Official Competition: Israeli Short Films
Michael Stütz
Born and raised in Linz, Austria, Michael studied Film and Theater at the Universities of Vienna, and the University of Berlin, where he is based from 2005. Since 2006, Michael is associated closely with the Panorama of the Berlinale, where he works as a program coordinator and head of the office, as well as the coordinator for the TEDDY Award and is also part of the advisory selection board of the section. From 2011 he serves as the Co-Director of the Xposed International Queer Film Festival Berlin. In association with Austrian Cultural Forum, Tel Aviv.
Official Competition: Narrative
Sivan Levy
SIVAN LEVY is a filmmaker, musician, actress, and visual artist. In 2009 she directed the short “Cherchez La Femme”, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, and was sold to ARTE. Her latest film, “Dina and Noel”, in which she was also the composer, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and went on to screen in other international film festivals. As an actor, Sivan is best known for her critically acclaimed roles in “Six Acts” (for which she won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Actress), “Joe+Belle”, and “Inch’allah” (a Canadian-French coproduction). A composer of cinema and theater for the last several years, Sivan is now in the process of releasing her debut album ‘How Happy I Was When You Left Me’. She is currently in pre-production on her first feature documentary, with the support of Channel 8.
Franck Finance-Madureira
Franck Finance-Madureira is a French movie journalist. He has worked for several cinema magazines and websites in France. He’s the editor-in-chief of the magazine Clap! dedicated to cinema and TV series . He is one of the critics of the main TV show in France about movies. In 2010, he created the Queer Palm, the LGBTQI award at Cannes Film Festival which will have its 8th edition in May 2017. Franck plans to direct his first short-movie in 2017.
Gili Pliskin
Gili Pliskin is a 42 year-old proud lesbian, who lives with her partner, two children and two cats. Pliskin had written the first Hebrew book on female masturbation – “Know Touching” (“Dvarim sheratziti laga’at”). She is the manager of the website GILIST.net – a loving virtual community of friends that make dreams come true for a better world. She holds sexuality workshops and groups, and believes we can talk about anything and anything is worth talking about. Pliskin aspires to live in joy, wealth, peace, equality, and justice in this country.
Official Competition: Documenrtary
Bard Ydén
Bard Ydén joined Skeive Filmer, Norway’s only LGBT Film Festival, in 2003, and took over as executive and programming director in 2007.
Since then, the festival has grown in both content and reputation. In 2015, the festival changed its name to Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival for its 25th anniversary. After a successful 14 years, he has now decided to step down from the director’s Chair and now he’s working as consultant & programmer for Oslo/Fusion. In association with the Embassy of Norway. 
Samira Saraya
Samira Saraya, a Palestinian gay woman, born and raised in Haifa, a city in North Israel, living for the last 20 years in Tel-Aviv. Acclaimed theater actress. Winner of a special mention for a unique acting at Acre Festival for alternative theater 2012 and Winner supporting actress at the Fringe Theater awards for 2015. A feminist and activist, cofounder of “Aswat” (Palestinian Gay Women). Samira holds a Bachelor’s degree in nursing.
Amir Stolar
Amir Stolar is a documentary filmmaker and editor.
Stolar graduated his film studies at the Minshar college, he now teaches editing at Minshar. Between 2012-2015 he screened four short films at the TLVFest. On 2014 Stolar won the Filming Award at the Epos Festival and the Chirography Award in the Lisbon In Shadows Festival. On 2016 he premiered his documentary film “Not a Minute More” at the TLVFest. The film was later broadcast at YesDoco channel.
Official Competition: International Short Films
Roni Azgad
Roni Azgad is a commercial, and videoclip director, and post production lecturer. She graduated from the Department of Visual Communication at the Shenkar College. In recent years, Azgad has been the director and editor for the Batsheva Dance Company and is a partner in the art work alongside Ohad Naharin. Her work was praised by many when presented at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. She also directed many videoclips for many musicians. She was a creative consultant in the Heymann brothers documentary film “Mr. GAGA” . Azgad work “The Whole” was presented in Tokyo’s “Multiple Futures Festival” last February.
Steven Rupp
Born and raised in Berlin, Steven studied art history, literature and cultural studies in Paris, and Berlin. Rupp has been closely engaged in publication and production of Queer Film Festivals like the Berlin Pornfilmfestival, TLVFest and the XPosed International Queer Film Festival Berlin. Since 2016, Rupp is part of the programming team of the CineEast Short Film Festival Berlin.
