JURIES
György Pálfi
Director
György Pálfi was born in 1974 in Budapest. He started shooting experimental Super 8 movies in 1987.
He drew international attention with his writerdirector feature debut Hukkle, honored with a EFA for Discovery of the Year, received a FIPRESCI Award Special Mention in Cottbus. His second feature, Taxidermia, quickly became known for its kinkiness and violence. Taxidermia screened at Cannes in Un Certain Regard and won the Sundance Institute/NHK Award for Best European Film Project. His latest film, Final Cut – Ladies And Gentleman’s Special Screening was at Cannes Classics.
Eliza Petkova
writer & director
Eliza Petkova was born in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. After completing a Master’s degree in Philosophy and Modern Japanese Studies at the Heinrich Heine University, Dus̈seldorf, she moved to Berlin in 2008 and started working as afreelance documentary filmmaker.
In 2011 she enrolled in Film Director Studies at the German Film and Televison Academiy Berlin, graduating in 2020. In 2015, her short film ABSENT was nominated for selection in the Cinef́ondation at the 68th Cannes Film Festival. In 2016 she completed her first feature-lenght film ZHALEIKA, which premiered at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival where it was nominated for Best First Feature and was awarded a Special Mention by the international jury oft he Generation Section. Eliza was invited to participate in the Berlinale Talents at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival in 2018.
In 2020 her second feature film, A FISH SWIMMING UPSIDE DOWN, premieres at the 70th Berlinale. In the same year she is awarded the Wim Wenders Grant. In 2021 she receives the Kompagnon-Fellowship Award at the 71st Berlinale and is awarded as Best Director at the Tirana International Film Festival same year. Her new documentary MAYOR, SHEPHERD, WIDOW, DRAGON premieres at Shanghai Intarnational Film Festival in 2021and celebrates its German premiere at the 43. Film Festival Max Ophul̈ s Prize, where it recieved the Critic’s Award.
Eddy Swartz
director & producer
Eddy Schwartz is a director and producer, owner of bazuka.productions, who works on film and commercial projects. He has worked on commercials for agencies like Saatchi & Saatchi, Y&R, DDB, Publicis Marc, Ogilvy & Mather. His first short, Auf Wiedersehen (co-authored with Yordan Petkov) was screened at over 20 festivals, winning the Best Live Action Short film Prize at the 31st Warsaw International Film Festival. Later on, it was distributed to over 30 territories, including a sale for CANAL+. His last short film “Night Shift” (co-authored with Yordan Petkov) was selected for festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand International FF; Brussels International Short Film Festival and won prizes like: Best National Film (In The Palace FF), Best Short Film (Burgas IFF), Critics Award (Golden Rose BFFF), Prix Du Jury (Mamers en Mars FF), Prix Du Jury – Interpretation Masculine – Hristo Petkov (Mamers en Mars FF), Best Short Film Award (Festival du Cinema Bulgare, Paris).
Yordan Petkov
writer & director
Yordan Petkov is a writer, director, and producer whose short films, Auf Wiedersehen and Night Shift (co-authored with Eddy Schwartz) have been screened and awarded at festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand and Warsaw. He is an alumnus of Sarajevo Talents, Torino Film Lab, Biennale College Cinema, and others.