Festival Juries
Finále Plzeň 2025
International Jury for Feature Length Live Action and Animated Films
Krista Kosonen
Marius Olteanu
Dries Phlypo
Elena Rubashevska
Beata Walentowska
International Jury for Documentaries
Rea Apostolides
Judith Auffray
Vlad Petri
International Jury for TV and Internet Production
Eszter Angyalosy
Eric Linus Kaplan
Jana Semjonová
International Jury for Short Student Films
Pedro Andrade
Fabrizio Maltese
Rūta Švedkauskaitė
Selection committee for competition films
Lenka Tyrpáková
Peter Badač
Zdeněk Blaha
Martin Horyna
Daniel Vadocký
Student Jury for Feature Length Live Action and Animated Films
Nikol Donátová
Vojtěch Kanta
Karolína Melenovská
Jan Tichánek
Adéla Viršíková
Student Jury for Documentaries
Egon Černý
Dominika Galdunová
Veronika Wilhelmová
Student Jury for TV and Internet Production
Adéla Čiháková
Miroslav Mužík
Terezie Pudilová
International Jury for Feature Length Live Action and Animated Films
Krista Kosonen
Krista Kosonen is a Finnish actress who has received critical acclaim and numerous awards for her film and stage work. Krista is best known for her captivating roles in TOVE (directed by Zaida Bergroth), THE MIDWIFE (directed by Antti J. Jokinen), and the award-winning TV series MISTER 8, which received the Best Series Award at the Canneseries Festival in 2021. She also gained international recognition for her lead role in HBO's hit series BEFOREIGNERS, where she portrayed a Viking warrior, performing in Old Norse. Her accolades include the Best Actress Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival for her performance in THE MIDWIFE and two Jussi Awards for Best Actress for her roles in THE MIDWIFE and MIAMI (directed by Zaida Bergroth). Her recent projects include the international eco-thriller series THE SWARM and the Swedish Netflix series RONJA THE ROBBER’S DAUGHTER (seasons 1 and 2). Krista’s upcoming work features an exciting array of projects, including the Apple TV series FOUNDATION, the Swedish Netflix series SYNDEN, the Finnish series L/OVER, and the Finnish feature film KALEVALA: THE STORY OF KULLERVO.
Marius Olteanu
Marius Olteanu is a writer-director born in Bucharest. His feature debut MONSTERS (2019) premiered in Berlinale Forum, where it won The Tagesspiegel Audience Award, after which it was showcased in more than 50 international festivals and won awards such as the Best Film at Sofia IFF, Best Debut at Goa IFF and Best Romanian Debut at TIFF. Marius’s interest as a writer and director lies in finding new cinematic ways to convey the struggle with one’s own limitations. He is currently in post production with his latest feature, WE WON’T GET OLD TOGETHER, projected to premiere in 2026.
Dries Phlypo
Dries Phlypo (1977), is producer and managing director of A Private View, Lemming Film Belgium, and Mockingbird Productions. He has produced over more than 60 titles and is known for his wide contribution to the Flemish cinema. In 2004, he joined the Gent (Belgium) based production company A Private View, where he worked as a line producer for MOSCOW, BELGIUM (2008), A PERFECT MATCH (2007), and LONG WEEKEND (2005). Now, he has successfully produced and co-produced both films and series, nationally and internationally. Among his work ZAGROS (2017) which won the Grand Prix at Filmfest Gent and the Best Film and Best Screenplay award at the Ensors 2018. SEA SPARKLE (2023), which was selected as the opening film for the Berlinale Generation Kplus 2023 program where it received the Special Mention and won the Telenet Audience Award at the Ensors. The same year also the international success INSIDE (2023) released by Vasilis Katsoupis starring Willem Dafoe which had its world premiere at the Berlinale 2023 panorama section.
