's collection as our we to learning from his commentary.

Thanks Gyorgy and Welcome.

Arjun Basu

The festival is very pleased to welcome writer, editor and content director, Arjun Basu to the 2012 jury.  Arjun is best known as the creator of "twisters" — "concise, 140-character stories; each self-contained and often of a humorous bent." These often moving and thought provoking narrative gems have garnered him legions of fans, more than 154,000 Twitter followers, and numerous awards and kudos including the 2010 Shorty Award For Literature.

Arjun also has extensive experience with longer form writing as a journalist and editor, and in 2008 published Squishy, a critically acclaimed book of short stories. In 2011 he was appointed Content Director at Spafax, a leader in the creation of branded content worldwide.

Many in the Filminute community will be familiar with Arjun's work given that one of his twisters was turned into LIFE, James Cooper's People Choice Award-winning film at Filminute 2009. The discipline involved in penning a 140 character story indeed mirrors that required of a one-minute film. We're thrilled to have Arjun's concise sensitibity and wit looking over this year's collection.

Lenora Hume

Lenora Hume is an award-winning, international TV and film executive who has worked in more than 18 countries and been the recipient of both Emmy and Gemini Awards. Lenora began her career as a cinematographer at Nelvana in Canada, before moving to production and eventually to a career spanning 16 years at Disney where she quickly rose within the organization becoming Senior Vice President Worldwide Production for both Walt Disney Television Animation and DisneyToon Studios.

In 2006 she became Executive Vice President, Production & Programming at HitEntertainment responsible for refreshing the company's production slate and building new brands through content development and acquisitions. Recently, Lenora returned to California and launched an independent production and consulting company. Her current roster of clients include TeamTO, one of France's premiere animation studios and Alloy Digital where she is producing the content for the hit YouTube channel Shut Up! Cartoons which has racked up more than 52 million views in 4 months.

Since our launch in 2006, Filminute has benefited from Lenora's advice and wisdom and we're very pleased to have her this year in an official capacity on our jury.

John Ketchum

Filminute Executive Director, Head of Jury

Sabaa Quao

Filminute Executive Director

2011 JURY
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is an Emmy award winning film producer and journalist who has worked on 14 films for major networks in the United States and Britain including CNN, PBS, Channel 4 (U.K.) CBC, Arte and the Discovery channel. In addition to the Emmy she won for her 2010 film Pakistan: Children of the Taliban, Ms. Obaid-Chinoy has also won numerous other awards including the Overseas Press Club Award, The One World Media Award, and The Livingston Award - considered the most competitive and prestigious reporting prize in American journalism. She is also a TED2010 Fellow.

Ms. Obaid-Chinoy's international background and award-winning work in more than ten countries "bringing the voices of the ordinary people faced with extraordinary challenges to television screens around the world" will no doubt be inspiring for the Filminute community. We look forward to the many insights her career and experience will bring to stories told in 60-seconds!

Welcome Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

Carlo Pizzati

Filminute is delighted to welcome Italian writer Carlo Pizzati to the 2011 Jury. Born in Geneva, raised north of Venice, and schooled in Florida & Washington D.C, Carlo then went on to complete a Masters in Journalism at Columbia University. His passion for writing, stories and adventure lead him to spend 16 years writing for Italian daily newspaper "La Repubblica" from cities as spread out as New York, Rome, Mexico City and Buenos Aires and across a diverse array of subjects. He's also produced and directed 30 investigative documentaries, been editor of Italy's most viewed website (virgilio.it), launched a Spanish language internet start-up in Madrid, and hosted an Italian daily morning political talk show called 'Omnibus.'

In 2010 Mr. Pizzati published Technoshamans a humorous non-fiction book that asks the question, "Will spirituality and technology do away with humanity?" In February of 2011 he published his first work of fiction, Criminal . He's also written the script for Non Lo So Ancora which will premiere in Italian cinemas in the Spring of 2012. He now devotes himself totally to fiction and screenplay writing.

Mr Pizzati's passion for great stories and uncovering the truth can't help but bring fresh insights to the one-minute film format.

