Film Development Platform Selection Committee
Denis Krupnov - Producer
Denis Krupnov is a producer and co-founder of REASON8 Films, a London-based sales and production company. Denis started at Lionsgate in Los Angeles in 2003 and moved to London in 2005. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and is a member of the European Film Academy.
Elif Ergezen - Documentary Filmmaker
After graduating from Galatasaray University’s Faculty of Communications, Elif Ergezen finished her master’s degree in cinema at Sorbonne University. She is a documentary filmmaker. She has also been working in the editing processes of various films and taking part in advisory committees at various festivals. After working as a project manager at Boğaziçi University Mithat Alam Film Center for 16 years, she currently serves as the general coordinator of Sinematek/Sinema Evi. She has also been giving workshops on film and philosophy with children (P4C) and she wrote a children’s book named Evro.
Nazlı Elif Durlu - Director
Nazlı Elif Durlu (b. Ankara) studied film in the Netherlands and received her master's degree from the University of Utrecht. She's been working as a screenwriter for TV series and feature films for Turkish, Dutch, and American production companies. In 2010, she worked in the omnibus Do Not Forget Me Istanbul, in which Hany Abu-Assad shot the story she wrote. Her first feature film, Zuhal, premiered at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in 2021 and won the Best Actress Award at the Antalya Film Festival in 2021 and Best Screenplay, Best First Film and Best Editing awards at the Istanbul Film Festival in 2022. She also teaches film reading and directing at the Istanbul Bilgi University Film-TV Department.
Simona Nobile - Scriptwriter
Simona Nobile is an international script consultant, screenwriter and trainer. She worked as Story Editor for international production companies in London (High Point Films and Television, Amber Entertainment), Italy (Bianca Film, Rizzoli Audiovisivi, Cristaldi Pictures, Graffiti Doc) and Los Angeles (Lightdog Productions). Simona is also Script Consultant for Eurimages (since 2009), Creative Europe – MEDIA Program (since 2003), Torino Film Lab, among others. She is a member of EWA Network and has been member of the Selection Committee for the Lazio Universita La Sapienza of Rome and trainer / tutor for MEDIA, Torino Film Lab, Groupe Ouest, Scuola Holden, among others. Her credits as a story editor / creative consultant / production supervisor include, among others: the TV series La Fuggitiva directed by Carlo Carlei, feature film Io Sto Bene, directed by Donato Rotunno, Entwined directed by Minos Nikolakis, HBO documentary feature Agnelli directed by Nick Hooker, HBO documentary feature Another Me directed by Claudio Casazza, feature film Romeo & Juliet directed by Carlo Carlei, TV miniseries Il Generale della Rovere and L’Aviatore both directed by Carlo Carlei.
Work in Progress Platform Selection Committee
Ersan Çongar - Producer / Manager
Ersan Çongar (b. 1972, Istanbul) graduated from the Faculty of Architecture. He started working as a translator, a film critic, and later on as an editor at Antrakt Movie Magazine. In 2002, he became a founding partner and the manager of Bir Film. He oversaw the acquisitions and distribution of over 1,500 films in 23 years in Türkiye. He was a founding partner and co-managing partner of Başka Sinema from 2013 until 2024. Since 2007, he has been producing feature films, TV series and short films.
George Ovashvili - Director / Producer
George Ovashvili is a Georgian director, writer and producer. He graduated from the Film Department of the Georgian State University of Cinema and Theatre (1996) and the Filmmaking Department of The New York Film Academy at Universal Studios in Hollywood (2006). He debuted with two short films, Wagonnet (1997) and Eye Level (2005). His first feature film, The Other Bank (2009) premiered at the Berlin Film Festival's Generation section and won over 50 international prizes. His second feature, Corn Island (2014), won the Crystal Globe at the Karlovy Vary IFF and was shortlisted for the Academy’s Best Foreign Language Film in 2015. George established his production company Wagonnet in 2016. Khibula (2017), the last film of the trilogy premiered in the main competition of Karlovy Vary IFF. Beautiful Helen (2023) premiered at the Trieste Film Festival. Currently, he’s working on his new film, The Moon is a Father of Mine (2024).
