Mona Kakanj - Elefant
Born in 1981 in Tehran, Iran, Mona Kakanj has been a resident of Cologne, Germany since 2007. She is an Iranian artist whose unique perspective challenges conventional norms and reimagines familiar concepts. Kakanj's work delves into themes such as perception, violence, belonging, and personal and cultural identity, all while offering a critical examination of established notions.
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Ahmad Saleh - Night (ليل)
Ahmad Saleh is a Palestinian/German writer and director. His first film, HOUSE, 2012 was nominated for the German Short Film Award and his second film, AYNY, 2016 won the Student Academy Award. Recently he finished his third short film, NIGHT and is developing his first feature.
Sina Salimi - Roof Knocking
Sina Salimi, born and raised in Iran, has a background in Animation and advertising. He worked on various short narrative fiction and commercial projects before relocating to Europe. His short film "Roof Knocking" which was produced in Estonia, premiered at the Cairo International Film Festival, winning Best Short Film. Currently based in Berlin, Sina is working his debut feature film project.
Shadab Shayegan was born in 1993 in Tehran, Iran. At the age of 18, she moved to Vienna to study composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts and painting and animated film at the University of Applied
Arts in Vienna. Following her studies in 2021, she relocated to Germany to further her education at the Animationsinstitut (Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg), where she finished her studies in 2024 with animated short film „Pear Garden".
Baran Sarmad - Spotted Yellow
Baran Sarmad was born in 1993 in Hamedan, Iran. She is one of the producers of the movie Diba, which received the best pitching screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. Currently, she is working on the script of her first feature film Melopink.