Jury 2026

Born in Osaka in 1992, Shunsaku Hayashi is currently an artist-in-residence at Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, supported by the Pola Art Foundation’s Overseas Study Grant for Upcoming Artists. From 2012 to 2015, he studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London, supported by the Program of Overseas Study for Upcoming Artists sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. While his background is rooted in moving image and animation, his multidisciplinary practice as a visual artist explores the interplay between cinematic time and the static image. In 2019, his work Leaking Life was selected for the 69th Berlinale, Generation 14plus. Other major awards include the Grand Jury Prize at the 22nd Slamdance Film Festival in 2018, the Chris Frayne Award at the 55th Ann Arbor Film Festival in 2017, and the Golden Horseman at Filmfest Dresden in 2016. His films have been screened at renowned international festivals, including Annecy, Oberhausen, and Melbourne. In 2020, he served as an award presenter at the Student Academy Awards. His recent works include the short film Our Pain, which received the High Risk Award at Fantoche and the Special Jury Award at Animafest Zagreb in 2023. In 2025, his first experimental animated feature, invisions, had its world premiere in the Grand Competition – Feature Film at Animafest Zagreb.

He was born in 1972, he is a painter, graphic artist, screenwriter, and animation director. He studied at the Faculty of Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, graduating with a degree from the Animated Film Studio. He is the creator of experimental animated films that have been screened at festivals around the world. He works primarily in 2D stop-motion animation. Winner of awards at festivals such as: Animator, Animatou, Etudia&Anima International Film Festival, MIFA Montreal Independent Film Awards, MESSAGE TO MAN, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Krakow Film Festival, and many others. He is a member of the Polish Filmmakers Association. Among his works: Paperbox (2011), Toto (2013), Strange Case (2017) and On Time (2021). Tremor is his next work, today in production.

An Italian director and screenwriter, Giulia Cosentino studied cinema and visual arts in Rome, Paris, Lisbon, and Barcelona, ??gaining experience in international academic contexts. Throughout her career, she has collaborated as an assistant director with authors such as Matteo Garrone, Miguel Gomes, and Aleksandr Sokurov. Since 2020, she has taught directing and image reuse practices at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia – sede Sicilia. Her works have been presented at numerous festivals, including the Turin Film Festival, Visions du Réel, and the Vilnius International Film Festival. Her most notable works include Lui e io (2019) and Le prime volte (2025).