Jury 2024

Oleksandra (Sasha) Prokopenko

Oleksandra (Sasha) Prokopenko is a festival programmer, film curator and translator based in Kyiv, Ukraine. For the past five years, she has been a Head of Programming at the Kyiv International Short Film Festival. Sasha has participated in several film festivals as a curator, mentor, and jury member. 

She has also collaborated with the Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival and Ukraine's first LGBTQIA+ film festival, Sunny Bunny. Since 2016, she has worked at the independent film distribution company, KyivMusicFilm, which distributes films on art, music and culture. Amongst other projects, Sasha has worked at the 100 Films in 100 Minutes festival, INTRO film festival about music and culture, and Kino Susidiv, the international film festival in Uzhhorod, Zakarpattia. Sasha is the Berlinale Talents (2024, Audience Design) and the Festival Academy (2025, Atelier for Young Festival Managers in Donostia/San Sebastián) alumna.

John Canciani

John Canciani has been a film collector since he was a teenager. In 2009, he became a member of the selection team and board member at the Swiss Youth Film Festival in Zurich. The same year, he joined the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur and was, amongst others, Head of Youth Programme, Programmer of the International Competition, and assistant to the Artistic Director. In 2012, he was appointed as Artistic Director. John is also a film curator at Kino Cameo Winterthur. He holds a Master’s in Advanced Studies in Curating. He is a member of the Swiss and European Film Academies, and a board member at Pro Short and the Short Film Conference. Since 2019, he has been a board member of Visions SudEst, where he also selects projects for the production and post-production of feature films and documentaries. He advises festivals, film schools, and filmmakers, festival strategies, scripts, and editing.

Tīna Zariņa

Tīna Zariņa is a Latvian film director with a background in analogue and contemporary photography, having studied at The Centre of "2ANNAS" and ISSP School. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Film Directing from the National Film School of Latvia in 2019 and has since directed TV series, short films, and music videos. Her work has been showcased at European festivals, earning awards and recognition.