Alberto Barbera (Italy): born in Biella in 1950. After graduating in Modern Literature with a thesis on the History and Criticism of Film, he began his collaboration with the AIACE (the Italian association of Friends of Art-House Films) of Turin, for which he served as president from 1977 to 1989. From 1980 to 1983 he was the film critic for the daily newspaper “La Gazzetta del Popolo” and since 1982 has been a member of the Order of Journalists, on the list of publicists. He has collaborated with many magazines, and has curated or participated in many radio and television shows for RAI. In 1982 he began his collaboration with the Festival Internazionale Cinema Giovani (now the Torino Film Festival), first as a press agent, then as the Secretary General and member of the Selection Committee, from 1984 to 1988. From 1989 to 1998, he served as Director. From December 1998 to April 2002 he was the Director of the Venice International Film Festival. From 2002 to 2006, he was the co-director of “RING! Festival of Film Critics” in Alexandria. Since June 2004 he has been the Director of the National Museum of Cinema in Turin. Since 2008, he has been President of the Advisory Board of TorinoFilmLab. Since 2012 he is again the Director of the Venice International Film Festival.
Academic Team
Savina Neirotti
Jane Williams
Michel Reilhac
Amy Dotson
Joana Vicente
Head of Programme
Savina Neirotti (Italy): born in Genova, she graduated in Philosophy in Torino and went on to study Aesthetics at the University of Pennsylvania. After returning to Italy, she became Head of the Press and Communication Office of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, where she was also in charge of the Educational Department. In the same years, she became one of the owners of Scuola Holden in Torino – a school for storytellers – ideated by novelist Alessandro Baricco. She has been Director of Scuola Holden’s Master in Narration Techniques, supervising all the school activities, focusing on the international contacts. In the same years she has written articles and interviews on narration and classical music, book reviews and film reviews for Italian and international newspapers. She has ideated and directed Script&Pitch Workshops since 2005, and TorinoFilmLab since 2008. TorinoFilmlab is an international Lab that includes 5 training courses, a co-production event and a funding system. It develops around 40 projects a year. She is now Head of Programme of Biennale College – Cinema.
Head of Studies
Jane Williams (UK): Jane Williams set up Dubai International Film Festival’s Industry Office in 2006 which became the Dubai Film Market in 2009. She has played a leading role in the development of a number of initiatives to support filmmakers in the Arab region including: the establishment of the Dubai Film Connection the only co-production platform in the Middle East; Interchange a training and development programme bringing Arab and European filmmakers together to work on 10 projects for the international market organised in collaboration with TorinoFilmLab, EAVE and the Media Mundus. Jane comes from a background of training and development and in the UK worked for a number of organisations and companies including the BFI and NFTS. In 1998 she moved to Amsterdam to become Head of Training at the Maurits Binger Film Institute in Holland. Since 2002 she has been working as a freelance consultant for a number of funding organizations and international festivals. She has worked for the Cinemart and Hubert Bals Fund at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Balkan Fund, Thessaloniki International Film Festival Greece, the Industry Office at the BAFICI in Buenos Aries and Taormina Film Festival Sicilie, Italy. She is an expert for the European Commission and currently consults for the Royal Film Commission in Jordan.
Michel Reilhac (France): executive director of ARTE France Cinema for more than 10 years, until November 2012. Director of several organizations, tv producer, producer-curator-author of participative events, he’s also a filmmaker. Among his films: the documentary film All alike?, To Be a Man for Canal +, Kenya Islands for Arte, The Good Old Naughty Days. Since 2000, he has started his own production company, Melange: his first film production, a first short by Licia Eminenti, Intimisto, has been selected for the official competition as the opening film at Venice Biennale in 2001. Among his film productions: Cry Woman by Liu Bing Jian, L’Intrus by Claire Denis and 7 days, 7 nights by Joel Cano.
Project assistant
Valentina Bellomo (Italy): graduated in 2007 in “Economy and Management of Arts and Cultural Activities” at Cà Foscari University (Venice) and in 2008 a Master Degree in “Cultural Management: Strategic Planning”. Has worked for several years as a production secretary for the official web tv and web radio of the Music Festival “Rototom Sunsplash” both in Italy and in Spain. Between 2008 /2009 she worked for the organization of “RIFF – Roma Independent Film Festival”. Since 2010 has worked in film production including “The Tourist”, “Effie Gray” and “The Best Offer”; continues to build on this experience working for tv series and commercials. In May 2013 joins the Biennale College – Cinema team as project assistant.
