Our Jury 2021
Mette Hoffman Meyer
Executive Producer at “the Why?”
Mette Hoffman Meyer is the Executive Producer at The Why - a non-profit organisation that produces and distributes powerful documentaries about human rights, social justice and sustainability. Mette was previously head of documentaries and co-productions at Denmark’s public service broadcasting cooperation, DR, and Editor of the factual series Documentaries on DR channel 2. She has helped to finance and produce multi-award-winning films, and has spearheaded five campaigns with THE WHY: Why Poverty, Why Democracy, Why Women, Why Slavery and most recently Why Plastic.
Stephane Tralongo
Lecturer UNIL - Faculty of Arts
Department of Film History and Aesthetics (CIN)
Stéphane Tralongo is Lecturer in Film and Media Studies at the Department of Film History and Aesthetics of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
His research focuses on spectacular cultures, early cinema and the history of film techniques. He has recently published "Georges Méliès" in the Oxford Bibliographies in Cinema and Media Studies (K. Gabbard, ed., 2019), "Electric Phantasmagorias" in the exhibition catalogue João Maria Gusmão introduces Eugène Frey (C. Bernasconi and F. Piron, eds., 2020), and "Exhibitions" in the exhibition catalogue Enfin le cinéma ! (D. Païni, P. Perrin and M. Robert, eds., 2021).
Gayle Kirschenbaum
Film Director
Emmy-winning filmmaker/photographer/TV producer/writer/speaker and forgiveness coach.
Called “the Nora Ephron of documentaries”, in LOOK AT US NOW, MOTHER! Gayle relates about her personal transformation from a highly charged mother/daughter relationship from hatred to love.
Her TEDx talk and movement are focused on forgiveness and she speaks internationally.
Her films and shows have premiered on HBO (“A dog’s life: a dogmentary” & her pilot “Jugement day”) Netflix and Amazon. Her reality shows premiered on TLC and Discovery Health.
Gayle's photographs have been exhibited in both solo and group shows in the US and Europe.
Her writings have been published in several places including Huffington Post, Shondaland, LA Times, Parade, Next Avenue, and AARP.
She is a member of the Producers Guild of America, Women’s Media Group, and is a judge for the Emmys and PGS. She has been featured widely in the media including New York Times, NBC's Today Show, Washington Post, and Ladies Home Journal.
Pietro Zürcher
Director of Photography
Pietro was born in 1976, in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. With 20 years of experience on the job, Pietro is considered one of the best Director of Photography in Switzerland.
Graduated from the American Film Institution Los Angeles, he makes movies in the film industries around the world, from the USA to Europe to India, winning awards in Festivals all over since he was a student:
Nomination for Best Cinematography for a the Swiss Academy Award 2021 and 2013.
Bests Cinematography at cinespana in Toulouse, France
2 Kodak Awards
Best cinematography at the British Indipendend Film Festival
Best Cinematography at the Saiff in NY
Best Cinematography at the Hollywood Student Film Festival
Nomination for Best Cinematography at the Int. American Film Festival
Nomination at the Dv Hollywood Film festival
Special mention from the American Society of Cinematographers for outstanding student Cinematography for his theses at the AFI.
Pietro is member of the European Film Academy, the Swiss Film Academy and the Swiss Cinematographers Society.
Jolynn Minaar
Film Director
Jolynn Minnaar is an award-winning South African director. Her films have screened at prestigious international festivals including IDFA, Sheffield Doc/Fest and CPH:DOX and her commercial work spans the globe.
Known for her powerful character-driven storytelling and unique approach as a woman filmmaker, Jolynn’s awards include Mail and Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans, Glamour Woman of the Year as well as a member of the celebrated 21 Icon family.
Jolynn strives for audiences to feel; to be moved. Her passion lies in capturing intimate, insightful portraits that challenge perceptions and inspire new thought.
Martin Skalsky
Director / Producer / Film composer
Martin Skalsky is a director, producer, composer with Czech and Swiss origin. He studied voice in Vienna and Zurich, Musicology and Economics at the University of Zurich, Contemporary Composition at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK). 2010-2020 Martin was part of a composers’ collaborative called Triplet Studios, based in Zurich and Berlin. Martin scored various feature films, TV films, TV series and documentaries amongst others, i.e. the award winning feature "The Fräulein and the Sandman" by Peter Luisi or "Zabuti / The forgotten" by Daria Onyshenko. From 2012 - 2020 he scored the German TV series "Die Lindenstrasse". In 2019, Martin had a well-received debut as a director, his feature length documentary “Cody - the dog days are over” premiered at the Zurich Film Festival and thus traveled around the world. Martin is currently working on his narrative feature debut "Wie der Wind dreht".