Competitions

Ella Armoni is a multidisciplinary artist, director, screenwriter, and actress, and a graduate of the Yoram Loewenstein Performing Arts Studio. She recently directed the film Part Child, Part Woman, which won the Directing and Editing awards at the Docaviv Festival. She also leads prominent cinematic and social projects, including "DocuYoung" and Keshet 12's "Roim Rachok." As a writer, Armoni is currently developing a future feature film and serves as a script consultant and dialogue writer, including for a film currently in production. Her short film Cocoloco, which she wrote and starred in, was selected for the Independent Film Competition at TISFF and screened at international festivals such as Berlin and the Jerusalem Women's Film Festival. Alongside her work behind the scenes, Armoni maintains a rich acting career with leading roles in cinema (The Electrifiers, Longing, Three Mothers), television (The Baker and the Beauty, Shovre Galim, Ptzuaim BaRosh), and theater (Marlene, Minyan Nashim). In addition to her creative endeavors, she teaches acting at leading academic institutions and serves as a lector for film funds and festivals.

Justyna Guziec began her professional career in advertising, where she managed commercial productions for leading international brands such as Samsung and Sony. She later joined the creative team at Platige Image. Driven by a professional interest in emerging technologies, she moved into the startup world in 2017, focusing on business development and AI based innovation in the music and sports industries. In 2023, Guziec brought her multidisciplinary experience to the film and television industry and co-founded the development and production company Last Draft Pix in London with industry veteran Sasha Harari. Across film and television, Guziec’s recent credits include the feature film Each of Us, starring Diane Kruger, the series Alice for HBO Max and France Télévisions, and Edoardo Ponti’s upcoming film The Wedding Dress, where she serves as co-producer. Currently, Justyna is developing a slate of film and television projects in close collaboration with the Kneller Agency and leading Israeli filmmakers.

Assaf Amir is a film and television producer and creator, and the owner of Norma Productions. Throughout his career, he has won 9  awards for Best Film or Best Series from the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. Among his notable works: Minor Crime, directed by Nur Fibak, winner of the Ophir Award for Best Documentary; Blue Box, directed by Michal Weits; producer and co-creator of the television series Rehearsals, winner of the Israeli Television Academy Award for Best Drama Series; producer and co-creator of Standard Love Song-Arik Einstein , winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Series. Additional productions include Through the Wall and Fill the Void by Rama Burshtein, the latter winning the Ophir Award for Best Film; Noodle directed by Ayelet Menahemi; and The Cemetery Club by Tali Shemesh, Assaf Amiir is currently the Chairman of Israeli academy of Film and Television

Estee Yakov-Mecklberg is a partner, producer, and head of content development at 2-Team Productions, one of Israel's leading film production companies. The company produces high-quality feature films that have garnered dozens of awards at prestigious international film festivals, including Sundance, Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Toronto, while simultaneously achieving commercial success both in Israel and across the global market. Among the company's prominent productions are Pink Lady (Nir Bergman and Mindy Ehrlich), Come Closer (Tom Nesher), Sand Storm (Elite Zexer), and Next to Her (Asaf Korman).

Hadar Morag graduated with honors from the Tel-Aviv University Film Department. Directed award winning films: SILENCE, 2008 (Cannes, Cinéfondation); WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME, 2015 (Orizzonti, Venice); IT’S TIME YOU DIED ALREADY, 2021 (Slamdance, Krakow, First prize at the Haifa IFF, Cinema South & ISFF); TZIPORA AND RACHEL ARE NOT DEAD, 2023, (DocAviv, DocLisboa, BelDocs, First prize at Cinema South. Currently working on: TALITHA KUMI in pre-production (WCF award). Morag is a script and editing consultant. She is socially active, living in Jaffa and volunteering with distressed Arab families and with women in the prostitution cycle.

Nir Bergman was born in Haifa, Israel in 1969. He graduated with honors from the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in Jerusalem in June 1998. His debut film, BROKEN WINGS, was released in 2002, was a major success. The film won several international awards and was distributed by SONNY CLASSICS. Since then, Bergman has written and directed several award-winning feature films as well as successful TV series, among them he co-wrote and directed IN TREATMENT which was later adopted by HBO and won the Emmy Award for best sporting actress.  Currently Bergman is one of Israel's leading film and TV writers–directors.