Selin Vatansever Tezcan - Producer / Manager
Selin Vatansever has over two decades of experience in production. Between 2001 and 2008, she worked on commercial productions for global and local brands before transitioning into feature filmmaking. Her early experience includes providing line production services for European and American film crews. In 2008, she co-founded Terminal, where she has produced several feature films and shorts. Among them, Saf, an international co-production, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and received widespread recognition. In addition to producing, Selin leads the m2 Film Lab, a sectoral development platform launched in 2021 in Istanbul with the support of Film Independent and the Global Media Makers Program. The initiative focuses on fostering emerging filmmakers/creators and strengthening industry connections. Selin is also an executive board member of the Film Producers' Association of Türkiye, actively contributing to Turkish cinema's advancement and global positioning.
Veton Nurkollari - Artistic Director
Veton Nurkollari is the Artistic Director of DokuFest, Kosovo's most significant cultural event and one of the most essential documentary and short film festivals in South East Europe, which he co-founded in 2002 with a group of friends. He is also one of the curators of DokuPhoto, an annual showcase of documentary photography that runs alongside the film festival. Veton is a member of the Cinema Eye Honors selection committee, a New York City-based organisation that recognises and honours exemplary craft in nonfiction filmmaking. He is also one of the founding board members of The Albanian Cinema Project, an initiative to bring awareness, attention, and assistance to the plight of the Albanian National Film Archive. He regularly curates film programmes and juries at various film festivals and is currently involved with coaching and mentorship of young documentary filmmakers from Kosovo. Veton Nurkollari is a member of the European Film Academy and the European Cultural Parliament.
Short Film Workshop Selection Committee
Alara Hamamcıoğlu - Producer
After graduating from Boğaziçi University's Sociology Department, she completed the film certificate programme at the same university. She held various roles for Ay Yapım and Netflix on their series and feature projects. As a founding partner of Vigo Film, established in 2018, she contributed to four feature films, one short series and several short films. Melisa Önel's Suddenly (premiered at Tokyo IFF in 2022 and Rotterdam IFF in 2023) and Ozan Yoleri's Inpaintings (Tallinn Black Nights IFF, NETPAC Award, 2023) are among the feature films she produced. Her most recent producer credit is on Sinan Kesova's The Grand Siege, which won the Best First Film Prize at the Istanbul Film Festival (2024). She is currently working on the development of a series for a platform and two feature films.
Miguel Dias - Festival Director / Producer / Curator
In 1993, he founded Curtas Vila do Conde - International Film Festival, where he serves as director and programmer. He is the Director of Agência - Portuguese Short Film Agency, responsible for the promotion, sales, and international distribution of Portuguese short films. He is a producer of several short films. He is a curator of short films, as well as Portuguese contemporary cinema retrospectives and film events. He was a producer in the film department of Porto 2001 - European Capital of Culture, where he was responsible for film production and the launch of the international documentary and new media festival Odisseia Nas Imagens.
Onur Yağız - Director
Onur Yağız (b. 1986, France) completed his literature, theatre, and cinema education at Sorbonne-Nouvelle University. He has directed short films titled Country Road (2013), Toprak (2017), and Fatih the Conqueror (2023), the latter of which was presented at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.
Rimantė Daugėlaitė - Producer / Managing Director
Rimantė Daugėlaitė has been the co-founder and managing director of the Lithuanian Short Film Agency, "Lithuanian Shorts", since 2012 and the Head of the Vilnius Short Film Festival since 2009. Rimantė has worked in the audiovisual industry for more than ten years, coordinating multiple audiovisual and film promotion projects and producing several Lithuanian short films. Rimantė also works as an expert in European and national audiovisual and cultural funds. She is an alumna of Berlinale Talents, MAIA Workshops and Audiovisual Women Leadership and is a member of the EWA Network and the European Film Academy.
