Tanja Holm was born in Kosovo 1981. She has a Master of Fine Arts from Stockholm University of the Arts, where she also studied documentary cinematography. For five years she lived in Yemen and wrote the book Yemen is good! She directs documentaries and animations, among other themes about the war in Yemen. Her work has been screened at festivals and galleries both in Sweden and abroad.

Azure Kwok is a fine artist with a career focused on the cinematic arts. Azure is known for their ability to craft compelling narratives through an experimental and progressive lens. Their unique perspective and creative approaches have earned them recognition and acclaim from both critics and political advocates in diverse film festivals and exhibitions. www.azurekwok.com

Alex Johnston is a Seattle-based documentarian, media maker, scholar, and educator. His work has screened at a range of venues, from the Berlinale to a convalescent home for retired miners. He is an editor of the radical media journal NOW! (NOW-Journal.com) and an assistant professor of film at Seattle University. http://www.aljiers.net/

Josia Brezing is German a director studying at the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg. His films have successfully screened at national and international festivals. Josia is currently working on various projects, including the development of his first feature film, which is supported by the German film fund.

Keziah is a Video Editor for Witness Change. A non-profit organization that champions the voices of those from marginalized communities and works to change, inform and challenge perspectives on Refugees.

Keziah has worked for several years as a freelancer and also founded the London based production company 4tyl. 

Carl Hunter is the bass player of the hit band The Farm, and an award-winning film director and designer. Feature film credits include, Sometimes Always Never (2019) and Grow Your Own (2009). His documentary and short films have been screened on Channel 4 and ITV and have been supported by the British Council and The Beatles. He is Senior Lecturer in Media and Film at Edge Hill University.

Jeremy was well known for his Radio appearances including; Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation, The News Quiz and I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue as well as TV including; Saturday Live, Blackadder Goes Forth, QI, and Mock the Week. He has been in films; Hotel, How To Be, Jeremy Hardy vs the Israeli Army. He wrote books; When Did You Last See Your Father, Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation,  and My Family and Other Strangers and of course he performed continuously as a stand-up comedian.

Leila was one of the first producers at Al Jazeera having worked on the channel's leading documentary series. She currently works for ITN news and is best known in the UK for her film "Jeremy Hardy vs The Israeli Army" (2003). Her latest feature documentary 'Open Bethlehem' will be released in the UK in Christmas 2014. The film is a deeply personal story that charts the creation of a campaign called Open Bethlehem, an initiative that works to save the city and bring down the wall.

Agitator at The Institute of fine Arts, Nabel, Carthage University  Studied philosophie + cinéma+ esthétique at manouba+ 9avril+ecole des beaux-arts tunis Graduated in 1997

Paul's first major award was an SFTA in 1969. He went on to bring reality TV to Britain with the 1974 series 'The Family' and has not stopped since. His credits include:  the '40 Minutes' series (1980's/90's)  Sylvania Waters (1992); The Home (1996); Malcom and Barbara: A Love Story(1999) and Loves Farewell (2007);  Rain in My Heart (2006). He has picked up a string of awards and nominations including a Grierson, Prix Europa, RTS and in 2008 he was awarded a  BAFTA 'Special Award for Outstanding Creative Contribution to the industry'

Anastasija grew up in Germany, Moscow and the UK. She studied at Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock, winning several prizes for performance before going on to study directing at Ernst Busch School for Performing Arts Berlin. She is co-funder of “FLUGWERK” in Berlin-Wedding. Her artists collective FLUGWERK ENSEMBLE work in theatre and film. “Champions” was her first film project and won an Audience award at Tolpuddle 2017

Winner of Best Fiction Film 2016 with Wall (To Ihos)

Daryl is a Black filmmaker from the South Side of Chicago. His films, Eyes of a Survivor, and In Blood, We Trust, were created as part of the Documentary program MFA at Chapman University and have been awarded at film festivals around the world.  Daryl has helped organize for abolition agendas, and was a member of Black Lives Matter LA and the Philippines - U.S Solidarity Organization So-Cal. He is now based in Boston were he work as freelance film director and cinematographer for various productions.

Efi Amanatidou is a visual artist producing photo-based, new media, installation and video works. Her work revolves around the inter-relatedness of the elements of this world and the invisible threads that keep them connected. Interested in experimentation, cut-ups, chaotic vs controlled processes, dialectics, e-prime and researching notions such as autonomy and self-actualization.

