lfredo Minea is a Romanian actor and director born in 1994 in Bucharest. He graduated from the National University of Theatre and Film in 2016. In the same year he made his film debut as an actor with the role of Alex in the short film "Prima noapte," directed by Andrei Tănase. The film was selected for the Orizzonti competition at the Venice Film Festival and won the Grand Prix at the Huesca International Short Film Festival, qualifying for the 2018 Academy Award nominations for Best Live Action Short Film. In 2022, Alfredo Minea directed the documentary "35A," for which he received the “Ion Bostan” Award for Best Romanian Documentary at the “CineMaIubit” Film Festival.
Andra MacMasters is a Romanian audiovisual producer and archive researcher. In 2013 she founded Conset Film and since then worked with filmmakers from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Serbia, India. She also established the first archive dedicated to the cine-amateurism movement in the Socialist Republic of Romania, available on www.cineama.ro.
Andreea Udrea is a Romanian documentary filmmaker and video journalist. She studied psychology before dedicating herself to documentary filmmaking through the DocNomads program. She debuted in 2017 with Like the Mountain, an intimate portrait of a Syrian refugee in Slovenia. Her latest project, The wind blows where it pleases, which explores the tension between faith and queerness, received funding from CNC Romania in 2023 and is currently in post-production.
Beyond her studies, Andreea has developed her documentary projects through industry programs such as the East Silver Market, Short Pitch Program, and Civil Society Pitch. Through her films, she focuses on themes of identity, belonging, and inner conflicts, looking out for stories and characters that add nuance to our perspectives on reality.
Anelise Sălan is a Romanian filmmaker and PhD student in Communication Studies at the University of Bucharest. She worked in television for 12 years at PRO TV before transitioning to freelance cinematography. She also organizes educational workshops in rural areas.
Born in Tripoli, Lebanon, Farah Kassem graduated from ALBA University in Audiovisual Studies and completed an MFA in Documentary Filmmaking at DocNomads. Her films have been screened at festivals such as Visions du Réel, Warsaw Film Festival, DOK Leipzig, and many others.
Filmography: You Make a Better Window Than You Do a Door (2017) / Nettoyer Schaerbeek (2017) / My Father Looks Like Abdel Nasser (2012)
Ioana Grigore is a Romanian film director, focused on documentary film and the boundary between what we call reality and fiction. She recently obtained her PhD in Cinema and Media Studies and teaches documentary film at the National University of Theatre and Film "I.L. Caragiale" Bucharest.
Kinshuk Surjan is an Indian filmmaker, based in Brussels and Bhopal. A graduate of the DocNomads program, his short, “Divided Lines,” was screened at the 2015 Jihlava Film Festival. In 2017 his graduation film “The Flandrien” won the Flanders Audiovisual Fund’s VAF “Wildcard”.
Filmography: The Flandrien (2017), Divided Lines (2015)
Lesia Diak is a Ukrainian film director and producer. Her internationally-awarded short films explore themes of genuine human connections, inner conflict, trauma and healing. She established DramaFree, a film production company dedicated to creating author-driven movies.
Filmography:
Dad’s Lullaby, 78 min, 2024, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia
Wounds, short film, 24 min, 2024 Ukraine, Hungary, Belgium, Portugal
Under the Wing of A Night, short film, 19 min, 2023 Ukraine, Belgium, Belgium, Portugal
Joszef In Autumn, short film, 12 min, 2022 Hungary, Belgium, Portugal
Awards: Honorable mention for the best feature length debut at Doclisboa
Director, DOP, editor, producer
Awards: Best Documentary, Zlin Film Festival (Czech Republic)
Director, DOP, editor, producer
Co-director, Sound recordist
Since 2001, Marc Isaacs has directed more than 10 creative documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4. His films have won Grierson, Royal Television Society and BAFTA awards, as well as numerous prizes at international festivals. In 2006, he had a retrospective at the États généraux du film documentaire de Lussas and his work has been included in numerous documentary books and acadeic studies.
In 2008, Marc Isaacs received an honorary doctorate from the University of East London for his documentary work. He is a visiting professor at the London Film School, the National Film and Television School and the Royal Holloway University.
