International Competition’s Jury – Cairo International Film Festival

International Competition's Jury

Danis Tanović is a Bosnian film director and screenwriter, born in 1969. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for the Golden Bear and the Palme d’Or.

Tanović is known for having directed and written the script for the film No Man’s Land (2001), which won him many awards, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He has also written and directed the award-winning films An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker (2013). Tanović’s 2016 film Death in Sarajevo won the Jury Grand Prix at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival as well as the FIPRESCI Award for the best film in competition.

Tanović is the only person born in the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina to have won an Academy Award. His latest film My Late Summer opened the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival.

Danis Tanović

JURY PRESIDENT

Ahmed Hafez

Ahmed Hafez BIO

Ahmed Hafez is an award-winning Egyptian film editor and an international member of the American Society for Editors (ACE). His portfolio includes some of the most prominent Egyptian, regional, and international titles including Marvel’s Moon Knight. Hafez delivered the final cuts of more than 40 TV series and films including box office hits such as Kira & El Gin, Blue Elephant I & II, and Diamond Dust, in addition to festival gems such as Clash, Sheikh Jackson, Amira, and Inshallah A Boy.
His most recent work includes Egypt’s submission to the Academy; Voy! Voy! Voy!, 60 EGP short film, and Sukkar the musical.

Andrea Pallaoro

Andrea Pallaoro BIO

Andrea Pallaoro was born in Trento, Italy. He holds an MFA in Film Directing from the California Institute of the Arts and a BA from Hampshire College. His first feature film, Medeas, premiered at the 70th Venice Film Festival and won several awards at prestigious international film festivals including Marrakech, Tbilisi, Palm Springs, and CamerImage.

Hannah, Pallaoro’s second feature film, world premiered in the Official Competition of the 74th Venice Film Festival where Charlotte Rampling won the Coppa Volpi for best actress. Hannah went on to receive many prestigious international awards and recognitions including a César nomination for best foreign film.

His most recent film, Monica, premiered in the Official Competition of the 79a Venice film festival and went on to win numerous international awards. Pallaoro has served on the juries of prominent world-renowned film festivals including Venice, Chicago, and Black Nights – Tallinn. He lives between Los Angeles and New York City.

Ángela Molina

Ángela Molina BIO

Ángela Molina is a prominent actress in Spanish cinema and internationally recognized. In Spain, she has collaborated with renowned directors like Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón and Julio Medem, and internationally with filmmakers such as Pedro Almodóvar, Luis Buñuel, Marco Bellocchio, and Ridley Scott.
Her numerous awards include the David di Donatello from the Italian Film Academy, La Concha de Plata for Best Actress at the San Sebastián Film Festival, various Silver Frames, the Grand Prize at the Montreal Film Festival, the Gold Medal of the Spanish Film Academy, the Gold Medal of Merit for Fine Arts, and the National Film Award. Honored with an honorary Goya and five Goya nominations, she has also served on juries at prestigious film festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and San Sebastián. Recently, Ángela Molina received the “Monica Vitti” Award for Best Actress for her role in Polvo serán at the 19th Rome International Film Festival.

Aisha Ben Ahmed

Samir Guesmi BIO

Aisha Ben Ahmed is a Tunisian actress who has gained prominence in both Tunisian and Egyptian cinema and television. She started her career as a visual artist and designer before transitioning into acting. Aisha became widely known through her roles in popular TV series such as Nesr El-Saeed and Newton’s Cradle and films like Zizou, Aziz Rouhou, and Taw’am Rouhy.

Her talent and versatility have made her a prominent figure in the Arab entertainment industry.

Anocha Suwichakornpong

Anocha Suwichakornpong BIO

Anocha Suwichakornpong is a filmmaker whose work is informed by the socio-political history of Thailand. Her thesis film became the first Thai short film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Mundane History, her first feature, won numerous awards including the Tiger Award at Rotterdam. By The Time It Gets Dark, her second feature, which centers around a student massacre that took place in 1976 by Thai state forces in Bangkok has been screened in international festivals. The film won Best Picture and Best Director at Thailand National Film Awards and was chosen as Thailand’s Oscar entry for Best Foreign Film.
Anocha founded the Bangkok-based production houses where she supports emerging voices from Southeast Asia. Her latest film, Come Here premiered at Berlinale 2021.She received the Creative Capital Award in 2024 for her upcoming film, Fiction. Anocha is currently Associate Professor in the MFA Film Program at Columbia University.

Sylvie Pialat

Sylvie Pialat BIO

Sylvie Pialat, is the wife of filmmaker Maurice Pialat. She was the co-screenwriter on several of her husband’s films; the most important of them is Under the Sun of Satan (1987) which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

When Maurice Pialat died in 2003, after 21 years of living and making movies together, Pialat turned towards film production creating Les films du Worso.

In the last years, in collaboration with associate producers Benoît Quainon and Alejandro Arenas, the company has developed a successful projects with international filmmakers like Abderrahmane Sissako (nominated for an Academy Award for his film Timbuktu, and and who won seven César Awards), Corneliu Porumboiu (The Whistlers), Guillaume Nicloux (Valley of Love) and Alain Guiraudie (Stranger by the Lake). 16 films produced by the company have been selected at the Cannes Film Festival and the catalog has accumulated 28 César nominations (including 10 awards).