Baher Agbariya is an award-winning film producer and founder of  Majdal Films. Over the years, he has produced feature films and documentaries that have received international recognition and screened at leading film festivals around the world. His productions include "The Sea", winner of five Ophir Awards including Best Film and Israel’s official submission to the Academy Awards, Mediterranean Fever, winner of the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival and Palestine’s official submission to the Academy Awards, as well as Personal Affairs, Thirst, Omar and other films that screened and received recognition at international film festivals.

Wolf Plesmann is a Berlin-based cultural manager and Managing Director of Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB), Berlin’s state film school. His background includes film policy, public administration, and international cooperation. At the Berlin Senate Chancellery, he was responsible for media and film funding policy. He also served as Berlin’s Commissioner for Refugee Affairs and worked on international cooperation projects, including in Afghanistan and has developed a keen eye for socio-political narratives and the ethical dimensions of visual storytelling. Originally educated in law, he studied in Germany and France and holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University. He is a board member of the German Short Film Association (AG Kurzfilm) and a member of the European Film Academy.

SAND STORM, Zexer’s debut film, won the Grand Jury Prize in the International Competition at the Sundance Film Festival and was officially selected for the Berlinale, Toronto, Karlovy Vary, Shanghai, Edinburgh, and Palm Springs film festivals. It was acquired as a Netflix Original, received six Israeli Academy Awards, and was selected as Israel’s submission to the Oscars. Her second feature film, TWO PEAS IN A POD, is a co-production between Israel, Poland, and Germany, and was filmed in Georgia in 2025. Zexer is currently preparing to shoot her third feature film while developing additional international film and television projects. She also teaches directing and writing at the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television at Tel Aviv University.

Karina is an international film marketing and publicity consultant with over 20 years’ experience working across production, sales and distribution for independent films and documentaries. She works closely with producers to craft bespoke international marketing strategies from early development through production to festival launch and worldwide distribution. Formerly VP of International Marketing and Publicity at Anton, Karina has also held roles at Altitude, Secret Cinema, Paramount Pictures and Disney, and has worked with some of today’s most distinctive filmmakers, among them Asif Kapadia, Lynne Ramsay, David Mackenzie, Sarah Gavron, Clio Barnard, Noah Baumbach, Alejandro G. Iñárritu and the Coen brothers.

Maya Amsellem is an international film and television producer, entertainment executive, and co-founder of the London-based production and sales company WestEnd Films, established in 2008. She began her career as a corporate lawyer in Israel and the UK before transitioning to the entertainment industry in 2000 as Head of Legal and Business Affairs at Capitol Films. There, she specialized in complex film financing and international distribution. Leveraging her strong legal and business background, Amsellem has produced and executive produced numerous acclaimed global projects. Her notable credits include the prestige drama series Valley of Tears, acquired globally by HBO, and celebrated feature films such as Reading Lolita in Tehran, Tamara Drewe, and The Invisible Woman.

Veronica Kedar is an award winning filmmaker. She is known for her feature films Joe + Belle (2011), Endtime (2014), Family (2017) and Day Trippers (2024). Veronica's short films include Tail (2008), Bunny Love (2012), The Woman Who Wanted To Kill Someone (2015) and Kasey Cartoon (2025) which premiered last year at Annecy and recently won the Best Short Animation prize at the LA Comedy Film Festival.

Roee Rosen is an artist, author and filmmaker. His solo exhibitions include Centre Pompidou, Paris (2018), Kunsthal Cahrlottenborg, Copenhagen (2020), Kunstmueseum Luzern (2022), and Kunstverein Hanover (2024). His Film Out (Tse, 2010) won the Oriizonti best film award at the Venice Film Festival. His latest film, the musical comedy Kafka for Kids, premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival, 2022. His latest book is Lucy is Sick (Hebrew, Pardes, 2024). Rosen is a professor at HaMidrasha Faculty of the Arts, Beit Berl College.

