Alberto Barbera (Italy) – Director

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. From 2004 to 2016 he was the Director of the National Museum of Cinema in Turin. Since 2008, he has been President of the Advisory Board of TorinoFilmLab.

Savina Neirotti (Italy) – Head of programme

Born in Genova, she graduated in Philosophy and completed the first year of Master in 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 founded Scuola Holden in Torino together with Alessandro Baricco. She has been Director of Scuola Holden’s Master in Narration Techniques, and supervising all the school activities, focusing on the international contacts.
In the last ten 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, an international Lab that includes 5 training courses, a co-production event and a funding system, since 2008 where she currently acts as Executive Director.

Jane Williams (UK) – Head of studies

Jane Williams is currently Head of Studies for the Biennale College Cinema initiative launched in 2012 and the Biennale College Cinema – VR launched in 2017. Jane comes from a background of training and development. In the UK she worked for a number of organisations and companies

including the British Film Institute and National Film and Television School. In 1998 she moved to Amsterdam to become Head of Training at the Maurits Binger Film Institute in Holland. Since 2002 she has worked as a freelance consultant for international funding organizations and festivals including the Cinemart, Hubert Bals Fund, the IFFR Rotterdam, the Balkan Fund, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the Industry Office at the BAFICI in Buenos Aries and the Royal Film Commission, Jordan. From 2006 to 2018, Jane worked for the Dubai International Film Festival where she was responsible for establishing the Dubai Film Market, the Dubai Film Connection – the first co-production platform in the Arab world, and Interchange – a project development programme in collaboration with TorinoFilmLab and EAVE.

Michel Reilhac (France) –Head of studies

Michel Reilhac is an independent interactive story architect. He is also a thought-leader for hybrid forms of storytelling, and immersive, participatory, and interactive experiences. He is currently Head of Studies for Biennale College Cinema, and Director of the Multi-Platform Master Studies at Media Business School in Spain, and is frequently invited to teach and speak at international events such as Cannes International Film Festival, SXSW Austin, Tribeca Film Festival, Sunny Side of the Doc, The Pixel Lab, Dixit, FEMIS, just to name a few.
From 2002-2012, Michel was Head of Film Acquisitions at Arte France and executive director of Arte France Cinema. From 2007 to 2011 he has was a producer for the Hollywood hit Son of Rambow, and Lars von Trier’s(the most ambitious and visually distinctive filmmaker to emerge from Denmark in 60 years) the Antichrist andMelancholia. In 2012, in recognition for his work at Arte, Michel was named Man of the Year in film by the French trade magazine Le Film Français.

Amy Dotson (USA) – story developer

Amy Dotson is the newly appointed Director of the Northwest Film Center and inaugural curator of film & new media at the Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon. She also works as one of the founding Group Leaders of the prestigious Biennale College-Cinema program, as a story expert at the Biennale College-Cinema VR and is the Head of Studies at Doha Film Institute’s Series Lab. For thirteen years, she was the Deputy Director & Head of Programming for IFP; her responsibilities included the financial and creative oversight of all domestic and international programming, partnerships and memberships for the organization’s signature programs including: IFP Feature Film, Documentary, Series & Audio Labs, IFP Week & Conference, IFP Expanded International Labs, as well as numerous year-round membership and sponsor-driven programs and initiatives. She oversaw the yearly selection of over 150 fiction & non-fiction projects and managed 18 international partners in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and Canada,creating custom programming for their producers, showrunners and filmmakers throughout the year. She also managed the talent and juries for the IFP’s Gotham Awards, which kicks off US awards season each year and was one of three key staff leaders to help secure and open the Made in NY Media Center by IFP, a 22,000 square foot talent incubator for creators at the intersection of story and tech in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Before joining IFP, Dotson held the position of Programmer/Special Programs Producer for SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival, The AFI Silver’s Latin American Film Festival and The AFI Silver’s The European Union Film Showcase in Washington, DC. Prior, Amy worked with producer Fred Berner (Pollock), as well as at Curious Pictures (Pee Wee’s Playhouse) and Miramax Films, where her responsibilities included a wide variety of production, development, administrative and business affairs duties, as well as extensive script and book coverage. Dotson also produced Brad Beesley’s feature documentary, Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo (SXSW 2009; HBO and BBC), was a supervising producer for Matt Porterfield’s feature I Used To Be Darker (Sundance 2013; Strand Releasing) and worked closely with director Tim Sutton as a producing advisor on doc/narrative hybrid, Memphis (Sundance 2014; Kino Lorber). She is currently producing Bo McGuire’s upcoming documentary feature, Socks on Fire.  She was the 2019 Keynote Speaker at BAM Cinemafest as well as at the 2015 Seattle Film Festival Catalyst Program. Dotson has served as a juror at a wide variety of festivals such as Atlanta, Ashland, IDFA, IndieMemphis, Istanbul, Karlovy Vary, Slamdance, Sidewalk, SXSW, Woodstock, and World Air Guitar Championships in Oluu, Finland. She has also been a butterfly wrangler, fashion stylist, licensed welder, art director’s assistant and freelance writer for publications such as Maisonneuve and BUST Magazine. She graduated from NYU with a Masters in Media Ecology where she studied the intersection of media, art and technology and holds a duel undergrad degree in communications and fine arts from Wake Forest University.

