Kimani wa Wanjiru - Mass Media, Folk Media and New Media Expert I have been involved in media and communication in Kenya and the international scene since 1995. I have gained the requisite expertise in the conventional/traditional Mass media, the inventive Folk Media and the en vogue New Media.
Currently, I am the Programme Officer— Media and Communication with Kenya’s National Civic Education Programme (Uraia). I also work as the Managing Editor of Kymsnet Media

Network (http://kymsnetfeatures.wordpress.com), Kenya’s premier culture and the arts news and features agency. I have vast experience working with Non State Organizations that are involved in human rights, culture and the arts, women and children’s rights and health issues particularly HIV/AIDS using Folk Media.

I am a Founding Trustee of the Kenya’s Journalist Against Tobacco Trust (JATT). I also seat in the Steering Committee of Arterial Network— Kenya Chapter, where I take lead in advocacy issues around policy, legislation and the constitution. I am also a member of the African Arts Journalists Forum that is closely linked to the Arterial Network Africa. I am also an artist and I have excelled as a scriptwriter, playwright, an actor, published poet and theatre director.

Neil Schell is an accomplished actor, acting coach, director and producer in film and television.  He has been working in the film industry for over 25 years. 

As an actor himself, Neil has appeared in several feature films including the Hollywood blockbusters The A-Team and Watchmen, Dr. Dolittle 3.  He has also acted in several popular US TV series like Fringe, Caprica, Eureka, Outer Limits and Cold Squad.  Acting in these shows exposed Neil to such greats in the industry as Liam Neeson, Judy Davis, Joe Carnahan, Zack Snyder and Akiva Goldsman.  Just being able to observe and work with these talented stars is a privilege most people only dream about.

As a director, Neil’s first work was for a fringe play in Vancouver in 1995.  In the 90’s he directed a couple of commercials in between his acting work.  Within the last 16 months, Neil’s directing accomplishments have exploded.  He has completed the direction of 52, 1/2 hour episodes of the Kenyan drama series Higher Learning and 26, 1/2 hour episodes of the new Kenyan medical drama Saints - both of which air on NTV and Zuku Africa.  He also directed the pilot for the web series Poker Girls which was nominated for Best Pilot at the Banff World Media Festival earlier this year.

Heinz Hermanns – festival director / CEO – interfilm Berlin – short film festival & distribution Studied Politics in Germany and Italy. In 1981 he founded the art house cinema Eiszeit in Berlin which he directed during 9 years. From its beginning in 1982, he directs the international short film festival Berlin – interfilm. He is the director and co-founder since 2001 of the super short film festival „Going Underground“ held in the trains of the Berlin Subway (this year also in Seoul-South Korea)) . He is also co-founder of the Zebra poetry film award that since 2002 presents twice a year short films up to ten minutes which interpret poems.

He gave seminars on film language for kids, adolescents and students all over the world (in the USA, Canada, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland, Bosnia, England, Italy and Germany) and took part in juries, debates and presentations of short films all around the world. Wrote screenplays and realized several shorts in the past.

Pierre KAYITANA Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire) like many Rwandans in exile, he was raised in countries around Africa and returned to Rwanda in early 1999. For the last 7 years, he has been the Rwanda Film Festival Director. He currently got promoted to be the Director of Operations and programming at the Rwanda Cinema Center and has represented Rwanda at international film festivals.

As a film enthusiast, he has embarked on a passion in filmmaking. He produced his own films and also coordinated different film productions such as “Rwanda the Renaissance”, “Kinyarwanda” and “Africa United”

Idrissa Ouedraogo is a graduate of the African Institute for Cinema Studies (Institut Africain d’Etudes Cinématographiques) in Ouagadougou. In 1981 he began to work for the Burkina Faso Directorate of Cinema Production (Direction de la Production Cinématographique du Burkina Faso), where he directed several short films. The short film Poko won the short film prize at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) in 1981. After studying in Kiev in the USSR he moved to Paris, where he graduated from the Institut des Hautes Etudes Cinématographiques IDHEC in 1985

Ouédraogo won the Grand Prix for his film Tilaï (The Law) at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival,[1] and the FIPRESCI Award for his 1986 film Yam Daabo (The Choice). His 1993 film Samba Traoré won the Silver Bear at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.

MANE CISNEROS MANRIQUE She is the founder and director of Tarifa African Film Festival – FCAT, the main competitive African film event in Spain. She first graduated in Geography and History from the Universidad Complutense in Madrid and she also holds a PhD in Anthropology from the EHESS in Paris. Cisneros is also the founder and president of Al-Tarab, an ONG-D dedicated to the promotion of African arts as an instrument for social education, international cultural cooperation and development. She frequently collaborates in several specialised publications on African cinema and she has also served in the organisation of different international film events (Equatorial Guinea, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Mexico, Peru, Mexico

initiative offered by ZeLIG School for Documentary and supported by the European Union’s MEDIA Programme.

