Debra Granik
Director and writer, USA

Debra Granik (b. 1963) grew up in Washington D.C. After graduating from Brandeis University, she started making educational films for trade unions. She later studied film at New York University. Her break-through film WINTER’S BONE earned her several awards at Sundance and was nominated in several catagories at the Academy of Awards. Her last film STRAY DOG has been screened at TIFF 2015.

Aka Hansen
Film-Producer, Denmark

Aka was born in Aarhus, Denmark in 1987 and has a Greenlandic mother and a Danish father.
She studied drama and music in Roskilde in ’02-’03 and after finishing high school in ’06 she went to the European Film College in Ebeltoft.
In ’07 Aka moved back home to Greenland to work in the film and tv business. She gained recognition in Greenland with the youth programme ”Inuusuttut Silarsuaat” (”Youngsters Universe”) and in ´09 she started the film company Tumit Production.
Soon the comedy film ”Hinnarik Sinnattunilu” (’09) and thriller ”Qaqqat Alanngui” (’11) became great successes with the Greenlandic audiences.
In ’11 Aka’s pitch for a Christmas tv-show was selected for financing and was shown at KNR, Greenlandic National broadcasting tv-station, in December ’12.
In ’13 Aka started her own film production company Uilu with the goal to produce more indigenous stories about Greenland and its people.

FILMOGRAPHY

TIMI – Aka Hansen (on going project)
Small Time Giants (working title) – Aka Hansen (on going project)
Gemmeleg - Aka Hansen (2013)
Parti Nordlys (12 episodes) – Aka Hansen (2013)
Nissit Angakkuaatillu (24 episodes) – Aka Hansen (2012)
Qaqqat Alanngui – Malik Kleist (2011)
Hinnarik Sinnatunilu – Angajo Lennert-Sandgreen (2009)
Marloqiusamik Sunniutilik – Aka Hansen (2009)
Arctic Spirits – Aka Hansen (2008)
Nunarsuup Tusaavaasi – Aka Hansen (2008)
Sisimiut – Aka Hansen (2007)
Haven – Thomas Toft (2007)
Nuna Qorsooqqittoq – Aka Hansen (2009)

Ayse Polat
Director, script-writer & producer

Ayse Polat is a German-Kurdish director, script-writer and producer. She was born in Malatya (Turkey), 1978 she immigrated with her family to Hamburg, Germany. 1990- 1995 she studied philosophy and German literature. After making numerous award-winning short films, she shot her first feature film in 1999 „Auslandstournee“ 2004 her second feature film „En Garde“ won several awards e.g. Silver Leopard for Best film and Best actress at the Int. Film Festival in Locarno, Switzerland . 2010 she shot the third movie „Luk's Luck“ and in 2013 „The Heiress“ which was premiered at the Rotterdam Filmfestival. She is preparing her next movie called „We“. She lives and works in Berlin.

Espen Nomedal
First Assistant Director and film-instructor, Norway

Espen (f.1988) is from Grimstad, Southern-Norway. He studied filmmaking at Nordland College of Art and Film in Lofoten, plus Drama at the University of Stavanger before freelancing on professional short-film productions in different roles for a string of years. He has worked as a producer, scriptwriter, set-runner, script supervisor and assistant editor on documentary films, but most frequently as a first assistant director.

His latest First A.D gigs are the feature film Stup (2015, dir.: Eilif Bremer Landsend) and Vi som ser i Mørket (2014, dir.: Aurora Gossé) for The Norwegian Film school (NFS). Today he lives in Tromsø, and works for Filmveksthuset Tvibit as a film-consultant; developing and instructing film-workshops/projects for schools.