About Jelena P.

I am a freelance journalist based in the Balkans, specialized in digital journalism with a strong interest in video and photo storytelling. I hold a Master's degree in journalism Sciences Po University in Paris, France. My journalism works focuses on international affairs, culture, human rights, environmental and social issues. Writing and producing in French, English and Croatian.

About Rebecca I.

I am a documentary filmmaker currently based in Brooklyn, New York. I have been a freelance filmmaker here for the last 9 years, though last year I lived in Uganda and have spent significant amount of time abroad in other places as well. My education and background is primarily in documentary filmmaking, but I worked in all phases of production on content for HBO, PBS, Comedy Central,&Sundance Channel. I direct, shoot, record sound, and edit, and have my own equipment. I love seeing new places, talking to strangers,and finding small stories that represent much bigger ideas. I am exploring the idea of success and what that means to different cultures around the world and how they go about achieving that. Im also interested in creating stories that inspire others to emulate good ideas.

About Erik V.

I am a Slovenian citizen, born in 1979. Since 2001 I have been working as an investigative journalist, Middle East and Africa correspondent and a filmmaker. I started my career on Radio Student in Ljubljana and then went on to work for national weekly Mladina and Slovenian edition of Le Monde Diplomatique. Between 2012 and 2015 I was working for national public television RTV SLO. Throughout the years I was reporting mainly from the following countries and regions: East Timor, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey (Kurdistan), Palestine (Gaza), Egypt, South Sudan, Libya, Algeria and Western Sahara. For RTV SLO I made two documentary films, The Coalition of Hatred (Koalicija sovraštva; 2014) and Frontlines of Kurdistan (Fronte Kurdistana; 2015). The Coalition of Hatred, which dealt with neonazi and racist groups in Slovenia, their international relations and connections with the biggest Slovenian right-wing party SDS, was commended by CIRCOM in the category ‘Investigative journalism’ in May 2015 in Dundalk, Ireland. Frontlines of Kurdistan, which I filmed during some of the worst clashes between Kurds and Islamic state members in Iraq and Syria, received an award for ‘Outstanding accomplishment’ by Slovenian Association of Journalists in November 2015. Since then I have been a freelance filmmaker. In cooperation with Slovenian film production company Staragara and RTV SLO I filmed and directed two documentaries about Assyrian/Syriac communities in South-East Turkey and Iraq. The first one is titled The Three Holy Ones (Troje svetih; 2017). It tells the story about three monasteries (they are among the oldest in the world) and their adjacent Christian communities. The second, titled Guardians of Civilization (Varuhi civilizacije; 2018), features a story about a young Assyrian sculptor and his father, an esteemed Iraqi artist, who want to renovate ancient statues that were destroyed by islamists. I also took part in the documentary The Weight of Chains (Težina lanaca; 2010) and starred in another one, titled Chaos of the World (Kaos sveta; 2014). I also wrote three books: a non-fiction one, titled Gaza under siege (Obleganje Gaze; 2011) and two novels Shadows don’t burn (Sence ne gorijo; 2015) and Death for Life (Smrt za življenje; 2017). I continue to film in the Middle East and I am currently expanding my field of work into Western Africa. I am also part of organizational team behind Kranjska Gora International Film Festival, which we started in 2016.

About Vojislav M.

A journalist with 15 years of experience in newspapers, television, online, and social media broadcasting. Fluent in English, Croatian, Serbian, and Bosniak. Covering international and domestic politics, sometimes a little bit of sports. I have worked for major daily newspapers, regional CNN affiliate television and the biggest online news site.

About Ivana S.

Actress and tv host from Belgrade