Jury

Jury

17th International Children’s Film Festival India18 | Jury

Jury Competition International

Rock Demers (Chairperson)

Rock Demers has been involved in all facets of filmmaking. He co-founded the film magazine Images and launched several film clubs, and served as the director-general of the Montréal International Film Festival. He was one of the founders of the Cinémathèque Québécoise in 1963 and founded a children film distribution company Faroun Films. In 1980, he founded Productions La Fête, to produce an anthology of nine films intended for family audiences: the ‘Tales For All’. The first in the collection, ‘The Dog Who Stopped The War’ was released in 1984. Today, the anthology comprises of 22 films which have won 210 national and international awards in less than 25 years.

Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr. Clodualdo ‘Doy’ del Mundo has a Ph.D. in Communication Studies (Film) from the University of Iowa. He is connected with De La Salle University, where he is a Professor Emeritus and a University Fellow. He is also a filmmaker. In 2005, he wrote, produced, and directed ‘Pepot Artista’ (Pepot Superstar), which won Best Picture in the 1st Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. In 2011, his new film ‘Paglipad ng Anghel’ (Flight of an Angel) was premiered. His books include ‘Spirituality and the Filipino Film’ (editor) and ‘Native Resistance: Philippine Cinema and Colonialism 1898-1941’.

17th International Children’s Film Festival India Jury | 19

Murali NairMurali Nair has won many National and International Awards, including Silver Lotus from the President of India and Camera d’Or from Cannes. His work with children and young people for a British TV channel took him around the world. He has five critically acclaimed feature films to his credit. He has been the member of jury in many international films festivals including Cannes. Recently he has been the directing mentor for Asian Film Academy in Korea. Currently living in Hyderabad, Murali has recently started a non-profit educational organization, ‘Art for Change’, to inspire women and children develop their potential through the visual media.

Elizabeth ShepherdElizabeth Shepherd is the director of Children’s Film Festival Seattle—the Northwest’s largest annual competitive festival of its kind. She is also the curator of REDCAT International Children’s Film Festival, held annually at Roy and Edna Disney Cal Arts Theatre in Los Angeles. She has curated many programmes for other venues across USA, including ‘The New Museum’, ‘Asheville International Children’s Film Festival’, ‘Arts Emerson’ and many other places in the USA. Before arriving in Seattle, she was the director of Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. She has served on the juries of children’s film festivals in Korea, Russia, India, and Egypt.

Seema BiswasSeema Biswas is an Indian film and theatre actress who shot into prominence with the role of Phoolan Devi in Shekhar Kapur’s internationally acclaimed film Bandit Queen for which she won numerous awards including the National Award. She took to theater at a young age and later joined the National School of Drama at Delhi. She has a reputation for performing strong character roles. Rooted firmly in theatre, she refuses to be typecast, and have worked in a variety of films and character roles.


Jury India Competition

Joke van Leeuwen (Chairperson)

Writer, illustrator and performer Joke van Leeuwen lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium. In 2008 and 2009 she was the city poet of Antwerp. She writes prose and poems for children and adults. Her books have been translated into many languages and has received numerous awards including the ‘Dutch State Award’ for her children’s books, the ‘Golden Goose Feather Award’ for her contribution to Dutch literature, the ‘Belgian Golden Owl Award’ and the ‘German Children’s Book Award’. Her children’s book ‘Iep!’, in English ‘Eep!’ has been made into a film.

SarikaSarika began her acting career as a child artiste at age four with a role in B R Chopra’s ‘Hamraaz’ and later appeared in many other films. Her first film as a leading lady was in ‘Kagaz Ki Nao’. Sarika has acted in many Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali films and has been an assistant director to Basu Bhattacharya. She moved to Chennai and switched to other filmmaking departments like sound design and costume. She won the National Award for Best Costume Designer for ‘Hey Ram’ (2000). She returned to acting in 2003 and won the Best Actress National Award for ‘Parzania’.


Zhou, Xiaojuan Xiaojuan Zhou has been involved in international film and television co-production, marketing and distribution for two decades. She is now the President of Delphis Films, part of Attraction Media Group and a world leader in promoting and distributing high quality family feature films. She has two Master degrees and operates in three languages out of her Montreal office.

Shaad Ali SahgalHis parents, renowned filmmaker Muzaffar Ali and activist Subhashini Ali, left a lasting impression on Shaad Ali Sahgal. Her began his cinema career assisting Mani Ratnam in ‘Dil Se’. He was an associate director on Ratnam’s Tamil blockbuster ‘Alai Payuthey’ – ‘Waves’ (2000) and turned director with the blockbuster ‘Saathiya’ (2002). He made the immensely successful ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ and ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’. In 2008 he went on to assist Mani Ratnam on ‘Raavan’. Shaad has also made close to 100 TV commercials for some leading Indian and international brands. He is currently writing his next films for Yash Raj Films.

Sreekar PrasadSreekar Prasad is a prolific National Award winning Indian film editor, who has independently edited more than 300 Indian feature films and documentaries in a career spanning over two decades. He has also worked with some of the most accomplished Indian directors like Mani Ratnam, Santosh Sivan, Shaji Karun, Vishal Bhardwaj and Farhan Akhtar. Amongst winning many notable awards, Sreekar Prasad has won the National Film Award for Best Editing seven times for prominent movies like Nauka Caritramu, Kannathil Muthamittal and Firaaq.


