FILM FORWARD INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AWARD

Carlos Rodríguez Ríos holds a degree in Information Sciences (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona) and a postgraduate qualification in Cultural Management and Policy (Universidad de Barcelona). In 1994, he co-founded the film organization 100.000 Retinas, an entity dedicated to promoting cinema as a cultural form. He initiated and coordinated the Cineambigú series, a weekly film showcase that presented the best international cinema not otherwise distributed in the country. For over a decade, he co-directed the Barcelona Asian Film Festival (BAFF), and since 2010, he has served as director of the film distribution company Noucinemart and of D’A – Barcelona Film Festival. He has served on juries at numerous festivals, including SSIFF (San Sebastián), SEMINCI (Valladolid), SEFF (Seville), FICXIXÓN, TIFF (Transilvania), SANFIC (Santiago de Chile), the Seattle Film Festival, and FORUM (ECAM), and currently serves as Vice President of the Catalan Film Academy.

Ana Vujanović is a cultural worker: researcher, writer, dramaturge, lecturer. She is focused on bringing together critical theory and contemporary art, while exploring feminist storytelling, ecofeminism, labor conditions, and resistance to fascism. She has published numerous articles and several books, the latest one being Toward a Transindividual Self: A Study in Social Dramaturgy with Bojana Cvejić (Berlin, 2023). She has lectured at various universities, and since 2016 she has been a team member at SNDO, University of the Arts Amsterdam. As a dramaturge and writer, she participates in artworks in the field of theatre, dance, and video/film; most recently the documentary films Landscapes of Resistance (2021) and Body in Plural (forthcoming 2027), directed by M. Popivoda.

Yorgos Zois is a Greek director whose body of work, four shorts and two feature films, has been selected at A-list festivals worldwide (Cannes, Venice, Berlinale, Rotterdam, Telluride, etc.) and has been acknowledged with multiple awards worldwide, including Best Newcomer Feature Director and Best Short Film from the Hellenic Film Academy, as well as an EFA nomination for Best Short Film. He was also a member of the official “Lion of the Future” jury at the 74th Venice IFF. His second feature film, Arcadia, premiered at the Berlinale in 2024 and won, among other awards, Best Director at the Sarajevo IFF. In Greece, it won Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay from the Hellenic Film Academy, and it was Greece’s official submission for the 2026 Oscars.