Compétition internationale
Deepti DCunha (IN)
Deepti DCunha is a Mumbai-based film programmer specializing in contemporary Indian and South Asian Cinema. She was the artistic director of MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in 2023 and 2024 and curated the Viewing Room and Work-in-Progress Lab at NFDC Film Bazaar from 2011 to 2022. She has worked as South Asia consultant for festivals like Venice, Rome, Locarno, Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, Pingyao, and others. Deepti is dedicated to promoting South Asian cinema.
Riina Mikkonen (FI)
Riina Mikkonen is executive director and programmer at Tampere Film Festival. She serves on the competition selection committee and has curated many short film programmes since starting her film journey in 2005. She holds a master’s degree in media studies from the University of Turku and has studied literature, art and cultural history, gender studies, and information science. She has also worked as a film critic, editor, librarian, and information specialist.
Michela Pini (CH)
Michela Pini graduated in Cinema from an Italian university. Swiss film producer, working on national and international coproductions to discover and produce emerging directors. She began working in production with Imagofilm and Amka Films. In 2007 she founded Cinédokké in Lugano. She is vice-president of the Ticino Film Commission Foundation and a board member of GARP, the Schweizerische Gesellschaft Solothurner Filmtage (SGSF) and the Swiss Film Academy.
Samuel Suffren (HT)
Haitian director, producer, and visual artist Samuel Suffren has made a trilogy of short films inspired by the story of his father. The first film, «Agwe» (2022), was selected for Locarno and won the prize for Best Diaspora Film at FESPACO. «Dreams Like Paper Boats» (2024), the second film, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The final part, «Blue Heart» (2025), was presented at the Directors’ Fortnight. Samuel is currently working on his first feature documentary, «Lòtbò», and is also developing a first feature fiction film, «Je m’appelle Nina Shakira», which was presented at FIDLab and received an award.
Dennis Vetter (DE)
Dennis Vetter works as a festival director, programmer, film critic, text and video editor, moderator, and film mediator. From 2013 to 2023, he was a board member of the German Film Critics Association (VdFk). He is also a cofounder and, since 2020, artistic director of the Berlin Critics’ Week, which he has codirected in a collective since 2021. His writing has appeared in more than 30 magazines, newspapers, and other publications.
Compétition suisse
Zsuzsi Bánkuti (HU)
Zsuzsi Bánkuti started as head of acquisition, distribution, and programming for an independent cinema in Budapest. She contributed to opening Szuez Film-Kino, served as president of Cirko Film, and advised Hungarian independent productions. Later, she became head of acquisition at The Match Factory (DE). Since 2022, she has been head of Open Doors and deputy head of Locarno Pro, and in 2025, she became a member of the European Film Academy.
Florian Fernandez (FR)
Florian is the head of the Short Film Corner | Rendez-vous Industry, a four-day forum dedicated to short films and their makers organized by the Festival de Cannes, where he coordinates the various industry initiatives highlighting short and first feature film projects. Florian is also a programming consultant for Montreal’s Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, and associate programmer for documentary shorts at SXSW. Since 2023, he has partnered with Solal Films to manage the festival distribution and sales of a handful of short films carried by unique voices. He also collaborates yearly with various initiatives, such as European Short Pitch.
Wouter Jansen (NL)
Wouter Jansen is the founder of the sales company Square Eyes. The company represents bold, author-driven features and shorts, and in close collaboration with the filmmakers, it devises bespoke festival distribution and sales strategies. In the past, Wouter worked as the head of programme at Go Short ISFF for ten years. He is an expert for Locarno Open Doors and First Cut Lab, regularly gives lectures at film schools and festivals, and engages in selection committees for funding bodies and industry programmes.
Sparks
Pamina Schenk (19)
Ella Gfeller (16)
Remo Toggweiler (16)
