Semih Kaplanoglu is one of the most acclaimed writer-director- producers of contemporary filmmaking in Turkey. He received BS in Cinema-Television from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir in 1984. He was the scriptwriter and director of the 52 Episode TV serial Şehnaz Tango which was a prestigious work broadcast on Show TV and Inter Star TV Channels at the time. With his third feature film Egg, he received Best Director awards in Fajr IFF, Valdivia IFF and Bangkok World FF. The film received 30 awards in total including important national awards such as the Golden Orange Award (Antalya IFF) and the Golden Tulip Award (Istanbul IFF). His feature film Milk premired at the 2008 Venice IFF, and was also screened at festivals around the world, earning him international awards, such as FIPRESCI Prize at the Istanbul IFF. His recent feature Honey, the third part of the Yusuf Trilogy, winner of Golden Bear Award in Berlinale IFF, traces the origins of a soul. Semih Kaplanoglu, has also written many articles based on plastic arts and cinema, which were translated into foreign languages and published in such magazines and journals as Gergedan, Gösteri, Cumhuriyet, and Sanat Dünyamız between 1987 and 2003. He designed the Icon Exhibit Catalog for Iconoclasts, an exhibition of Erol Akyavaş held in St. Petersburg Hermitage Museum in 1990. He had a column entitled Karşılaşmalar (Encounters) between 1996- 2000 in Radikal, a national daily newspaper.

Born in the city of Oryol in 1954. Lavrentiev began his career as a theater actor in the mid-1970s. In 1982, after graduating from the Department of Scriptwriting and Film Criticism of Moscow All-Russian State University of Cinematography, named after S. Gerasimov (VGIK), he joined “Illusion” movie theater of Gosfilmofond. In the years of “perestroika” he became one of the leading film critics, known as one of the founders of the "new wave" of Soviet film criticism. He has written many articles for numerous publications including Sovietsky Ekran, Iskusstwo kino, Sovietskaya Kultura. After the publication of his article Infinite Story (April 1987) the Soviet censorship stopped cutting the foreign films that were purchased for the distribution among the various Soviet audiences. Lavrentiev played the part of Sergei Eisenstein in Valery Ogorodnikov’s film The Paper Eyes of Prishvin (1989), and appeared in Oleg Kovalov’s avant-garde film Concert for a Rat (1995). In the 1990s Lavrentiev was a scientific associate of the Institute of Film Art History and the host of Parad Festivaley and Kinomarathon TV programs. Since 1999 he is the Program Director of Sochi IFF, Faces of Love IFF, and Kinotavrik International Children FF. At the present he is the Program Director of Ivanovo Zerkalo IFF named after Andrey Tarkovsky, and since 2002 is the member of the Oscar’s Russian Committee. He is an academician of Nika Russian Academy, and Russian National Film Academy. In 2001 he wrote the book Clint Eastwoo:. Furious and Violent, and in 2009 his book Red Western was published.

Film director, scriptwriter, producer, writer and journalist. Born in Leningrad in 1948, he began his career as a poet and translator of French and Spanish. In 1972 he graduated from the Faculty of Film Directing of Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinema, taking courses by correspondence, and in 1975 A. Arbuzov’s and S. Aleshin’s Drama Studio. In 1973 he founded Litfilm Amateur Film Studio and took his first steps as a director. He is the author of several novels, as well as of books for children. He is a member of PEN Club International Union of Writers, and International Federation of Journalists, professor of Filmmaking at Los Angeles University, and academician of National Academy of Cinematographic Arts of Russia and of Russian Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Science. He is a laureate of Russian and international film festivals, Honoured Art Worker of Russia, and Artistic Director of Russian Central Studio of Documentary Films.

Born in Yerevan in 1957. Graduated from Armenian Pedagogique Institute, Department of Culture, earning the degree of a Drama Director (course instructor Laert Vagharshyan). In 1994 and 2004 participated in the UNESCO’s International workshops for TV Broadcasting and Documentary production in Seoul, South Korea, and took a training course on Investigative Journalism in Washington, USA, in 2000. Ara Shirinyan has been a director of educational and cultural programs in Armenian State Television from 1982 to 1996. In 1996 he was invited by Hayastan Pan -Armenian Fund to direct the National Fundraising Telethons, which are broadcast annually from Los Angeles. In 1999 together with some of his friends, Ara Shirinyan founded Versus Video Production Studio where about 20 films have been produced in the past 10 years. Some of them were presented at various international film festivals. The Outcasts was awarded an Honorable Mention at the Picture This FF in Calgary, Canada (2002). For his film Mystery of Minas Ara Shirinyan received the Best Investigative Film award from Internews Armenia in 2001. In 2006 documentary Andranik Iosifyan won the Vahan Tekeyan Prize. Since 2004 Ara Shirinyan has been working for Shoghakat TV Company as Artistic Director and Producer.

Writer, scriptwriter, born in 1959 in Gyumri. He graduated from the Yerevan State University’s Department of Armenian Language and Literature. He studied journalism in the Institute of Mass Media in India, and Hungarian Literature in State University of Budapest. He got his education in filmmaking by attending the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors in Moscow (2008). Worked as a journalist for newspapers, as a Program Director for political and information projects implemented by TV channels, and was a host of political and cultural TV programs. He is the author of two poetry collections, two novels, and collections of short stories. Based on his first novel Landslide (2000) the film Landslide was shot (director Mikayel Dovlatyan) of which he is also co-scriptwriter. The novel has been translated into many languages. He is conducting Master Classes in Yerevan State University Faculty of Journalism, and in Master School of Golden Apricot IFF.

Born in 1951 in Yerevan. In 1971 graduated from Yerevan Technical Secondary School, Department of Construction. In 1983 graduated from the Moscow All-Union State Institute of Cinema (VGIK), Department of Cinematography. He has worked as a Director of Photography for many full-length and short feature and documentary films, which have been recognized with the prizes and diplomas of various international film festivals. At present he is a professor and a head of cinematography workshop at Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinema.