Short Film Competition Judges

Arnon Rosenthal is an actor and PhD student in the School of Philosophy, Linguistics and Science Studies at Tel Aviv University. He performed in various platforms, including the “Haifait” of Haifa Municipal Theatre, “Ensemble Can”, and the “Ruth Kanner Theatre Group”. These days Arnon is teaching at the Department of Philosophy at Ben Gurion University and at Tel Aviv University, and is writing on the relations between Spinoza’s philosophy and Stanislavski’s acting technique.

Nitai Dagan is a screenwriter-director, actor and editor, a graduate of Sam Spiegel (2015). Nitai has directed short films in New York and in Germany, in addition to commercials and video clips in Israel. He was a dialoguer in the youth series "Double" (2018), and directed the reality show Big Brother (2022). Today Nitai is writing a virtual reality project for children that teaches American Sign Language using Hand Tracking technology. The project is called "Eddie and I", and has participated in the Tribeca Festival and the Venice Festival (2023).

Shira Hochman is an awarded film editor, consultant and producer. She edited and produced the Oscar nominated short film WHITE EYE (2019), Winner of the Editing Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival (2020) for the documentary film HIGH MAINTENANCE by Barak Heymann, nominee for the Editing Award in the Israeli Academy Awards for the film NEXT TO HER (Cannes 2014) by Asaf Korman, associate producer and editor of MISIÓN A MARTE by Amat Vallmajor del Pozo (San Sebastian 2023, Berlin Critic’s Week 2023, IndieLisboa 2023). Her films as producer and editor exhibited in festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, San Sebastian and more.
 

Tsiako Abesadze is a producer from Tbilisi, Georgia, now based in Los Angeles. Passionate about sustainability and a dedicated advocate for women's rights in film and entertainment, Abesadze serves as a board member and treasurer of Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI), the world's largest network of women filmmakers. Abesadze started her career working on critically acclaimed films like IN BLOOM and MY HAPPY FAMILY, both directed by the talented duo Nana & Simon. Currently at the helm of her own production company, Natura Film, operating out of both Georgia and the state of Georgia, Tsiako boasts an impressive portfolio of diverse Georgian and international features. Notable recent productions include THE GIANTS OF EASTER ISLAND (2023) directed by Dover Kosashvili, BO (2022) directed by Joost Van Ginkel, GRADUATION PARTY (2023) directed by Beso Odisharia, THE BRA (2020) and GONDOLA (2023) both helmed by Veit Helmer.