Course Directors

With over 25 years of working in the film industry from production to distribution Julia Short has always had a passion for training. She is keen that opportunities that weren’t available to her when she was developing her career are made available to those working in the industry now. Actively involved in delivering training. For 7 years Julia ran the Marketing & Distribution Course for the Media Business School in Ronda, Spain and was Director of Content for the Creative Europe/ScreenSkills funded senior executive training programme Inside Pictures, as well as delivering training programmes for Screen Skills Ireland, Film Distributor’s Association, Focus in Scotland, and Creative England. Julia has been a driving force in creating The International Screen Institute when the UK announced it would be leaving the EU and wanted to continue working with those in the international industry.

Kai May’s expertise stems from 15 years of experience in the film industry as a managing director/CEO of film production companies. His area of practice, therefore, covers not only the legal but also the business aspects of film and tv productions and other media and entertainment products. He advices national and international clients on the full life cycle of audio-visual content (film, TV, OTT) from rights acquisition, through the stages of development, financing, structuring and (co-) production, until exploitation and distribution, including the evaluation of film libraries and the improvement of revenue streams. He is also a lecturer at Film University Babelsberg. Kai is Lawyer and Partner at Unverzagt Rechtsanwaltwälte.

Djamila Grandits is a Vienna-based curator and film programmer. Part of CineCollective and D/Arts. Currently working on the pre-selection committees of Berlinale Panorama and Diagonale, programming for frameout – digital summer screenings, and member of the non-fiction commission of Zürcher Filmstiftung. Lecturer at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Moderator and host of various panels, events, and interviews. Previously programmed with DOK Leipzig, Kasseler Dokfest, sixpackfilm, and tricky women – tricky realities. Former artistic director of this human world – International Human Rights Film Festival. Djamila cares about entanglements and the exploration of collective spaces.

Zsófia is a Co-Founder of GreenEyes Productions. Zsófia’s love of film and unwavering dedication has been aiding her in her entire career. Zsófia is a firm believer in always finding a solution, and this comes handy every day in this field. Previously, she worked both in the independent sphere and the more commercial side of the film industry. Most recently, she served as the International Manager at BAFTA albert, and as a development executive at BAFTA Rocliffe. Zsófia graduated from the prestigious NFTS MA course in 2019 and during her studies she gained experience at eOne, Picturehouse Entertainment, Curzon Artificial Eye, New Sparta, and Sundance London to name a few companies. Zsofi’s passion is storytelling, in every shape and form. To combine sustainability with film, is her absolute dream come true. Film for her holds magical powers, and that always comes with immense responsibility.

Meet Júlia: a Biologist, Science Communicator, and Filmmaker. Julia thrives on pushing boundaries and embracing challenges across diverse scientific fields. Júlia is a firm believer in the power of blending disciplines—science, art, communication, and technology—to unravel the intricacies of our world and pave the way for a brighter future. Throughout her career, she has engaged in numerous projects that allowed her to combine her expertise in biology with her creative skills, creating a unique and impactful synergy between the two disciplines.

Klara Pollak is a producer working at Vienna-based Freibeuterfilm, on the debut features WHO IS AFRAID OF GOD? (dir. Rosa Friedrich), developed at Torino Script Lab; ADVENT (dir. Lorenz Tröbinger) and SOLDIER (dir. Vivian Bausch), selected for Talent LAB 2024.

As an independent producer, she has successfully collaborated with filmmaker Antoinette Zwirchmayr on several avant-garde films, including IN THE SHADOW OF UTOPIA, which premiered at Berlinale 2018; DEAR DARKNESS, which had its world premiere at CPH 2022 in Copenhagen; and LAND WITHOUT WORDS invited to FID Marseille 2024.

She is a graduate of the MAIA Workshop Program and a EAVE Marketing Alumni.

Alongside her career in production, she is part of the management team of ProPro Producers Programme for Women, a training workshop and initiative by the Austrian Film Institute for female film producers.

Tereza is a filmmaker, producer and consultant with a documentary directing degree from FAMU, a former Head of Industry at CPH:DOX, East Doc Platform, and Program Manager of dok.incubator. Alongside her other employments, Tereza has been serving as the International Program Consultant of Chicken and Egg Pictures since 2016, and as a mentor and program advisor of various trainings, funds, and festivals, such as EAVE, Documentary Campus, Doc Society, IDFA, Ex Oriente, Doc Lab Poland, Doc Lab TLV.