TUTORS & CONSULTANTS 2026
Erica Barbiani
SCRIPT TUTOR
ITALY
Erica Barbiani is a film producer, author, and story editor. With a PhD in Sociology, she founded Videomante in 2004, a production company dedicated to creative documentaries. Her most recent works include Wishing on a Star (2024) by Peter Kerekes, a documentary she co-wrote and co-produced with Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Taiwan. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival (Orizzonti section) and was selected by over fifty international festivals. Erica is also the co-producer of Fiume o Morte! (2025) by Igor Bezinović, which won the Tiger Award at IFFR and it is nominated by the EFA as Best European Documentary 2025.
andreea Borțun
SCRIPT TUTOR
romania
Andreea Borțun works with film and visual art, being heavily immersed in anthropological research. Her artistic practice is a transdisciplinary one, with focus on process driven projects. She uses the visual and audio mediums as sensorial extensions of her own perception. She works as an artist, researcher and educator, teaching as an assistant prof. at The National Film School in Bucharest (UNATC). Since 2014, she curates and imagines experimental narrative methodologies for cinema, at the Pustnik International Screenwriters Residency. Her work is usually a mix of hybridity, sometimes coming from fiction and moving towards documentary. Her previous films have been selected in Cannes's Quinzaine des Realisateurs, TIFF andKarlovy Vary FF. Andreea’s feature debut, a Romanian-French-Slovenian co-production, will premiere in 2026.
Antoine Waked
SCRIPT TUTOR
LEBANON
Antoine Waked is an experienced professional in cinema mentorship and education. Since 2011, he has worked as a development executive at Abbout Productions, a leading film production company in Lebanon. Antoine is also the co-founder and artistic director of the Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival, the only festival of its kind in the Arab world. Antoine’s activities include script consultations for international films and mentorship in screenwriting labs. He co-directed the award- winning documentary A Certain Nasser, exploring the life of Lebanese pioneer filmmaker Georges Nasser. He also co-wrote and co-produced the upcoming ghost story thriller In This Darkness I See You by Nadim Tabet.
JENNIFER SABBAH-IMMAGINE
PRODUCTION CONSULTANT
FRANCE
Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine is a seasoned expert in co-production and international legal affairs, bringing over 20 years of hands-on experience across key roles in the industry, including Line Producer, Head of Development, Business Affairs Executive, and Producer. She has worked in the UK and US and in France at Arsam International and KinoElektron among others, overseeing large-scale and noteworthy co-productions. Since 2007, she has produced, with Jihan El Tahri within Big Sister, talents from African countries and the MENA region including Nasser (TIFF2016) and Mariner of the Mountains by Karim Aïnouz (Cannes 2021, Official Selection).
Anna Giralt Gris
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Guest SPEAKER
SPAIN
Anna Giralt Gris is a filmmaker, producer, and researcher exploring the intersection of cinema, emerging technologies, and creative innovation. She is the co-founder and CEO of Artefacto, a Barcelona-based research and production studio focused on tech-driven methodologies and new narrative models. Her work has been selected at TIFF, NYFF, IFFR, CPH:DOX, SXSW, or IDFA, and she has presented her research on tech and cinema at festivals and institutions including San Sebastián Film Festival, IFFR Cinemart, Cannes Marché du Film, Sheffield DocFest, or the Goethe-Institut among many. She teaches at UPF, ESCAC, and UAB universities, and her latest project Membrana was a finalist for the Lumen Prize 2025.
Nicolò Gallio
AUDIENCE DESIGN GUEST SPEAKER
ITALY
Nicolò Gallio is a marketing strategist and audience designer with a background in PR, media relations, and content management for films, festivals, brands, and non-profit organisations. He serves as an advisor and trainer for TorinoFilmLab’s audience design initiatives and as a researcher and strategist at Alphapanda, a Berlin-based film marketing agency. In these roles, he supports scriptwriters, directors, and producers in developing strategies for fiction films, documentaries, and TV series. He is a consultant for international film development programmes and holds a PhD in Film Studies from the University of Bologna.
Cătălin Cristuțiu
Editing Consultant
Romania
Cătălin Cristuțiu has worked as an editor on over 80 feature films, shorts and TV series. He has edited all the works of Radu Jude including the features Aferim! (Berlinale, Silver Bear Best Director 2015), and Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, winner of the Golden Bear 2021. Other notable works include California Dreamin’ Endless (Cristian Nemescu, Prix Un Certain Regard 2007), If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (Florin Şerban, Berlinale, Silver Bear 2010), and the short Blue Boy by Manuel Abramovich (Berlinale, Silver Bear Jury Prize 2019). In recent years, he has been focusing on films that use editing as a central means of artistic expression. Cristuțiu also works as an editing advisor.
Hakim Mao
PITCHING CONSULTANT
MOROCCO/FRANCE
Hakim Mao was born and grew up in Agadir, Morocco. He studied editing before graduating from cinema studies at the École Nationale Supérieure Louis Lumière. Between 2014 and 2024, he has been a partner at Initiative Film, a company specialized in international film development, as well as a writer and script consultant on projects in development. Hakim Mao has directed the short films Fragile (2020) and Idiot Fish (2022), and is currently developing his first feature film with French company Furyo Films.
Queralt Pons Serra
Distribution AND MARKETING Consultant
Spain
Queralt Pons Serra is an international sales agent and consultant. She is one of the founder partners of MoreThan Films, representing a diverse catalogue of daring and unique shorts and feature films. As consultant she works hand-in-hand with producers to apply to funds such as MEDIA, Eurimages, ICAA, ICEC. She started her professional career at Catalan Films, where she became Head of Shortcat (Catalonia's international short film promotion scheme) and consultant on international markets and festivals. She is an alumnus of Next Wave 2020, Locarno Industry Academy 2021, Berlinale Talents 2024 and EAVE Puentes 2025.
