Born 1984 in Varese (I), Michele Pennetta studied cinema at ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne), the city where he lives. His first feature-length documentary FISHING BODIES (2016) premiered at Locarno, IL MIO CORPO’s international premiere was in the ACID section of Cannes 2020.

Valentin Rotelli is a director and editor who lives and works in Geneva. He has co-directed several short films presented at national and international festivals, including “Big Sur”, nominated for the Swiss Film Prize (Quartz) in 2009. His feature film, “All That Remains”, co-directed with Pierre-Adrien Irlé, won the 2011 Quartz for Best Actress. POISSONS is her first feature film.

Arami Ullón was born in Asunción, Paraguay, in 1978 ans lives in Basel (CH). She directed the multi-awarded feature documentary EL TIEMPO NUBLADO  (CH/PAR – 2014)  The film was the first Paraguayan entry to the Oscars (2016). Her second feature documentary APENAS EL SOL (CH/PAR – 2020) was the Opening Film at IDFA (2020) and also represented Paraguay at the Oscars (2021) in two categories. The film received a FIPRESCI Prize, among other 14 international awards.

Kaveh Bakhtiari is a graduate of the ECAL film department. As a student, his short film ‘Les mille, mais une nuit’ was selected for Vision du réel in Nyon. In 2013 his first feature-length documentary ‘L’Escale’ was selected for the Quinzaine des cinéastes in Cannes.  Since 2010 he has been giving workshops at the ECAL and various talks at the HEAD, UNIL and EPFL. Since 2015 he has been a script consultant on various fiction and documentary films.

FLURIN GIGER, born in 1995, grew up in the Swiss mountains as part of a big family, being one of seven siblings. At the age of 16, he studied to become an actor and starred in several films. After finishing his degree, he began to work as a writer and director. His first short film RUAH premiered at the Venice International Film Festival 2016. In 2018, his second short film SCHÄCHER premiered in the Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival. A Year Without Summer is his first feature film.

Aya Domenig was born in Japan in 1972 and grew up in Switzerland. From 1992 until 2000 she studied social anthropology, film studies and japanology at the University of Zurich, gaining an MA degree with her documentary film «Oyakata». From 2001 to 2005 Aya Domenig studied film directing at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Her graduation film «Haru Ichiban» (fiction, 22 min.) was screened at various international film festivals and was awarded the Prix Cinécinéma at the Premiers Plans Film Festival in Angers. In 2015 her feature length documentary THE DAY THE SUN FELL premiered at the Locarno International Filmfestival (Critics Week). The film was nominated for the Swiss Film Award 2016 in the category „Best Documentary Film“ and won the award for „Best Film Score“. In 2018, Aya Domenig founded the film production company Sora Film GmbH and produced the cinema documentary PRISONERS OF FATE  by Mehdi Sahebi, on which she also worked as co-writer. The film was nominated for the Swiss Film Award and won the Zurich Film Award in 2024.

Aya Domenig is a member of the Swiss Film Academy and the European Film Academy.

Born in 1973 in Basel, Switzerland. 2002 Diploma in Screenwriting from the DFFB (German Film and Television Academy Berlin). 2015 Master in Documentary Film Directing from the ZHDK (Zurich University of the Arts). MY LIFE AS A FILM (2015), her first feature-length documentary as a director, was nominated for Best Documentary for the Swiss Film Award and the International Documentary Association IDA Award, Los Angeles, and won the Prix de Soleure, the Basel Film Award and the Zurich Film Award, among others. Her second feature documentary LOVING HIGHSMITH, about the writer Patricia Highsmith, opened the Solothurn Film Festival in 2022, was nominated for the Swiss Film Award, received a Zurich Film Award for dramaturgy and editing and was shown in cinemas in more than 20 countries. THE HEARING (2023) by Lisa Gerig, is Eva Vitija’s first work as a producer, together with Maurizius Staerkle Drux, for Ensemble Film in Zurich, where she was a founding partner from 2018-2022. The film was selected for the European Film Awards in 2023 and received the Prix de Soleure, the Zurich Film Award and the Swiss Film Award in 2024. She lives in Zurich.

Arne Kohlweyer was born in 1981 in Wolgast (D). In 2008 he finished film directing at FAMU in Prague. He has made various short films, directed for German television and got nominated for the Grimme-Award.