Yahav Winner International Debut Film Competition Jury 2025

Maya Kenig is an established screenwriter, director and editor. Graduated from The London Film School and The Sam Spiegel Film school in Jerusalem. In 2012 she wrote and directed her debut feature film “Off-White Lies”. The film premiered at Berlinale, and screened in many festivals including Busan FF, Palm Springs FF and more. The film was also sold for distribution in several countries (including France, US, Russia and Australia). In Israel the film was nominated for 7 academy awards, and won the Best Lead Actor at the Jerusalem Film Festival. She also co-created, with her partner in life, Gur Bentwich, a documentary feature film, “The Bentwich Syndrome”. Maya directed two short films, “In the Palm Shade”, which was a part of the anthology “Voice Over”, and “Top of the World”, both were presented in numerous festivals around the world. Maya is also an editor, in her resume you can find some of the most renowned drama series and feature films in Israel of recent years such as “On the Spectrum”, “Uri & Ella”, “Valeria is Getting Married”, ”A letter to David”  and more.
"The Milky Way" (2024) is her second feature. The film won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Screenplay, the Best Screenplay Award at the Jerusalem FF, and received a special mention at the Tallinn Film Festival, where it premiered as part of the Critics' Picks competition.

Yair Raveh is better known as one of Israel's leading film critics. His film column currently runs in "Calcalist" (Israel's largest financial newspaper). "Cinemascope", his film blog and podcast, is among the most popular online film content in Hebrew. In recent years Yair has branched out to documentary filmmaking, where he has become a biographer and historian for the history of Israeli cinema. He has directed the documentary "Sharon Amrani: Remember His Name", co-created the documentary series "Hagiga: The Story of Israeli Cinema", directed a short documentary about Israeli comedy icon Shlomo Baraba, and directed a documentary about influencial Israeli filmmaker, Avi Nesher - the movie opened the 2024 Docaviv Film Festival and was screened at the Palm Springs Film Festival. As a screenwriter he co-created and co-wrote the drama series "Kathmandu", starring a pre-Wonder Woman Gal Gadot.

Andrea Kalin is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of Spark Media, a production group that brings cinematic storytelling to the social impact space. Kalin’s storytelling gifts have earned her over 100 industry awards, including a Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe and WGA nominations. Kalin seeks out unexpected, gripping human stories that shape who we are and shift how we see our world. Her spirited storytelling inspires audiences and sparks the imagination.