Speakers
Anika Eunhye KIM (Аника КИМ) born in Busan, she has been working for the film industry within Busan City, after graduating Busan National University with a major of film and business. With various experience of international projects hosted by local culture organizations such as Busan International Film Festival, Busan International Short Film Festival, Busan Museum of Art and Museum of Contemporary Art Busan, she has been taking charge of a focal point of UNESCO Creative City of Film Busan since 2018, while continuing academic efforts at the graduate school of Busan National University, majoring in interdisciplinary program of Art, Culture and Image Media.
Lu Bin (Лу Бин), vice president of Qingdao Film Academy. Director of the Global Film Industry Research Center. Editor-in-chief of the Blue Book of Film: Annual Report on Development of Global Film Industry (Chinese version).
Niu Xingzhen (Ниу Шјинџен), associate professor at Qingdao Film Academy. Vice director of the Global Film Industry Research Center. Editor-in-chief of the Blue Book of Film: Annual Report on Development of Global Film Industry (Chinese version).
Guan Yanqiu (Annie) (Гуан Јанчју (Ени)), associate professor at Qingdao Film Academy. Vice director of the Global Film Industry Research Center. Editor-in-chief of the Blue Book of Film: Annual Report on Development of Global Film Industry (English version). Contact person of Qingdao City of Film.
Alan Duggan (Алан Дуган) is the CEO of Galway Film Centre, Director of the UNESCO City of Film office in Galway, and the GFC executive liaison with the WRAP Fund. Galway Film Centre supports and develops creative talent in the West of Ireland across Film, TV, Animation and Games. Alan has a record of accomplishment as an entrepreneur in the games industry, most recently as CEO of Tribal City Interactive. He has developed, and successfully brought to market, a number of games on various platforms. He has significant experience in the funding of games development, including venture capital, private investment, and Creative Europe funding. Alan is a board member of Comhoibriú providing overall direction for the Creative Enterprise West (CREW) initiative and was previously a board member of Imirt, the Irish Game Makers Association.
Amelia Carew – Reid (Амелија Кару -Рид) Manager, Industry Development, Screen NSW
Amelia Carew-Reid has worked in the creative industries for over 15 years. Previous roles include, Training Manager at Metro Screen the film, television resource center, Industry Projects Officer at the Film and Television Office. Amelia is currently the Screen Industry and Audience Development Manager at Screen NSW.
Grainne Brunsdon (Грониа Брансдон) is a strategic leader in the creative industries with more than 25 years’ experience in the not for profit arts sector, tertiary education and the public sector. She has held roles in design education with TAFE and UNSW, in management and development at the Australian Design Centre and senior leadership roles in international cultural relations with the British Council. Since 2010, Grainne has held several senior roles in Arts NSW, Create NSW and Screen NSW, including Director of Arts Funding, Director Engagement and Development and is currently Head of Screen NSW. She was Chair of the UNESCO Cities of Film Network from 2019 to 2021.
Jordi Hernàndez-Prat (Жорди Хернандез), free-verse engineer. A multi-potential creature of the Film Industry who is so happy to deal with complex technical challenges, creative solutions, talent transfer and disrupting strategic decisions. After 15+ years of front-line professional experience I have improved skills in very different fields, transforming and updating me so many times and not only after successful achievements but also as a result of the mistakes. Used to diving into the very muddy waters to turn an old ancient hospital, beginning from scratch (in 2006), into a topnotch film studio now including a hub of 30+ companies and 10.000+ m2 of production facilities, that was designated as “Best Practice in Innovation 2009” by the European Commission. 365/24h manager of all sort and unexpected issues, daily used to collaborating with the production’s teams of very significant companies (Netflix, Movistar+, Gestmusic-Endemol Shine, Lionsgate, RTVE, Filmax, CANADA…) Finally earning a deep knowledge of the whole content-production process, from the more creative part to the technical one, as of the entire audio-visual sector in Spain and Europe. One realizes that high efficiency, team-working and respect, resilience, rigour, honesty and good humour, are key points because they mean tons of money and trust.
David Wilson (Дејвид Вилсон) is an expert advisor to the UK Commission for UNESCO on the development of creative cities and has provided mentoring and support to many candidate cities applying to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network over the past decade. David has a long career history in cultural programmes and in-depth knowledge in the use of culture and innovation as a driver for sustainable development. David is Director of Bradford UNESCO City of Film and an international ambassador for the creative cities programme, regularly speaking at film, business and community events on culture and sustainable development, in addition to writing about film and presenting review shows on TV and radio. David is actively engaged in creating partnerships between Bradford as the world’s first City of Film and counterpart cities world-wide.
