Feature and long-form documentary films (TRT 45 min or longer) are in competition for:
- Bridging the Borders Award (Presented by “Cinema Without Borders” film e-magazine)
- Best Documentary Film Award
- Best Debut Feature Film Award
- Audience Award
Short films, and short documentaries (TRT 30 min or less), are in competition for:
- Best Short Film Award
- Compelling Short Documentary Recognition
All films are in competition for:
- Best Cinematography Award
The juries are comprised of film industry professionals from Los Angeles, expat filmmakers, artists and film critics, cinephiles and previous SEE FEST award winners.
Audience Award is given to the highest scoring film based on audience ballots.
- SEEFEST 2012 JURY BIOS -
BRIDGING THE BORDERS AWARD
presented by Cinema Without Borders
BIJAN TEHRANI
Bijan Tehrani is a film director, film critic and writer, and founding editor-in-chief of Cinema Without Borders e-magazine devoted to international cinema. He teaches Language of Film at The Art Institute of California, Los Angeles. Bijan is also a partner at Dragon Tale Entertainment, a new production company based in Los Angeles. He has won several awards at international fi lm festivals and book fairs for his short films and children’s books.
KEVIN CASSIDY
As International News Editor at The Hollywood Reporter, Kevin Cassidy oversees all international content for print and online, as well as all of THR’s festival daily
publications in Cannes, Berlin, Hong Kong and Busan. He has also represented THR at film events in St. Petersburg, Dubai, Belgium and Nigeria. In addition, he oversees THR’s quarterly Film and TV Music franchise, and covers the Best Foreign Language film category for the magazine’s infl uential Oscar Special Issues.
FAREED C. MAJARI
Fareed C. Majari is the new director of the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles. He studied English and Slavonic Studies in Marburg, Germany, and Coventry, U.K. and Film at the All-State Film Institute in Moscow. He worked as visiting professor at the University of Connecticut and taught German at the Goethe-Institut Munich. For the Goethe-Institut he developed software for Computer Assisted Language Learning programs. He headed the Goethe-Institut in the Palestinian Territories, followed by a directorship of the Goethe-Institut in Lebanon.
BRIDGING THE BORDERS AWARD
presented by Cinema Without Borders
BIJAN TEHRANIBijan Tehrani is a film director, film critic and writer, and founding editor-in-chief of Cinema Without Borders e-magazine devoted to international cinema. He teaches Language of Film at The Art Institute of California, Los Angeles. Bijan is also a partner at Dragon Tale Entertainment, a new production company based in Los Angeles. He has won several awards at international fi lm festivals and book fairs for his short films and children’s books.
KEVIN CASSIDYAs International News Editor at The Hollywood Reporter, Kevin Cassidy oversees all international content for print and online, as well as all of THR’s festival daily
publications in Cannes, Berlin, Hong Kong and Busan. He has also represented THR at film events in St. Petersburg, Dubai, Belgium and Nigeria. In addition, he oversees THR’s quarterly Film and TV Music franchise, and covers the Best Foreign Language film category for the magazine’s infl uential Oscar Special Issues.
FAREED C. MAJARIFareed C. Majari is the new director of the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles. He studied English and Slavonic Studies in Marburg, Germany, and Coventry, U.K. and Film at the All-State Film Institute in Moscow. He worked as visiting professor at the University of Connecticut and taught German at the Goethe-Institut Munich. For the Goethe-Institut he developed software for Computer Assisted Language Learning programs. He headed the Goethe-Institut in the Palestinian Territories, followed by a directorship of the Goethe-Institut in Lebanon.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
MARGIT KLEINMAN
Margit has an MA in German and French Linguistics and Literature from the universities of Wuerzurg, Paris and Tuebingen. For the last 25 years, she was the program coordinator at the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles -with a special focus on film. As of May 15 this year, Margit is going to assume the position of director at Villa Aurora, Foundation for American-European Relations in the Pacific Palisades.
ARNOLD SCHWARTZMAN
London-born Arnold Schwartzman is an Academy Award® winning filmmaker (in 1981 for documentary film Genocide) and noted graphic designer. He was appointed the Director of Design for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Since 1996, he has designed many of the key elements for the Annual Academy Awards® (“Oscar®”), including commemorative posters, billboards, cinema trailers and printed programs for the Awards ceremony and Governors Ball. He has created a number of short video exhibits for the Museum of Tolerance, as well as a permanent eight-screen video exhibit on the achievements of American Jewry, and a “Time Line” mural on American Jewish history, for the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. In 2002 Schwartzman was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) HM Queen Elizabeth II for services to the British film industry in the U.S.A. He is also a Governor of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles (BAFTA/LA), and serves on the Board of Hollywood Heritage, Inc.
