Jury President Costa-Gavras is one of the most renowned figures of dedicated, political filmmaking. His international breakthrough came in 1969 with the political thriller Z, which won him two Academy Awards. In 1990 Costa-Gavras was awarded the Berlinale Golden Bear for his film Music Box (with Armin Mueller-Stahl and Jessica Lange). He last participated in the Berlinale Competition in 2002 with Amen. Costa-Gavras is also President of the French Cinemathèque.
Production designer Uli Hanisch was honoured with the German and the European Film Awards for his work in the adaptation of Patrick Süskind’s novel Perfume – The Story Of A Murderer (2006). He has done the production design for almost all of Tom Tykwer’s films, including the upcoming The International, starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. His set designs also shaped films by Oliver Hirschbiegel (The Experiment) and Sönke Wortmann (The Miracle Of Bern).
Diane Kruger’s international breakthrough came with her role in Wolfgang Petersen’s monumental epic Troy. The young actress played in the 2007 Berlinale Competition film Goodbye Bafana by Bille August. Together with Nicolas Cage she is currently on screen in National Treasure: Book Of Secrets.
Walter Murch is a multiple-Academy Award winner who wrote film history with his spectacular sound design for Francis Ford Coppola’s anti-war film Apocalypse Now. As a cutter and sound designer he has collaborated with Coppola for 30 years, on films ranging from The Godfather to his latest work Tetro. He has also created image and sound montages for George Lucas, Jerry Zucker and Anthony Minghella.
Shu Qi is one of the most popular and sought-after actresses in Asian cinema. Born in Taiwan, she has played in over 50 films in a great variety of genres. On the international circuit she attracted attention for her role in the thriller The Transporter (2002). In 2000 Shu Qi appeared in the Berlinale Competition film The Island Tales directed by Stanley Kwan.
Alexander Rodnyansky was born in the Ukraine, and is one of the biggest cinema and TV producers in Russia. A studied filmmaker, he is now president of the Moscow media holding CTC and a formative figure in Russia’s media landscape. His work as a director includes a series of documentaries about contemporary Russia, including 1992s two-part Farewell USSR, which won numerous awards.
Ben Barenholtz is one of the key protagonists in America’s independent film scene. In 1968 he opened the New York Elgin Cinema which became a legendary forum for independent filmmakers with its Midnight Movies. Barenholtz is also a successful producer and distributor. He produced several of the Coen brothers’ films, including the drama Barton Fink which won the 1991 Golden Palm in Cannes.
Born in Algeria, the director first studied literature and then went to the Paris Film Academy. In 1996 she made her first feature film L’autre côté de la mer. In 1999 she presented the film Nadia And The Hippos in the Cannes –series ‘Un Certain Regard’. She was a guest at the 2004 Berlinale Forum with her drama A Wonderful Spell. Dominique Cabrera is also active as an actress and book author.
The director, who comes from Sarajevo, celebrated her feature film debut and an international success with Grbavica. The drama surrounding the aftermath of the war in Bosnia was awarded the Golden Bear at the 2006 Berlinale. In 1997 Jasmila Zbanic founded the artists‘ association and subsequent film production company Deblokada. In 2004 she presented a series of art videos and documentary films at the Kasseler Kunsthalle Fridericianum.
Actor Marc Barbé has worked with France’s most eminent directors, including Jaques Rivette, Philippe Grandrieux and Laetitia Masson. In 2007, he appeared in the Berlinale opening film La môme - La Vie en Rose. Barbé has also proved his versatility on the stage and in TV productions. As a director Marc Barbé has made a number of short and medium-length films.
Film producer Ada Solomon, who comes from Bucharest, has worked with directors such as Christian Mungiu, Christian Nemescu and Razvan Radulescu. In 2003 she founded her own company, HiFilm Productions, which has already produced a number of successful films. In memory of Christian Nemescu and Andrei Toncu, Ada Solomon also initiated the NexT Cultural Society, which organizes the Bucharest NexT Film Festival.
Every since her screen debut in Michael Klier’s Ostkreuz, actress Laura Tonke has ranked as one of Germany’s outstanding talents. She has worked with directors such as Tom Tykwer, Dominik Graf and Rudolf Thome. Laura Tonke was nominated for the German Film Award for her role as the terrorist Gudrun Ensslin in the film Baader.
The recipients of honorary awards are not chosen by a jury but by the festival director.
A Children's Jury with members aged 11 to 14 awards the Crystal Bears in the Generation Kplus competition. The jury members are selected from film questionaires submitted the previous year and officially invited to participate by the festival director. The Generation Kplus Children's Jury 2008: Jana Marie Bußmann, Jesper-Ole Ebbert, Tita-Antonia Hagen, Carl-Ludwig Hausl, Ntozake Iglesias, Max Kreßner, Lisa Frederike Lassen, Joelle Marianek, Lino Steinwärder, Nina-Liliht Völsch, Justus Paul Bauch.
A Youth Jury with members aged 14 to 18 awards the Crystal Bears in the Generation 14plus competition. The jury members are selected from film questionaires submitted the previous year and officially invited to participate by the festival director. The Generation 14plus Youth Jury 2008: Roman Akbar, Zadora Enste, Hans Hirsch, Nora Kubach, Zoe Martin, Linda Moog und Lavan Vasuthevan.
The International Jury of the Generation Kplus competition awards the Grand Prix of the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk (German Child Support Organisation) worth 7,500 Euros, to the Best Feature Film. The charity's special prize, which has a value of 2,500 Euros, is awarded to the Best Short Film.
Members of the Generation Kplus International Jury 2008 are: German director and scriptwriter Anna Justice (Max Minsky und ich), Malaysian director, scriptwriter and producer Yasmin Ahmad (Mukhsin, Grand Prix of the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk, Berlinale 2007), South-African-based Finnish animation designer Antonia Ringbom, and Israeli director and scriptwriter Omri Levy (Miss Entebbe, Honorable Mention Berlinale 2003).
