16th Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival
– DISTORToΠia – How do you mirror reality –
Round Tbale: Festivals Programming and Application Process
In Round Table: Round Table festivals programming and application processes we explore the way festivals develop their programme and content and what opportunities they create for filmmakers to participate in. We delve into the world of programming,the evaluation processes, the programming teams or committees and get useful information on how festivals address films in order to create their own programme and what they expect from their programme.
Speakers:
Lidija Mojsovska
Lidija Mojsovska (1993, Struga, North Macedonia) is a film director, one of founders and producers of Drim Short Film Festival. Her short The Award won 18 prizes at more than 70 festivals, and Only the Devil Hates Water premiered at POFF, Tallinn Black Nights, winning multiple international awards for best film. She is currently developing her debut feature film.
Prof. Dr. Bengi Semerci
Prof. Dr. Bengi Semerci graduated from Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine in 1986. She completed her specialization in both Adult Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and pursued an academic career as a university faculty member.
She has been actively involved in projects with non-governmental organizations focusing on children’s rights and women’s rights, continuing her long-standing commitment to social responsibility. For six years, she wrote a regular column for a national daily newspaper and also produced and hosted two television programs related to mental health and society.
In addition to her clinical and educational work, she serves as the Director of the International Crime and Punishment Film Festival, which she helped establish with the belief that art serves as a powerful mirror for social justice. Prof. Semerci has published numerous scientific articles, book chapters, and 18 books in her field.
Dim
itris Argyriou
Dimitris Argyriou is a filmmaker and festival curator holding a Master of Arts from the Ionian University and the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin). He has directed 11 award-winning short films that have screened at over 1,000 international film festivals, as well as two feature documentaries: Lights Out, Berlin! (limited theatrical release in Germany) and Memories of Occupation & Dialogue for the Future, which is officially used as educational material in German schools.
His latest work is an innovative 3D animated short, created for the V-Museum Corfu, and presented daily as part of the museum’s permanent program.
Dimitris is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents, Sarajevo Talents, and the Cork Film Festival Campus. In 2012, he founded the NewBorn Short Film Agency, where he serves as CEO, specializing in festival strategy, distribution, and international sales for short films. That same year, he launched the NewBorn Short Film Festival in Berlin, where he continues to act as festival director. In 2020, he expanded the agency’s scope by establishing its production arm, NewBorn Filmproduktion, focusing on the development and production of innovative short and feature-length films.
Previously, he co-founded and directed the Greek Film Festival in Berlin, and has programmed for festivals such as Interfilm Berlin, Aegean Film Festival, and Shortcutz Berlin. He has worked with Berlinale and has served on juries across Europe, the US, and beyond.
Moderator:
Vasiliki Maltasoglu
Vasiliki Maltasoglou (Greece, 1983) is Festival Director of the Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival and co-founder of the organization Balkans Beyond Borders. She studied International and European Relations at Panteion University in Athens and she completed her Masters in International Politics at the City University of London. She has had a great experience in international relations research, but the realization of the Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival has been for her the most important implementation of cultural diplomacy, through promoting regional cooperation among nations and focusing on young people.
She specializes in Digital Communication and Storytelling, and she undertakes storytelling and short film inspired workshops for adults and teenagers. She curates all Festival screenings and BBB screening events as well as she is head of the festival’s programming. She has been a Jury member in several short film festivals, such as BUZAU and Aegean Film Festival, Newborn Short Film Festival, In the Palace and PriFest. All her actions are linked to her passion for creativity and communication.