Simone Bitton

She was born in Morocco in 1955.  She had lived in Rabat, Jerusalem, and now Paris, where she has been based since her studies at the French Institute for Cinema Studies (IDHEC). She holds both Israeli and French citizenship, and defines herself as an Arab Jew who likes neither walls nor borders. She has been making documentary films since 1981. All her work reflects her commitment to achieving a better understanding of the history and cultures of North Africa and the Middle East.

Her two last films , Wall (2004) and Rachel (2008), were made for cinema.

Román Chalbaud

Román Chalbaud was born in Merida, Venezuela in 1931. He has developed an extensive body of work in film and theatre – closely linked –not forgetting the years dedicated to television, as well as his contribution to the founding of unions, associations and groups for both film and theatre. In 2009 he released his last film Zamora, land and free men produced for the Villa del Cine and written by Luis Britto García. At the end of 2010 he will release his new film Days of Power written with José Ignacio Cabrujas and produced by Villa del Cine.

Ignacio Herrera

Born in Madrid in 1963. Doctor of Information Science and graduate in Science of the Image from the Complutense University in Madrid. From 1991-2 he oversaw the cultural programming of the American and African pavilions in the Universal Exhibition in Seville. From 1993 to 2000 he held the position of director of the Olivar de Castillejo Foundation in Madrid. During the period from 1997 to 2001 he was head of cultural activities in the Cervantes Institute in Paris. In 2001 he became part of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda as cultural director and has been general director  of the institution since 2005.

Edouard Waintrop

Edouard Waintrop was born on 3rd June 1952 in Paris. The son of film fans, he soon preferred to escape to the cinema than attend maths classes. When he began to be active in University he found the way to run a film club. Later he took over the film programming of a youth and cultural centre on the outskirts of Paris. All of this before he joined the daily Liberation where he remained film critic for 26 years. From August 2007 he has run the Friburg Film Festival in Switzerland and in April will become responsible for the municipal cinemas of Geneva.