International Jury

Gloria March holds a degree in Journalism and is a professional actress. She develops her career mainly in theatre with the company El Conde de Torrefiel, performing at major festivals across Europe, and has also worked with directors such as Ion Iraizoz and Víctor Sánchez, among others. In film and television, she starred in La Mort de Guillem, directed by Carlos Marqués-Marcet, a performance that earned her the Valencian Audiovisual Award for Best Actress and the “A Promising Future in Cinema” award at the Cinema Jove Festival in 2021. She has also appeared in TV series such as Delta and in films like La buena letra, directed by Celia Rico. She is currently starring in Mario, directed by Guillem Miró now playing in theaters, and portraying Carmen Polo in La cena, directed by Manuel Gómez Pereira. Her upcoming projects include Después de Kim, directed by Ángeles González-Sinde, and En l’Eixam, directed by Óscar Bernàrcer, both scheduled for release in 2026.

Sara Nour is a cultural leader, project manager, and researcher based in Cairo, Egypt, with extensive experience in arts and film management. She has collaborated with several international film festivals and cultural institutions, including the Cairo International Film Festival, where she contributed to organization, programming, and guest relations, and El Gouna Film Festival, where she oversaw logistical coordination and supported artistic programming. Regionally, she has worked with initiatives such as Culture Resource (Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy) to promote cultural dialogue and creative exchange.

Holding a diploma in cultural development, Sara combines strategic vision with a deep commitment to the arts. Her research explores the role of cinema and media in shaping cultural representation, fostering intercultural communication, and challenging stereotypes. She is particularly interested in Mediterranean cinema as a space for cultural exchange and social impact. Sara is honoured to serve as a Jury member in the Official Section of the 40th edition of Mostra de València – Mediterranean Film Festival.

Evi Kalogiropoulou is a film director and visual artist based in Athens. She holds a Master’s degree in Moving Image from the Royal College of Art. Her work explores themes of inclusion and exclusion, cross-cultural identity, female figures within the framework of Ancient Greek mythology, and post-apocalyptic environments. Her first short film, Motorway 65, was part of the Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. Her short film On Xerxes’ Throne received the Canal+ Award at the 61st Semaine de la Critique in Cannes. In 2023, she filmed My Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, for the Onassis Culture series of visual poems inspired by the work of C.P. Cavafy. The project, part of the Archive of Desire, was presented in New York to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the poet’s birth. Her debut feature, GORGONÀ—recipient of the Eurimages Development Award, the Cinemart 2021 Award, and the ARTE Award at the Cinéfondation Atelier in Cannes 2021—premiered at the Settimana Internazionale della Critica (SIC) in 2025 at the Venice Film Festival.

Pierre Mouzannar is a Lebanese filmmaker. His thesis short An Arabian Night premiered at Clermont-Ferrand in 2020, receiving a Special Mention. His latest short, Those Who Never Left, has screened internationally and won the Jury Prize in Amman. Alongside directing, he has worked on projects by Joanna HadjiThomas and Khalil Joreige, Nadine Labaki, and collaborated with composer Gabriel Yared.

Banu Sıvacı was born in Adana in 1987. After graduating from the Department of Painting, she worked as an assistant director in feature films. Güvercin (2018), her first feature film as a director, had its world premiere in the Generation section of the 68th Berlin Film Festival and was also nominated for Best First Film at the GWFF. Pigeon won five awards including Best Film and Best Screenplay at the 33rd Valencia Film Festival, Best Director at the 22nd Sofia Film Festival, and Best Youth Film at the 2018 APSA Awards.

Riccardo Specchia, cultural manager, journalist, and researcher, works as a consultant and programmer for the Rome Film Festival and has collaborated with the Italian Cultural Institute in Lima and the Cinemovel Foundation in Italy and Peru. He resides in Madrid, where he researches and teaches digital media and media literacy. He is the author of Finestra Andina (Donzelli Editore, 2024), a travel diary and photographic report on Peru.

Member of the European Film Academy, Blogos de Oro and member of the organizing committee of the Feroz Awards of the AICE. Since 2020, Vice President of the Académie des Lumières, which has been awarding the Lumières Awards for international critics in Paris for 30 years. Programmer, since 2015, of the international Zinegoak festival and the selection of the Industry ZG PRO section. Programmer and head of the Educational Activities Department of the Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival. Coordinator of the selection committee and preparation of pitchings for the D’A FILM LAB at the D’A Film Festival Barcelona. Author and creator, since 2010, of the blog Cine Invisible—published until 2020 on the Fotogramas website.

Aranzazu Calleja was born in 1977, in Bilbao. She graduated in Fine Arts from the University of the Basque Country and gained a diploma in violin teaching at the J.C. Arriaga Higher Conservatory of Music in Bilbao. Her interest in sound creation arose from the combination of both disciplines. She broadened her musical training in Barcelona, studying at the Taller de Musics and at the Pompeu Fabra University. At a later date she was awarded a scholarship to study at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA. She was selected to participate in the Berlinale Talents 2014 within the framework of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival. Influenced by these varied sources of learning and her wide artistic interests she has become an unusual composer whose methodology reflects her search for a personal language with which to set music to a story.

Annabelle Aramburu holds a degree in Communication Sciences from the University of Lima, Peru, and has extensive experience in the film industry. She is currently the coordinator of MAFIZ – Industry Zone at the Málaga Festival. She has a long history as a juror and mentor for various industry platforms and Ibero-American festivals, including SANFIC (Chile), CINEMUNDI (Brazil), ABYCINE, El Festivalito (Spain), FICUBA (Argentina), and CINE DEL MAÑANA (Peru), among others. She has also participated in project funding programs for ICAU (Uruguay), BACA (Argentina, Spain, Dominican Republic), and TV/Documentary series with INCAA (Argentina). She served as Director and Mentor of the Documentary Internationalization Program (2016–2019) at INCAA, Argentina, and has been executive producer of the following audiovisual works: ENTRE DOS MUNDOS: LA HISTORIA DE GONZALO GUERRERO, MADRE, and CHICAS NUEVAS 24 HORAS (nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2016 Goya Awards).