Black Nights Film Festival International Competition Jury

UBERTO PASOLINI

Director, producer

Great Britain, Italy

Uberto Pasolini has worked in films since 1983 and became an independent producer in 1994 with „Palookaville“. He subsequently produced many other features, including „The Full Monty“. Uberto has directed two features, „Machan“ (PÖFF 2009) and „Still Life“, (closing film at PÖFF 2013) set in Sri Lanka and South London, respectively. Both films were critically acclaimed and collected numerous international film festival prizes.

WILLIAM GOLDSTEIN

Composer

USA

William Goldstein has been a recording artist for both Motown Records and CBS Masterworks. He has over 50 albums currently available. He has scored over 50 movie and television projects, including „Fame“ and „The Miracle Worker“. He has written on the arts for The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. He has been a pioneer in the use of computers and electronic instruments in music. His most distinguishing characteristic as a composer/pianist is his gift of „Instant Composition“, which he is exploring in many diverse ways and sharing with audiences through master Classes, recitals and albums.

FRIDRIK THOR FRIDRIKSSON

Producer, Director

Iceland

Fridrik Thor Fridriksson started his filmmaking career with a series of experimental films and documentaries in the early 1980s. In 1987, he founded the Icelandic Film Corporation, which has become Iceland’s most important production company, producing Fridriksson’s films as well as working with other Icelandic directors and producers. Through his international reputation, the company has built a network of internationally well-established co-production partner companies, including Lars von Trier’s Zentropa and Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope. As a director, Fridriksson gained international recognition with his second feature „Children of Nature“ (1991), which was nominated for an Oscar as the Best Foreign Language Film.

LAURA BIRN

Actress

Finland

Laura Birn graduated with MA degree from Helsinki Theatre Academy in 2008. Since then, she has gained a strong reputation through widely varied roles both in theatre and film. In 2013 Laura won the Finnish Film Academy Award for her role as Aliide in „Purge“ directed by Antti J. Jokinen and also received the prestigious Shooting Star Award at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival. Some of her latest work include the controversial film about neo-nazism called „Heart of a Lion“ by Dome Karukoski, the historical drama „Girl King“ by Mika Kaurismäki, „Absolution“ by Petri Kotwica, „Armi Alive!“ by Jörn Donner and „Love and Fury“ by Alli Haapasalo which will be screened at PÖFF this year.

STEEN BILLE

Scriptwriter

Denmark

Steen Bille holds an M.A. in dramaturgy from Aarhus University. After a couple of years as a dramaturg at a theatre in Copenhagen and teaching at the Institute for Film at the University of Copenhagen, Bille worked at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation as a host and editor from 1986 to 2010. He co-wrote Niels Arden Oplev’s internationally award-winning movies „We Shall Overcome“ (PÖFF 2006) and „Worlds Apart“ (PÖFF 2008). In 2010 until 2015 he worked as a feature film commissioner at the Danish Film Institute. Together with his wife he has written four novels.

KANG SOO-YOUN

Actress, Festival Director

South Korea

Festival Director Kang Soo-youn began her film career as a child actress and grew to become one of the most illustrious actresses of Korean cinema. She won the Best Actress Award at Venice and Nantes in 1986 with her performance in „The Surrogate Woman“ and was awarded in Moscow for „Come, Come, Come Upward“ in 1988, earning worldwide recognition and accolades. She solidified her reputation as an international star by serving on the jury for major film festivals in Moscow, Tokyo, Montreal, and Sydney.