LINA LARAKI

Born in Casablanca, Morocco (1991).

Lina Laraki is a Moroccan-Senegalese film director graduated from Central Saint Martins (2014) and Le Fresnoy (2022). Her films explore ambivalent aspects of human natures through a sensorial approach to Cinema. They have been screened internationally, including Karama at 1:54 Art Fair, UK in 2017 – The Last Observer at Sheffield DocFest, UK in 2021, Halves Through Night at Fantasia IFF, Canada in 2022. Her latest film Shinigami was awarded the Renato & Christine Casciani prize (A Round Video Art Fair) in France in 2022.

Follow her on Instagram: @nobodycallsmeklaus

FAISAL ATTRACHE

Faisal Attrache is a writer, director and producer who tells stories about universal human experiences with a socially conscious message. His short docu-fiction film HASTA SIEMPRE, COMANDANTE, made under the tutelage of Abbas Kiarostami, won a Mention Spéciale du Jury at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, France. His short documentary GROWING HOME (2014) premiered at the Sheffield DocFest, UK and won Best Documentary Short at the Newport Beach Film Festival, US. FROM THE MOUNTAIN (2021), a short historical drama based on part of his great-grandfather’s life, premiered at the Red Sea Film Festival, Saudi Arabia. He received an MFA in Film Production from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Los Angeles. Born in Swaida, Syria, Attrache grew up in California and is currently based in the UK.

SWARA KADIR

Swara is a British-Kurdish filmmaker based in South East London. He has made a number short films including the mockumentary webseries ‘Shoestring’ which satirises the trials and tribulations of young creatives in London, as well as the drama short ‘Upstart Brawler’ which is about a young boxer getting back into the ring after almost losing his life. Currently, he is a script reader for Pulse Films and works in the world of Islamic Art.

MARAL SHAFAFY

Maral Shafafy is a British-Iranian filmmaker and video journalist based in London. She works intimately with the people featured in her documentaries, to create compelling and vivid stories. She has a strong interest in social reality and her work is immensely concerned with asking questions about human rights, justice and freedom. She is a graduate of MA TV Journalism from Goldsmiths, University of London and was the recipient of a BAFTA scholarship. She is the director of the film, ‘Vida’ and her most recent collaborations include, The Guardian.

CLAIRE BELHASSINE

Claire Belhassine is a London based British -Tunisian filmmaker. A London Film School alumni, Claire freelanced for MTV, CH4 and Lime Pictures. With her own production company, Claire de Lune Films + Roast Beef Productions she developed her debut feature, a creative doc/music biopic ‘The Man Behind the Microphone’ (Tunisia/Qatar/UK) supported by Qumra and Ismailia mentorships.

After a well-received world premiere at IDFA, the film was nominated for best Muhr non-Fiction Feature + Best Director at Dubai International Film Festival and remained 12 weeks in Tunisian theatres.

Selected for the BIFA Springboard programme 21/22, she is currently focused on a documentary/fiction hybrid, the politics of AI and the female gaze.

NADIA JONES

Nadia Jones lives in London and works as a bookseller. She writes scripts, essays, fiction and poetry. When walking around the city she films moments that would otherwise be ephemeral. She recently presented at the Queer Death Studies Conferance in Karlstadt and co-produced Honey Zine’s first issue. Her work approaches, retreats, but often runs circles around the idea of the ‘abnormal’.

Follow her on Twitter: @artemis_reads and Instagram: @soft__ha_nds