Grand Jury

The Grand Jury is presenting the Awards including the Grand Prix - Crystal Globe in the Official Selection - Competition

Claudie Ossard, President of the Grand Jury

The career of this distinguished film producer and leading figure of French film began in advertising. As producer, she introduced the likes of Martin Scorsese and Emir Kusturica to the realm of advertising. In 1986 she gave her successful debut as a film producer with Jean-Jacques Beineix's Betty Blue, which brought her an Oscar nomination. Some of the most important works in her filmography include Kusturica's Arizona Dream and Delicatessen by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, and, notably, Jeunet's famous film Amelie from Montmartre, which garnered an Oscar nomination, four European Film Academy Awards and the Crystal Globe at the KVIFF in 2001. In association with Chris Bolzli she produced the collection of film stories Paris, je t'aime and François Ozon's new film Ricky, which will be screened at this year's KVIFF.

Maria Bonnevie

The Norwegian-Swedish actress gave dazzling performances in the films I Am Dina by Ole Bornedal, Reconstruction by Christoffer Boe and, above all, in The Banishment by Andrey Zvyagintsev, screened in competition at Cannes in 2007. She has appeared on the big screen alongside Gérard Depardieu, Antonio Banderas and Konstantin Lavronenko, and has been directed by the likes of Ingmar Bergman and Bille August. She has been a member of the Royal Dramatic Theatre company in Stockholm since 1995.

Sergey Dvortsevoy

Born in Kazakhstan, this Russian film director studied aviation in Ukraine, radio technology in Novosibirsk and attended the Higher Courses for Script Writers and Directors in Moscow. Originally a documentarist, he caught the imagination of audiences and critics alike with his feature film debut Tulpan (2008), which was premiered at the Cannes film festival and won Best Film in the section Un Certain Regard and, in addition to numerous other awards, it was the winning film in the East of the West section at last year's Karlovy Vary IFF.

Niki Karimi

This celebrated Iranian actress has appeared in over thirty films during the two decades of her career. She has worked with Abbas Kiarostami, Dariush Mehrjui and other eminent directors, and has received a series of awards for her performances at international film festivals (San Sebastian, Taormina, Nantes and Cairo). She made a name for herself as a successful director as well with her debut One Night, included in 2005 in the Cannes section Un Certain Regard. Her second film, A Few Days Later, was screened at more than eighty film festivals.

Rodrigo Plá

Uruguayan-born film director and screenwriter who studied at the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica in Mexico. He won a student Oscar for his short film Eyes in the Back of One's Head. His feature debut, the thriller The Zone, won Best Debut at the Venice festival and was awarded by the FIPRESCI jury in Toronto that same year. The second feature film by this Mexican director, the drama The Desert Within, was selected as the closing film of Critics' Week at the Cannes IFF 2008, it received eight Ariel Awards from the Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences, and public recognition at the KVIFF in 2008.

Kenneth Turan

One of America's most influential film critics, he writes for the Los Angeles Times and features regularly on the country's National Public Radio station. He studied at Swarthmore College and Columbia University. He teaches film reviewing and non-fiction writing at USC, and writes for The Washington Post and TV Guide. He is the co-author of Call Me Anna: The Autobiography of Patty Duke; his latest publications include Sundance to Sarajevo: Film Festivals and the World They Made.

Ivan Zachariáš

The Czech film director studied documentary filmmaking at Prague's FAMU. He enjoys an exceptional position in foreign advertising, described by the prestigious Gunn Report as one of the ten most successful advertising directors in the world. He has won six Golden Lions at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, and, on many occasions, the major international awards D&AD (Design and Art Direction) and BTAA, which are presented annually in Great Britain. His film Mulit is part of the permanent collection at New York's Museum of Modern Art.