Programme Directors

Satesh Mathura
Financing Expert Treasurer of the International Screen Institute / Programme Director – Market Ready 2024, 2025Satesh is a distribution and financing expert, former Production Financial Officer at Terra Mater Studios, and Chief Operating Officer of Mel Gibson’s Icon Entertainment International.
Satesh’s career has spanned a few decades, and during this phenomenal journey, he handled the finance and distribution of the likes of Wild at Heart, The Piano, Little Buddha, Muriel’s Wedding, Secrets & Lies, Virgin Suicides, What Women Want, The Ivory Game and Sea of Shadows.
Satesh has been heavily involved in the creation of the International Screen Institute and currently holds the position of treasurer, where he also acts as co-course director for the Market Ready programme.

Julia Short
Marketing & Distribution Expert Programme Director – Market Ready: Documentary 2024, 2025With 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. She is 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 since the UK announced it would be leaving the EU and wanted to continue working with those in the international industry.

Maria-Christine Rieder
Lawyer Terra Mater Studios Honorary Member of the International Screen Institute / Programme Director – Business & Legal Affairs 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025Maria-Christine has been managing all legal and business aspects of audio-visual content (film, TV, format), ranging from development (including rights acquisition) to financial structuring, (co-)production, and the distribution of over 400 hours of media content. She has been the interface to talent, producers, broadcasters, major studios, streamers, etc.
In her previous role as the Head of Legal and Business Affairs Content Sales International at ORF Enterprise, she was responsible for ORF and third-party content distribution contracts, applying her acquired knowledge from working at copyright law firms in Munich and Vienna and her postgraduate studies. Maria-Christine is currently Head of Legal at Terra Mater Studios.

Kai May
Lawyer and Partner Unverzagt Rechtsanwaltwälte Programme Director – Business & Legal Affairs 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025Kai 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 advises national and international clients on the full life cycle of audiovisual 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.

Síle Culley
Audience Designer Lab Director – Audience Design Lab 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025Síle is a freelance Audience Designer and Development consultant based in Dublin. With nearly a decade of experience working in Sales and Distribution, Síle now runs an Audience Design consultancy helping independent producers and established production companies identify potential audiences for their films and the positioning of their projects in the ever-competitive marketplace. Since she began, her contribution as Audience Designer has led to international premieres at top festivals, world sales and theatrically released titles, and successful applications with Creative Europe, the BAI, and Screen Ireland. Síle is a member of the European Film Academy and the founder of The Breakfast Club, a peer-to-peer network for women working in the Business of Film in Ireland. She is an alumna of Berlinale Talents, Torino Film Lab, LIM Less Is More, and the NFTS.

Djamila Grandits
Curator and Film Programmer Programme Director – Sustainability Management 2024, 2025Djamila 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 Szemerédy
Co-Founder and CEO Leverage Point Ent / Palbion Films Programme Director – Sustainability Management 2024, 2025Zsófia currently runs two companies, Leverage Point Ent and Palbion Films, which she co-founded. With years of experience in the UK film industry, she has worked with major companies like BAFTA albert, eOne, and Picturehouse Entertainment. Her passion lies in merging storytelling and filmmaking with sustainability. She’s always exploring how the two can align, both in her work and personal life. Sci-fi, historical dramas, and fantasy are her go-to genres, especially as she’s drawn to the (un)sustainable futures they often explore. She has worked on shows such as Hijack, Dune: Prophecy, Moon Knight, and films like Lee, Poor Things, and Nosferatu.

Júlia Tordai
Co-Founder Green Eyes Productions Course Director – Sustainability ManagementMeet 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
Producer Freibeuterfilm Programme Director – Pro Pro 2025Klara 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 an 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 Šimíková
Filmmaker and Producer Programme Director – Pro Pro 2025Tereza 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 programme advisor of various trainings, funds, and festivals, such as EAVE, Documentary Campus, Doc Society, IDFA, Ex Oriente, Doc Lab Poland, and Doc Lab TLV.

Esther Krausz
Managing Director of the International Screen Institute esther@screeninstitute.eu International Screen Institute Programme Director – Pro Pro 2025Esther has been working in the European film industry in the fields of funding, training, professional development, and networking. Before joining the International Screen Institute in February 2024, she was head of the Creative Europe-MEDIA Desk in the Austrian Film Institute. Esther has developed and managed ProPro – The Producers Programme for Women – an initiative of the Austrian Film Institute to Empower Women Film Producers, together with Ursula Wolschlager. She has been a guest lecturer on the European film industry at the film, TV, and media production colleges Krems, St. Pölten, and Vienna, and a jury member at various film festivals throughout Europe. Committed to the professionalisation of the film industry and the facilitation of networking and collaboration opportunities, Esther took part in numerous workshops, congresses, and labs on topics such as screenwriting and project development, financing, pitching, production, co-production, film sales, and marketing.