Elena Rubashevska
Film critic, writer, and festival programmer, FIPRESCI (The International Federation of Film Critics) vice president and communication officer. Member of the Golden Globes, The Critics Award for Arab Films Commission, and Ukrainian Film Critics’ Award voting committees. In 2019-2021, she was an advisor for the Ukrainian Book Institute. Mentor of Her Story, Her Future program for female filmmakers. Over the years, she collaborated with OKO International Ethnographic Film Festival (Ukraine/Bulgaria), EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography (Poland), and Göteborg Film Festival (Sweden). Author of a book about Ukrainian Poetic Cinema and a research of the Czechoslovak films. Her particular area of interest lies in the field of documentary cinema with a strong visual component, as well as regional author cinema.
Beata Walentowska
Beata Walentowska once dreamed of directing but found her calling in film editing. She began under the mentorship of renowned editor Katarzyna Maciejko - Kowalczyk, assisting on Paweł Łoziński’s “Chemia” and Beata Dzianowicz’s “Kites”. After Katarzyna’s passing, Beata completed “The Forest” by Piotr Dumała. She’s since collaborated with acclaimed directors including Anka and Wilhelm Sasnal, Adam Sikora, Agnieszka Polska, and Tomasz Wasilewski. Her work on “United States of Love” earned her awards in Gdynia and a Polish Film Award nomination. She co-edits Netflix’s “Glitter” and “Infamy,” Viaplay’s “The Stroke”, and recently edited Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s “Hot Spot”. If not for film, she might be caring for animals - or living deep in the forest.
International Jury for Documentaries
Rea Apostolides
Rea was born in the United Kingdom and grew up in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Cyprus. She studied Αncient & Μodern History at the University of Oxford and Modern Greek History at Kings College, London. Based in Athens, she produces documentaries with a focus on history, culture and content for young audiences. Recent work includes The Perfect Meal (2023, CPH:DOX, for ARTE, RTVE, RTS, Kokka Fund and ERT), When Tomatoes Met Wagner (2019, Berlinale, Greek entry 2020 Academy Awards, Arte, NHK), Berlinale Teddy Award winner Obscuro Barroco (2018), and Dolphin Man (2018), ARTE, CNC, WOWOW, Greek Film Centre, Knowledge, TVO, ERT, CYBC, SVT, Yes DBS, TSR). Rea is also the co-founder of the CineDoc festival, which screens documentaries once a month in cinemas across Greece.
Judith Auffray
French filmmaker based in Paris, graduate from HEAD-Geneva and Le Fresnoy. Her first feature film, A House (2020, 82’), was released in French cinemas in 2021. In 2022, she won the Best Film Award at Ji.hlava IDFF for 7:15 – Blackbird (2022, 30’). Her films have been shown at international festivals including San Sebastián IFF, Clermont-Ferrand ISFF, FID Marseille, and Cinéma du Réel.
Vlad Petri
Vlad Petri is a filmmaker with a keen interest in political and social subjects. He often incorporates personal images alongside official archives to create films that blur the line between documentary and fiction. His debut work, "Where are you Bucharest?", had its premiere at Rotterdam International Film Festival. His second feature, "Between Revolutions", had its premiere in the Forum section of the Berlin Film Festival, where it achieved the prestigious FIPRESCI Award and earned selections and awards in more than 100 festivals worldwide. Besides his feature films, Petri has also directed several shorts that have been screened and awarded at various festivals.
International Jury for TV and Internet Production
Eszter Angyalosy
A screenwriter and script consultant based in Hungary. Formerly a story editor at HBO, she is now the head of studies of the prestigious TFL Series Lab. She collaborates as a tutor and lecturer with numerous international screenwriting labs and workshops, such as Eureka Series, Serial Eyes, and the US-based Stowe Story Labs. She is also one of the founders of the international TV development and production company Joyrider. Her writing credits include, among others, the YA novel ’Wonderland’, (2015); the HBO original documentary ’Divas’ (2021); the multiple award-winner short fiction ’Last Chance’ (2022), her debut as a director; and the comic thriller-drama series ’Frust’ directed by Oscar-winner Danis Tanović, premiering in multiple territories this year (2025).