VALENTINA GANEVA
A Bulgarian native, Valentina Ganeva graduated from VITIZ, the Institute of Dramatic Arts, in Sofi a, Bulgaria with BA degree in Film History, Theory and Criticism. She worked as a freelance journalist until 1990 when she re-located to Los Angeles to study film at UCLA, followed by her first video Anu Yoga which she produced, directed and edited. In 1996 Valentina began her career as an Avid editor and co-founded Murex Films, Inc. in partnership with N. Mechi. Her editorial credits include music videos for Sting, Elliot Smith, NKOTB, Leona Lewis; live concerts for DEVO, Red Hot Chili Peppers, commercials for Energy Star, PETA, PBS; the feature length documentary Living Luminaries and May It Fill Your Soul. In addition to also serving as the executive producer for Murex Films, Valentina has directed and edited several music videos for the LA based band “Loney Stoney”. As writer/director she is currently developing a documentary about architect R. M. Schindler, and executive producing the feature Idea In America.
PRINCE GOMOLVILAS
Prince Gomolvilas’s plays have been produced around United States, in the U.K., and in Singapore. They include The Theory of Everything, which won the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Drama, and the stage adaptation of Mysterious Skin, which is based on the novel by Scott Heim. He received a screenwriting fellowship from The Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project, a program sponsored by Paramount Pictures, and he is currently developing a screenplay for award-winning filmmaker PJ Raval. He writes Bamboo Nation, an arts and entertainment blog, and he teaches in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. www.princegomolvilas.com
JELENA MRDJA
Actress Jelena Mrdja began her career in theatre appearing on stage at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre in Belgrade, where she first landed the title role in Cinderella. She was cast in 20 films, and had her breakout role opposite David Thornton, Branislav Trifunovic, Mirjana Karanovic and Cindy Lauper in Darko Lungulov’s Here and There, winner of Tribeca’s Best New York Narrative in 2010 and multiple other awards. Following the successful theatrical release of this film stateside and TV reruns on U.S. cable networks, Jelena embarked on her American film journey. In Los Angeles since 2010 she appeared in TV movies and commercials and continues to work on stage. She graduated from the Belgrade Academy of Dramatic Arts, in the class of celebrated Serbian actress Mirjana Karanovic.
MARSHA GOODMAN
Marsha Goodman is an Emmy-winning freelance casting and voice director (2002 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children Animated Program, for her work on Madeline for the Disney Channel). Most recently she has worked as a voice/casting director on several projects at Wildbrain Productions. Prior to that she was SVP, Talent at DIC Entertainment where her career spanned 25 years. Some of the many animated films and programs Marsha worked on include The New
Adventures of Madeline (TV series), and Madeline (TV series), Captain Planet and the Planeteers (TV series), The Real Ghostbusters, Inspector Gadget, Heathcliff and The Littles, Rainbow Brite and Strawberry Shortcake. She holds MFA in Film and TV Production from UCLA.
JELENA ERCEG
Jelena Erceg is an architect and character rigging professional for feature films and commercials for Rhythm and Hues Studios, Los Angeles.
BORIS SCHAARSCHMIDT
Boris Schaarschmidt holds a BFA in Cinematography from the University of Applied Sciences in Dortmund, Germany, and an MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles. He received an annual scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the Pat Hitchcock O’Connell Scholarship Award. Boris has written, produced, and directed 15 highly successful short films, receiving numerous awards and special recognition, with several earning DVD distribution and widespread screenings on the international festival circuit. Two of his projects received special funding from the film board of North Rhine Westphalia, Germany. In addition to his own projects, Boris has worked for industry titans like Quentin Tarantino on the post-production of his Oscar nominated film Inglourious Basterds. Boris is currently directing a series of webisodes called Ernie’s Girls and is in post-production on Haleema, while finalizing the script for his first feature length film Der Heimkehrer. www.borisschaarschmidt.de
MICHAEL PESSAH
Cinematographer Michael Pessah was born in Cambridge and raised in New York. He earned a BA in Humanities at Hampshire College and his MFA in cinematography at the American Film Institute. Michael’s narrative work has been broadcast on HBO, MTV, WGBH, BET, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network and the BBC. It has been screened in theaters nationally, in addition to the Tribeca, Palm Springs, and Cannes film festivals. His documentary work has been broadcast on the USA Network, Current TV and Canal +. The documentary Viva la Causa was shortlisted for a 2008 Academy Award. His multimedia work for the play Iphigenia was recognized with a 2007 LA Weekly Theater Award.
