Juries 2009

Tilda Swinton (United Kingdom)

Jury President and Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton is one of her generation’s most sought-after performers. She gave her film debut in Derek Jarman’s Caravaggio which won a Silver Bear at the 1986 Berlinale. Since her international breakthrough with Orlando she has alternated with ease between European arthouse films and big Hollywood productions. Until Jarman’s death she appeared in all of his films. Her film portrait of him was shown in the Panorama at the 2008 Berlinale. In 2008 she received an Academy Award for best supporting actress in the thriller Michael Clayton.

Isabel Coixet (Spain)

The award-winning Spanish writer and director Isabel Coixet has been a guest with her films at numerous international festivals, including four times at the Berlinale: 1995 in the Panorama with Things I Never Told You, 2003 in the Competition with My Life Without Me, 2007 in the Panorama with the compilation documentary Invisibles and 2008 with the moving bestseller interpretation Elegy. Isabel Coixet is currently realizing the romantic thriller Map Of The Sounds Of Tokyo.

Gaston Kaboré (Burkina)

Gaston Kaboré is one of the most important people in his country’s film scene. Following his studies in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and Paris his feature film Wend Kuuni marked a breakthrough for African cinema in 1982. He combines the skills of screenwriter, director and producer and has realized numerous documentary films. In 1997 he received the Pan-African Film Festival (FESPACO) Award for his historical drama Buud Yam. In 2005 he founded the Imagine Film School in Ouagadougou which trains new filmmakers in Burkina Faso.

Henning Mankell (Sweden)

The award-winning, bestselling author Henning Mankell is especially famous for his Inspector Wallander mysteries which have been published in 38 languages. The highly productive author and theatre director focuses on political and social themes, but he is also acclaimed as a writer of children’s books and plays. Mankell lives alternately in Sweden and Mosambique where he works as director of the “Teatro Avenida”.

Christoph Schlingensief (Germany)

Christoph Schlingensief, a leading personality in Germany’s cultural scene, is renowned as a film, theatre and opera director, radio play writer and artist. His works repeatedly challenge the frontier between politics and art and provoke public debate. As a filmmaker he first became known between 1989 and 1992 with what is known as his German Trilogy (including The German Chainsaw Massacre). His opera productions include “Parsifal” (Bayreuth 2004), „The Flying Dutchman“ (Manaus 2007), „Jeanne d’Arc“ (Berlin 2008) and „Eine Kirche der Angst vor dem Fremden in mir“ (Duisburg 2008).

Wayne Wang (USA)

Hong-Kong-born director Wayne Wang has lived and worked in the USA since his youth. In many of his films he confronts American society with the world of Chinese immigrants, as in the bestseller adaptation The Joy Luck Club (1993). His arthouse film Smoke (Silver Bear at the Berlinale 1995) brought him major success in Europe as well. His latest film A Thousand Years Of Good Prayers received several festival awards.

Alice Waters (USA)

As a keen film aficionado, food activist, author and star chef Alice Waters named her legendary restaurant in Berkeley Chez Panisse after one of Marcel Pagnol’s film characters. Alice Waters, vice president of Slow Food International, works in the renowned Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley and for various film festivals. She also has collaborated on projects such as the documentary Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe. The multiple award-winning gastronomy expert recently joined the California Hall of Fame.

Hannah Herzsprung (Germany)

Born in Hamburg in 1981, actress Hannah Herzsprung has received much acclaim from both critics and audiences for her powerful performances – e.g., as prison inmate and talented pianist in the award-winning drama Vier Minuten (Four Minutes) by Chris Krauss; or as Florina, the rebellious girl next door, in Das wahre Leben (Life Actually) by Alain Gsponer. She won the Bavarian Film Award as Best Young Actress for her role in Vier Minuten in 2006. This was followed in 2007 by the German Film Award as Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Das wahre Leben.

In-Ah Lee (Germany)

For many years In-Ah Lee was collaborating with Wim Wenders. In 2006 she produced The Way I Spent the End of the World for Romanian director Catalin Mitulescu. At present In-Ah Lee is involved in projects for greenskyfilms, a production company based in Cologne and Los Angeles. Here she is responsible especially for international co-productions and independent films.

Raffi Pitts (Iran)

Born in Teheran, director Rafi Pitts now lives in France and is a leading representative of contemporary Iranian cinema. His feature film debut The Fifth Season, filmed in his native Iran, was an international festival success. In 2006 Rafi Pitts presented the drama It’s Winter in the Berlinale Competition. He is currently working on his fifth feature film, The Hunter.

Khavn De La Cruz (Philippines)

With more than 70 short films and features, this director is one of his country’s most important underground digital filmmakers. De La Cruz, who participated in the Berlinale Talent Campus 2005, is also a writer and musician, as well as director of the Philippine MOV International Digital Film Festival. With his production company Filmless Films, he has made many works, including Mondomanila: Institute of Poets, a surreal cinematic reflection on Philippine society.

Arta Dobroshi (Kosovo)

With her role in the screen drama Lorna’s Silence (winner of Best Screenplay at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival), this young actress achieved her international breakthrough and a nomination for the 2008 European Film Awards. Born in Pristina, Arta Dobroshi has played many stage roles in her country, as well as a leading role in the prize-winning German-Albanian production Magic Eye (2005), a film about the situation in Albania in 1997, when it was rocked by unrest.

Dr. Lars Henrik Gass (Germany)

Lars Henrik Gass studied literature and theatre. Since 1997, he has been director of the renowned International Short Film Festival Oberhausen. Until 2007, he was also a member of the German Short Film Award jury. He has written many essays on photography and film, and teaches at a number of universities and academies. In 2001, Gass published his book “Das ortlose Kino. Über Marguerite Duras”.

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 2009: Aaron Altaras, Merve Avdic, Cara Beume, Karoline Gugisch, Jan Hensel, Luca-Els Mauritz, Judith Rinklebe, Tilli Ripp, Jannik Szwaczka, Lara Torp, Daniel Zimmermann.

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 2009: Leo Bruckmann, Lulu Grimm, Frida Grubba, Moritz Kleine, Isabelle Moog, Maurits Schön, Joëlle Weber.

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 2009 are: producer Roshanak Behesht Nedjad (Football under Cover, Full Metal Village, Havanna Mi Amor), director Dana Nechushtan (Dunja & Desie), director, producer and programme director Greg Childs, Petr Koliha, festival director of the Zlín International Film Festival for Children and Youth, as well as director Stephen Lance.