2023 Edition
Jury
Saeed Roustaee
Critically-acclaimed director, screenwriter and producer Saeed Roustaee was born in Tehran, Iran in 1989. After studying Cinema in high school and Cinematography at Soore University, he began his career by directing three short films and a documentary, which won over 100 awards worldwide. His feature debut, Life and a Day (2016), won Best Directing and Best Screenplay Awards at the 2016 Fajr International Film Festival, Iran’s premier film festival, and several prizes at many other international festivals. His second feature, Just 6.5(2019), a social thriller about the fight against drugs, premiered at the 2019 Venice Orizzonti and won the award for Best Director at the 2019 Tokyo International Film Festival. Just 6.5 was a hit with both critics and audiences in Iran and across the world. His latest film, Leila’s Brothers (2022), which gives an insight into Iranian society through a complex family saga, was selected for the 2022 Cannes Film Festival Competition section, where it won the Citizen’s Award and the Prix FIPRESCI.
Camila Morrone
An affecting and charismatic actress, Camila Morrone is quickly making a name for herself as one of Hollywood’s most talented performers. Most recently, Morrone can be seen in Amazon’s hit limited series DAISY JONES & THE SIX, produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and based on the popular book of the same name. She stars opposite Riley Keough and Sam Claflin in the musical drama which charts the spectacular rise and precipitous fall of a renowned rock band in the 1970s. Morrone’s performance has been recognized as the “standout”, “show-stealing” and “the beating heart of the series”. Morrone is upcoming in GONZO GIRL, Patricia Arquette’s feature directorial debut, opposite Willem Dafoe and Patricia. The film is based on the acclaimed same-name novel by Cheryl Della Pietra. She is also upcoming in MARMALADE, alongside Joe Keery and Aldis Hodge. The film follows a naive small-town man as he narrates the colorful tale of a romantic bank heist to his cunning cellmate. In 2019, Morrone starred as the titular ‘Mickey’ in Annabelle Attanasio’s MICKEY AND THE BEAR. The film follows a determined Montana teenager (Morrone) as she maneuvers a turbulent relationship with her veteran father (James Badge Dale). The critically acclaimed drama made its world premiere at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival and later played to sold out crowds at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Prior, Morrone starred in Augustine Frizell’s comedy, NEVER GOIN BACK for A24. The film premiered to massive acclaim at both the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and SXSW Film Festival, where it was nominated for the SXSW Gamechanger Award. The film was later nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards. A24 released the film in August 2018. Previously, Morrone starred opposite Bruce Willis in Eli Roth’s remake of DEATH WISH for MGM.
Dali Benssalah
In 2012, Dali Benssalah joined the Cours Florent School where he discovered acting and decided to work as a professional actor. He went on to join the Théâtre National de la Colline, the Théâtre National de Strasbourg with Stanislas Nordey and the Fabrica d’Avignon with Olivier Py as he wished to gain more experience.
In 2017, he had his breakthrough with The Blaze video TERRITORY – a video that garnered multiple awards in festivals.
He was then seen in many films including Mabrouk El Mechri’s NOX, Louis Garrel’s L'HOMME FIDÈLE, Kery James’ and Leila Sy’s BANLIEUSARDS…
He was particularly acclaimed for Rebecca Zlotowski’s series LES SAUVAGES, alongside Roschdy Zem. He once again worked under Olivier Py’s direction in the play Pur Présent at the 2018 Festival d'Avignon.
In 2021, he appeared in Cary Fukunaga’s NO TIME TO DIE starring Daniel Craig.
That same year, he was seen in MES FRÈRES ET MOI, selected at the Cannes Film Festival’ Un Certain Regard section and Manuel Schapira’s TROPIQUE DE LA VIOLENCE and Eric Baudelaire’s UNE FLEUR À LA BOUCHE.
In 2022, Dali played one of the leading roles in Romain Gavras’ latest film ATHENA, selected at the Venice Film Festival.