FILMOGRAPHY
- The Road a story of life and death (2012)
- Outside the court (2010)
- Men of the city (2009)
- All white in Barking (2007)
- Philip et ses sept femmes (2005)
- Un jour, mon prince viendra (2005)
- Calais : the last border (2003)
- Travellers (2002)
- Lift (2001)
- The Filmmaker's house (2020)
For nearly two decades, he has worked in documentary and television filmmaking. In 2013, he received the Polish Film Institute Award and debuted with his feature documentary Mundial. The Highest Stakes. His creative documentary The Wind: A Documentary Thriller, produced with HBO Europe, premiered at Visions du Réel and returned from a global tour with numerous awards from top documentary festivals, including Dok Leipzig. The film was also nominated by the Polish Film Academy for the Eagles – Polish Film Awards in the Best Documentary category.
Mihai Gavril Dragolea (Romania, 1989) specialises in documentary and hybrid fiction filmmaking. His films focus on alternative and peripheral humans or other types of sentient beings, on which subject he is also doing a Ph.D. Mihai’s documentaries have been shown in festivals in Europe and distributed in more than 15 countries. He lectures on Documentary Practice at the Faculty of Theater and Film of Babeș-Bolyai University. Mihai is also working in the ecological and animal protection domain.
Aurica, a dog's life / Director / 2022 / 12 min. / Fiction
Everything for Riana / Director / 2020 / 28 min. / Documentary
PhoeniXXX / Director / 2017 / 53 min. / Documentary
O lunã din viața lor / Director / 2015 / 47 min. / Documentary
The Golden Robot / Director / 2015 / 73 min. / Documentary
Originally from Belgrade (Serbia), Nikola Ilić is an independent filmmaker and cinematographer interested in creative and observational documentary filmmaking. Since 2007, Nikola Ilić has resided in Switzerland and Serbia. Co-founder of Pro Short Association. Member of the Swiss and European Film Academy.
Filmography: Rakijada - Distilled Village Tales (2016) / Kod Ćoška (Down On The Corner) (2013)
co-directed with Corina Schwingruber Ilić: Dida (2021) / Just Another Day In Egypt (2015) / Kanton Jugoslawien (2013)
RADU CIORNICIUC co-founded in 2012 the first independent media organization in Romania - Casa Jurnalistului casajurnalistului.ro; a community of reporters specializing in in-depth, long-form, and multimedia reporting. Since then, Radu has worked as a long-form writer and undercover investigative reporter. His research is focused on human rights, animal welfare, and environmental issues across the globe. The articles and films he has worked on have appeared in some of the biggest publications around the globe. Ciorniciuc’s debut feature documentary film, "Acasa, My Home", produced by Manifest Film, tells the story of a family that lived for two decades in the wilderness, in perfect harmony with nature, until they are chased out and forced to adapt to life in the big city. "Acasă, My Home" premiered at Sundance (2020) where it won the Special Jury Award for Cinematography. The film had an exceptional festival run, and has been selected for a nomination at the European Film Academy Awards.
Radu Constantin Mocanu graduated in journalism at Lucian Blaga University in 2005. He got a job working at a TV station and later moved to Paris in order to study cinema at Ecole Superieure de Realisation Audiovisuelle, where he got a degree in 2009. Returning to Romania, he began working on his feature debut documentary: The Golden Robot (2015). Radu currently works as an independent documentary filmmaker.
PhoeniXXX / Producer / 2017 / 53 min. / Documentary
The Golden Robot / Director / 2015 / 73 min. / Documentary
Rami Sabbagh was born in Beirut in July 1979 and is a video artist, film editor, and musician. In 2000, he discovered the disappeared work of Lebanese avant-garde filmmaker Christian Ghazi and worked with him on his last documentary Coffin of the Memory in 2001.
Sabbagh’s videos 2mg of rotten blood on pure white snow (2006), the last hero (2011) and imperfect unless performed in blood (2018) oscillate between fiction and video art and in 2020 he co-directed topology of an absence with experimental musician Sharif Sehnaoui , an experimental documentary that offers a response and a poetico-fictional interpretation of archival images from Pathé Gaumont filmed in Beirut during the French mandate of Lebanon.
Between 2013 and 2018, Sabbagh participated in the foundation and artistic direction of Dawawine a multi-purpose space in Beirut.
Răzvan Dima discovered his passion for imagery since childhood, in his grandmother's darkroom. He worked as a cameraman in the press but chose to leave the journalistic environment to focus on photography and film. Currently, he is studying film directing at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca.
Simona Constantin (she/her) is a Bucharest-based documentary filmmaker exploring music as immaterial heritage. Her work is shaped by her background in designing and producing cultural and educational projects for youth.