Lisa Nawrocki (Лиза Навроцки) studied Digital Media Culture (B.A.) and Media Studies (M.A.) at Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF in Germany. During this time, she produced short films and worked four years for the International Student Film Festival Sehsüchte. In 2020 she was part of the festival management and led the festival during the pandemic to its first hybrid version. Since 2019 she is the Focal Point for the UNESCO Creative City of Film Potsdam.
Magdalena Popovic (Магдалена Поповиќ) (Sarajevo, 1976) graduated at the School of Philosophy as a professor of English Language and Literature. She has vast professional experience working as a translator and an assistant in big international organizations such as the OSCE and the UNHCR as well as a coordinator on many international development projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She began her cooperation with the Sarajevo Film Festival back in 2018 as an assistant to VIP guests and a protocol officer. Currently she is a coordinator on various special projects of the Sarajevo Film Festival and a project coordinator at Sarajevo UNESCO City of Film.
Natasa Kucera (Наташа Кучера) was born in Novi Sad, the Republic of Serbia, where she finished primary and secondary education. She completed her basic studies in 2008 at the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hospitality, and acquired the title – Manager in Hospitality. After her basic studies, she enrolled in master’s studies in 2010, and in October 2012 she acquired the title of Master Manager in Tourism. In 2012, she settled permanently in Sarajevo.
She gained work experience in the sector of manifestation tourism, through engagements at film festivals: Novi Sad, Serbia – Cinema City Festival; Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sarajevo Film Festival; Rotterdam, The Netherlands – Rotterdam International Film Festival.
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Bilyana Genova (Билјана Генова) was born in 1971 in Sofia. He graduated from the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. She specializes in the history of culture at the State University of Milan. From 1995 to 2016 is a gallery artist at the Natali Family Gallery, co-organizer of the Autumn Salon of Bulgarian Art Vadenoyen, the Netherlands and five exhibitions of Bulgarian art in Venice. From 2016 he is Director of the Culture Directorate in Sofia Municipality and coordinator of the Municipal Program “Culture”.
Dr. Diana Andreeva – Popyordanova (Диана Андреева – Попјорданова) is director of the Observatory of Cultural Economics. She earned a PhD in Cultural Economics from the University of National and World Economics – UNWE. Since 2009, she teaches “Marketing and advertising” and “Financing of performing arts”; at the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts. In 2014, she became a permanent assistant professor at the University of National and World Economy. Diana Andreeva has published numerous articles in recent years and has participated in various Bulgarian and international research teams in the field of cultural economics and financing. Since 2010, she is co-editor of the Compendium of Cultural Policies of the Council of Europe, (together with Assoc. Prof. BilyanaTomova).
Ralitsa Assenova (Ралица Асенова), graduated from the Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3 in Theatre and in Cinema Studies. She also studied in the University of Bologna, where she wrote a research paper on the work of Pier Paolo Pasolini. Ralitsa Assenova has worked on many cultural projects both in France and in Bulgaria. She also has experience in the field of cultural journalism and has specialized in European policies and cultural projects. Co- founder of the Bulgarian NGO and initiator of its “Cinema in school” programme. Ralitsa is lead organizer and director of the festival Meetings of Young European Cinema in Sofia and coordinator for Bulgaria of the projects CinEd – European Cinema Education for Youth and Le Cinéma cent ans de jeunesse. She is also a PhD student in the field of film education policies and practices in Europe.
Krste Gospodinovski (Крсте Господиновски) is a Macedonian director, animator and university professor. He graduated in painting from the National Art Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria. Since 2009 he has been an associate professor and head of the animation department at the International University EUROPE PRIMA in Skopje. He works both in the field of traditional animation and VFX. As a VFX specialist he has worked on several short and feature films such as Sarah, the Myth (2011), The Woman of My Life (2015), Down from Heaven (2015), When the Trees Fall (2018); as the director of animation he has collaborated on short animated films including Round Trip: Mary (2016), and The Monk (2018). Gottlieb, a film funded by the Macedonian Film Agency, was his debut animated short as a director, and he has also co-directed the short animated film Snakelet (2020). He is one of the founders of the European Animated Festival Flipbook Film Festival.