Community Manager
Gabriele Capolino (Italy): he graduates at the University of Padova in Performing Arts and Entertainment Multimedia Production in 2012 with a thesis about the contemporary American indie cinema. Since 2006 he has been a Web Editor and a Film Critic for Cineblog.it, one of the most famous Italian movie webzines, for which he is also press correspondent at International festivals such as Venice, Cannes and Berlin. Today he is the Community Manager of Biennale College – Cinema.
Pitching Trainer
Stefano Tealdi (Italy): born in South Africa in 1955, he graduated in Architecture and was head of audiovisual production at the Politecnico di Torino in Italy. He established Stefilm with others in 1985 where, to date, he develops, produces and at times directs, documentary features and series. Stefilm’s internationally acclaimed films include Leonardo, the man behind the shroud? (Silver Screen Award 2002), Porto Marghera – Venice (59th Venice Film Festival), Rice Girls (60th Venice Film Festival, MOMA fortnight 2003), Citizen Berlusconi (nominated Grimme Award – Germany 2004), Monstar United (IDFA 2009), Vinylmania (Official film Record Store Day 2012) and Char, No man’s land (Berlinale Forum 2013). EAVE graduate in 1992, he is the director of the annual Italian workshop Documentary in Europe and chaired the European Documentary Network EDN. He teaches at universities and master classes and tutors for EDN – European Documentary Network, Esodoc, Med Film Factory, Scuola Holden, Films de 3 Continents, Zelig Film School.
Group Leaders
Michel Reilhac
Gino Ventriglia (Italy): story editor and script consultant both for cinema and television; he’s a tutor for TorinoFilmLab as well for other international development programs. He won a Fulbright Fellowship, and got a Master of Fine Arts in Directing and Scriptwriting at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He teaches drama writing at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, the Italian National School of Cinema. He has written screenplays for cinema and television, like the script for Arrivederci amore, ciao by Michaele Soavi. He lives in Rome.
Jane Williams
Producer Consultants
Amra Baksic Camo (Bosnia and Herzegovina): Amra Baksic Camo graduated from comparative literature 1996. Since 1995 she has been involved in new media and video production in the SEE region.
She is one of the founders of SCCA/pro.ba, independent film, video and tv production from Sarajevo. She has produced and coproduced produced numerous awarded short films and art videos, documentaries and TV program and feature films. An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker by Danis Tanovic won Jury Grand Prix and Silver Bear for Best Actor at Berlinale 2013. For 11 years, she is head of the CineLink, regional co-production market and project development project of Sarajevo Film Festival. She is a member of ACE and EAVE networks and member EFA. Amra is working at the Academy of Preforming Arts in Sarajevo, Department Production as a lecturer.
Agustina Chiarino (Uruguay): Agustina Chiarino was born in 1977 in Montevideo. She licensed in Communication Studies in the Universidad Católica of Uruguay and has a degree on Creative Documentary Filmmaking by the Universidad Autónoma of Barcelona. Since 1998 she has produced feature films, music videos, documentaries, corporate videos for book releases in museums, short films and commercials in Mexico, Barcelona and Uruguay. Her films had been shown and awarded in Festivals such as Cannes, BerlInale, Rotterdam, Sundance , Venice, Miami, Guadalajara among others. La discípula del velocímetro directed by Miguel Calderón was her first feature as producer. In 2004 she joined Control Z Films and became partner in 2007. She was production Manager in Manolo Nieto’s La Perrera as well as in other short films. She produced the feature films Gigante by Adrián Biniez, Hiroshima and 3, by Pablo Stoll, and Tanta Agua, by Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge. In 2011 she set up the film production company Mutante Cine with Fernando Epstein, to keep on developing and distributing documentary and feature films, in addition to implementing training courses for members of the audiovisual industry (PUENTES-EAVE). They produced the films El Cinco by Adrián Biniez and the minority coproductions Historia del Miedo by Benajmin Nahistat and Mi amiga del Parque by Ana Katz. They have 2 films in postproduction stage at the moment: Las olas by Adrian Biniez and Un viaje de locos a documentary feature film by Alicia Cano and Leticia Cuba. She chaired Channel 10′s National Production Department’s committee for receiving and developing new projects for 10 years. She teached, tutored projects and gave lectures in many labs, schools and cinema events. She has been a member of the jury at international film funds and Festivals such as San Sebastian, Locarno, Bafici and Miami among others.