Alin Tasciyan

As always, Filminute is honoured to have a representative of FIPRESCI (the International Federation of Film Journalists) on the jury. This year we welcome Alin Tasciyan, FIPRESCI's Vice-President. Ms. Tasciyan is a film critic with Turkey's daily Star Gazette newspaper and has also made cinema programs for Turkish radio. She has been an advisor to film festivals in Turkey and has served on many national and international film festival juries including Cannes and Istanbul. Earlier this year she received the honour of becoming the first Turkish institutional member of the European Film Academy (EFA)

Over the years, FIPRESCI representatives on the Filminute jury have contributed a wealth of insight and knowledge to the collective understanding of what makes a great one-minute film. Ms. Tasciyan's extensive experience and clear passion for film will no doubt strengthen that understanding even further.

Welcome Alin!

Eva Van Den Bulcke

Filminute is very excited to welcome Eva Van Den Bulcke, Co-Creative Director and Partner at Sid Lee, to our Filminute 2011 jury. Sid Lee is a dynamic creative agency based in Montreal with ateliers in Amsterdam, Paris, Toronto and Austin. With Sid Lee, Ms. Van Den Bulke has established herself as one of the most awarded art directors in Canada. The firm has gained an international reputation for its Euro-American hybrid culture and its award-winning multi-disciplinary approach which employs people from diverse creative backgrounds.

Ms. Van Den Bulcke's international background (born in Belgium, grew up in Canada, worked in Holland and France), five languages, and creative skills — including film direction and production — make her a perfect fit for Sid Lee's leading edge communication culture as well as for the Filminute jury! As an accomplished art director and a frequent member of some of the world's most prestigious juries, we look forward to her critical, global eye and the insights she will bring to one-minute films.

Jon Snoddy

Filmmakers will be excited to know that veteran entertainment executive Jon Snoddy has joined the Filminute 2011 jury. Mr. Snoddy is currently VP, Walt Disney Imagineering Research and Development. He is a seasoned entertainment executive with broad experience leading creative and technical teams to produce breakthrough entertainment properties.

His successes include the launch of THX at Lucasfilm; concept design with Walt Disney Imagineering; and as SVP Design at GameWorks LLC, he worked alongside Steven Spielberg developing location-based entertainment games and attractions. Snoddy has also consulted on extensive entertainment industry projects throughout North America, Korea and Japan. He owns seven pending patents in areas including video game design, interactive digital cinema and astronomy.

Jon's work is ultimately rooted in strong stories. Alongside an electronics engineering degree, he also has a degree in Journalism.

Filminute looks forward to Jon's insights, including his thoughts around the growth potential and commercial viability of films in this year's collection.

Welcome aboard, Jon Snoddy.

John Ketchum

Filminute Executive Director, Head of Jury

Sabaa Quao

Filminute Executive Director.

2010 JURY
Neill Blomkamp

Filminute is thrilled to welcome Neill Blomkamp to the 2010 Filminute jury. Neill is the Canadian-based, South African director of “District 9,” the sensational, independent, feature film that garnered 7 BAFTA nominations and 4 Oscar nominations (including Best Picture). The film, which film critic Lev Grossman calls a “grimy little scare-fi thriller from South Africa” brilliantly explores themes of xenophobia and social segregation and is inspired by events that took place in Cape Town’s District 6 during the Apartheid era. The film was produced by independent film great Peter Jackson.

Watching Neill’s six-minute science fiction short film Alive in Joburg (released by Canada’s Spy Films in 2005) will be an inspiration to Filminute participants. The leap from the short film into the feature length “District 9” perfectly demonstrates the potential of a strong core story idea and how it may extend into a successful feature film with global appeal. We look forward to his judging and feedback on this year’s collection.

Mark Tutssel

This year Filminute is very pleased to announce that Mark Tutsell, Global Chief Creative Officer for Leo Burnett Worldwide, will represent the marketing and advertising industry on this year’s festival jury. Mark is one of the most awarded creative directors ever with his work garnering every major creative award in the industry, including the International Advertising Festival’s Cannes Grand Prix, 40 Cannes Lions, and the first-ever D&AD Black Pencil in Digital. He divides his time between Chicago and London, overseeing the work of Leo Burnett’s 94 offices worldwide.

