Awards and Juries
International Competition Jury
MERCEDES ALFONSÍN
(Buenos Aires, Argentina) Master in Art Direction in film and opera (New York University) and Bachelor of Arts (UBA). Since 1995, she has been making fiction projects such as El hijo de la novia (2001), Vientos de agua (2006), Carancho (2010), El amor menos pensado (2018), Santa Evita (2022) and My Penguin Friend (2024), among many others. In 2017, she designed the exhibition L’Usine de films Amateurs by Michel Gondry. She published the book Punto ciego (Blind Spot) about her work in film, which won the Konex Platinum Award in 2021.
ANGIE CEPEDA
(Colombia) She has built her acting career in film and television both in her native country and in the United States, as well as in other countries in Latin America and Europe. Her first television project earned her the India Catalina award as a revelation in acting in Colombia. Her first film work was in Ilona llega con la lluvia (1996) and her first leading role in Pantaleón y las visitadoras (1999). Among her international projects are Samy and I (2002), Oculto (2005), Love in the Time of Cholera (2007), Heleno (2011), Kill Chain (2019) and Encanto (2021). Recently, the Cartagena Film Festival gave her a special award for international career.
VARVARA HOVHANNISYAN
(Yerevan, Armenia) Professional with a strong background in project management, film festival coordination, and international relations. Head of the International Department at the Golden Apricot International Film Festival (GAIFF). She is actively involved in organizing a lecture series on architecture in Yerevan, where she applies her project management expertise to create engaging and well-structured events.
SAMUEL MAOZ
(Tel Aviv, Israel). Director, screenwriter and film producer. He studied Photography Direction at Tel Aviv University, and wrote and directed the feature films Total Eclipse (2000), Lebanon - a feature film with which she won the Golden Lion at the 2009 Venice International Film Festival - and Foxtrot (2017), winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Young Jury Prize at Venice.
RUBÉN PERALTA RIGAUD
(Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic). Film critic, teacher and doctor by profession, he worked in radio and collaborated in the publications Cineasta and Listín Diario. In 2004, he founded the online film magazine Cocalecas, and has served on juries at film festivals in Miami, Toronto, Puerto Rico and Saudi Arabia, among others. He has also covered important film events such as the Cannes Film Festival and the Dominican Global Film Festival. He is a member of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) and is an active member of the Golden Globes.
Latin American Competition Jury
GONZALO CALZADA
(Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina) Argentine director, screenwriter and producer, an important figure in the world of fantasy cinema in Argentina and Latin America. Professor at the Universidad del Cine. He directed Luisa (2009) -winner of the award for best directorial debut at the Cairo Film Festival-, La plegaria del vidente (2012), Resurrección (2016) and Luciferina (2018). Nocturna, acclaimed by critics, consolidated his career. Lipán, his seventh film, is scheduled for release in 2025.
ALBERTO PONCE
(Concordia, Entre Ríos, Argentina) Graduated from the International School of Film and TV (EICTV) in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba. He edited more than 80 feature films in twelve countries and collaborated with directors such as Leonardo Favio, Pino Solanas, Damián Szifrón, Adrián Caetano and Diego Lerman, among others. He is a member of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Argentina. In 2023, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award, granted by the Association of Film Critics of Argentina.
LUCÍA SAPENA
(Asunción, Paraguay) Journalist who presents and produces the entertainment segments of the Canal 13 Py newscast and the interview program Arte y Espectáculos, declared of cultural interest by the National Secretariat of Culture, and hosts the radio program Sobre la hora. Member of the executive committee of the Platino Awards. She received the Paraná de Oro Award, the most important distinction in television and radio in Paraguay.
Argentine Competition Jury
GUILLERMO COURAU
(Argentina) Journalist, professor, writer and film critic, he began his career in 1992 and since then has contributed to numerous Argentine and international publications as a writer, interviewer and editor. Currently, he is part of the journalistic team of the newspaper La Nación, collaborates with the magazine Caras y caretas and is a regular on the program Contacto Digital, which is broadcast on Radio Rivadavia. Also, he is a member of the Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA) and an international voter for the Golden Globes.
