Alessandro Rais, Alessandro Rais, film historian and film and new media critic, lives and works in Palermo, where he founded the Sicilia Film Commission and headed up the Filmoteca Regionale Siciliana. He is currently the general director of the Tourism, Sport and Entertainment Department of the Sicilian Region. Since 1994 he has conceived and conducted the project Cinema: lezioni siciliane, composed of intensive courses with filmmakers and film set experts as Raúl Ruiz, Abbas Kiarostami, Vittorio De Seta, Luciano Emmer, Gianni Amelio, Frederick Wiseman, Giuseppe Lanci, and Robert Guédiguian. In 1996 he founded and was responsible for the art direction of the festival L’immagine leggera. Palermo International Video Art, Film and Media Festival, and over the following years he looked after numerous other festivals and retrospectives, including the first two editions of the Sicilia Queer Filmfest . He was a jury member at the most prestigious film and electronic arts festivals in Europe (among others Berlin, Rotterdam, Locarno, Stuttgart, Torino, etc.). He has taught Scenarios of contemporary cinema at the degree course in Industrial Design at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Palermo.

Among his publications we find: the volumes Il cinema di Vittorio De Seta / The Films of Vittorio De Seta (ed. Maimone, 1995) and Gianni Amelio: Conversazioni in Sicilia (1999), as well as the Location Guide and Production Guide of Sicily, published in 2009.

A Kurd born in Iran and based in Italy, Fariborz Kamkari obtained a degree inFilm Direction and Dramatic Literature in Teheran. In 2002 became a partner of the production company FARoutFILMS. He wrote and directed several short films and authored screenplays for film and television before making his feature directing debut.
His most important work isThe Flowers Kirkuk(Italy/Switzerland/Iraq 2010), a dramatic film based on his novel of the same name (Cooper Editore 2010), and distributed by Medusa. In competition at Rome International Film Festival 2010;Best DirectorandBest ActorFlaiano Awards, Chieti 2010; NominationBest FilmandBest revelation actor at the ItalianGolden Globes 2011; Best film prize in Bagdad Festival 2011. He had previously directedThe Forbidden Chapter(Italy/France/Iran 2005), distributed by Cinequest Distribution.Best Directorat Brussels Independent Film Festival 2006 andin competition in San Sebastian Festival 2005. He also directed the docu-dramaBlack Tape(Iran 2002),Top Jury Prize at Cinequest 2003 and in competition at Venice film Festival. At the moment he is working at: Pizza e Datteri (comedy) with the support of MiBAC (Italian Ministry of Culture,) Acqua e zucchero. I colori della vita, a documentary about Carlo Di Palma; The Flying Sheikh (drama) with MEDIA support Io, lei e lui (sentimental comedy) with the support of MiBAC.He is writing his second novelThe Islamic State of Venice.

Giona A. Nazzaro is a contributor. As a Film critic, he writes for Film Tv and he is part of the editorial board of Filmcritica. He is Film Responsible for Rumore and works for MicroMega, Nocturno and Panoramiche. He is the author of Interview. Conversazioni intorno al cinema (published by GS 2000) and Action! Forme di un transgenere cinematografico (Le mani, 2000, special mention for the Barbaro / Filmcritica Award). He signed Il cinema di Gus Van Sant (I libri di Duel publications, 1996). He introduces in Italy the studies dedicated to the cinema of Hong Kong with numerous books, essays and articles. With Andrea Tagliacozzo he wrote: Il cinema di Hong Kong: spade, kung-fu, pistole e fantasmi (Le mani, 1997), John Woo. La nuova leggenda del cinema d’azione (Castelvecchi, 2000) and Il dizionario del cinema di Hong Kong (published by Universitaria, 2006). He has also edited volumes, such as: Abel Ferrara. La tragedia oltre il noir (published by Stefano Sorbini, 1997) and Spike Lee. Tutti i colori del cinema (published by Stefano Sorbini, 1996).As an author of essays dedicated to the world of music, he wrote Film e colonne sonore (published by Apache, 1999) with the cooperation of Vittore Baroni. He was a member of the Selection Committee of the Turin Film Festival for the direction Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan / Roberto Turigliatto. He cooperates as a recruiter and as a reporter for the festivals Visions du réel (Nyon – CH) and as a moderator and translator for the Film Festival of Locarno (CH). He is a member of the selection committee of the International Film Festival of Rome. He is the author of the short story collection A Mon Dragone c’è il Diavolo (Perdisa Pop).

Born in Milan in 1965, Maria Cristina Papetti studied Foreign Languages and Literature first at Silvio Pellico School for Interpreters and then at IULM University.
She worked in Edison, Ferrovie dello Stato and Trenitalia before joining Enel in September 2007. She has been in charge of Executive Education, Executive Education and Cross Cultural Center, International Internal Communication and in January 2012 she has been appointed Head of External Relation of Enel Green Power.

 
 

Nel 2003 In 2003 Michela Occhipinti produced and filmed her first documentary: ¡Viva la Pepa! (give us back the Constitution), on Argentina’s social crisis. (Romadocfest 2005; Tekfestival 2006: Special Jury Mention; Cinema for Rights, Maori TV, RAI 1 30’ version). From 2005 to 2007 she directed for RAI 2 various reportages on immigration issues. In 2008 she directed Sei Uno Nero a non-profit documentary on the opening of a radio station for Aids and malaria prevention in Malawi. In 2010 she independently produced and directed Letters from the desert (eulogy to slowness) (HDV 88’ + 55’), her first feature length docu-film that has participated in around 80 Festivals and received over 20 awards that made it one of the most awarded documentaries of 2010.

 

Emma Rossi-Landi was born in Rome in 1971. In 1998 she obtained a Diploma inFilmmaking at the London International Film School. She started directing documentaries in the year 2000. Her films include: Forty Days (2004, winner of the Festival dei Popoli) Veronica’s Thread (2005, winner of the Bellaria Film Festival) Vaccarizzo’s Song (2007, as part of the Alba Suite project) and Left By The Ship, co-directed with Alberto Vendemmiati (2010, co-produced with ITVS international, presented in more than 30 International Festivals and winner of the Cinema.Doc prize at the Festival dei Popoli among others). In 2013 she organized, with Christian Carmosino, for Doc/it (the Italian Documentary Association) The Documentary Month a film festival which presented some of the best Italian and International documentary films from the last season.