VALÈIFF
THE JURY
GABRIEL GARCÍA
Gabriel García is a film director, screenwriter and graphic designer. He studied Fine Arts at the Complutense University of Madrid. In 2018 he founded CVLTO, a studio specialized in art direction in the film sector. In it he has worked for producers such as Belén Atienza (Jurassic World, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) and with directors such as J.A Bayona (El orfanato, Penny Dreadful) or Kike Maíllo (Toro, Eva). He has directed video clips for groups such as "Los Chikos del Maíz" or "Los de Marras", some of which have been awarded at different film festivals. He has also co-directed with Esther Velasco the short films "Mano Dura (2022)" or "El Sigilo (2019)", obtaining the audience award in the latter at the "International Fantastic and Horror Film Festival of Navarra", an event which since 2022 coordinates with CVLTO as art director. In 2020 he partners with the Colombian writer Mauricio Loza to write the script for the documentary "Eros Desencadenado" in addition to the script for what will be his second documentary "Hyperfiction".
ANNE ZINN-JUSTIN
A former researcher in human genetics, Anne Zinn-Justin graduated from La Femis in screenwriting. She wrote and directed short films that have been shown in international festivals and on television: Blood sisters, Lonely, Midwater, The future today and 201 days. She will shoot a short film Bestiary, produced by Wombat Films and supported by the Auvergne Rhône Alpes Region, next spring, and is developing, still with Wombat Films, a feature film, an ecological thriller Until the flood (Lecteurs Anonymes Black List, selected for directors/composers/producers Trio residency, finalist Atmospheres Film Festival scripts selection, selected for 2020 Cannes Meetings by La Maison des Scénaristes). She is also writing a fantastic road movie Praise for slowness (selected for Tandem script conception residency, with the help of Pictanovo Régions Hauts de France), and a series SIG. She writes theatre plays, is working as a writing consultant and films theater performances.
PETER ISSAC ALEXANDER
Peter Issac Alexander is a Portland-based director, producer, and writer. He is co-creator of the award-winning The Cloaked Realm animated series, which has been an official selection of more than 70 film festivals, including the 34th Girona Film Festival, The Soho International Film Festival, FilmQuest, among others. Peter has been interviewed by various newspapers and publications, including the Wall Street Journal, for his expertise in high-definition. In recent years, he has been a prolific ghostwriter and consultant on numerous scripts, books and other projects. He holds an B.A. in Creative Writing and a Master’s degree in History.
JD ALCÁZAR
JD Alcázar abandoned his career as an architect to dedicate himself to his passion, the script and directing. He studied in Barcelona and after experimenting with making different short films, he moved to Madrid, where at the beginning of 2023 he premiered his debut film "8 Años" (American Road, Gold Tower), awarded at different international festivals. He is currently working on the western documentary "La balada de Barba" (Leonardo BBVA Foundation), as well as on the series "El Lago" (Trio Orange) and "Gordi", selected at the Ibermedia 2022 workshop.
MARISA L. COHEN
Marisa Cohen began her filmmaking career by directing, writing and producing a high-definition feature film. Most recently, she co-wrote, co-directed, and co-produced the award-winning series The Cloaked Realm. Having taken 8 years to complete, The Cloaked Realm consists of 4-hours of hand-drawn animation and to date has won over eighty awards. She is a graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts, and graduated from The University of Chicago with a degree in Cinema Studies. She currently resides in Portland, Oregon and is currently working on Season 2 of The Cloaked Realm series.
