We are proud to reveal to you the members of this year’s main jury:

 

Dora Benusilio (France)

Maja Gehrig (Switzerland)

Igor Hofbauer (Croatia)

Matija Šturm (Slovenia)

Soetkin Verstegen (Belgium)

 

You can read more about our jury members below.
 

Born in Paris in 1950, Dora Benousilio studied history and then worked as a teacher for a few years. In 1976, she opened a bookshop. After twelve years of experience in the world of books and publishing, she got the chance to work with an animated film production company (C2A). Then, with six friends, they created their own production company, Les Films de l’Arlequin, in 1991, and produced their first feature film, The Real Shlemiel,
based upon the tales by IB Singer and directed by Albert Hanan Kaminski. They gradually became more specialized and now mainly produce animated films, though of all formats and for all audiences.

 

Maja Gehrig is an animation filmmaker and teacher based in Zurich. She attended a preliminary design course at the Zurich School of Art and Design in 1999-2000. Then, she studied media art for two years at the University of Applied Sciences Aarau, followed by an internship at Eesti Joonisfilm in Tallinn, Estonia. In 2003-2005, she completed the animation degree programme at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Her short animation films use a wide range of techniques and have gained international recognition. Her latest work Average Happiness won several prizes at different festivals, including the Best Swiss Animation award in 2020. Besides making her own films, she teaches at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts on the BA Animation course. Together with Elie Chapuis, she is co-president of ASIFA Switzerland (GSFA).

 

Igor Hofbauer (Zagreb, 1974) is one the leading figures in comic art and illustration in Croatia. After a few years of studying at the Zagreb art academy, he devoted himself full-time to illustration and design, leaving his mark on the visual identity of the Zagreb club scene by designing numerous posters for the club ‘Močvara’ (and many other clients across Europe thereafter), as well as many record sleeves and book covers. Occasionally, he also works as a set designer for theatre and the Croatian national broadcaster. In 2008, his first comic album Prison Stories was published by Otompotom, Zagreb, and Chili Com Carne, Portugal. This was followed by several other albums such as Mister Morgen, Inspector Gürtel, etc. Hofbauer lives and works in Zagreb.

 

Matija Šturm (1981) is the Chairman of the Slovenian Animated Film Association (DSAF) and the Managing Director of CEE Animation Forum & Workshop. He has been involved in the realization of professional animated shorts, animated shorts made at creative workshops, and medium- and feature-length documentaries. He is the author or co-author of papers and articles, an occasional visiting lecturer, and organiser of various animation programmes. He works with a range of producers and filmmakers worldwide, as well as with organisers of film festivals, film markets, pitching and other events. In his professional capacity, he sees and rates about 150 animated works in development per year.

 

Soetkin Verstegen is an independent filmmaker and animator from Brussels. Her films Mr Sand (2016) and Freeze frame (2019) traveled to numerous festivals and received jury awards at Clermont-Ferrand, Ann Arbor, Annecy, Fantoche and Animafest Zagreb. She was a fellow at Akademie Schloss Solitude, Germany, Saari residency, Finland, ZHdK’s artists-in-labs, Switzerland, and AniDox:Residency, Denmark. She freelances as a stop motion animator, is experienced in giving workshops and now teaches at LUCA School of Arts, Brussels.

Novice