Michal Hagag
28 years old. Born and raised in Ramat Gan. Hagag is a young director, and work as a producer. Hagag directed three short films as part of her undergraduate studies at the Film Department at Tel Aviv University. These days she is writing her graduation film.
Short Script Competition
In association with Gesher Film Fund
Hadar Morag
Morag finished her degree in Cinema at Tel Aviv University. In 2008 Her short film “Silence” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and was screened in many other film festivals around the world winning “Best Short”, “Promising Director”, and “Best First Film”. In 2015 her feature film “Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me” (”Lama Azavtani”) premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and was screened in many other film festivals. These days, Morag is working on her new feature. She is a social activist, living in Jaffa, and volunteers in helping Arab families in distress.
Hadas Ben Aroya
Ben Aroya was born 1988 in Israel. She graduated from the Steve Tisch Film School at Tel-Aviv University. She won “Best Short” in Shanghai Film Festival with her first short film “Sex Doll” (2013). Her debut feature film “People That Are Not Me” (2016) premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, and won the top prize at the Mar del Plata Film Festival. Ben Aroya participated in the Berlinale Talents 2016 and the Zurich Film Festival Master Class. “Nymphie”, her second feature film project, was selected to participate in the Sundance 2017 screenwriters lab.
Maysaloun Hamoud
A filmmaker with an distinct voice. Maysaloun Hamoud is a Palestinian- Israeli director. She graduated Minshar film school. In 2016 she debut her feature film “In Between” (“Bar Bashar”, “Lo Po Lo Sham”) that deals with the non traditional Arab way of life in Israel. The film was screened in many festivals around the world and won the “Best First Feature” in the Haifa Film Festival. Hamoud started her path as a student of Middle East Studies at the Hebrew University and soon was drawn into activism . Hamoud moved to Jaffa dived in to film studies and started a new career.
Narrative Pitch
In association with Rabinovich Foundation
Bard Ydén
Bard Ydén joined Skeive Filmer, Norway’s only LGBT Film Festival, in 2003, and took over as executive and programming director in 2007.
Since then, the festival has grown in both content and reputation. In 2015, the festival changed its name to Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival for its 25th anniversary. After a successful 14 years, he has now decided to step down from the director’s Chair and now he’s working as consultant & programmer for Oslo/Fusion. In association with the Embassy of Norway.
Monika Treut
Monika Treut is a groundbreaking filmmaker that contributed to the representation of LGBTQ sexuality over the years. Treut is not just a remarkable director with a special voice but also a producer and writer that since the 80’s. She had tromadance impact on the feminist lesbian cinema, and on the Indi-German cinema. Her accomplishments makes her one of the important leading voices of the modern queer cinema. Since her first film In 1985 :Seduction: The Cruel Woman” she released over 12 films in the Berlin Festival. In 1999 her documentary “Gendernauts” won Best Documentary Film at the Teddy Festival and is considered the most important documentary about transgenders.
Yoav Abramovich
Deputy director-general of The Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts, and the Foundation’s artistic director for the support of full-length feature films. Prior to his current position, he’s been the Foundation’s artistic director for student graduation films, and the Foundation’s production manager. Mr. Abramovich has also been a film critic for different Israeli publications, and a screenwriting lecturer.
Documentary Pitch
In association with Rabinovich Foundation
Claudia Levin
Claudia Levin is an award-winning creative producer with over 20 years’ experience in the industry. Her own life, which has taken her from Argentina to Israel to New York and back again, has been instrumental in dictating her choice of production projects.Levin founded Claudius Films- an independent production company committed to raising original and unheard voices through film, television, theater and new media. Formed in 2005, Claudius Films has consistently taken on dark, controversial issues and used them to create vital, engaging films such as “Paper dolls” , “Gvaot goral” and “Four years of night”
Monika Treut
Monika Treut is a groundbreaking filmmaker that contributed to the representation of LGBTQ sexuality over the years. Treut is not just a remarkable director with a special voice but also a producer and writer that since the 80’s. She had tromadance impact on the feminist lesbian cinema, and on the Indi-German cinema. Her accomplishments makes her one of the important leading voices of the modern queer cinema. Since her first film In 1985 :Seduction: The Cruel Woman” she released over 12 films in the Berlin Festival. In 1999 her documentary “Gendernauts” won Best Documentary Film at the Teddy Festival and is considered the most important documentary about transgenders.
Edit Pinkas
Edit Pinkas is the content deputy director at channel 8 (HOT network), the leading documentary channel in Israel. Pinkas is in charge of all self production at the channel, and the purchase of new content alongside the strategic planning of the broadcast programing. Pinkas represent the channel in festivals around the world while staying connected to the local industry and content distributors.