Jury – 16th BBB Short Film Festival ‘DISTORToΠia’

Damla Sönmez

Damla Sönmez, actor and founder of TDS Company, is committed to storytelling that blends authenticity with artistry. Acclaimed for her emotionally-driven performances, she has received recognition from international festivals including the Seattle Film Festival, London Film Week, Milano Film Festival, Antalya Film Festival, and Istanbul Film Festival, along with a nomination at the prestigious Asia Pacific Screen Awards. She believes in the power of stories to heal, inspire, and connect. She’s a member of European Film Academy and Asia Pasific Film Academy.

In 2018, she began her journey as a producer with the short films Don’t Get Me Wrong But (2019) and The Second Night(2019), later co-producing the documentary Strange Abandoned Deranged (2023). These experiences led to the founding of TDS Company, a production house focused on narratives that entertain, challenge, and resonate emotionally. The mission is simple: to tell stories that not only captivate but also endure, offering narratives that stay with people long after the story ends.

Bogdan Mureșanu

Romanian award-winning writer Bogdan Mureșanu has shifted from literature and advertising to cinema with equal success, both as a director and as a screenwriter.

Bogdan Mureșanu is the writer, director and producer of the feature film “The New Year That Never Came”, nominated last year at the European Film Awards (European Discovery 2024 – Prix FIPRESCI) and winner of 23 international awards including the Best Film Award in the Orizzonti section and the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film (Venice International Film Festival), Silver Atlas and Youth Jury Prize at the Arras Film Festival; Grand Prize/ Golden Pyramid Award for Best Film at the Cairo International Film Festival; SILVER PEACOCK Award for Best Direction at the Goa International Film Festival, Grand Prize and International Critics Award – FIPRESCI at the Luxembourg City Film Festival.

“The New Year That Never Came” won 10 trophies at the Gopo Awards, four of them for Bogdan Mureșanu – Best Feature Film, Best Debut Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay.

He debuted as a screenwriter in 2008 with the screenplay for “The Human Torch” (Best Romanian Short Film at the TIFF Screenplay Competition), and has written the screenplays for “Opinci” (2019) – animated short film directed by Anton and Damian Groves (Best Romanian Short Film at TIFF 2019, Young Audience Award at Clermont Ferrand) and “Where is Sofia? ” – Best Screenplay at the OAXACA Film Festival, Mexico 2012, then he wrote and directed the short films “Trimmed, Shaved and Milled” (2013), “Spid” (2016), “Negruzzi 14” (2016) and “Semmelweis Reflex (2016)”. The short film “The Christmas Present”, released in 2018, won the European Film Academy Award in 2019, had over 200 festival selections and 72 awards (including Grand Prix at the Clermont Ferrand International Film Festival, France; Best European Short Film at Alcine, European Film Festival, Spain) and was shortlisted for Oscar nominations.

Bogdan Muresanu has finished “The New Yeat That Never Came” – his debut feature film as a director, while working on “The Magician”, a French-Romanian-Croatian co-production (animation short film) that soon after premiered in Annecy (2025) and preparing for the pre-production of three other Romanian films.

Filmography 

DIRECTOR and WRITER:

The New Year That Never Came (2024) – feature

The Magician (2024) – animation, short film

The Christmas Gift (2018) – short film

Half Shaved (2013) – short film

Spid (2016) – short film

Negruzzi 14 (2016) – short documentary

The Semmelweis Reflex (2016) – experimental short film

 

Mia Avdagić

Mia Avdagić (b. 1999, Sarajevo) graduated in Production and Management at the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo, where she is now an Assistant Professor.

Since 2019, she has been part of the Sarajevo Film Festival team, currently working as CineLink Training and Skills Coordinator and Talents Sarajevo Manager, and serves as Head of Programming at Slano Film Days.

She produced several films and theatre plays that have premiered at festivals around the world.

Currently, she is developing two feature films. She is member of the Association of Filmmakers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mia is the first recipient of the Amira Lekić Award, recognizing outstanding young women beginning their careers in film and television production.