Film critic, film director, screenwriter, television presenter, educator
Studied cinema studies at the All-Union State Cinematography Institute in Moscow. He started the film career with own "Retro" programme. The programme was not only a monumanetal television project of its time, but also played an exceptional role in developping cinema taste of the local audience. He made his debut as a filmmaker in 1988 with his documentary "Father". In 1995, he shot a feature film "Bat". The film demonstrated at the Berlin Film Festival, introduced him to a wider audience. Subsequently, "Bat" participated around in thirty competitions held in France, Germany, Spain, Greece, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, USA, Canada, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Turkey, Mongolia and other countries, and got awarded. It was awarded with Grand Prix at the International European Film Festival in Anje, France. In the meantime, he is the author of the project "Diversion", "Fear", "Black-white nights" and "The Chronicle of Karabakh’s Longing". He is an Honored Art Worker of Azerbaijan.
Gulbara Tolomushova (Kyrgyzstan)
Film critic, film director
Currently, she is a member of FIPRESCI (The International Federation of Film Critics) and NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema). Along with articles in various news agencies, forums and internet portals, she has a rich filmmaking experience including directing, production, and management. She mostly prefers shooting documentary films on human rights protection. As a film critic, she was a jury member at several international film festivals. She is a leading specialist in the Cinematography Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Kyrgyzstan. She has been awarded in her country and abroad for her effective work in the field of cinema.
Kambuzia Partovi (Iran)
Film director, screenwriter
As screenwriter he had a successful collaboration with a number of well-known directors. The script written by him for the film "The Circle" directed by the world-renowned director Jafar Panahi, made him famous in this field. In 1988 he made his feature film debut with "Golnar". His 2007 film "Cafe Transit" was selected by Iran as its candidate for the "Oscar" Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Together with Jafar Panahi in 2013 he co-authored the film "Curtain".
Tobias Buchner (Germany)
Producer
Tobias Büchner works since 1994 as an independent producer. In the same year, he founded together with his sister Christiane Büchner the "Büchner Filmproduktion GbR". He mastered his knowledge at EAVE. He is in charge of licensing, fundraising, development and production of cross platform projects. In 2010, he participated together with his sister Christiane Büchner in "Ex Oriente" programme with the documentary "Family Business".
Zahra Badalbayly (Azerbaijan)
Musician, producer, poet
Studied at the Music Academy, worked as a teacher and concertmaster. She was the chairman of the Student Youth Organization for a while. In 2008, she worked for the Eurovision Song Contest organizing committee and wrote the lyrics of the first song of Azerbaijan in the contest. The first poetry album was released in 2011. That year she was appointed editor-in-chief of the "OK! Azerbaijan" magazine. In 2014, she worked cultural advisor of Baku European Games, and in 2015, founded "Gamma Agency" company.