Tudor Platon is a Romanian documentary director and cinematographer. He made his directing debut with ”House of Dolls”, which premiered in 2020 in the Documentary Competition of Sarajevo Film Festival. As a cinematographer he worked on over 20 films, like “The Christmas Gift” (dir. Bogdan Mureșanu), ”4:15 P.M. The End of the World” (dir. Gabi Șarga & Cătălin Rotaru), or “Arsenie. An Amazing Afterlife” (dir. Alexandru Solomon).
Ștefan Marcu is a graduate of the Film Directing Department at the Film Faculty of UNATC "I.L.Caragiale" in Bucharest. During his four years of studies, Ștefan directed seven short films, including the documentary "The Union Train", which premiered at the Ji.hlava IDFF. In addition to his directing experience, he has also worked as an assistant director, script supervisor, or camera assistant on numerous productions, ranging from student films and commercials to music videos. Currently, he is pursuing a master's degree in Documentary Film at UNATC and developing his debut feature documentary.
Since 2001, Marc Isaacs has directed more than 10 creative documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4. His films have won Grierson, Royal Television Society and BAFTA awards, as well as numerous prizes at international festivals. In 2006, he had a retrospective at the États généraux du film documentaire de Lussas and his work has been included in numerous documentary books and acadeic studies.
In 2008, Marc Isaacs received an honorary doctorate from the University of East London for his documentary work. He is a visiting professor at the London Film School, the National Film and Television School and the Royal Holloway University.
FILMOGRAPHY
- The Road a story of life and death (2012)
- Outside the court (2010)
- Men of the city (2009)
- All white in Barking (2007)
- Philip et ses sept femmes (2005)
- Un jour, mon prince viendra (2005)
- Calais : the last border (2003)
- Travellers (2002)
- Lift (2001)
- The Filmmaker's house (2020)
Adrian Cioflâncă is a historian. Director of the „Wilhelm Filderman” Center for the Study of Jewish History in Romania and a member of the Collegium of the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives. Researcher with the „A. D. Xenopol” Institute of History (belonging to the Romanian Academy). He was a member of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania (2003-2004) and expert in The Presidential Commission for the Analysis of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania (2006), co-author of the Final Reports of the two commissions. Since 2005, he is a member of the Romanian Delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (former Holocaust Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research). Tziporah Wiesel Fellow of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington (2009). Between 2010-2012, he was director of department in The Institute for the Investigation of the Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile. He also authored studies in fields like the history of the Holocaust, history of communism, political violence, cultural history, the theory of history. Consultant for several movies and theatrical plays.
Alex Nedea
Investigative journalist (Recorder)
Alex Nedea is an investigative journalist with nearly 20 years of experience in print and television. He has worked at the Recorder since 2019, where he produces video investigations.
Alex Zlăvog
Vlogger
Alina Dumitru
FDP Association - Protagonists in Education
Coordonatoarea Centrului Wonder și a Programului Incluziune din cadrul cadrul Asociației FDP
Armita Modares
Fundraisers for Falastin
Călin Căciuleanu
Jurnalist
Călin Căciuleanu este un jurnalist care se concentrează pe teme de muncă și economie. Are patru ani de experiență în acoperirea unor subiecte complexe, cum ar fi politicile industriale, reforma pensiilor, infracțiunile financiare la nivel mondial și migrarea forței de muncă în și din România. Reportajele și analizele sale au apărut pe platformele Gen Știri, Ziare.com, PressOne și Panorama.
Damsak Bandara
Furniture designer
Ela Crăciun
Feminism Romania Association
Elena-Andreea Negoi
F-SIDES
Elena Enache
Student, civic militant
Florian-Mihail Păun
ACCEPT Association
Flo is a trans activist and audio-visual artist. She realized the exhibition "inVIZIBIL - Portraits of the trans community" and is the coordinator of Bucharest PRIDE.
Florin Muller
Historian
Florin Muller is a historian and professor at the University of Bucharest, specialized in the history of totalitarian ideologies. In 2020 he published "Socialism and Fascism in Romania. Towards an intellectual history". His last book, published in 2025, "The National-Legionary State. September 1940 - January 1941", sheds new light on one of the most controversial periods of Romanian history and has been extremely well received.
Gabi Arghir
Neurodivers Romania
Gabi Arghir is a person with spastic paraparesis, a student at the Faculty of Letters at the University of Bucharest and a Neurodivers volunteer.