Justine Gamez Huckabay (USA/ Canada) – story developer

Justine Gamez Huckabay is the President & Founder of Intercommunicate, a strategic marketing and communications firm helping entertainment and technology clients navigate international media. Justine is an Award Winning International Publicist, who worked in Worldwide Marketing for Warner Bros. Pictures in Los Angeles. She led successful theatrical film campaigns such as The Hobbit trilogy, Gravity, Argo, Man Of Steel, San Andreas, among others. Her extensive global media experience was established through daily communication with top-tier international media and consistent travel to key markets, 15+ countries each year. Justine has worked on over 80 projects from films to episodic content, commercial blockbusters to artistic festival selections promoting them all over the world. In addition to working with traditional content, Justine promotes XR works internationally at events including Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, and Tribeca Film Festival. She started her career at 20th Century Fox in New York and Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles.

Following Warner Bros., Justine was the Head of Strategic Communications and Marketing at the British Embassy for the British Council in Washington D.C. before moving to Canada with her husband.

Justine graduated with an MBA from the University of Oxford. For undergraduate studies, she completed a Business Marketing degree at the University of Notre Dame.

Fouzi Louahem (France) – creative technologist

Fouzi is a filmmaker, artistic director and 360° cinematographer. He is also the artistic director of the film magazine BANDE A PART on tablet and smartphone.
His filmography includes:
- Director of the fiction “La vie à venir 360°” for ARTE, RTBF, Al Jazeera
- Director for the pilot of the series SUR LE SET: Bruno Dumont for ARTE
- Writing and production of the web-documentary “The true story of the witches of Zugarramurdi” for ARTE WEB
- Director of the web documentary “La séance photo de Tobe Hooper” for the Directors’ Fortnight
- Graphic designer on the documentary “Le Goût du risque” and the 360 series, both produced by SEPPIA for France Ô and France Télévisions Nouvelles Ecritures
- Awarded Designer of the Year at the London Digital Magazine Award 2014
Filmography VR :
- LIFE TO COME IN 360° – ARTE – Production Seppia – Director / Selection CPH Festivals: DOX, DokLeipzig, BCN 360 Film Festival
- ELEGY – BCC VR 2, presented at the 75 Venice International Film Festival (Venice VR section) – 360° Chief Operator
- MESSA DA REQUIEM – ARTE – Author and 360° Chief Operator

Max Sacker (Germany) – creative technologist

Max Sacker is a filmmaker, VR creator, Co-Founder and creative director at AnotherWorld VR. Before specialising in virtual reality and immersive storytelling, he wrote and directed a number of award-winning short films and worked as a story consultant, post producer and VFX supervisor for feature films from Warner Bros. Germany. Max Sacker is the director of KOBOLD, a transmedia experience in the horror genre that premiered in competition at the 75th International

Venice Film Festival and blurs the line between cinema and VR gaming. Anotherworld VR is a VR content creation studio from Berlin specialising in cinematic and interactive VR storytelling. Last year AnotherWorld VR executed the 6DOF post production and programming of  “In the Cave”  a  Biennale College final project which also had its premiere at the 75th International Venice Film Festival.

Marc Lopato (France) – VR Lab coordinator

INSEAD MBA Engineer, Marc worked 7 years in Industrial Supply Chain in Japan and France.
He then started his own company and worked 6 years as a professional tourist guide and interpret. With his strong international background, Marc joins Diversion cinema in 2016 to manage its Operations and Business Development. Diversion cinema specializes in showcasing and distributing immersive content. It creates and operates virtual reality showcasing spaces for companies and cinema festivals. In 2018, it launches a Distribution division and acts as an international sales agent for 360 videos, VR and interactive experiences, with the aim of bringing the best narrative content to audiences worldwide.