Meet the Juries of Nordisk Panorama Film Festival 2025
Meet the individuals tasked with the most difficult job of the festival – selecting the winning films in our competition categories.
Documentary Jury
Markéta Štinglová
Head of International Co-Productions
Czech Television
Markéta graduated from the Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) and began her career as an executive producer of documentaries focused on personal stories marked by the political events of the 20th century. She is currently the Manager of the International Content Projects at Czech Television (Česká televize), where she oversees international cooperation across genres, with a strong focus on documentaries. She manages the partnership with ARTE and represents Czech Television at international co-production markets and pitching forums.
Markéta regularly serves as a jury member at leading international festivals and competitions such as the Rose d’Or, Banff World Media Festival, and the International Emmy Awards. Since 2016, she has been a member of the EBU Documentary Experts Group Bureau, re-elected in 2024.
She is particularly interested in international documentary projects that feature a Czech storyline, creative involvement, or clear relevance for Czech audiences.
Mohamed Jabaly
Film director and Winner of the Best Nordic Documentary Award 2024
Mohamed Jabaly is a Palestinian filmmaker and artist from Gaza. His award-winning documentary work is deeply entwined with the beauty and defiant spirit of his hometown. His latest film “Life is Beautiful” has been recipient of numerous awards, including Best Directing at IDFA 2023 and Best Nordic Documentary at Nordisk Panorama Film Festival 2024. His previous award-winning documentary “Ambulance” (2016) has been shown at some of the world’s largest film festivals, has been broadcast globally. With a deep commitment to the film community and education, Mohamed ran filmmaking workshops for young people in Gaza for a decade before coming to Norway, where he now manages the Twin-city project at Tvibit in Tromsø. As a driving member of the Palestine Film Institute, he runs the Palestine Film Hub. Mohamed has served on juries for festivals including IDFA. He holds a BA from NKFS and an MA from the National Academy of Arts.
Vojtěch Kočárník
Programmer Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Vojtěch Kočárník holds a bachelor’s degree in European studies, Journalism, and Media Studies from Masaryk University in Brno. He then studied Film Studies at Charles University in Prague for four years. Since 2021, he has been working for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and in 2023 he became a programmer for feature films from Eastern Europe, Africa, and documentaries from around the world. He also works as an acquisition and marketing consultant for Artcam Films, an arthouse distribution company in Prague. In 2024, he became one of the advisors to the FAMU film school, where he co-develops the festival strategy for student films. From time to time, he contributes film texts to leading Czech media and is also a member of FIPRESCI.
New Nordic Voice Jury
Sari Volanen
Commissioning editor of short films
YLE
Sari Volanen is in charge of a strand called “New Cinema” on YLE Teema channel. The main focus of New Cinema is on cinematic, surprising, original, and quirky films, short films, and some feature documentary films fitting the profile.
Ömer Sami
Film Director and Honourable Mention Best Nordic Short Film 2024
Ömer Sami is a filmmaker of British, Irish and Turkish descent. His work has been shortlisted for an Academy Award and showcased internationally at Telluride, IDFA, Cameraimage, Hot Docs among others and platforms such as The Guardian, The New Yorker, The Atlantic and Vimeo Staff Pick. His work has been nominated for an IDA Award, Critics Choice Award and Danish Film (Robert) Award. He graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 2023.
Vladan Petković
Film Critic
Cineuropa & Screen International
Vladan Petković is a journalist, film critic and festival programmer. He is a senior writer at Cineuropa, correspondent for the territories of former Yugoslavia at Screen International, and industry talks editor and programme advisor for short films at IDFA. He is a programmer for ZagrebDox and programme director of Rab Film Festival (Croatia), and a co-founder and head of studies at GoCritic!, the training program for emerging film journalists and critics in collaboration with Cineuropa.
Short Film Jury
Aurélie Chesné
Conseillère de Programmes court métrage / Program advisor
France Télévisions
Aurélie Chesné has been a program advisor in the short film department of France Télévisions since 2011. She programs the France 3 short film slot “Libre Court” broadcast every Tuesday evening of the year around midnight. Short films at France Télévisions provide artistic and financial support for French films and films from around the world to give promising directors a chance.
Carolina Sandvik
Film Director and Winner of the Best Short Film Award 2024
Carolina Sandvik is an artist and stop motion filmmaker based in Malmö. In 2019, she received a master’s degree in Fine Arts from Malmö Art Academy.
”The Lovers” premiered at Locarno Film Festival, where it was awarded the jury’s special mention. It was nominated for a Guldbagge in 2023 and received several awards, eg at Nordisk Panorama Film Festival, Fredrikstad Animation Festival, and Lund Fantastic Film Festival 2024.”The Expected” won the award for best Swedish Short Dragon Award at the Gothenburg Film Festival 2021.
Sandvik has also shown her work at exhibitions at eg, Färgfabriken in Stockholm and Malmö Art Museum, Galleri Format and Digitaliseum in Malmö.
Vincent Förster
Programme Manager Short Films
Berlinale Generation
Vincent is a festival programmer, filmmaker, and moderator from Berlin.
His studies of International Relations, Arabic, and Documentary Film Directing took him to Scotland, Egypt, Morocco, and Sudan, where he worked in cultural and educational institutions and realised film projects. He’s been part of the selection committees of Kurzfilmtage Winterthur and Filmfest Dresden, and serves as Programme Manager Short Films at Berlinale Generation.