Mark has also chaired and served on the advertising industry’s most prestigious awards juries, including this past May’s Cannes Lions where he was the Worldwide President of the Cannes Lions jury for film and press. Commenting on his role at Cannes he said that in today’s ‘Screen Age’, ‘film’ in all its forms “has taken on new meaning and importance” for the advertising and creative industries. Filminute shares Mark’s enthusiasm for the wide array of new opportunities that the Screen Age offers ‘filmmakers,’ and looks forward to his thoughts on Filminute 2010.

Jan Lumholdt

Filminute is once again very pleased to announce our cooperation with FIPRESCI, the international federation of film critics. This year FIPRESCI will be represented by Jan Lumholdt, the Scandinavian film critic for the popular Swedish daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. Jan is also the author/editor of books on Lars von Trier, Harriet Andersson, and Per Fly.

FIPRESCI’s ongoing support of Filminute underscores the importance that the world’s leading film critics place on the impact of emerging technologies and media platforms on filmmaking today. Thank you FIPRESCI and welcome Jan!

Ronald Bergan

Filminute is very excited to welcome film historian and critic Ronald Bergan to this year’s jury. In addition to his regular contributions to The Guardian, Bergan has also written over a dozen books on subjects ranging from Sergei Eisenstein, Jean Renoir & Francois Truffaut, to the Coen brothers. His Eyewitness Guide to Film (2006) has been published in 8 languages. He is also a frequent university and conference lecturer and has served on many of the major film festival juries around the world.

In 2009, Bergan’s Guardian article “One Hot Minute: How Long is a Piece of Film?” highlighted a growing sense among critics that films today often feel too long and that frequently it’s the result of director’s both forcing their films into a pre-established time frame as well as failing to engage audiences at the story level. The article praised Filminute’s collection of “technically impressive mini-movies” and the festival’s commitment and focus on ”story”. We couldn’t agree more! We are delighted to have Ronald Bergan join us on the Filminute 2010 jury.

Tanuja Chandra

Filminute 2010 is delighted to welcome Indian director & writer Tanuja Chandra to the jury. Chandra began her career in television before moving on to write and/or direct 7 feature films, including the 2008 film Hope & A Little Sugar which was her first English language film. She is one of a small number of successful women film directors in India.

Filmmakers from India embraced Filminute from the beginning, with a generous volume of films submitted, leading to some very strong shortlisted films including Missing, the People’s Choice winner from 2007. India also represents a significant portion of the festival’s international audience and we look forward to deepening the festival’s relationship with film fans in that country.

Tanuja Chandra was introduced to Filminute through our ongoing collaboration with the Santa Maddalena Foundation, the retreat for writers in Tuscany. We look forward to her unique perspective on this year’s collection.

John Ketchum

Filminute Executive Director, Head of Jury

Sabaa Quao

Filminute Executive Director.

2009 JURY
Hillman Curtis

Hillman Curtis is a designer, author, and filmmaker, and the Principal and Chief Creative Officer of hillmancurtis.com, inc. His numerous and prestigious design and communication awards, his pioneering work with Flash, and his widely popular books on design and film have earned him a reputation as a leading voice in interactive media and graphic design worldwide.

In 2005, Hillman Curtis published On Creating Short Films For the Web , an inspiring and instructive work on the subject. Since then, he has turned his attention increasingly to filmmaking and won acclaim for his documentary series; Artist Series, as well as an exceptional array of short films (one of which, ‘Soldiers,’ was adapted for the Filminute 2007 Shortlist).

Filminute 2009 is delighted to have Hillman Curtis on the jury. The shear extent of his creative experience mixed with his deep passion for film and the internet - “the most relevant medium of our time” – will no doubt lead to new and important insights for the world of one-minute films. Welcome Hillman Curtis!

Kamila Shamsie

Kamila Shamsie is a London-based, award-winning Pakistani novelist. Her first novel The City By the Sea, published in 1998 when she was just 25, won the Prime Minister’s Award for Literature in Pakistan and was shortlisted for the John Llewelyn Rhys award in the UK. Since then she has gone on to write four more novels which have picked up various awards and garnered her a selection as one of Orange's 21 Writers of the 21st century. Her latest work, Burnt Shadows, has been shortlisted for the 2009 Orange Prize for Fiction and hailed by Salman Rushdie as “an absorbing novel that commands, in the reader, a powerful emotional and intellectual response.”