Hila Cohen-Schneiderman is the Director and Chief Curator of the Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv-Yafo (CCA), and the recipient of the 2021 Minister of Culture Award for Curation. She specializes in site-specific, research-grounded projects that explore how art institutions interact with urban and environmental systems. Previously, she served as Chief Curator of MoBY (Museums of Bat Yam), directed the Liebling Project residency, and worked as a curator at the Petach Tikva Museum of Art. Alongside her curatorial practice, she teaches at Bezalel, the School of Visual Theater, and Shenkar College, and holds an MA in Hebrew Literature from the Hebrew University. Among her prominent exhibitions are solo shows by Absalon (2026) and Eli Petel (2020), as well as the acclaimed "Plenty – New Age – The Believers" trilogy at MoBY.

Co-owner and CEO of juno - a film and immersive experiences production group. Serves as lead producer and has a key role in game design for AR/VR Experiences, games and simulators in addition to leading commercial production for a global clientele. Immersive experiences include AR and VR experiences, video games, applications, interactive films and content and 360 films. Served as executive producer of three feature films sold to over 31 countries, Amazon Prime and Netflix. She co-founded and managed 'Screens Un-Conference' - the largest media UnConference in Israel for 10 years and produced several international conferences for new media and game development over the past 18 years. Has a bachelor's degree in film and television as well as a master's degree in business administration (Recanati) from Tel Aviv University. She served in the Education and Youth Corps Film Unit during her military and reserve service. 

Asaf Geva is a multidisciplinary creator and technologist working at the intersection of cinematic storytelling and emerging media. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of the innovative game studio Peanut Button, where he has led the development of award-winning VR, Mixed Reality (MR), and interactive museum installations, alongside directing experiences for companies like Meta. Holding a B.A. in Animation from Bezalel and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from The Hebrew University, Asaf specializes in blending advanced technical skills—including Gen-AI tools—with an uncompromising creative vision.

Hila Gavron serves as the Integration Director across all arms and divisions of the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation ("Kan"), while concurrently managing procurement for the Kan Digital division. Gevron brings roughly 30 years of rich professional experience in production and content roles at leading media outlets in Israel and abroad. In her past roles, she participated in the founding of the Channel 2 News Company, worked in the news department of Galei Tzahal and at the Reuters news agency in Jerusalem and London, and held managerial positions at Walla!. Since 2016, she was part of the founding team of the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, where she served as Chief Producer until her appointment as Integration Director, responsible for creating synergy across all corporate divisions.

בוגרת האוניברסיטה העברית במתמטיקה ומדעי המחשב, ומוסמכת הטכניון במתמטיקה. עובדת בתעשית המחשבים. פרסמה חמישה ספרי שירה: "השקת ספינת צפייה" (2008), "התנסויות" (2012), "בעזרת חברים" (2016), "כח משיכה" (2020); ״הרחבת המבט״ (2024). מתרגמת שירים מרוסית ומאנגלית, עורכת שירה, מבקרת שירה, יוזמת ומנחה אירועיים ספרותיים. חברה בפורום מבקרי הקולנוע בישראל, מפרסמת רשימות ביקורת על סרטים ועל הצגות תיאטרון, שופטת בתחרויות סרטים.

נעמה רק היא מבקרת קולנוע וטלוויזיה, כותבת על תרבות פופולרית בגופי תקשורת שונים למעלה מעשור. כיום אפשר למצוא אותה בוואלה תרבות, באתר עין הדג וגם עושה שטויות באינטרנט, לפעמים עם מצלמה. בוגרת תואר ראשון מהחוג לקולנוע וטלוויזיה באוניברסיטת תל אביב. מפיקה ועורכת הפודקאסט "קבוצת ביקורת" מבית פורום מבקרי ומבקרות הקולנוע בישראל.

מבקרת הקולנוע של תכנית התרבות בגלי צה"ל. שימשה כמבקרת הקולנוע של רשת ב' בקול ישראל למעלה מעשרים שנה (עד פירוק רשות השידור במאי 2017), כולל פינת קולנוע וביקורת קולנוע קבועה בתכנית "מה יהיה" והשתתפות ביומני תרבות ברדיו ובטלוויזיה. חברת האקדמיה הישראלית לקולנוע וטלוויזיה. במקביל לפעילות בתחום הקולנוע , עוסקת בפסיכותרפיה - בטיפול פרטני ומשלבת את שני הנושאים הללו בהרצאות ובקורסים.