Jury Shorts Competition

Marjan Riahi (Chairperson)

Marjan Riahi is the Founder of en.shortfilmnews.com, the first news network on short films and documentaries in Iran and Asia. She is a journalism graduate from Islamic Azad University and a film direction graduate from the Iranian Young Cinema Society. After a stint in journalism, she directed ‘Eternal Mothers’, a documentary about an Iranian actress. Marjan is a member of many national and international bodies, director and producer of children’s short films and has served as a jury member on many international film festivals.

Rahul DholakiaRahul Dholakia, is a director, producer, screen writer with numerous features, documentaries and advertisements to his credit. He is best known as the director of the National Award winning film Parzania (Heaven & Hell on Earth) and has directed some of India’s finest actors including Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Anupam Kher, Sarika and Seema Biswas. Besides making movies, Rahul Dholakia is also actively involved with various film associations and is the founder member of Indian Independent Film makers worldwide. He is also on the managing committee of AMPTPP a film trade association.


Chris ‘Doc’ WyattChris ‘Doc’ Wyatt is the producer of eight independent feature films including the 2004 cult hit ‘Napoleon Dynamite’, the 2006 festival multi-award winner ‘Coyote’, and the recently released drama ‘Cafe’, featuring Golden Globe nominee Jennifer Love Hewitt. Wyatt serves as co-producer of ‘Napoleon Dynamite – The Animated Series’ debuting on the Fox Network, January 2012; and has co-written TV episodes of ‘Iron man: Armored Adventures’ and ‘Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for Marvel Studios’. Wyatt holds an MFA in Motion Picture Producing from the University of Southern California’s Peter Stark Producing Program, where he serves as an adjunct Professor of Cinema.

Aparajita Sinha

Aparajita Sinha is a cultural activist whose work ranges from organizing annual classical arts festivals to making shorts films were telecast on television (DD national) and Britain’s Channel. She runs the popular Hyderabad film club Moving Images. Aparajita’s father, the late Bimal Roy, was one of the pioneers of Indian cinema, who made such classics as Bandini, Sujata and Do Bigha Zamin. Her mother Manobina Roy was one of the earliest women photographers of India.

Dr. Yella Venkateswara Rao With over 15,000 national and international performances to his credit, Dr. Yella Venkateswara Rao is also a Guinness Book of Records holder for continuously playing the Mridangam for 36 hours in 1981. He has performed for AIR and Doordarshan and has been conferred the Padmashri by the government of India. Dr. Rao has won many national and international music award and has held many positions in different government and private bodies.


Jury Little Directors

Dr. Mohan Agashe (Chairperson)

A qualified psychiatrist, Dr. Mohan Agashe is a veteran cinema and theatre actor. He began his career in Vijay Tendulkar’s acclaimed play ‘Ghasiram Kotwal’. He served as the director of FTII from 1997 to 2002 and has pioneered the concept of Grips Theatre Berlin in India. For his cross cultural contribution to Indo-German Theater, he was awarded ‘The Cross of Order of Merit’ in 2001 and the prestigious ‘Goethe Medal’ in 2004. He is on the Governing and Executive Council bodies of CFSI. In 1990 he was awarded the ‘Padma Shri’ and in 1996 with the ‘Sangeet Natak Akademi Award’ for acting.

Geeta DharmarajanGeeta Dharmarajan is a writer for children, a teacher, and a social entrepreneur. She is the founder and Executive Director of Katha, a nonprofit organization. Interested in learning across boundaries, especially the education of children from economically poor families, she ideated story pedagogy® a powerful classroom tool to bring first generation learners into the process of deep-rooted learning and empowerment. Author of 38 published books for children, she has edited more than 20 books of translation for adults. Geeta is the honorary Chairperson of the National Bal Bhavan, an institution committed to increase the creative potential of children across the many divides.


Nirupa BhangarNirupa Bhangar began her career in 1970 as a microbiology instructor at Sophia College, Mumbai, ultimately rising to Principal. In 1987, she joined the Aga Khan Education Service, first directing rural education programmes and then serving as chief executive. In 1990s, Nirupa began consulting for corporate clients, and in 1998 she became director of human resources for Ion Exchange Ltd., where she established the company’s rural water programs. Since 2005, Nirupa has been executive director of ‘The Anchorage’, a workshop for mentally challenged adults in Mumbai. She serves on numerous boards and continues to consult on education and development.

Samala Venu

Samala Venu is a Magician, Illusionist and Hypnotist who has been practicing since 30 years. After doing his Masters in Science and Public Relations he switched to the world of Magic. He has performed more than 7000 shows in 23 different countries. He has won many national and international awards for his work including the Rashtrapati Award (President’s Award). He is also a Guinness Book of World Records holder. Besides magic, he is also known for his charitable work where he uses his skills to spread social awareness for instance awareness about Aids, and superstitious practices.

Vandemataram SrinivasVandemataram Srinivas is a music director and singer who has worked in 200 Telugu movies since the last two decades. His music and songs are very popular amongst the audiences in Andhra Pradesh and he has won several prestigious awards including the State Nandi Award which was conferred on him for a record seven times. He has also directed one Telugu feature film and has also dabbled in acting.

Documents

Jury