In 2023, he starred in several films including Ursula Meier’s LA LIGNE (in competition at the Berlin Festival), Jeanne Herry’s JE VERRAI TOUJOURS VOS VISAGES and Damien Ounouri and Adila Bendimerad’s LA DERNIÈRE REINE.
He will play opposite Elisabeth Moss in the series THE VEIL and Sing J. Lee’s THE ACCIDENTAL GETAWAY DRIVER.
Francesca Scorsese
Francesca Scorsese has spent most of her life on sets, appearing in films such as THE DEPARTED, THE AVIATOR, and HUGO. Now she is forging her own path as an up-and-coming actress and director. Recently, she starred as Britney in HBO’s critically-acclaimed coming-of-age series, “WE ARE WHO WE ARE,” co-created and directed by Luca Guadagnino. Her directorial debut came in the form of a segment in the Netflix series STORIES OF A GENERATION WITH POPE FRANCIS (2021), which she followed with her short film CRIMSON TIES that made its way around the festival circuit including premiering at Tribeca Film in 2022. Her latest short film FISH OUT OF WATER screened at Cannes and is set to premiere at Tribeca Film Festival this summer. Upcoming, Francesca will be starting the ensemble indie film CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER’S POINT directed by Tyler Taormina and starring Michael Cera and Elsie Fisher. Currently, she is working on a book with A24 set to release later this year. She resides in New York City.
Noah Centineo
Noah Centineo has quickly become one of Hollywood's most in-demand actors. Centineo was most recently seen starring as ‘Atom Smasher’ in box office hit BLACK ADAM alongside Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Pierce Brosnan and Quintessa Swindell.
Upcoming, Centineo will reprise his role in season two of NETFLIX series THE RECRUIT in which he leads and serves as an executive producer. This dramatic thriller follows Centineo and co-stars Daniel Quincy Annoh and Laura Haddock as they navigate the world of international espionage. The eight-part series premiered in 2022 and will return to production this year.
This year marked the launch of Centineo’s production company ARKHUM PRODUCTIONS. Alongside Head of Production, Enzo Marc, Arkhum will focus on comedy and drama projects with an emphasis on social commentary.
Centineo rose to fame in the wildly popular Netflix trilogy TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE. For his role as ‘Peter Kavinsky’ in the film adaptation of Jenny Han’s best-selling novel, he won an MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance. He reprised his role in the sequel TATB: P.S. I STILL LOVE YOU and most recently, returned for the third and final film of the series which was released on February 12, 2021.
In 2019, Centineo was seen in the Elizabeth Banks directed CHARLIE’S ANGELS opposite Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska and starred in Netflix’s THE PERFECT DATE opposite Laura Marano. That year, he also made his directorial debut and starred in ARTY’s “Save Me Tonight” music video alongside Lily Collins.
In 2018, Centineo starred opposite Shannon Purser and Kristine Froseth in Ian Samuel’s SIERRA BURGESS IS A LOSER, a contemporary retelling of the classic Cyrano de Bergerac story.
He first came to prominence for his work in the ABC Family / Freeform series The Fosters, for which he was nominated for a 2017 Teen Choice Award. He reprised his role as a guest star in the spin off GOOD TROUBLE.
Centineo is also the co-founder of Favored Nations, a non-profit organization.
Lyna Khoudri
After she caught attention in Sofia Djamma’s 2017 THE BLESSED which earned her the Orizzonti Award for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival, Lyna Khoudri was cast for the title role of Mounia Meddour’s PAPICHA which was selected at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival’s Un certain regard section. She won the Cesar Award for Most Promising Actress for this role. She went on to play starring roles both for television and film, including Rebecca Zlotowski’s SAVAGES, Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano’s THE SPECIALS, Wes Anderson’s THE FRENCH DISPATCH, Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh’s GAGARINE, Cédric Jimenez’s NOVEMBER and Rachid Bouchareb’s OUR BROTHERS, with the last two films being presented at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. In 2023, she was seen in Mounia Meddour’s HOURIA and Martin Bourboulon’s THE THREE MUSKETEERS - MILADY. She will star in Bruno Dumont’s L’EMPIRE and Romain Cogitore’s UNE ZONE À DÉFENDRE alongside François Civil.