Mike S. Ryan (USA): as producer, he has been responsible for a remarkable group of films in the last ten years, most made under $3 million. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit “Producer of the Year” Award, and was one of Variety’s 2007 “10 Producers to Watch.” His films have garnered nominations and prizes from the Academy Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, Gotham Awards and many more. JUNEBUG, starring Amy Adams, made its international premiere at Cannes in 2005 and went on to be one of the lowest-budgeted feature films ever nominated for an Oscar (Best Supporting Actress, 2005). Other credits include Todd Solondz’s PALINDROMES and LIFE DURING WARTIME; Kelly Reichardt’s OLD JOY(winner, Rotterdam International Film Festival 2006) and her MEEK’S CUTOFF starring Michelle Williams; Ira Sach’s 40 SHADES OF BLUE(winner, Sundance Film Festival 06); Hal Hartley’s FAY GRIM, starring Parker Posey and Jeff Goldblum; LAKE CITY, starring Sissy Spacek (premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2008), Ilya Chaiken’s LIBERTY KID(Winner of HBO’s Latino Film Festival in 2007 and in competition at the Los Angeles Film Festival); Bela Tarr’s final film, TURIN HORSE, winner at Berlin and in competition at the Toronto, Telluride and New York Film Festivals. He just completed LAST WEEKEND, starring Patricia Clarkson and Zachary Booth. His most recent films are ABOUT SUNNY (Toronto ’11), nominated for a Spirit Award for best actress and now on VOD and Netflix, THE COMEDY, a drama, starring comedian Tim Heidecker, in competition at Sundance and Rotterdam 2012 and theatrically released earlier this year to critical acclaim, and BETWEEN US, starring Julia Stiles and Taye Diggs, released last year. He is in post-production on THE MISSING GIRL, starring Robert Longstreet and Sonja Sohn. He produced FREE IN DEED, starring David Harewood and Edwina Findley, which won the Orizzonti prize at Venice 2015. Mike is a New York City native and NYU Tisch School of the Arts graduate. He has taught workshops and given lectures at universities and festivals including Columbia, Yale, NYU, Bard, the San Francisco Film Society, and he is a Producer Leader at the Venice Biennale College.
Script Consultants
Giacomo Durzi (Italy): As a screenwriter he wrote several TV movies and TV series for Italian TV and has been working for the main production companies such as Tao Due (Distretto di polizia, RIS), Grundy-Freemantle Italy (Liberi di giocare, La nuova squadra) Cattleya, Publispei (I Cesaroni), and Magnolia (Camera cafè, Vicky tv). Recently, he wrote the Italian adaptation of the series In treatment (Wildside for Sky Cinema), and currently writing a new tv series, Sicilia Connection (Tao Due for Mediaset). As an editorial and script consultant, he worked for NBC Universal Italy and Fox International Channels, launching new channels, selecting and developing the productions for Fox Life and History Channel. He worked as head writer and script consultant for Mediavivere-Endemol Italy and the Italian company Itc Movie, developing new formats for TV series, and for the german production company Tandem Communications. As a director, he wrote and directed several documentaries for italian and european broadcasters such as RAI, The History Channel, NBC Universal Network, CHANNEL 4 and MTV. His last film SB I knew him well, has been world premiered in competition at the 2012 Festival Internazionale del Film di Roma, selected in many other international film festivals and released in theatres and tv in Europe. As a producer, he produced short films, documentaries and features such as L’estate di mio fratello by Pietro Reggiani (in competition in many international festivals, won several prizes such as the Jury Prize at the Tribeca Festival in 2005), and Non pensarci by Gianni Zanasi, in competition at the 2007 Venice Film Festival. He has teached screenwriting and mentored students at the DFFB (Deutsche Film und Fernsehakademie Berlin), at the IFS (Internationsl Filmschule Koln), and he’s tutor and teacher for the development project Racconti Script Lab by the BLS (Business Locations Sudtirol-Bolzano Film commission). He is a member of the “Associazione 100Autori” board, the Italian guild for screenwriters, italian delegate of FERA (Federation of European Film Directors), and of the executive board of “Giornate degli Autori-Venice Days” of the Venice International Film Festival.