JUAN PABLO RUSSO
(Argentina) Journalist, film critic and cultural programmer. He is serving as president of the Association of Film Critics of Argentina (ACCA) and director of the International Film and Gender Diversity Festival. Voting member of the Golden Globes since 2022 and member of Ibero-American Film Journalists (PIC). He has directed the Escribiendo Cine website since 2007, collaborates with Acción magazine and is part of the artistic direction of the Centro Cultural de la Cooperación.
SOLEDAD SAN JULIÁN
(Argentina) Documentary filmmaker, film and television producer, she graduated from the Instituto de Arte Cinematográfico de Avellaneda. Founding partner of Senderos Films, a production company from northern Argentina specializing in local production since 2011. She works as head of production for films and series. Teacher at the Escuela Nacional de Experimentación y Realización Cinematográfica (NOA campus).
JURADO COMPETENCIA ESTADOS ALTERADOS
FERNANDO BRENNER
(Buenos Aires, Argentina). Programmer, film critic, music critic and press agent. He has served as a jury member in Argentina, Latin America and the United States. He has participated in the festivals of Punta del Este and Piriápolis (Uruguay), Chicago Latino (United States), Trieste (Italy), Todos Santos (Mexico), and Kerala (India). He was part of the team of the Mar del Plata International Film Festival and currently writes on the Escribiendo cine website, and has collaborated with more than 110 media outlets.
RAMIRO NAVARRO
(Argentina) Founder of the production company Frontera+. He has more than 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry. He co-produced Papá al rescate (2023), The Penguin & The Fisherman (2024) and Simón de la Montaña (2024) -winner of the Best Film award in the Critics' Week section at the Cannes Film Festival. In association with Kuarzo and Leyenda Films he produced Mensaje en una botella (2024). In the advertising area, Frontera+ partnered in 2020 with Rebolución, the production company of Oscar winner Armando Bo.
GUILLERMINA ROSALES
(Buenos Aires, Argentina) Film producer and graduate of ENERC film school, she has been a programmer and producer at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival, BAFICI and SANFIC. She lives in Chile, where she works in the Promotion area of the Ministry of Culture as a Jury-Evaluator in Financing Funds. Since 2017, she has provided audiovisual advice in the search for financing, sale of content to streaming platforms and production design, and is a member of the Worldwide Audiovisual Woman’s Association.
JURADO COMPETENCIA EN TRÁNSITO
MIGUEL MONFORTE
(Mar del Plata, Argentina) Filmmaker, teacher and audiovisual researcher. He directed Malvinas, Historias de la Historia (1993), Héroe corriente (2017), and Los sueños de Elma: Historia de una Madre de Malvinas (2023), among others. He is co-author with Julio Neveleff of the books Mar del Plata 100 años de Cine. 1908-2008 (Ed. Corregidor, 2008) and Mar del Plata es Cine: from the pioneers to 2024 (Ed. Gogol, 2023), and together with Neveleff and Alejandra Ponce de León he is the author of Historia del Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata (Ed. Corregidor).
EVA PADRÓ
(Barcelona, Spain). Earned her Licenciature in Communication Sciences from the Blanquerna University, Ramón Llull. She studied film at New York University and at the San Antonio de los Baño School, Cuba, and founded the advertising production company Toma 78 together with Agustín Berruezo, Bárbara and Andy Muschietti. In Buenos Aires, she worked in television production at Televisión Abierta, the production company of Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat. She produced the feature films La otra piel (2017) and Baldío (2018) by Inés de Oliveira Cézar, El Santo (2022) by Agustín Carbonere, and various series as Line Producer at Pampa Films.
ALEJANDRO SAMMARITANO
(Buenos Aires, Argentina) He has been a member of the Cine Club Núcleo since 1990, and in 2001 he took over the leadership of the entity, where he is in charge of programming and publicizing activities. He has participated in film club meetings and festivals in several countries, and in documentaries on film history. He has done journalistic work on film criticism on Radio Continental and FM La Radio. He is a Public Accountant, with a degree from the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the UBA.