On occasion Michael will design lighting for live events such as the “Rising Stars” event at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and the 2009 Arts in the Park charity concert at Barnsdall Park. He is a member of the cinematography faculty at the American Film Institute.
NICHOLAS FAHEY
Cinematographer and Photographer Nicholas Patrick Fahey is a Los Angeles native whose roots are deep in the area’s fine art photography community. Fahey grew up in the Fahey/Klein Gallery, participating in installations and witnessing fi rst-hand the careers of photographers like Herb Ritts and Bruce Weber. He produced exhibitions in fine art photography galleries dotting the California coast while completing a degree in photography, and shot for magazines, catalogs, and corporate clients including the prestigious Parsons Corporation in Pasadena, photo-documenting their charity work throughout greater Los Angeles. Fahey’s work has been exhibited in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. He spent several years traveling the Arctic with photographer Howard Ruby documenting the plight of the polar bear. He now spends his time creating living motion pictures and photography, curating contemporary exhibitions for the Fahey/Klein gallery, and participating in the evolution of media through fine art mobile apps and iPad books.
HANS DIERNBERGER
Hans is a visual artist from Germany who has recently been awarded a Fellowship at the Villa Aurora, an artists residence and historic landmark of Los Angeles. Early on Hans won awards for his work in photography, graduated from the Academy of Media Arts (KHM) in Cologne, Germany, and followed that with an internship at Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, and a 2009 DAAD scholarship for postgraduate studies at Goldsmiths, London. He works with photography, performance, video, sculpture, installation, and drawing.
MARGIT KLEINMANMargit has an MA in German and French Linguistics and Literature from the universities of Wuerzurg, Paris and Tuebingen. For the last 25 years, she was the program coordinator at the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles -with a special focus on film. As of May 15 this year, Margit is going to assume the position of director at Villa Aurora, Foundation for American-European Relations in the Pacific Palisades.
ARNOLD SCHWARTZMANLondon-born Arnold Schwartzman is an Academy Award® winning filmmaker (in 1981 for documentary film Genocide) and noted graphic designer. He was appointed the Director of Design for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Since 1996, he has designed many of the key elements for the Annual Academy Awards® (“Oscar®”), including commemorative posters, billboards, cinema trailers and printed programs for the Awards ceremony and Governors Ball. He has created a number of short video exhibits for the Museum of Tolerance, as well as a permanent eight-screen video exhibit on the achievements of American Jewry, and a “Time Line” mural on American Jewish history, for the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. In 2002 Schwartzman was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) HM Queen Elizabeth II for services to the British film industry in the U.S.A. He is also a Governor of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles (BAFTA/LA), and serves on the Board of Hollywood Heritage, Inc.
VALENTINA GANEVAA Bulgarian native, Valentina Ganeva graduated from VITIZ, the Institute of Dramatic Arts, in Sofi a, Bulgaria with BA degree in Film History, Theory and Criticism. She worked as a freelance journalist until 1990 when she re-located to Los Angeles to study film at UCLA, followed by her first video Anu Yoga which she produced, directed and edited. In 1996 Valentina began her career as an Avid editor and co-founded Murex Films, Inc. in partnership with N. Mechi. Her editorial credits include music videos for Sting, Elliot Smith, NKOTB, Leona Lewis; live concerts for DEVO, Red Hot Chili Peppers, commercials for Energy Star, PETA, PBS; the feature length documentary Living Luminaries and May It Fill Your Soul. In addition to also serving as the executive producer for Murex Films, Valentina has directed and edited several music videos for the LA based band “Loney Stoney”. As writer/director she is currently developing a documentary about architect R. M. Schindler, and executive producing the feature Idea In America.
BEST DEBUT FEATURE
ANA MARIA BAHIANA
Ana Maria Bahiana is currently foreign correspondent at UOL, Owner at AMBahian Content and Consultancy and celebrated author. The author of six books – including one of Brazil’s 2006 best sellers, The Seventies Almanac – Ana Maria has written for, among others, the New York Times Syndicate, Escape and Beat, Australia’s The Bulletin, France’s Le Film Français and the the UK’s Screen International, of which she was West Coast Bureau Chief for five years. Besides collaborating for Melissa Bradley’s Indagare.com, she is currently working on the Brazilian edition and translation of Peter Biskind’s Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and the authorized biography of top model mogul John Casablancas. Her next project as a fi lmmaker is a Brazil-US- Japan co-production. She has been involved in the business of international fi lm for over twenty years and produced a number of fi lms all while being a celebrated fi lm critic.