When he discovered Neurodivers, he felt he could use his voice in a positive and educational way. He enjoys educating people about the concept of neurodiversity, and for him, movies represent a series of questions and answers, always new perspectives that complement his background in life. The movie theater is where his emotion is harnessed at the highest level.
Gabriela Leu
Communication Officer, UNHCR Romania
With more than 25 years of experience in the humanitarian field, Gabriela Leu is currently the Communications Officer in the External Relations Department of UNHCR Romania, working to give a voice to refugees. She is responsible for the office's strategic communications, media relations, multimedia content creation and public events aimed at increasing impact on different audiences and advocating for refugee protection. Also. She works to expand and strengthen the network of partners and allies advocating for the refugee cause.
Gabriela Leu has a degree in Psychology, Sociology and Pedagogy (University of Bucharest) and a Master in Psychotherapy. She joined the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in 2007 from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Albania, where she served for four years.
Iasmina Šćopulović
ACCEPT Association
Iasmina is a 22-year-old trans girl with a passion for technology and art. She has been volunteering at ACCEPT since 2023 and dreams of an inclusive world where all beings are treated with respect.
Iulia Hau
Freelance journalist
Iulia Hau is a writer and journalist who has been documenting the Sri Lankan community in Romania for over a year, focusing on work abuses, exploitation, and a flawed immigration system that pushes many into illegality. Yet, beyond these issues, she has also discovered a vibrant nightlife where the community quietly creates safe spaces to share culture and build connections. In addition to migration, Iulia writes about gender equality, discrimination, and travel.
Mihnea Matache
Senior PR & Comms Officer, Greenpeace Romania
Mohamad Zatari
Musician
Nawanjana Nisitha
Fotograf
Nicoleta Fotiade
Mediawise Society
Nicoleta Fotiade este expertă în comunicare și formatoare în domeniul educației media și digitale. În ultimii 20 de ani, a coordonat programe de educație media pentru organizații neguvernamentale din România și Europa. A predat educație media studenților de la Pedagogie din Universitatea din București și formează profesori și bibliotecari pentru a include educația media în comunitățile lor de învățare. După părerea ei, competențele media și digitale sunt competențe de viață și educația media ar trebui să fie predată pentru a le permite copiilor și tinerilor să aibă o înțelegere critică a modului în care media funcționează și a impactului acestora asupra vieții lor. Este (co)autoare a mai multor studii de cercetare media și resurse educaționale de educație media, inclusiv a două manuale pentru liceu. Este președinta asociației Mediawise Society (mediawise.ro), co-fondatoare și președintă a International Association for Media Education (iame.education) cu sediul la Bruxelles. Nicoleta a studiat Jurnalism și a terminat Master of Arts în Comunicare la Universitatea Westminster din Londra, UK.
Paula Cârlan
Project Manager, Cartel ALFA
Professional with more than 20 years of experience in public relations and communications, with extensive expertise in social dialog and trade union environments. Holds a Master in Project Management and a Master in Communication and Public Opinion, as well as European certifications in training and evaluation. Active member in European committees, contributing to communication and social policy strategies. Passionate about promoting social dialog and workers' rights. Currently coordinating a European funded project dedicated to improving social dialogue and organizational strengthening.
Radu Ioan Stochița
Freelance journalist
Radu Stochița works in public policy research with various trade union organizations in Romania (Cartel ALFA, SANITAS, SITT) and in his spare time writes on topics related to labour, economics, public health and the legal framework for AvocatNet, Mindcraft and outside publications. He is a master student at the Faculty of Law in Bucharest, specializing in Labor Law and Industrial Relations.
He is a graduate of Bowdoin College, Cornell Strategic Corporate Research Summer School and is a Watson Fellow & Roland Coase Fellow in the study of political economy.
Una Toma
Actress, performer, student
KineDok guests
Ivana Formanová
KineDok International Manager, Institute of Documentary Film
Eliška Hoskovcová
KineDok Czech Republic, Institute of Documentary Film
Jana Gombiková
KineDok Slovakia, Filmtopia
Marek Kubos
Filmmaker
Petra Babić
KineDok Croatia, Restart
Klara Berdais
KineDok Croatia, Restart
Zsófia Zurbó
KineDok Hungary, Anthropolis
Szabolcs Szirony
KineDok Hungary, Anthropolis
Diana Baciu
KineDok Cluj-Napoca, “Octavian Goga” County Library