Rada Šešić

Rada Sesic is a film programmer, director, and lecturer based in the Netherlands. She heads the Documentary Competition at the Sarajevo Film Festival and programs at the Trieste Film Festival. With over 20 years of experience, she has worked with IDFA and the DOHA film fund. Her films have been showcased in over 60 festivals, including MoMA. She is the founder of the Eastern Neighbours Film Festival and mentors at various European and Asian workshops.

Holly Gilliam

Holly Gilliam is a lawyer in cinema and television, curator, producer, and founder of HDG Projects Limited. In 2020, she created MMXX, an independent production company developing several feature films, including a co-production with Fremantle. With over 20 years of experience, she has worked in public relations, produced exhibitions and books, and collaborated with Tilda Swinton and Matt Damon. She co-produced Monty Python Live (Mostly) – One Down Five to Go and produced the documentary Monty Python – The Meaning of Live (2015). She also collaborates with the BFI on financing and archive projects.

Houda Benyamina

With Divines, her first feature film, Houda Benyamina won the Caméra d’Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. The film was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes and won three César Awards, including Best First Film (2017). After a stint in the United States where she directed the pilot for a series, she teamed up with Damien Chazelle and directed two episodes of the series The Eddy (Netflix). In 2022, Houda Benyamina presented Salam in the Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival, a film she co-directed with Diam’s and Anne Cissé.

Romy Trajman

Belgian director, writer, and composer Romy Trajman will also be part of our international jury. After studying at UCLA, Romy founded her production company, Panach Company, upon her return to Paris. She writes and collaborates with Audrey Diwan (Golden Lion at Venice 2022), and Olivier Megaton (Taken 2 & 3). Her debut film, Le divorce de mes marrants, a musical documentary, was selected for the Millenium Festival before touring several others (e.g., Torino, Tallinn, Groland) and being released in cinemas in 2022.

Antonio Vigilante

Antonio Vigilante, former United Nations director in Brussels and United Nations representative in Bolivia, Bulgaria, Egypt and Liberia. His view and his relentless commitment to fundamental rights and the Sustainable Development Goals make Antonio Vigilante an exceptional jury.

Christie HUYSMANS

A philologist and journalist, Christie Huysmans worked in the insurance sector for several years. Alongside her professional activities, she earned a certificate in consulting and auditing from INFAC (ISG) and a postgraduate degree in marketing communication from ICHEC. An avid lover of arts and literature with a passion for philosophy, she trained in the playful practice of philosophy workshops at Les Petites Lumières. A member of the UCC and the non-profit organization CinéFemme, for which she is a columnist, she also provides regular support to the Millenium Festival.

France Soubeyran

France Soubeyran is part of the CinéFemmes team, an association of women brought together by their passion for cinema, featuring regular “Coups de Cœur” screenings in preview and awarding the annual CinéFemme Prize.

She is also a member of the association Les Amis d’ma Mère, which strives to support young artistic creation through concrete actions aimed at helping emerging artists better understand their rights, providing them with opportunities to showcase their work, and informing them about available opportunities.

Astrid De Munter

Astrid De Munter is a coordinator and Dutch language instructor at UCLouvain Brussels (Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles), where she has been teaching for nearly 16 years. A passionate cinephile, she holds a master’s degree in film studies and frequents movie theaters whenever she can. She is also an active member of CinéFemme, an association dedicated to promoting auteur cinema, and regularly contributes by writing reviews for their website.

Pascal Chabot

Philosopher, speaker, and lecturer at IHECS (Brussels), Pascal Chabot has been a researcher at the FNRS and artistic advisor to choreographer Michèle Noiret. Author of a dozen books published by Presses Universitaires de France, including Global Burn-out (2013), Avoir le temps (2021), and Un sens à la vie (2024), his research explores how to live with dignity in an excessive and fabulous era, examining concepts such as hyperconsciousness, burn-out, hypertime, subtle progress, qualitarism, and digitosis.

Jean-François Pluijgers

A graduate of ULB, Jean-François Pluijgers began his career as a film critic at La Libre Belgique before becoming the head of the cinema pages at Focus Vif, the cultural supplement of Le Vif L’Express, for about fifteen years. He also oversaw the programming of Cinematek for four years. He now writes for the film blog Adayatthemovies.com.

Joffrey Monnier

A graduate in journalism and documentary filmmaking, Joffrey Monnier has worked in the international audiovisual sector for over 20 years. He has worked as a journalist and director for various media outlets and NGOs, both in Belgium and abroad. In 2020, he joined RTBF as Head of Documentaries, where he coordinates documentary acquisitions and co-productions.

Anne Gruwez

A graduate in law, a former lawyer, honorary investigating judge, and substitute vice-president at the Brussels court, Anne is known to the public for being the central figure in the documentary “Ni juge ni soumise” (Strip-Tease), which won a Magritte and a César in 2019. She is also a character in “Poulet Frite”, an episode of the show “Strip-Tease”, and the author of the book Tais-toi ! Si la justice m’était comptée.

Dimitra Bouras

A journalist and film critic, Dimitra Bouras is also the editor-in-chief of Cinergie.be.

Gauthier Godfirnon

Gauthier Godfirnon is a journalist with a degree in literary translation and a background in modern languages and literature.

Max Meunier

A regular contributor to Cinergie.be, Max Meunier is also a production director and documentary filmmaker.

Jean-Philippe Thiriart

Having worked at several film festivals, Jean-Philippe Thiriart launched the website encinemascope.be. He now collaborates with Proximus Pickx and Cinergie.