MATTHEW MISHORY
Filmmaker Matthew Mishory’s work has been shown at major film festivals and art galleries around the world, from London to New York to Reykjavik to São Paulo. His feature film debut, Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean, will have its
world premiere this Spring. In 2009, Matthew directed the acclaimed Delphinium: A Childhood Portrait of Derek Jarman, a stylized and lyrical coming-of-age portrait of legendary painter, filmmaker, and activist Derek Jarman’s awakening in 1950s England. After dozens of screenings around the world, Delphinium was permanently installed at the British Film Institute’s
National Film Archive in London. Matthew studied Film Theory and Screenwriting at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and in 2008 he formed the production shingle Iconoclastic Features with actor/producer Edward Singletary, Jr. The company is currently developing a project to be shot in Eastern Europe.
ZELJKO MARASOVICH
Zeljko Marasovich is an award-winning composer who writes for fi lm, TV, theatre and concert stage. He is also a successful recording artist and a critically acclaimed virtuoso organist and conductor. Zeljko has given solo recitals throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia, and his work has been performed at major international festivals and venues (including Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and Gewandhaus in Leipzig). Zeljko was born and raised in Zagreb, Croatia. He studied piano, organ and composition at the Zagreb Academy of Music and Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. He also received a Master’s Degree from the USC School of Music in Los Angeles. His diverse and passionate work has spanned everything from epic orchestral compositions to ethnic themes, electronica, groove and ambient sounds. Many of his projects were nominated for Emmys, BAFTA and ASCAP awards.
BEST SHORT FILM
ANA MARIA BAHIANAAna Maria Bahiana is currently foreign correspondent at UOL, Owner at AMBahian Content and Consultancy and celebrated author. The author of six books – including one of Brazil’s 2006 best sellers, The Seventies Almanac – Ana Maria has written for, among others, the New York Times Syndicate, Escape and Beat, Australia’s The Bulletin, France’s Le Film Français and the the UK’s Screen International, of which she was West Coast Bureau Chief for five years. Besides collaborating for Melissa Bradley’s Indagare.com, she is currently working on the Brazilian edition and translation of Peter Biskind’s Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and the authorized biography of top model mogul John Casablancas. Her next project as a fi lmmaker is a Brazil-US- Japan co-production. She has been involved in the business of international fi lm for over twenty years and produced a number of fi lms all while being a celebrated fi lm critic.
MATTHEW MISHORYFilmmaker Matthew Mishory’s work has been shown at major film festivals and art galleries around the world, from London to New York to Reykjavik to São Paulo. His feature film debut, Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean, will have its
world premiere this Spring. In 2009, Matthew directed the acclaimed Delphinium: A Childhood Portrait of Derek Jarman, a stylized and lyrical coming-of-age portrait of legendary painter, filmmaker, and activist Derek Jarman’s awakening in 1950s England. After dozens of screenings around the world, Delphinium was permanently installed at the British Film Institute’s
National Film Archive in London. Matthew studied Film Theory and Screenwriting at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and in 2008 he formed the production shingle Iconoclastic Features with actor/producer Edward Singletary, Jr. The company is currently developing a project to be shot in Eastern Europe.
ZELJKO MARASOVICHZeljko Marasovich is an award-winning composer who writes for fi lm, TV, theatre and concert stage. He is also a successful recording artist and a critically acclaimed virtuoso organist and conductor. Zeljko has given solo recitals throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia, and his work has been performed at major international festivals and venues (including Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and Gewandhaus in Leipzig). Zeljko was born and raised in Zagreb, Croatia. He studied piano, organ and composition at the Zagreb Academy of Music and Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. He also received a Master’s Degree from the USC School of Music in Los Angeles. His diverse and passionate work has spanned everything from epic orchestral compositions to ethnic themes, electronica, groove and ambient sounds. Many of his projects were nominated for Emmys, BAFTA and ASCAP awards.
