Meet the Jury of Balkan Feature Films Program

Mark Forstater is an American film and TV producer, author, audio producer, music producer and tech entrepreneur, notable for producing the classic comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Forstater also produced the cult science fiction classic Xtro. His latest film is called Swipe Fever, a rom-com for Gen Z and Millennial audiences, scheduled for theatre release on Swipe Fever Day October 7 2023. Alongside Swipe Fever’s composer and director Nathan Neuman, Forstater is also launching a web3 platform called Dreambird which intends to democratise the film industry.

John Mathieson is an English cinematographer, music video producer and commercial director. He is one of a group of filmmakers who emerged from the music video industry of the late 1980s and 1990s. He is a frequent collaborator with director Ridley Scott, acting as director of photography on most of his films, such as Gladiator (2000), for which he won a BAFTA Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. He has also worked with directors like Joel Schumacher, Rowan Joffé, Matthew Vaughn, Guy Ritchie, James Mangold, and Rob Letterman.

Claudia Landsberger is a Dutch creative producer working in script and project development, and rough-cut consulting. She is a program adviser to various international film festivals, such as The Northern Lights Nordic & Baltic Film Festival in Belarus, the Black Nights Star Program at Pöff Black Nights film festival Tallinn and the industry program PriForum of Prishtina Film Festival in Kosovo. For many years she was a member of the selection committee of the Berlinale Competition Program, Venice Days and the Hamburg Film Fund. Landsberger has been instrumental in bringing many films to the top of the world’s film festivals and winning two foreign language Academy Awards and four Academy Award Nominations for the Netherlands. She was artistic advisor and host of the Jerusalem Pitch Point and was a board member to various major international film festivals. With her expertise of the international film industry, Landsberger has been serving as industry expert and mentor for various international training programs and served as a jury member at numerous international film festivals. For two decades she served as the managing director of EYE International at the Netherlands Film Institute and was the cofounder and President of the Pan European film promotion organization European Film Promotion. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Hamburg Film Fund and member of the European Film Academy.

Kobi Mizrahi - Oscar-nominated producer from Israel, produces shorts, features, and documentaries in collaboration with young, innovative directors. His features include The Road to Eilat (2022): 3 awards including Best Feature at Jerusalem IFF, 11 Israeli Academy nominations; The Dive (2018): 4 awards including Best Feature at Jerusalem IFF, 2 awards at Locarno; and Water (2012, Israeli-Palestinian omnibus film): Amnesty International Award, opened Venice Critics’ Week. His short films, including White Eye (Oscar-nominated) and Mission Hebron (EFA shortlisted), have been screened at major festivals worldwide such as Cannes, Venice, IDFA, Locarno, Toronto, Telluride, SXSW, and sold to HBO, Canal+ and more.

Cheryl Johnson is a writer, activist and filmmaker from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Her films have been shown at film festivals in Montreal, Tirana, Prague, London, Los Angeles and Kosova. She studied film at the London International Film School where she served on the school board as Student Governor for two years. In 1987 she was awarded a Fuji Scholarship for her work on award-winning film 'Macheath' starring John Hurt. After the release of Nelson Mandela, she returned to South Africa where she was elected General Secretary for Arts & Culture (Southern Natal) for the African National Congress (ANC). During this period she made several documentaries, including AMANDLA! - the story of the ANC’s cultural ensemble in exile’s return to South Africa. In 1999, the NATO air strikes against Serbia drew her to Albania where under the protection of Italian NGO INTERSOS, she documented the humanitarian crisis in the region. She made a documentary about displaced Kosovars living in Fisthe refugee camp and after the ceasefire she produced, with Fatos Berisha, the tour to South Africa of the National Theatre of Kosovo’s production of ‘Hamlet’ British director David Gothard. She has been a regular guest of the Sarajevo Film Festival since 2000 and is a film selector and script pitch jury member for PriFest. In 2003, INTERSOS sent her to Pakistan to document their refugee work in Northwest Frontier Province and Afghanistan. She was appointed brand ambassador for the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission (KZNFC) in 2015. She is currently making a documentary about the National Theatre’s Hamlet project with Fatos Berisha.

The 15th edition of PriFest will be held from 12-17 September. Welcome!

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