Eric Linus Kaplan
Eric Kaplan has an M.A. in philosophy from Columbia University where he studied medieval philosophy and philosophy of science and a PhD. from UC Berkeley where he studied philosophy of artificial intelligence, philosophy of language and wrote his dissertation on "Kierkegaard and the Funny". His book "Does Santa Exist: A Philosophical Investigation" was described by Matt Groening as "the funniest philosophy book since...well,ever". As a teleivision writer he has written for Futurama, The Flight of the Conchords, The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon, and his stories have appeared in The New York Times. He is the creator of "The Drinky Crow Show" "Zombie College" "Guys Next Door" on YouTube and is currently executive producer of Krapopolis. He has a podcast "Terrifying Questions and How Not to Be Terrified By Them" and blogs at ericlinuskaplan.wordpress.com.
Jana Semjonová
A media professional with over 20 years of experience in television, spanning both commercial and public service organizations. Starting as a news reporter and news presenter at TV3 Latvia, the career progressed to LTV (Latvian Television Public Broadcaster) in 2006, where roles included commissioning editor and Head of TV Programs since 2013. Oversees the programming policy, content quality, and commissioning/acquisitions strategy for TV channels and VOD platform since 2024. Holds degree in Journalism, studied Media & Culture Management and Business Management. Additionally, has served as an expert in commissioning and has been a jury member in TV/Film festivals.
International Jury for Short Student Films
Pedro Andrade
Born and raised in A Coruña, and after spending a couple of years traveling, I went to study Psychology in San Sebastián, where I finished the minor in Organizational Psychology in 2013. Soon after, I started working at Zinegoak, Bilbao LGBTQ Film Festival, organized by the actual Zinegoak Association. This festival was my training ground for festival planning and production for 10 years. During those years I also worked for ZINEBI, Bilbao Documentary and Short Film Festival for 4 years, coordinating and developing the industry section. I also develop different national and international audiovisual events as project manager and head of production for the Zinegoak Association, of which I am now a member of the board of directors, as president for the past 5 years. I’ve also worked as production assistant and festival coordinator for Roberto Castón film “Los Tontos y los Estúpidos”, premiered at New Directors SSIFF, in 2014. In 2022, I was appointed Head of the D’A Film Lab Barcelona, the industry program of the D’A - Barcelona Film Festival, one of the top 10 festivals in Spain. Today, the D'A Lab is also one of the top Spanish film and audiovisual industry developing programs and has a growing projection to become a key space for the training of emerging European producers.
Fabrizio Maltese
Fabrizio Maltese is an Italian-Luxembourger documentary filmmaker and producer, with a background in award-winning photography. Over the past decade, he has established a distinctive voice in creative documentary, working as a director, cinematographer, and producer on his own films. Since 2015, he has directed and produced five feature-length documentaries, including Twenty-Five Palms, California Dreaming, I fiori persi (Lost Flowers), and The Invitation, which premiered at major international, Oscar-qualifying festivals such as Thessaloniki, Morelia, Transilvania, and Tallinn Black Nights. His cinematic work is marked by a strong visual identity and a deep engagement with intimate, author-driven narratives. Fabrizio has served as a jury member at major international film festivals such as Black Nights (Tallinn), Istanbul, and Thessaloniki. He has participated in leading industry programs including IDFA Producers Connection, Eurodoc, the Rotterdam Lab, Jihlava’s Emerging Producers, and DFI’s Qumra. He is a voting member of the European Film Academy and of Luxembourg’s producers guild, ULPA.
Rūta Švedkauskaitė
Rūta Švedkauskaitė is a Lithuanian-born film professional, currently working as the Festivals Manager at Films Boutique, a Berlin-based sales agency that focuses on auteur-driven films. Some of the recent films of the company include THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE by Hasan Hadi (Camera d'or and People’s Choice Award, Directors' Fortnight 2025), THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG by Mohammad Rasoulof (Jury Special Award, Cannes FF 2024), and GREEN BORDER by Agnieszka Holland (Special Jury Prize, Venice IFF 2023), among others. Before joining Films Boutique in 2018, Rūta worked at Pluto Film in Berlin and Pasaka, a Vilnius-based arthouse cinema and distribution company.