He is programme advisor to the London Film Festival and also served in that position for the Venice Film Festival. He was a member of the Berlinale World Cinema Fund from 2004-2007.

Shiri has served on a number of festivals including the Berlin International Film Festival, the Dubai International Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), Tampere Film Festival and many others. He is currently on the advisory board of New York’s Focus Features Africa First Programme, which supports and mentors young African filmmakers, and a jury advisor for the annual Africa Movie Academy Awards.

Léonce Ngabo is Burundian. He was born in 1951. He is an well known artist, musician and filmmaker in his country and in the world.

Léonce Ngabo recorded the first Burundian commercial songs in Nairobi in 1974 after h won the first national competition of music “Pirogue d’Or de la Chanson”. In 1986 he created the Burundian Musicians Association. He promoted many Burundian musicians through this association and later in 2000, he recorded his first CD album in Canada.

AS filmmaker, Léonce Ngabo wrote and directed the first long feature film Burundi “GITO, l’INGRAT” in 1991. Since then, he directed many documentary films, such as “LA MERE T L’ANGE”, “EN ATTENDANT LE RETOUR DES ELEPHANTS” in 2008, “BURUNDI 1850-1962” and ‘KUBANDWA” in 2010.

In his native country, Léonce Ngabo is a good reference for coproduction and logistic organizer for foreign films shooting.

Passionned to promote filmmaking, Léonce Ngabo created in 2006 his own company “Productions Grands Lacs, then after the first association of filmmakers “Association Burundaise des Créateurs d’Images et du Son” (ABCIS). He is actually President of the Burundian International Film festival (FESTICAB) which is an annual cultural event set up since 2009.

In the last edition of FESTICAB 2011, Léonce Ngabo initiated with his parteners of Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, the Netwok of Film Festivals of East African Community.

Heidi Lobato Festival director Heidi Lobato (1961 - Curaçao NA) has been organizing festivals and events for almost 30 years now. In the 80’s she organized music events in the most recognized music theatres of Amsterdam, Paradiso and Melkweg, as well as in the Soeterijntheatre. After a short course in film direction at Migrantentelevisie Amsterdam and Santbergen (now called Media Akademie) Lobato made her entry in Dutch medialand Hilversum as a freelance TV producer, item-director and program maker for Studio IM, Peekel-Stips, John de Mol, VPRO and RTL 4.

As producer for Amnesty International, Netherlands, audiovisual department (1994) Lobato founded the Amnesty international Film Festival (today called ‘Movies that Matter’) in 1995. It was the first Human Rights Film Festival for Western Europe of which she was festival director until 2000. From this position, she inspired programmed and advised in the foundation of One World Human Rights Festival (HRFF) Prague (1997), Watchdogs-HRFF Warschau (2000) and Basic Trust HRFF in Israel and Palestine – joint venture between Israeli’s and Palestines (2000). Unfortunate due to the Intifada in that period, the Basic Trust HRFF had to be organized in exile in the Netherlands, which Lobato did once in Amsterdam in 2001. Lobato composed a film program on Human Trafficking for the United Nations meeting on The Fight against Human Traficking in Vienna (2008). The program was made available for over 30 countries.

In 2001 and 2003 Heidi Lobato was managing director of Africa in the Picture Film Festival alongside founder Mariet Bakker as the artistic director, who handed the full function over to Lobato in 2005. Since than, Lobato is responsible for the artistic direction as well as the business side of the festival. She inspired and advised the founding of Salaam Kivu International Film Festival (SKIFF) in Goma, DR Congo (2004) and inspires, is guest programmer and adviser of several film festivals on the African continent as well as in Europe. Lobato is chairwoman of the Likeminds Theatre Foundation in Amsterdam.

Amirah Tajdin - Students Competition Memeber
Culturally disorganized Amirah Tajdin confesses to having an unhealthy love for anything remotely related to art, film, music or photography. Fuelled by a passion for being creative, Amirah's artistic endeavors range from short films to dj-ing and wall murals to sculptures. She graduated from Rhodes University with a Bachelor of Fine Art (Photography) in South Africa.

Dominique Puthod
Dominique, a 32 year old Frenchman, is passionate of African movie productions. He has worked in many countries in Africa and the Caribbean for the World Bank, the European Commission and other institutions. An occasional movie and theatre actor himself, he has played an active role in the Burundi international movie festival (Festicab). Dominique is passionate about Kenya and looks forward to joining the KIFF.

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