Arfan is a respected Indonesian documentary filmmaker, and alumni of Indonesia’s InDocs institute. Born in Makassar, he holds an academic degree in biology. His passion for cinematography led him to documentary filmmaking, which he has pursued for 15 years. Arfan’s debut short documentary, Suster Apung, won Best Film at the Eagle Awards in 2006. His debut feature documentary, The Flame, premiered at Visions du Reel in 2021, in the Latitudes section, and was nominated in 2021 as Best Feature Documentary at Festival Film Indonesia. Arfan’s films are known for having a strong visual aesthetic and for uncovering powerful, unique, and colourful characters with whom audiences feel a personal connection. Both The Flame and Ininnawa: An Island Calling share a sense that large, important, and timely stories can be told through individual accounts of inspiring protagonists.

Jessica Gorter is a Dutch documentary filmmaker. She studied directing and editing at the Dutch Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam. She lived in the United States as a teenager, and after completing her studies, worked and traveled in Russia for a longer period of time. Her experiences in both of these worlds, coupled with her passion for photography, form an important basis for her further works. Her award-winning films have been screened worldwide at film festivals and universities, and have been theatrically released and broadcast internationally. She has also directed for Dutch television (Human, VPRO) and worked as an editor for various documentaries. Her documentary, 900 Days (2011), was awarded best Dutch film at IDFA 2011.

Born in Damascus, Lina is a documentary filmmaker, journalist and camerawoman. She has documented events in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey over the past ten years. She holds a master’s degree in documentary filmmaking from Essex University. Lina made short and medium-length documentaries, and her debut feature, 5 Seasons of Revolution, premiered at the Sundance World Cinema Documentary Competition in 2023.

Belfast-born Kathryn Ferguson is an award-winning director and writer. After a decade of focusing on short-form work centered on identity, gender politics, and community, she recently completed her first feature documentary Nothing Compares about musician Sinéad O’Connor, which premiered at Sundance 2022. The film has screened globally, been theatrically released, and has won multiple awards, including Best Feature Documentary and Best Debut Director in Feature Documentary at this year's BIFA Awards. In addition, in 2022, Kathryn was awarded the BFI & Chanel Award for Creative Audacity for a first-time feature director. As well as working as a documentary filmmaker, Kathryn works as a commercial and music video director with a range of clients including Nike, Selfridges, Girls Who Code, Amnesty International, Dove, and Air France, and artists such as Lady Gaga, Neneh Cherry, and Villagers.