Marietta Von Hauswolf von Baumgarten (Sweden): script consultant and screen writer connected to Binger Filmlab, TorinoFilmLab, Generation Campus/screenwriters Lab Moscow, as well as to various independent film companies and programmes. She is head of MotherofSons (MOS), development/film/production/art/ company based in Stockholm. She is a member of the Swedish Drama Union since 1997 and citizen of the NSK State since 1999, and minister of K.R.E.V since 1996. Marietta is also working as screenwriter for short and feature films and TV within this company: she wrote ‘Call Girl’,which won the Fipresci award in Toronto 2012. Call Girl was also (among others) in official competition of the Turin Film Festival 2012 and the Buenos Aires Film Festival 2013.
Anita Voorham (The Netherlands): has worked as a writer, script-editor and a producer on several comedy and drama series for independent production companies between 1995 and 2005. She currently works as a script-editor for the Dutch public broadcasting company NTR, as a script advisor/tutor for TorinoFilmlab and the Binger Filmlab and as a script advisor for several independent producers. Among his works as a script editor: Little Sister Katia by Mijke de Jong, and Life In One Day by Mark de Cloe. As a scriptwriter, Anita worked for the popular, award-winning drama series Gooische Vrouwen, which has sold to many countries including the UK, France and Germany.
Experts
Amy Dotson (USA): Deputy Director of IFP (Independent Feature Project), the oldest not-for-profit membership and advocacy organization of independent filmmakers in the U.S., founded in New York in 1979. Amy is also an independent film producer: she produced Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo, a documentary film by documentario di Bradley Beesley, who premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival 2009; her last film production, I Used to Be Darker by the internationally renowned director Matt Porterfield, premiered at Sundance 2013.
Samm Haillay (UK): he founded independent production company Third with Duane Hopkins in 2001. Third was granted a BFI Vision Award in 2013. He produced Hopkins’ multi-award winning short films and feature debut Better Things, which premiered to critical acclaim at International Critics Week, Cannes in 2008. Samm also produced Hopkins’ multi-channel film installations series Sunday. Hopkins’ latest feature Bypass premiered at Venice Film Festival in 2014. As well as producing all of Hopkins’ film and galley work Samm produces also a number of other talented directors work through Third including the BAFTA winning Esther May Campbell, renowned critic and writer Mark Cousins, Joseph Bull and Luke Seomore debut Blood Cells,that also premiered in Venice 2014. In 2013 Samm’s work on Peter Snowden’s The Uprising, a self-funded documentary culminated in it winning best international film at Jihlava Documentary Festival. On top of a muscular development slate of feature films Samm’s short film productions have won over 45 awards inc. Berlin, Venice, Edinburgh, and Chicago. In 2010 he co-produced Gillian Wearing’s feature debut Self Made. Samm sat on the jury in Berlin 2010 to award the Golden Bear for best short film. He is a group leader for EAVE and The Biennale College Cinema, a board member of Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival and a patron of the Underwire Film Festival. Samm is also an Associate Senior Lecturer in Film Production at Teesside University, designing and writing modules for L4, L5 & L6. He is a module leader for L4 and supervises group work in L5 & L6. Samm is an external examiner at the University of Cumbria and delivers the training for Creative England’s ishorts scheme.
Eilon Ratzkovsky (Israel): Producer Eilon Ratzkovsky is the Chief producer and CEO of July-August Productions. Over the past 13 years JAP has produced more than 35 feature films and TV series. Among its productions are: The Band’s Visit by Eran Kolirin – winner of more than 54 international prizes; Zero Motivation by Talya Lavie – Tribeca IFF 2014 winner of best feature film and best female director and 7 Israeli Academy Awards. Mountain by Yaelle Kayam – Venice IFF 2015 Orizzonti, Toronto IFF 2015; Funeral at Noon by Adam Sanderson, 2013 San Sebastian IFF – New Directors category; The Exchange by Eran Kolirin – 68th Venice IFF 2011, Main Competition; A Beautiful Valley by Hadar Friedlich – Jerusalem IFF, First Film Award; Seven Days by Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz – opening film at the Semaine de la Critique 2008, winner of Jerusalem IFF 2008; Naomi by Eitan Zur – 67th Venice IFF 2010, Critics’ Week; The Champagne Spy by Nadav Schirman – Best Documentary, Israeli Academy Awards 2007, nominated for the EFA Awards 2007 and many more.
