Short competition

Eitvydas Doškus is a screenwriter, director, and cinematographer who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Cinema Operations from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. In 2008, he underwent training at the “RE VOIR” film studio in Paris. Additionally, Eitvydas is a member of the Lithuanian Cinematographers' Union and since 2013 Lithuanian Film Operators Association (LAC). His filmography as a cinematographer consists of more than 30 films. “Once Upon a Vilnius” (2022) marks his directorial debut.

Sander Joon, an Estonian film director, is known for award-winning animations Velodrool, Moulinet, Sounds Good, and the Oscars-shortlisted Sierra (2022). He also taught animation at the Estonian Academy of Arts. In 2023, the Estonian president honored him with the Young Cultural Figure Award for his contributions to Estonian culture. Currently, Sander is working on his first animated feature Seagulls of Eden which is being developed as part of the CEE Animation Workshop and was pitched at the Riga International Film Festival.

Graduated in Literature, Philosophy and Cinema, he then completed a master's degree in Cultural Management from Dauphine School University in Paris. He has a lot of experience in guiding and supporting emerging directors and producers in their projects' development. First, he coordinated and then headed the Paris Project, the co-production and development platform of Paris Cinema IFF (2007-2012). Then, he worked for 13 years as a film programmer at Angers Premiers Plans Film Festival (2007-2019), and 7 years as Angers Workshops coordinator (2012-2018).He worked at Locarno IFF as a Project Manager for the Alliance for Development (2018-2019) and as the Open Doors Extended Coordinator for 6 months (October 2019 – March 2020), overseeing the launch of the yearly mentoring program for international professionals. He served as the head of the Atlas Workshops (2019-2023), the industry event and platform of Marrakech IFF, where he expanded the program internationally and fostered a new generation of Arab and African filmmakers. Additionally, he worked as a program consultant (selection committee, coproduction market) at La Fabrique Cinéma in Cannes (2012-2018) before joining the team as a program coordinator in 2023. He has been an international film programmer at Ulaanbaatar IFF in Mongolia since 2013 and a member of the film selection committee at Poitiers IFF since 2020.