Meetings and guests
Simone Setzi
Director the film “Bugonia”
Simone Setzi is a director, screenwriter, and producer. He graduated with honors in Architecture from the Politecnico di Milano (2019) and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Genoa (2024). He began his career in cinema, initially working as an editor with Davide Rapp (Montegelato, 2021), later as a production designer assistant with Ludovica Ferrario (I nostri fantasmi, 2021; Chiara, 2022) and actor (Drugs E3, 2024). He eventually moved into directing, making a film set in the port of Genoa (Guang Rong, 2023).
Jack Wedge,
Will Freudenheim
Director the film “Acid City”
Jack Wedge is an award winning filmmaker and animator from New York. His work focuses on environmental storytelling and worldbuilding, seeking to portray environments as not just a setting, but a living character. Jack has been making animated films since a young age. Jack studied at the NYU Kanbar Institute of Film & Television, graduating in 2019. In 2020 he created a 6 episode web series for Adult Swim called "Domo Dreams". In 2021, Jack co-founded Laser Days Studio. He has created short films, music videos, and installations which have screened around the world.
Will Freudenheim is a game designer and researcher based in New York. His work focuses on creating experimental games and virtual environments that bring together human, artificial, and biological participants. Drawing from both game design and experimental music composition, Will brings forms of interaction and play into the process of producing digital animation, creating experiences that blur boundaries between various media forms. His projects cultivate shared digital worlds as experimental spaces for play, collaboration, and knowledge production. Currently, Will is developing "Biotopy," a biodigital project that connects a physical bioreactor with Unreal Engine to create a living Tamagotchi-like interface. His work as a game designer has enabled Laser Days to create interactive live performances, digital puppets, and physical installations. Will holds a Master's degree in Media Studies from MIT and is the editor of Interplay, a newly published book on game engines, machine creativity, and inter-species collaborative design. He has shared work at game festivals, exhibited in art galleries, and spoken at film festivals and universities around the world.
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Inka Achté
Director the documentary film “Puolanka Pussy Rally”
Inka Achté is a Helsinki-based documentary filmmaker and a former sales agent with nearly 20 years of experience working in the film and TV industries. Her first feature documentary Boys Who Like Girls, screened at over 30 international film festivals. Her second feature Golden Land won the Golden Alexander at Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival among other prizes. Achté currently also works as the Artistic Director of DocPoint Helsinki Documentary Film Festival and as Head of Acquisitions at Raina, an agency focusing on all aspects of festival distribution of documentary films from all over the world.
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Arturo Franco
Director of the film “Santa Clara. Birth in three phases”, in the Architecture and Environment section
Born in La Coruña and lives in Madrid. Architect, curator and filmmaker. His work has focused on the exploration of contemporary cities and their multiple ways of inhabiting. As an architect he has been recognised for revitalising spaces and recovering them for the city, while his facet as a sculptor or filmmaker participates in the same transversal view of what surrounds us, based on discovering and revealing what the city offers us. His first film as a director: El custodio, has so far received the International Jury Prize at INTERSECCIÓN - A Coruña International Film Festival, has received the Jury's Honourable Mention at the Cans Festival (Furacans section) and has been selected in the official competition of the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG), in the Best Ibero-American Short Film section, as well as in the official selections of the Ecuador Documentary Film Festival (EDOC) and the Cádiz Documentary Film Festival (ALCANCES). It has been selected to participate in the next Forqué Awards and the next Goya Awards.
Román Ruberti Godoy
Director of the film “To See You Again”, in the Focus Argentina
Román Ruberti Godoy is a director and screenwriter trained at ENERC. He has worked on advertising campaigns in fashion and viticulture. Volver a verte, his first short film, opens a trilogy about rural childhoods and hope. In 2025, he served on the Mezcal Young Jury at FICG, representing ENERC and cinema from Argentina’s provinces. He is currently developing Piedra y camino, the second short film in the trilogy.
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Gerardo
Director of the fiction film “The Cortege”
Filmmaker and teacher, graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Cinematography from the Faculty of Plastic and Audiovisual Arts at BUAP. I have collaborated on feature films, short films, documentaries, and music videos, performing various roles in the areas of production, art, and direction. I am passionate about accompanying creative processes and filmmaking, especially in local and community contexts in the states of Mexico. I am the director of the medium-length documentary Sentimiento Sonidero, which has been selected for various national and international film festivals and exhibitions. I also directed the short film El Cortejo, winner of five awards at the second edition of the Desafío Buñuel México rally, including Best Director. As art director, I participated in the short film Aguacuario, which was part of the Generations section at the 74th Berlinale and Critics' Week at the Cannes Film Festival.
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Damaris De Jong
Lead actress in the fiction film 'Ketchup' by Tjeerd Dam
Damaris de Jong (1998) is a versatile actress and creator. She graduated from the Amsterdam Theater School and Cabaret Academy in 2020 and played the lead role in Follow de SOA (Ties Schenk, Videoland). She can also be seen in Hockeyvaders (Videoland), De Club (VTM), and Future Me (Vincent Boy Kars, Halal). As an actress, Damaris effortlessly transforms into different roles, bringing a playful, comical, and sensitive touch to her performances. Besides acting, she is also a creator; her vivid imagination makes her not only a skilled performer but also a visionary with constantly fresh ideas. She co-founded COLLECTIET and has created several solo pieces, including La Mentira (Marieke Ornelis), KONT, and BEAUTYBOMB (Catoo Lustig).
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https://www.damarisdejong.com/
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Matilda Tavelli
Jury member in the Animation category
I have been working in the cultural field for over 30 years, mainly in the world of animated cinema. I co-founded the ANIMATOU International Animation Film Festival in 2006 and am currently its director. I have also worked in radio and
helped program festivals, and I enjoy leading creative workshops for children and adults. At the same time, I create in different artistic fields: painting, sculpture, linocut,
photography, performance, and jewelry. I like to use my creativity for social and cultural projects, because through meetings, culture, and animation, we can make a small difference and help make the world a better place
Vasiliki Vlachou
(aka Billie Vee)
Vasiliki Vlachou (aka Billie Vee) was born in Athens and is an actress and screenwriter. A graduate of the Karolos Koun Art Theatre and the Department of Theatre Studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, she has worked in theatre, television and film in Greece, Cyprus and the United Kingdom. She has been nominated for the Best Actress award at the Hamilton Film Festival and the St Albans Film Festival. Most recently, she appeared in the Greek TV series To Paidi (The Child), Ta Fantasmata (The Ghosts), and Na m’ Agapas (Love Me). She has written and acted in British short films, including Testing Greta, which won an award at the Drama International Short Film Festival, as well as the web series Sins of Solitude, which was featured on the British Comedy Guide. She has also written episodes for the TV series Min Archizeis ti Mourmoura (Don’t Start Grumbling). Sparrow’s Call, directed by Tim Kent, is the first British feature film she wrote and in which she also stars. The film won Best Thriller at the London Independent Film Festival, had its theatrical release in greek cinemas by Rosebud 21 and it’s currently on the US platforms Tubi and Roku Channel. Kelly, her first play, was staged at Theatre 104, directed by Agní Chioti.