Zharko Ivanov (Жарко Иванов) is a languages and literature graduate at the Philology Faculty in Skopje. In 2006 he attends the Film Art College in Sofia, Bulgaria after which he completes a Masters in
Cultural Studies at the University of Skopje and Masters in Animation Film Directing at The University of Audiovisual Arts and currently doing his Doctorate in literature and film. He is the founder of the production company “Flip Book” with which he has produced more than 20 short animated, documentary and live action films. As a director, his films have been shown at more than 100 festivals around the world and winning more than 15 awards.
Ognen Antov (Огнен Антов, a graduate in International Marketing, and working as a freelance for more than 10 years, set up his company Dream Factory Macedonia in 2007 to produce feature films, TV productions and documentaries. Apart from the award-winning documentaries Seamstresses and Grandmothers Of Revolution, Ognen was an associate producer on Vladimir Blazevski’s Punk Is Not Dead and co-producer of Dimitar Mitovski’s hit Mission London. 2014 was the year of the world premieres of two films he has co-produced: Andy Deliana’s Not an Ordinary Mon-day and Darko Lungulov’s Monument To Michael Jackson. He released Macedonian debut AMOK as the biggest Macedonian hit of 2016 and also got huge festival success. 2017 is the year of the world premieres of two new films that he has co-produced: Victor Bojinov’s Heights and Rasko Milkovich’s The Witch Hunters. “Stela” by Stojan Vujicic was premiered in 2020 as first Macedonian film for kids. Ognen Antov is also e president of Macedonian Film Producers Association.
Mimi Gjorgoska-Ilievska (Мими Ѓоргоска Илиевска) is a film professional, university professor, film archivist and film researcher actively been involved in the film industry and in the field of audiovisual heritage preservation for more than 20 years. Current she holds an advisory /councilor position in the Directorate for Protection of Cultural Heritage within the Ministry of Culture regarding legislation, strategy, identification, protection and use of audiovisual and written heritage. After her initial employment in the Cinematheque of Macedonia and working as a trainee and expert in the Secretariat of the intergovernmental organization Audiovisual Eureka in Brussels, she has served for eight years as a Director of the National Film Archive – Cinematheque of Macedonia and as an Executive Director of the Macedonian Film Agency.
From 2011 until 2017 she was a national representative of Macedonia in Eurimages (Council of Europe’s European Cinema Support Fund) and was also an active and first Macedonian member of the Executive Committee of FIAF (International Federation of Film Archives) and Executive Committee of ACE (Association of European Film Archives).
Aleksandar Trajkovski (Александар Трајковски) graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje, at the Department of Art History. He is currently a master student at the production department of the European Film Academy EFTA Skopje, where he is in the process of preparing his master’s thesis. Since December 2013, he has been employed at the Cinematheque of Macedonia as a filmologist, in charge of receiving and processing films on a digital media, as well as a supervisor of projects for digital restoration of the Macedonian film heritage. In 2014, as a scholarship holder of FIAF (World Federation of Film Archives) and ACE (European Federation of Cinematheques), he participated in the Summer School for Film Restoration in Bologna. In 2015, he became part of the editorial board of the film magazine Kinopis, where he regularly writes articles. In 2017 he founded the association for development and promotion of film culture and literacy Kino Balkan Skopje, as well as the new European film festival Beach Film Festival.
Lidija Mojsovska (Лидија Мојсовска) graduated from Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the Department of Film and TV Directing. Her debut short fiction film The Award has been screened at over 50 festivals and has received 18 international awards. In addition, she is author of two more independent short films produced in Romania. In 2015 she participates at the Talent Camp in Sarajevo and in 2017 at the Go Short Talent Campus. With her new script for short film entitled Only devil hates water, she participates in the NISI MASA-European short pitch program, a project which is a Macedonian-French coproduction. In 2019 she will finish the middle-length documentary film entitled The Way of Clave shot in Dallas, Texas and North Macedonia, produced by Makedox. She is also founder of Drim Short Film festival.
Jakov Poposki (Јаков Попоски) is a bachelor in Telecommunications. He received master degree in Screenwriting and Dramaturgy from the Film Institute Ohrid – Film Academy. During his master studies he wrote six short screenplays, one feature screenplay and worked as a script consultant and assistant producer on several student films. He wrote another three short screenplays and one feature screenplay. He was cowriter of the middle length documentary “The way of Clave”. He wrote the script for the promo videos for Struga Poetry Evenings 2019 and 2020, as well the scripts for the festival event. In 2017 he participated in KineNova Film Festival Script Development Workshop, where he won KINENOVA Script Development Award for his script “Bridge”. His short script “Only Devil Hates Water” was selected in the final selection of European Short Pitch 2019. He is the co-writer of the short film “A ton of ice-cream” which is in postproduction. Currently he is working on a feature screenplay with together with Pierre Hodgson and Florian Hoffmeister. He is one of the founders and producers of Drim Short Film Festival.
