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Beatriz Mbula is an Afro-descendant filmmaker and actress born in Valencia. Her artistic practice explores identity and the representation of Black people while questioning the imaginaries and structures that determine who is allowed to tell stories in Spanish audiovisuals.

Trained in acting at the RESAD and at the Theatre Group of the Carlos III University of Madrid, she broadened her studies at the ESTC in Lisbon and completed the Master's Degree in Fiction Series Screenwriting at the ECAM. In 2020 she created Asunto Casting, a web series that, through humour and her own experience, focused on the difficulties and contradictions racialised actresses face in the Spanish audiovisual industry.

Since then she has developed fiction, documentary and digital creation projects. Her series Las Chicas Son, a comedy starring four Black Spanish women in Madrid, was part of the Cambia de Plano programme, driven by DAMA and Netflix, and of the FRAPA – Porto Alegre Audiovisual Screenplay Festival. In 2024 she directed the short film Duma and later created Cuca Guerra Original.

She is a board member of CIMA and takes part in initiatives aimed at broadening the diversity of decision-makers within the industry. For her, representation is not only about appearing on screen: it also means having a voice, agency and creative power behind it.

Eliane Raheb is an award-winning Lebanese filmmaker, producer, educator and cultural catalyst. Her films, including Miguel's War, winner of the Teddy Award for Best Film at the Berlinale 2021, Those Who Remain and Sleepless Nights, explore questions of identity, memory and social justice and have received international recognition.

A passionate film educator and mentor, she taught documentary filmmaking at IESAV–Saint Joseph University for 14 years, supervising over 200 student projects, and has lectured at leading universities including Harvard, Georgetown, Brown, UC Berkeley, UCSC and Bard College.

She is a co-founder of REEF Association, which brings together cinema and nature, and the artistic director of Rural Encounters, an annual festival dedicated to the intersection of cinema, nature and environmental advocacy. She is also the main tutor and producer of Biodiversity & Cinema, a residency and training programme that brings filmmakers and environmentalists together to create short films.

Mohamed Allal is an Algerian journalist and film critic, recognised for his outstanding contribution to film criticism. He is currently the president of the Annaba Mediterranean International Film Festival. In 2016 he received the Abdou B Award for Best Film Critic in Algeria. He has also served as an artistic director and jury member at numerous film festivals, contributing to the promotion of cinema and the recognition of cinematic talent.