Léo Walk
Léo Walk is first and foremost a devoted artist. He particularly enjoys dancing, in all its forms, as he started out dancing as early as 7. Because he has worked hard and won competitions, he made a name for himself in the field.
He has incredible creative and artistic sensibility which helps him adapt his art to the general public, both as a choreographer with his dance company La marche bleue and his creations for brands including Lacoste, la Fondation Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren but also through his collaborations with artists of all walks of life – “Parce que” with painter Inès Longevial, “Isola” with Neels Castillon...
PREMIÈRE RIDE, the first show from La Marche Bleue, played in September 2020 at Olympia Hall and went on to tour throughout France.
Léo Walk is a versatile artist as he also joined Cédric Klapisch’s RISE, released in 2022.
In 2023, Léo created his second show with La Marche Bleue, Maison d’en face, at the Châtelet Theater, which is now touring in France.
Film Students Jury
Aïcha Ndiaye
Born in Dakar in 1993, Aïcha Ndiaye earned a Master’s Degree in English Studies in 2020. She began her education at Ciné-Banlieue in 2013 where she majored in filmmaking and screenwriting and learned to work as a continuity supervisor. Since 2016, she has worked as a continuity supervisor and an assistant director on many TV productions and radio dramas. After she took part in several graduation films and community workshops, Aicha is now developing her first short. As she wishes to take over from her mentor Abdel Aziz Boye, who died in 2017, she now teaches at Ciné-Banlieue.
Adrio Guarino
A film enthusiast, Adrio Guarino is passionate about the relationship between film and the notion of territory. He joined the Distribution/Exhibition Department of Fémis in 2021 after he earned a Master’s Degree in Film Law and worked in the distribution/exhibition industry in various occupations. Alongside his studies, he started his own production/distribution company, Messina Films, to help Italian and Mediterranean films gain more awareness in France. Besides, as showing short films in theaters is very close to his heart, he has created and run, with Ganace Studio, the first edition of a short film festival based at the Grand Action Film theater in April 2023.
Andrew Yoonbeom Kim
Andrew Yoonbeom Kim is a young filmmaker based in Seoul, Korea. He majored in aesthetics and philosophy at Seoul National University. During his college years he developed a passion for filmmaking, which led to his first short film, FLATFISH (2020). His second short film, BRO (2022), was a fake documentary exploring the masculine culture amongst the Korean youth. After graduation, he studied at the Korean Academy of Film Arts, where he experimented with different genres ranging from light comedies to Sci-Fi thrillers. His short films produced at KAFA include DAJEONG 2.0 (2023) and FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON (2023).
Gabrielle Vines
Gabrielle Vines is a Cinema and Television Studies student at SUNY Purchase in New York. She’s the head editor of her school’s online student film journal, Cinemaroll. After writing, directing, and filming the play Red Handed as a senior project in 2021, Vines graduated high school with an International Baccalaureate diploma and a Mira Award for Excellence in Arts, in theater. Vines’ short film Sand Scavengers, inspired by memories from early childhood in Pensacola, had a debut screening at the Easygoing Galley in Pensacola, Florida. Vines enjoys studying and writing on Latin American films and television and enjoys making and collaborating on independent films.
Hugo Serano
Born on April 1, 1998, to a musician mother and a film buff father, Hugo Serano has been, from a very early age, into films and TV series with a distinct visual and musical style. In 2022, after he studied economics for five years, he decided to follow his passion – video – and joined the Biarritz-based Audiovisual BTS school. He began working as an editor for TVPI, a local popular TV station, alongside his studies. At the same time, he became the art director of an innovative, new rap band, Metso, with whom he has developed his skills as a graphic designer and creative manager.
Jury pass culture