Mary Stephen (France-Canada-Hong Kong): born in Hong Kong, graduate of Concordia University in Montreal , Mary Stephen has been living in Paris since the 1980s. She collaborated with French New Wave director Eric Rohmer for more than 25 years as his film editor and co-composer, starting as assistant to Rohmer’s then-chief-editor Cécile Décugis (who edited for Truffaut, Rohmer, Godard including the legendary « Breathless »). Mary then became Rohmer’s chief-editor from 1991 « Winter’s Tale » to his last feature « The Romance of Astrea and Celadon » (2007). In the past decade Mary has been working with fiction and documentary filmmakers and producers from Europe, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Turkey, Australia and Canada, editing, producing and consulting as script and editing advisor. A partial list of her work includes Ann Hui’s current new feature « Our Time Will Come » and « The Headmaster » in the omnibus film « 8 and ½ » produced by Johnnie To, « The Apology » by Tiffany Hsiung produced by the National Film Board of Canada (Busan young audience award for documentary), « Majority » by Seren Yüce (Lion of the Future, Venice 2010); «Umbrella», «1428» (Orizzonti Doc Award, Venice Film Festival 2009) and « A Young Patriot » by Du Haibin; « Last Train Home » by Lixin Fan (Joris Ivans Award, IDFA 2009), « Shanghaï Strangers », web short by Joan Chen ; «Blind Mountain» by Li Yang (« Un Certain Regard », Cannes 2007) , « Do Not Forget Me Istanbul » omnibus film with 6 directors from the region including Hany Abou-Assad (Palestine), Aida Begic (Bosnia), Stefan Arsenijevic (Serbia), Stergios Niziris (Greece), Eric Nazarian ( Armenia), etc; « My Marlon and Brando » (Best New Narrative Filmmaker, Tribeca 2010) by Hüseyin Karabey, etc. Mary continues her own filmmaking, such as « Vision from the edge : Breyten Breytenbach painting the lines » as well as sits on competition and nomination juries and commissions such as Locarno and Asia-Pacific Screen Awards ; she conducts workshops and guest-teaches with film schools on several continents. Full Member of Canadian Cinema Editors; Member of Academy for Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Paul Tyler (UK): Paul Tyler founded Handling Ideas, from a twenty-year career spanning television and cross-media production at the BBC, theatre management, format development and undergraduate teaching. Paul makes production companies more effective at responding to the ever-growing need for deeper user engagement and consistent user experience across multiple devices. He applies a toolkit for mapping, visualization and prototyping. Paul works with businesses developing film, television, cross/trans-media, games, products, services and campaigns across communication, marketing, commerce and design. Starting at the bottom of the production ladder, Paul worked his way up through BBC apprenticeship to Producer and multi-camera studio Director. A flirtation with online in late nineties took him to cross-media production. With one of BBC’s first innovative cross-media productions under his belt, he found himself supporting others within the industry across Europe, as they wrestled with how to interact with their audiences.
Alec Von Bargen (USA): Born in New York City, Alec Von Bargen studied Dramatic Arts, Art History and Photography. He worked as an actor in productions screened at the Cannes, Berlin and Sundance film festivals, helmed by the likes of Robert de Niro, Francis Ford Coppola, Gary Walkow and Gabriel Beristain, among others. He has produced, directed and written for the stage, film and television. He wrote the award-winning stage productions Closet Land (winner of Mexico’s FONCA grant) and Tarantata (Onassis Playwriting Competition Finalist, Greece). He is also a well-established
visual artist, most recently exhibiting at the 54th and 56th Venice Biennales, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the OCAT Museum, Shanghai and Les Rencontres D’Arles Festival, France. He was selected by François-Henri Pinault and George Clooney as guest artist at the Swatch Hotel, Shanghai. His work has won numerous awards including the IPA’s in LA and the PX3’s in Paris. He was a finalist at the 2013 Dubai Emerging Artist Award and Aesthetica Magazine, UK, selected him as one of 2013 and 2014’s top 100 contemporary artists.