Tanya Haurylchyk is a cinematographer and documentary filmmaker from Belarus currently based in Berlin, Germany. She holds a BA in cinematography and an MA in documentary film directing (Doc Nomads). In her professional career, she mainly focuses on stories that carry a strong social message. Documentaries with her cinematography premiered at Berlinale and IDFA, among others. She won the Best Cinematography Award in the Philippines for the "Aswang" documentary (twice) and the Best Cinematography Award from the Belarusian Film Critics Award "Red Heather" for her "Courage" documentary. While continuing to work as a freelance cinematographer, Tanya currently develops her first feature length documentary as a director.
Cinematographer, documentary filmmaker
Volia Chajkouskaya is a Belarus-born producer and director based in Estonia. She works for the Allfilm production company. Volia obtained a Masters degree in directing and producing documentary films at the Baltic Film and Media School (Tallinn, Estonia). She is the founder of the Independent Belarusian Film Festival Northern Lights and the online cinema VODBLISK. Volia Chajkouskaya is also the co-founder of the Belarusian Independent Film Academy. Volia produced “The Road Movie” (2016), ‘My Granny from Mars’ (2018), “Prazdnik" (2019), and “Yoyogi” (2022). Volia’s directorial debut documentary, "Common Language”, premiered at Jihlava in the Short Film Competition in 2020. At the moment, Volia is producing several documentary and fiction films, ss well as finishing her feature-length directorial debut, "Not Made For Politics”.
Producer, director, festival founder
Participants
Andrei Kashperski was born in Brest, Belarus, in 1995. In 2017, he graduated from the Belarusian Academy of Arts with a degree in film directing. By that time, he had made 11 short films, some of which had been selected for and won awards at the international film festivals. In 2020, Andrei became the director and showrunner of the "Chin Chin Channel," a project that mocks Belarusian state propaganda and Belarusian officials. Also in 2020, he shot the feature comedy musical "Chin Chins in Wonderland," which was broadcast on Belsat TV. In 2023, as a director, scriptwriter, and showrunner, Andrei Kashperski created the anthology "Processes" for Belsat TV. The anthology explores the absurd processes that take place in Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia.
Yuliya Pogrebnyak was born in Minsk and lived in St. Petersburg before settling in Ruotsinpyhtää, where she resides and renovates a historical house built in 1788. She has a Master's Degree in Screenwriting (TAMK, 2022) and an MBA. Her short film "GET READY. OFF TO THE FEAST", 2021 (dir. L. Sogomonian) was officially selected for Clermont-Ferrand ISFF in 2022.
Uldis Cekulis founded the independent production company VFS FILMS (Latvia) 27 years ago and has since worked on almost 50 creative documentaries, seven animations, and one arthouse fiction. Most of the films he has produced or co-produced have won numerous prestigious awards, including the Golden Goblet for “Bridges of Time” by A.Stonys & K.Briede at the Shanghai IFF, the Crystal Globe for “Immortal” by K.Okhapkina at the Karlovy Vary IFF, the Best Documentary Award for “The Jump” by G.Zickyte at the 36th Warsaw IFF, and “The Rossellinis” by A.Rossellini premiered at the 77th Venice IFF.
David Vashadze has over 20 years of experience in film industry policy development, promotion, and research. As a Film Commissioner of Georgia, David was acting as a liaison between international producers, film markets and festivals, and the Georgian film industry. Authored 25% Georgian Film Cash Rebate program, one of the most flexible and innovative film support schemes in Europe. From 2023, David is heading the independent organization called Georgian Film Institute. In response to recent constraints on artistic freedom and censorship within the Georgian National Film Center, which echo the oppressive policies of the Soviet era, the Georgian Film Institute has emerged as a symbol of hope. It stands as a testament to the resilience and determination of those committed to creative autonomy and unfettered expression.
Head of independent Georgian Film Institute