BEST SHORT FILM
PRINCE GOMOLVILASPrince Gomolvilas’s plays have been produced around United States, in the U.K., and in Singapore. They include The Theory of Everything, which won the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Drama, and the stage adaptation of Mysterious Skin, which is based on the novel by Scott Heim. He received a screenwriting fellowship from The Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project, a program sponsored by Paramount Pictures, and he is currently developing a screenplay for award-winning filmmaker PJ Raval. He writes Bamboo Nation, an arts and entertainment blog, and he teaches in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. www.princegomolvilas.com
JELENA MRDJAActress Jelena Mrdja began her career in theatre appearing on stage at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre in Belgrade, where she first landed the title role in Cinderella. She was cast in 20 films, and had her breakout role opposite David Thornton, Branislav Trifunovic, Mirjana Karanovic and Cindy Lauper in Darko Lungulov’s Here and There, winner of Tribeca’s Best New York Narrative in 2010 and multiple other awards. Following the successful theatrical release of this film stateside and TV reruns on U.S. cable networks, Jelena embarked on her American film journey. In Los Angeles since 2010 she appeared in TV movies and commercials and continues to work on stage. She graduated from the Belgrade Academy of Dramatic Arts, in the class of celebrated Serbian actress Mirjana Karanovic.
MARSHA GOODMAN
Marsha Goodman is an Emmy-winning freelance casting and voice director (2002 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children Animated Program, for her work on Madeline for the Disney Channel). Most recently she has worked as a voice/casting director on several projects at Wildbrain Productions. Prior to that she was SVP, Talent at DIC Entertainment where her career spanned 25 years. Some of the many animated films and programs Marsha worked on include The New
Adventures of Madeline (TV series), and Madeline (TV series), Captain Planet and the Planeteers (TV series), The Real Ghostbusters, Inspector Gadget, Heathcliff and The Littles, Rainbow Brite and Strawberry Shortcake. She holds MFA in Film and TV Production from UCLA.
JELENA ERCEGJelena Erceg is an architect and character rigging professional for feature films and commercials for Rhythm and Hues Studios, Los Angeles.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BORIS SCHAARSCHMIDTBoris Schaarschmidt holds a BFA in Cinematography from the University of Applied Sciences in Dortmund, Germany, and an MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles. He received an annual scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the Pat Hitchcock O’Connell Scholarship Award. Boris has written, produced, and directed 15 highly successful short films, receiving numerous awards and special recognition, with several earning DVD distribution and widespread screenings on the international festival circuit. Two of his projects received special funding from the film board of North Rhine Westphalia, Germany. In addition to his own projects, Boris has worked for industry titans like Quentin Tarantino on the post-production of his Oscar nominated film Inglourious Basterds. Boris is currently directing a series of webisodes called Ernie’s Girls and is in post-production on Haleema, while finalizing the script for his first feature length film Der Heimkehrer. www.borisschaarschmidt.de
MICHAEL PESSAHCinematographer Michael Pessah was born in Cambridge and raised in New York. He earned a BA in Humanities at Hampshire College and his MFA in cinematography at the American Film Institute. Michael’s narrative work has been broadcast on HBO, MTV, WGBH, BET, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network and the BBC. It has been screened in theaters nationally, in addition to the Tribeca, Palm Springs, and Cannes film festivals. His documentary work has been broadcast on the USA Network, Current TV and Canal +. The documentary Viva la Causa was shortlisted for a 2008 Academy Award. His multimedia work for the play Iphigenia was recognized with a 2007 LA Weekly Theater Award.
On occasion Michael will design lighting for live events such as the “Rising Stars” event at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and the 2009 Arts in the Park charity concert at Barnsdall Park. He is a member of the cinematography faculty at the American Film Institute.
NICHOLAS FAHEYCinematographer and Photographer Nicholas Patrick Fahey is a Los Angeles native whose roots are deep in the area’s fine art photography community. Fahey grew up in the Fahey/Klein Gallery, participating in installations and witnessing fi rst-hand the careers of photographers like Herb Ritts and Bruce Weber. He produced exhibitions in fine art photography galleries dotting the California coast while completing a degree in photography, and shot for magazines, catalogs, and corporate clients including the prestigious Parsons Corporation in Pasadena, photo-documenting their charity work throughout greater Los Angeles. Fahey’s work has been exhibited in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. He spent several years traveling the Arctic with photographer Howard Ruby documenting the plight of the polar bear. He now spends his time creating living motion pictures and photography, curating contemporary exhibitions for the Fahey/Klein gallery, and participating in the evolution of media through fine art mobile apps and iPad books.
HANS DIERNBERGERHans is a visual artist from Germany who has recently been awarded a Fellowship at the Villa Aurora, an artists residence and historic landmark of Los Angeles. Early on Hans won awards for his work in photography, graduated from the Academy of Media Arts (KHM) in Cologne, Germany, and followed that with an internship at Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, and a 2009 DAAD scholarship for postgraduate studies at Goldsmiths, London. He works with photography, performance, video, sculpture, installation, and drawing.
