Leipzig | Germany

Daniela Adomat worked for twenty years in various positions of the German television industry and was jointly responsible for formats such as “tagesschau“, “MDR Aktuell“, and “Brisant“ as a reporter, planner and editorial manager. Today, she is head of Licensing, Film and Series departments at MDR Fernsehen as well as the contact for all kinds of questions about short films.

Leipzig | Germany

Katrin Kleeberg studied journalism at the Leipzig School of Journalism. She then worked, among other positions, in corporate communications and at the ddp news agency in the Dresden regional office as a correspondent and Chief on Duty. Since 1998, she has been working as a freelance journalist, book author and public relations consultant. Since July 2023, she is vice president of the SLM (Saxon State Authority for Private Broadcasting and New Media).

Erfurt | Germany

Corinna Schier has studied Communication and Media Sciences, German Philology and Business Studies at Leipzig University and at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Spain. After having worked as a research assistant for Leipzig University, since 2008 she is an editor at the children’s channel KIKA within the department of fiction works, where she, among other things, supervises formats of various genres and target groups in the real and animation sector.

Bautzen/Budyšin | Germany

The drama expert Cosima Stracke-Nawka was dramaturge and director at the Deutsch-Sorbisches Volkstheater (German-Sorbian Popular Theatre) until 1991. Between 1992 and June 2020, she was a consultant for youth media protection and film funding at the Saxon State Agency of Private Broadcasting and New Media (SLM). She is a member of the allocation committee of the MDM. Since 2015, she has been spokesperson of the Sorbian-German Filmmaker’s Network Łužycafilm.

Brussels | Belgium

Felix Vanginderhuysen graduated with a Masterʼs degree in Social Sciences from the University of Louvain, Belgium. He was the managing director of Jekino-Films. In 1988, he founded the European Childrenʼs Film Association (ECFA) and has served as its Secretary General ever since. In 1989, he founded the European Youth Film Festival Flanders in Antwerp.

Ljubljana | Slovenia

Katharina Andraschke has worked as a freelance translator in Ljubljana for 25 years and teaches German as a foreign language. As a long-time supervisor of the Slovenian side of the European Childrenʼs Jury, she is a regular part of the SCHLiNGEL festival. She was active for many years on the board of the Association for the Promotion of the German Mother Tongue, which is responsible for organising German courses as well as cultural and media projects with a German connection.

Chemnitz | Germany

Etelka Kobuß is a certified primary-school pedagogue (college) and a certified social pedagogue (university). Since 2009, the Hungarian by birth is Chemnitz’ commissioner for migration. One of her responsibilities is the organisation of both the annual intercultural weeks as well as the intercultural film week. She is member of the Day of Peace committee and of the jury of Chemnitz’ Peace-Award.

Riga | Latvia

Thom Palmen studied Cultural Management, Art of History and Sociology at Umeå University in Sweden. In 1986, he co-founded the Umeå International Film Festival and was its Artistic Director from 1986 to 2007. He currently works as a curator for various film festivals and as a producer. He also develops cinema projects and initiated the 72-Hour Short Film Competition, among others. He supports the training of young filmmakers in various initiatives, e.g. the Tampere BootCamp.

Alexandria | Egypt

Isabel Peglau studied Spanish Literature and Cultural Studies as well as Islamic Studies at the University of Freiburg and German as a Foreign Language at the University of Leipzig and in Cairo. She has worked as a German teacher in various countries and contexts and has been working as a programme coordinator at the Goethe-Institut Alexandria in Egypt since 2021, where she organizes the annual film week, among other things.

München | Germany

Annegret Scheibe-Knopf studied Theatre Studies, Education and Art History. She has been working in the cultural department of the Goethe-Institut since 2008. After working in the areas of music and visual arts, she moved to the film, television and radio department in 2020. Here she oversees the screening process for the selection of films for the programme work of the institutes abroad, is responsible for the support of the regional film archives and the introduction of digital distribution.

Basel | Switzerland

Katja Morand has a Masterʼs degree in Film Studies and German Linguistics and Literature. She works as a programme designer for cinemas and film festivals and currently in film management and as an operator and curator at Stadtkino Basel. She is also the Artistic Director of chinoworb (cinema in Worb), part of the programme team of the Luststreifen Film Festival Basel, programme director of the International Festival for Animated Film Baden - Fantoche and a board member of Balimage, the association for Basel film and media art.

Leipzig | Germany

Prof. em. Dr. phil. habil. Rüdiger Steinmetz studied German Studies, Communication Studies as well as Political Science at the University Göttingen, the LMU Muinch and the University Marburg. From 1992 to 2018, he was chairholder of Media Science and Media Culture at the institute of Communication at the University of Leipzig, now Emeritus. He researches and publishes in the field of film, including on the subject of “Local Television in the Transformation Period 1990-95”.

Mumbai | India

Monica Wahi is a children’s film specialist who has been working as a curator, acquisition consultant and creative producer for young audiences since 20 years. She has previously served as Creative Head of Children’s Film Society India, Going to School and Lennep Media. She was as programmer and organizer part of many international children’s film festivals and sections, like the Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth and the Bulbul Childrenʼs International Film Festival. She was also the exclusive programmer for a World Cinema channel for young audiences broadcasted by Tata Sky.