International Jury
KUJTIM ÇASHKU - Member of the International Jury

Kujtim Cashku

Kujtim Çashku ((was)) born in Tirana on August 5, 1950. He graduated from Tirana's Higher Institute of Arts in 1972 as well as from Institute of Theater and Film Art in Bucharest, ((Romania)) in 1975 and post graduated from Columbia University NY (USA) in 1993. Kujtim Çashku is an Albanian film director, screenwriter and producer who has won numerous awards at international film festivals, including the Critics Prize at the 1996 Bastia Mediterranean Film Festival, the UNESCO Award at the 1998 Venice International Film Festival for his political drama ((Colonel Bunker (1996)), the Best Screenplay Award, the FIRESCI Prize and the Silver Pyramid at the 2005 Cairo International Film Festival as well as the Bronze Palm at the Valencia Festival of Mediterranean Cinema for his film ((Magic Eye (2005)), the CEI Award at the Trieste Film Festival for his "brave commitment to the development of Albanian cinema". He is the founder of OraFilm, Albania's first film production company ((in)) 1995, ((the)) Albanian Cineastes Assocciation “Lumiere” ((in)) 2001, Albania's first International Human Rights Film Festival (IHRFFA) ((in)) 2006 and the founder of the first Albanian Film School ((in)) 2004 (Academy of Film & Multimedia Marubi).  Kujtim Cashku is ((a)) member of the Europian Film Accademy.

 
 
NICK POWELL, president of the International Jury
 Nick Powell

Producer and Director of National Film and Television School. In the early 1970's Nik Powell set up Virgin Records with Richard Branson and in the space of ten years the pair turned a small mail-order record operation into a multi-million pound conglomerate. In 1982 Powell went into partnership with Stephen Woolley, having sold out from Virgin in the previous year.  Together they formed Palace Video, followed by Palace Pictures, and then Palace Productions, soon establishing each as highly regarded entities within the film distribution and production industry.  Powell has acted as Executive Producer on all of Palace's productions including Neil Jordan's Company of Wolves  , the Oscar nominated Mona Lisa, Michael Caton-Jones' Scandal, and Neil Jordan's multi Oscar nominated The Crying Game

Nik and Stephen Woolley's new company Scala produced Iain Softley's Backbeat, Terence Davies' The Neon Bible, Shane Meadows' Twentyfour: Seven, Mark Herman's Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Little Voice, Fred Schepisis' Last Orders starring Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins, Tom Courtenay, Helen Mirren, David Hemmings and Ray Winstone, Charles Dance's Ladies in Lavender,starring Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith, Miriam Margolis and Daniel Bruer and Nik also executive produced Calendar Girls.

Nik was appointed Director of the National Film and Television School in 2005, although he remains as non-executive chairman of Scala Productions.