Milan Petrovski (Милан Петровски) Founder and Developer at Melstech, has been working in the gaming industry for 17 years, and is a pioneer in VR and AR development in Macedonia. He started as a 3D artist, and after a short time he made the transition to a developer. He is the founder the company Melstech which was working on the first VR product in Macedonia, Stobi VR and Stobi EDU, where they reconstructed what the gladiatorial fights at the archeological site looked like. He has worked on several educational games, one of which is “Lunesol – Game 4 Change” (Game 4 Change), against radical and violent extremism. The company is completing the first VR (virtual reality) game in Macedonia Codename: Urbanon supported by the Innovation Fund. The game is a kind of digital version of Mario Savovski’s book “Urbanon – Secret Documents from the OTR Archive” based on legends from the territory of Macedonia. They are also developing new software “Bitola Tour Guide” which is presenting Bitola in a completely different way on a 3D map and with Augmentative Reality in certain locations.
Jove Pargovski (Јове Парговски) holds a master’s degree in graphic engineering and design. From 2006-2018 he worked in the Office for Protection of Cultural Heritage, and from 2018 in the NI Institute and Museum Bitola as an expert for documentation and digitization of cultural heritage. He has participated in various projects in the fields of tourism, museum and protection. He is the author of several exhibitions, multimedia works and professional papers. He actively works as a freelance graphic and web designer and is a member of several scientific and professional organizations.
Vlado Gjoreski – Rafik (Владо Ѓорески – Рафик) is Macedonian/ Slovenian graphic artist, painter, set designer, art historian, theater poster designer. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje at the Department of Art History and studied at the International Center for Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, Slovenia. As a painter and graphic artist he has had over twenty solo exhibitions and participated in about two hundred international exhibitions, almost throughout the flower: Slovenia, Croatia, France, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Portugal, USA, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Japan, China, Korea, Armenia, Serbia, Hungary. He has won about twenty national and international awards.
He realized over a hundred theatrical and film scenography. He is the artistic director of the international graphic triennial Bitola – ITG Bitola.
Valentin Soklevski (Валентин Соклевски) graduated from the University “St. Cyril and Methodius”
Skopje, Faculty of Natural Sciences, studies in ethnology, and has a master’s degree at the University “Goce Delchev” Stip, Academy of Music, Department of Ethno choreology. Has 32 years of work experience in the Municipal Organization of youth in Bitola (president), KUD “Ilinden” Bitola (artistic director), UNK “Ilinden Days” Bitola (ethnologist), NI Institute and Museum – Bitola (director), and currently works in the NI Center for Culture – Bitola (expert associate).
Nikola Dimitrovski (Никола Димитровски) graduated in Law Faculty “Iustinianus Primus” in Skopje, in 2006. One of the founders of Dimitrovski Law Firm, where he has been working as a lawyer since 2009, until today. He is currently the director of the first city race in Bitola, “Run Be”, which is held since 2019, as well as a member of the Board of Directors and a national delegate of The Association of Folklore Ensembles of Macedonia, since 2015. In the past produced the music show “Bitolsi”. He was also a producer for eight years one of the selectors of the music program of the festival of contemporary art “Akto”.
Sandra Kotevska (Сандра Котевска) graduated at the Faculty of Fine Arts, at the University of Sv. “Cyril and Methodius” in Skopje, department – painting. She completed her master studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Skopje – department of Restoration and Conservation of Oil Equipment. She has had several solo exhibitions, participations of colonies in the country and abroad, as well as a number of participations in group exhibitions. She is the winner of the award for the best artistic achievement “Borislav Traikovski” in 2019, and the award “Alexander Gjakonov” in 2020. She was appointed director of the Public Institution Cultural and Information Center, Bitola in August 2021.
Mence Hadzi-Kosta Milevska (Менче Хаџи-Коста Милевска) graduated from the University “St. Clement of Ohrid” Bitola, Faculty of Economics Prilep, Department of Marketing Management. She has been working as a professional associate for film activity in the NI Center for Culture Bitola since 2013 year. The main focus of her work is planning, organization and coordination of the film program of 3D Cinema Bitola. In addition to working in the film industry, she is active involved in the realization of the festivals of the Center, as well as the organization of others manifestations – exhibitions, plays and concerts.