2009 International Nominations Council

Professor, Department of Film, School of Film, TV and Multimedia, Korea National University of Arts. Hong-Joon Kim was Festival Director of the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival and Commissioner of the Korean Film Council from 2000-2005. His published books include I, a Filmmaker: Kim Hong-Joon’s Film Notes and Two Or Three Things You Want To Know About Movies. Hong-Joon Kim is an award-winning director, and screenwriter of films including Jungle Story and La Vie En Rose. He hosted and co-wrote the television series Korean Classical Cinema Special.

Managing Director, Iranian Independents
Mohammad Atebbai is a film producer and distributor and Head of Iranian Independents, which markets and promotes Iranian films internationally. He was in charge of screening Iranian films at international festivals and events at Farabi Cinema Foundation for eight years before forming Iranian Independents in 1997. He acted as Director of International Affairs for Khaneh Cinema for two years; was Senior Editor of Film International from 1997–2001; and is a journalist and member of the Iranian Society of Film Critics and Writers. He is author of the book International Presentation of Iranian Cinema: 1979–2004; was producer and associate producer involved in the co-production and fundraising for Iranian films including The Circle (Jafar Panahi, 1999); is the Iranian member of the European Documentary Network (EDN); and a representative of NETPAC (Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema) in Iran.

Board Director, Singapore International Film Festival
Philip Cheah is a film critic and is the editor of BigO, Singapore’s only independent pop culture publication. He is board director of the Singapore International Film Festival; Honorary Secretary of NETPAC; and is currently program consultant for the JogjaNETPAC Asian Film Festival, Seoul Asian Digital Film Festival, Osian’s Cinefan Asian-Arab Film Festival and the Dubai International Film Festival. He is co-editor of the books, Garin Nugroho: And the Moon Dances; Noel Vera: Critic After Dark and Ngo Phuong Lan: Modernity and Nationality in Vietnamese Cinema.

Film Critic for Variety
Russell Edwards is a Sydney-based film critic reviewing Asian and Australian films for leading international trade publication Variety. He was president of The Film Critics Circle of Australia from 2004 to 2006; is a regular attendee of Asia’s film festival circuit; and has been a FIPRESCI juror at the Pusan International Film Festival twice, including Jury Chairman in 2003. Russell Edwards’ main area of expertise is Korean and Japanese cinema; and he is well-versed in Australian and American film history. A board member of the Sydney Film Festival from 1996 to 1999, Russell also advised the now defunct Sydney Asia Pacific Film Festival from 1999 to 2004. Russell has also directed short films. His most recent film The Agreement (2006) played at numerous major festivals around the world and was screened on SBS Television.

Executive Director, Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF)
Anne Démy-Geroe is the Executive Director of the Brisbane International Film Festival, where she began as the inaugural Artistic Director in 1991. Her interest in Asian cinema has led to the establishment of the sole Australian NETPAC Jury at BIFF and a FIPRESCI Jury for Asia-Pacific cinema. BIFF also boasts the only Australian Film Festival for Young people and a focus on indigenous film. Anne was an organiser for the Queensland Images Film Festival in 1989, has worked on the annual Queensland New Filmmakers Awards for many years, silent film festivals, and Queensland regional film festivals. She is a judge on the prestigious Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards and a past Council Member of the National Film and Sound Archive. She has served on international juries from Hawaii to Tehran for NETPAC and others. In 2003, Anne was awarded an Australian Centenary Medal for services to the film industry. In her leisure time, Anne also ‘tries to play’ Japanese end-blown flute, the Shakuhachi.

Author, Film Critic
Maithili Rao is a Bombay based freelance film critic who has written extensively for Indian and international publications including Man’s World, Hindu, Frontline, Cinema In India, Film Comment, International Film Guide and the website for the British Film Institute. Ms Rao is a regular contributor to the South Asian Cinema Foundation and is a member of its editorial board which includes wellknown film critics, historians, filmmakers and people from the world of cinema in South Asia and the west. Rao has contributed chapters to several books on Indian Cinema: “Rebels without a cause” for the Encyclopædia Britannica India volume on Hindi cinema; “Heart of the Hindi Film” for Bollywood, Dakini publications, London; “To be a Woman” for Frames of Mind, Indian Council for Cultural Relations; “Images of Women” for Rasa, vol ii, edited by Chidananda Das Gupta. Maithili Rao has served as a jury member at the International Children’s Film Festival (Hyderabad), the Bombay Documentary Film Festival and served on the FIPRESCI Jury at the Sochi International Film Festival.

Head of International Relations, Kawakita Memorial Film Institute
Yuka Sakano is the primary Japanese correspondent for the Cannes International Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival. Ms Sakano has also served on the NETPAC Jury for international festivals such as Karlovy Vary, Hawaii and Locarno. She is the Head of International Relations at the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute. The Institute houses an extensive collection of film archives and serves as the foremost resource on Japanese film for international festivals and organisations.

Professor, Beijing Film Academy; Film Director
Xie Fei is internationally known as one of the most prominent directors from China. His feature film A Girl from Hunan (Xian Nu Xiao Xiao) was invited to screen in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes International Film Festival in 1987 and won the Don Quixote Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival and the Golden Panda Award at the Montpelier Film Festival in 1988. Black Snow won the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1990 and screened at the Hong Kong, London, Washington, Sydney and Montreal Film Festivals. Woman from the Lake of Scented Souls won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1993, the Chinese Government Outstanding Film Award in 1993, and the Best Actress Award at the Chicago Film Festival. A Mongolian Tale’s many awards include the Best Director Award at the World Film Festival in Montreal in 1995, and Best Director at the Shanghai Film Critic’s Ten Best Film Awards in 1995. Song of Tibet (2000) won Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Music Awards at the Chinese Golden Rooster Awards. Xie Fei has been a Professor of Beijing Film Academy for 40 years. His students include Directors of Chinese fifth and sixth generations including Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou and Jia Zhangke.