According to the festival’s website, the jury includes prominent directors, producers, cinematographers, actors, composers, festival programmers, and cultural leaders from Iran, Turkey, France, Oman, Macedonia, Greece, Spain, India, Algeria, Malaysia, Armenia, and more.
The international competition jury includes Turkish director and screenwriter Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Iranian cinematographer and director Mahmoud Kalari, Greek director Angelos Franzis, and Iranian and French composers. Seven celebrities will serve as members of the jury, including Christophe Rezai, Spanish film programmer José Cabrera Betancort, Indian actor and director Vijaya Jena, and Algerian producer Samira Hadji Jilani.
Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s deeply atmospheric and philosophically resonant films have made him a leading figure in world cinema. He has won numerous prestigious awards, including the Cannes Grand Jury Prize and Best Actor Award for “Distant” (2002), the Cannes Director’s Award for “Three Monkeys” (2008), the Cannes Grand Prix for “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia” (2011), and the Palme d’Or for “Winter Sleep” (2014).
His visually stunning works explore existential themes, rural life, relationships, and solitude with a slow pace and poetic realism.
Mahmoud Kalari defined the visual language of modern Iranian cinema. He has collaborated with notable directors such as Asghar Farhadi, Abbas Kiarostami, and Jafar Panahi. Kalari studied photography in New York and worked for the Paris-based Sigma Photo Communications Agency.
His work has been featured internationally as one of Time Magazine’s 15 Photographers of the Year. He has won the Crystal Simurgh Award for Best Cinematography at the Fajr Film Festival four times. He has shot more than 65 films so far, including the Oscar-winning Farhadi’s A Separation (2011).
Angelos Franzis has directed five short films and seven feature films, including Still River (2019), which won the Best Director award, and Eftyhia (2020), which won the Hellenic Film Academy Award for Best Picture.
His works have been screened and won awards at numerous international festivals, including Rotterdam, Turin, Hong Kong, Sitges, São Paulo, Munich and Istanbul.
Christophe Rezai was born in Toulouse to an Iranian father and a French mother and has been based in Tehran since 1994. Trained in piano, voice, and music theory, he has composed music for feature films, short films, documentaries, and over 300 Iranian television advertisements. Rezai has collaborated with notable directors such as Dariush Mehrjui, Mani Haghighi, Shahram Mokri, and Safi Yazdanyan.
He founded the Baroque Ensemble Aria Music (1996) and the Noor Ensemble, which performed in Iran and India. Among his awards, he won the Best Film Music Award at the Avignon Film Festival (2003) and the Cristal Simurgh Award at the Fajr Film Festival (2017) for “Negar.”
José Cabrera Betancort is an experienced Spanish film programmer with over 20 years of experience in international festival programming and coordination. He holds a bachelor’s degree in audiovisual communication and received a film fellowship from the Spanish Royal Academy of Arts in Rome.
He has worked with MiradasDoc and Transylvania IFF, directing “Tenerife Short Films” for 10 years and in charge of the program at Las Palmas IFF for 10 years. He currently serves as Head of Film Management at Valladolid IFF and Head of Programming at Bucharest IFF, bringing extensive expertise to curating diverse and engaging cinematic experiences.
Vijaya Jena is a versatile filmmaker and actress with decades of experience in Odia, Hindi and international films. The FTII Pune alumnus has acted in award-winning films like ‘Jaga Balia’ and ‘Holi’ and directed critically acclaimed films like ‘TARA’ and ‘ABHAAS (Prologue)’.
She has served as a juror for national and international film festivals. With expertise spanning acting, directing, producing and writing, Vijaya brings a rich cross-cultural perspective and deep understanding of film to his role as a juror.
Samira Hadji Jilani is a prominent Algerian film, audiovisual producer and cultural manager. She previously directed Algeria’s first private television channel “Khalifa TV” and has deep experience in film and media production. She has worked to promote the role of women in business and culture as founder and president of the Algerian des femme d’affairs (RAFA) and vice-president of the Algerian regional women’s network, Women’s Leaders of the Maghreb (RFLM).
She also produced films such as Ahmed Bey, a major Algerian-Iranian co-production aimed at bringing Algerian films to an international audience.
eastern vista jury
The Eastern Vista jury includes Croatian documentary filmmaker Aleksandra Markovic, Russian writer/director/musician Igor Viktorovich Levshin, Iranian actress Hoda Zeinorabedin, Malaysian media and film executive Teng Li Yein, and Armenian producer Shushanik Mirzakhanyan.
Aleksandra Markovic is a Croatian documentary filmmaker, editor and lecturer based in London. A graduate of Queen Mary University of London (MA Documentary Film, cum laude), she has directed and edited several short and medium-length documentaries, including a collaboration with Al Jazeera’s Witness series. Markovic serves on the jury of the International Documentary Association (IDA) and the Immigration Film Festival.
She currently lectures in documentary filmmaking and post-production at SAE Institute London, where she combines academic insight and extensive industry experience to mentor budding filmmakers, while maintaining an active career in international documentary production.
Igor Viktorovich Levshin is a Russian poet, prose writer, video director, and musician. He made his debut in the magazine Epsilon Salon (Moscow) in the late 1980s, and from the early 1990s appeared regularly in Chernovich Magazine (New York).
He is the winner of a video poetry contest organized by Formaslov and the author of a dictionary article in the 21st Century Cultural Dictionary Project. Levshin is the founder of the Fake Cats Project group and the founder/editor of the Telegram channel “7/8”, dedicated to fringe music.
Hoda Zeynolabedin started her professional career in 2005 and made her screen debut with this film at the age of 16. A graphic design graduate, Hoda also works as a photographer and model.
She gained attention for her role in the TV series “Fall of an Angel” (2011), received critical acclaim for her performance in “Cold Sweat” (2017) and was nominated for the Crystal Simurg Award for Best Supporting Actress, and was nominated for Best Actress for “Fragrant” (2022).
Teng Lee Yein has extensive experience across the region’s entertainment industry. She has produced notable projects including the Thai horror series “3 AM,” over 20 award-winning short films by emerging Southeast Asian filmmakers, and the Chinese-Malaysian co-production “Southern Summer.”
Actively participating in international film festivals, he served as Programming Director of Hainan Island International Film Festival and Director of International Film Camp 2024 (Academy of Asian Film Awards in Macau). Teng has also served as a jury member for major events such as the Busan International Film Festival, Asia Project Market, and the Asian Creative Academy Awards.
Shushanik Mirzakhanyan is an experienced Armenian producer and film director. She graduated from the All-Union State Cinematography University in Moscow, majoring in film economics. From 1983 to 2004, she led the film staff at Hayfilm Studios and later served as Deputy Managing Director (2004-2009) and Managing Director (since 2009) of Hayck Documentary Film Studio NCSO.
A member of the Armenian Cinematographers Union since 2004, Shushanik has also lectured at the Yerevan National Institute of Theater Cinematography since 2016. Her extensive experience in producing, managing and mentoring emerging talent brings valuable insight to her role as an international film festival juror.
The 43rd Fajr International Film Festival will be held in Shiraz until December 3rd.
Reprinted from Tehran Times