Filminute 2009 is thrilled to have a writer of such talent, ambition and cross-cultural orientation on this year’s jury. We look forward to her take on this year’s group of stories.

We would also like to thank the Santa Maddalena Foundation for its ongoing support of Filminute and for nominating Kamila Shamsie for the Filminute 2009 jury.

Tham Khai Meng

Tham Khai Meng is the Worldwide Creative Director of Ogilvy & Mather and widely recognized as one of the world’s most awarded creative directors. Advertising Age calls him “one of the world’s most influential people in the communication business.”

Born in Singapore, educated in London and based in New York, Khai’s career includes stints in Chicago, London and across Asia Pacific. where Under Khai's leadership, Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific network was ranked the top creative agency in Asia for 8 years. He has also chaired and served on a number of jury panels around the world including Cannes Lions, Clios, D&AD, The One Show, and The London International Awards.

Filminute 2009 is thrilled to have Tham Khai Meng on the jury and looks forward to the insights that his worldwide experience will bring to the review of one-minute films. Welcome Tham Khai Meng.

Pamela Biénzobas

The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) will be represented at Filminute 2009 by Pamela Biénzobas, a Chilean critic and journalist based in France. Ms. Biénzobas is a freelance writer for different media, and is co-founder and member of Revista de Cine Mabuse. She is also a vice-president of FIPRESCI and has sat on a number of prestigious FIPRESCI juries including Cannes, Toronto and Berlin.

The ongoing presence of FIPRESCI jurors on the Filminute jury is a point of great pride for Filminute, underscoring as it does the validity, influence and impact of the format on contemporary film culture. Pamela Biénzobas’ wealth of experience will no doubt bring new and exciting insights to the world of one-minute films.

Stefan Sagmeister

Filminute 2009 is very pleased to welcome New York-based, Grammy award-winning graphic designer and typographer Stefan Sagmeister to this year’s jury. Famous for album cover designs for Lou Reed, The Rolling Stones, David Byrne and others, his design firm Sagmeister Inc has also mounted Solo shows in Zurich, Vienna, New York, Berlin, Japan, Osaka, Prague, Cologne, and Seoul. Sagmeister Inc’s client list includes HBO, The Guggenheim, and Time Warner.

Stefan Sagmeister has also presented at TED, the highly acclaimed conference on technology, entertainment and design. His most recent visit focused on his book Things I have learned in my Life so far, an excerpt of which screened at Filminute 2008.

Sagmeister’s has said that, "Great design is that which needed guts from the creator and still carries the ghost of these guts in the final execution.” Such a statement could just as easily be applied to one-minute films. We eagerly look forward to his perspective on this year’s group of films.

John Ketchum

Filminute Executive Director, Head of Jury

Sabaa Quao

Filminute Executive Director.

2008 JURY
Paul Haggis

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

Taketo Oguchi

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.

Francisco Goldman

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.

David Kennedy

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.

Andrea Dittgen

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.

John Ketchum

Filminute Executive Director, Head of Jury

Sabaa Quao

Filminute Executive Director.

2007 JURY
Michael Ondaatje

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

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

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

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

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.

John Ketchum

Filminute Executive Director, Head of Jury.

Sabaa Quao

Filminute Executive Director.

2006 JURY
John Ketchum

Filminute Executive Director, Head of Jury

Sabaa Quao

Filminute Executive Director.

Ekow Eshun

Ekow Eshun is a Ghanaian - British writer, journalist, and broadcaster. Until November 2010 he was the artistic director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.

Craig Davis

Craig Davis is Co-Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Publicis Mojo Australia. He was the former JWT worldwide creative chief.

Raul Galvez

Raul Galvez film writer/ director and musician as well as the founder of the Toronto International Latin Film Festival.

Santa Maddalena Foundation (2 votes)

The Santa Maddelena Foundation is an acclaimed writers' retreat and foundation in Tuscany whose focus is on celebrating and promoting the cosmopolitan and global reach of writing today.




 
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