Alissa Simon, Chief Programmer of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Elena Christodoulidou, President of the Executive Board of the Southeast European Film Network, actor Sebastian Cavazza, actress Ljiljana Blagojević, and director Draško Đurović are members of the jury for the feature film competition program of the 39th Herceg Novi Film Festival – Montenegro Film Festival.
This jury will decide on the recipient of the Grand Prix – Golden Mimosa award for best film, as well as the Golden Mimosa awards for direction, screenplay, best actor, and best actress.
Alissa Simon
Currently the Chief Programmer of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Alissa Simon is a long-time film programmer and critic. She was named Chicagoan of the Year for her innovative work at the Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and has served on numerous film festival juries. She is a member of FIPRESCI and collaborates with the American magazine Variety. During her studies at Yale University, she specialized in British Studies, and today she lives and works between London – Chicago.
Elena Christodoulidou
Elena Christodoulidou holds a PhD in Art History from Charles de Gaulle University Lille III in France, with a focus on contemporary Cypriot art.
Since 1994, she has worked at the Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus, where she is currently a Senior Cultural Officer and chairs the Film Advisory Committee. She is the President of the Executive Board of the Southeast European Film Network (SEE) and the official representative of Cyprus in EFAD.
She is the founder of the Cyprus Film Days festival and the Cyprus International Short Film Festival, and a member of the European Film Academy.
Sebastian Cavazza
Sebastian Cavazza graduated in acting from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (AGRFT) in Ljubljana, where he has been teaching acting for camera since 2020. He is one of the founders of S.Z.R.U.I. – Studio for Research in the Art of Acting.
Throughout his career, he has performed in over 90 theater roles and 80 film and television roles, and has also served on juries at the FEST, LIFFe, and Sarajevo Film Festivals.
From 2018 to 2022, he was the first president of the Slovenian Actors’ Association, and from 2021 to 2026, a member of the management board of the Slovenian Film Centre. He is a member of the European Film Academy.
Ljiljana Blagojević
Ljiljana Blagojević graduated in acting from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade.
She has performed in over 60 theater roles. She has appeared in more than 50 films, including Do You Remember Dolly Bell?, Evening Bells, The Knife, How the Steel Was Tempered, The Promise. She has also had notable roles in TV series, including Better Life, Bitter Fruits, The Scent of Rain in the Balkans.
She is a distinguished principal actress of the Drama ensemble at the National Theatre in Belgrade and the founder of the Department of Theatre and Film Arts at Slobomir P. University in Bijeljina.
Draško Đurović
Draško Đurović graduated in film and TV directing from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade.
He directed the television films Born Tomorrow and Entrance Exam, as well as the film Landing on Prčevo, which received awards in New York and Rostov-on-Don. For the film Ace of Spades, he received a Council award at the Herceg Novi Film Festival, and in 2014, he became the first Montenegrin candidate for an Oscar in the country’s history.
He is an associate professor at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Cetinje, and is currently working on the film The Bay.
