Jury 2024
Baltic Focus
Dmytro Desiateryk — Dmytro Desiateryk is a Ukrainian film critic and cultural journalist. He received a theatre critic education in Kyiv. In 1999-2022 he worked as a cultural correspondent for the daily all-Ukrainian newspaper Den` (The Day), and is now a regular contributor to the online publications Detector Media (Ukraine). Author of materials on the topics of cinema and culture in Ukrainian and foreign media, including Kinokolo, birdinflight.com, Corridor, Dilova Stolytsia (Ukraine), Current Time (Prague, Czech Republic), Nasze Slowo (Warsaw, Poland). Member of FIPRESCI, European and Ukrainian Film Academies, voter of the 80th and 81st Golden Globes.
Henrietta Verhoustinska — Henrietta Verhoustinska, a cultural journalist, theater critic, and Latvian Television presenter, has also distinguished herself as a scriptwriter for seven documentaries. Notably, three of her works, namely "Zaiga Gaile: Architect's Passion," "Lidija," and "Delle," were honored with the prestigious "Lielais Kristaps" Latvian cinema award. As a documentary filmmaker, Henrietta Verhoustinska explores the depth of personalities, while as a viewer, she embraces the full breadth of the documentary cinema spectrum. She expected from the cinema an emotional and intellectual hit in the solar plexus.
Giedrė Žickytė — Lithuanian film director and producer. She graduated from the Vilnius Art Academy, worked on television, has more than 20 local and international film festival prizes. Her films were shown at festivals IDFA, Hot Docs, Visions du Reel and others.
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Adam Michnik — Editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, the biggest daily in Poland. Historian, co-founder of KOR (Committee for the Defense of Workers), spent a total of six years in Polish prisons for activities opposing the communist regime, member of the Round Table Talks 1989, member of the first non-communist parliament 1989-1991, laureat of many prizes and titles: Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, The Erasmus Prize, The Francisco Cerecedo Journalist Prize as a first non-Spanish author, Grand Prince Giedymin Order; Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur; recipient of a doctorate honoris causa from The New School for Social Research in New York, from the University of Minnesota, University of Michigan, from Connecticut College; honorary senator of the University of Ljubljana, honorary professor of the Kyiv Mohyla Academy. For support for the freedom of Lithuania and Lithuanians support in the fight against Soviet aggression Lithuanian Parliament unanimously awarded him the prestigious Freedom Award.
Viestur Kairish — Latvian opera, movie and theatre director. He has made a successful career in Latvia and Germany as an acclaimed director of operas. The movies and plays of Kairish have toured in many European festivals.
Chulpan Khamatova — A theater and film actress. She has worked with such directors as Alexandros Avranas, Ralph Fiennes, Achim von Boris, Wolfgang Becker, Alvis Hermanis, Thomas Ostermeier, Robert Lepage, Rimas Tuminas, Kirill Serebryanikov. Since March 2022, Chulpan has been part of the troupe of the New Riga Theater in Latvia.
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Victor Matizen — film critic, in 2003-2011 he was president of the Guild of Film Critics of Russia. Winner of the Golden Aries award and the State Film Fund of the Russian Federation award. Author of a number of books. In 2010, he was expelled from the Russian Union of Cinematographers for criticizing its chairman Nikita Mikhalkov.
Shahida Tulaganova — Producer/Director, has over 20 years' experience in news, current affairs and documentaries for the BBC (UK), Channel 4 (UK) and RFE/RL (Czech Republic). She has produced a number of documentaries, two of which received major awards. Shahida is also an experienced war reporter. She has reported from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Turkey and Somalia, as well as from across the Caucasus, Ukraine and Central Asia. She is also known for the BBC Panorama program My Fake Passports and Me, an investigation into passport forgery in Europe.
Vera Pavlova — poet, author of 25 books in Russian, laureate of the Apollo Grigoriev Grand Prize, Moscow Account and Anthology Prizes. Translated into 28 foreign languages. The latest book, “The Line of Contact,” was published in July 2023 by the independent publishing house Freedom Letters.