Spanish teenager and aspiring film direct Aitana Serrallet has won international prizes in 10 countries for her debut short film Bosa, as well as mulitple prizes in Spain for other short films and documentaries.  

Still at school, she also acts, sings, composes, plays the harp and is working on her next film project, recently shot in Cuba.

Ellie primarily works in the field of documentary film with a focus on stories which challenge current social issues and address human rights violations. She recently graduated from the Northern Film School and her graduate film 'We Are Here' is currently on the festival circuit. Voices best student doc 2018.

Anni Sultany (*1985, Hamburg) finished her acting education in 2009 and works in films (production, direction, texts, editing) since 2008. Her film Welcome to the New World won the audience Award for fiction in 2018

Yorgos Angelopoulos lives in Athens, Greece. He studied Filmmaking in Fine Arts AUTH. He later completed on a scholarship, an MA in Screenwriting in UAL London. His debut short film, Goldfish, received 19 awards and distinctions. He co-wrote Patision Avenue, which premiered in Venice Film Festival. He currently works for the Greek Film Centre and is engaged in film education.

Alexander Kereklidis Turpin is a Swedish film maker based in Oslo who graduated from the Norwegian Film School in 2016. He has done several short films focusing on how capitalism affect our culture and private life. Most attention has been given to his graduation film Generation Mars, and last year's Small Axe winner Kill the Rich, which discusses extreme wealth and injustice.

Anne-Claire is an independent video-maker whose debut short documentary BUNKERS on asylum conditions in Switzerland has been screened in more than 30 festivals. She works at the intersection of arts and politics, and is the current co-director of Les Créatives, a feminist art&talk festival in Geneva. Bunkers won the Best Documentary at SmallAxe 2017.

Winners of the Best Documentary 2016 with House On Strike (Syrena to nie skłot, to strajk) The collective viewed films together and Maria fed this back to the rest of the jury.

Winner of best student documentary 2016 with Limpiadores

Andrew was born and raised in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. He is a freshman at the Georgia Institute of Technology, studying computer science with a concentration in media. He has 36 film festival selections. His animation "The Homo Sapien Virus" has won awards in some of the biggest environmental film festivals in the world. You can see his films here.

Jalal Veisi was born in Sanandaj City of Kurdistan province in Iran .  He has been in documentary cinema since he was 14 years old.
“ …and I'm still doing other things.
I turn the brain of social problems into a documentary." His film 'What's Your Wish' won best student documnetary in 2019.

Jerry Suen (*1986, Husum), finished his Bachelor of Arts (digital filmmaking) in 2012 and works as a conceptionist, director, editor and DoP. His film 'Welcome to the New World' won the audience Award for fiction in 2018

Louise is a Flemish French actress, scriptwriter and director. A former language teacher and protection officer in charge of asylum requests, she began her career in theatre in 2007 and in cinema in 2011. El día de la virgen was premiered at the Gaza Red Carpet film festival and screened more than 40 times in 29 countries. It was rewarded in 4 festivals. In 2019, Juan, her first full-length documentary shot in France and Paraguay is in post-production.

Radheya is an Australian filmmaker born in 1999 in Malaysia to parents of South Korean and Malaysian ancestry. Radheya's films have more than 500 official selections worldwide winning awards in 6 of the worlds 7 continents including 10 Academy Award qualifying festivals and an Australian Academy of Cinema & TV Arts award nomination.

Director of Belonging.( 2017), experienced short filmmaker, writer, and documentary photographer telling the real stories of real people in order to bring about real change. She is co-author of two best selling books, Hackney Child and Tainted Love both published by Simon & Schuster in 2014.

Credits include; Dare to Dream: Cuba’s Latin American Medical School, Venezuela Rising and Against the Silence: The Families of the Cuban Five Speak Out. Wager is an Assistant Professor at Essex County College. She produces for Pacifica Radio/NYC’s Cuba in Focus, as well as the TV series, Newark City of Poets. In March 2017, she launched “She Got the Shot!” a project documenting women cinematographers from around the world.

Lauren Knapp is a documentarian working in film, radio, TV and 360 video. Her work focuses on pressing social issues through intimate, character-driven portrayals. Her work has been featured on The New York Times, National Public Radio, and PBS. The Sandman won best student documentary at SmallAxe 2017.