Mi Mi Lwin comes from Nyaung Oo Township in Mandalay Division in Myanmar’s central dry zone. Her parents are toddy palm farmers. After graduating from Yezin Agricultural University she came to Yangon where she took up an internship at independent non-profit organisation Enlightened Myanmar Research (EMR). Since being accepted to Yangon Film School in 2014 she has worked on a number of films in various capacities.

After completing a Fine Arts degree at Ilam, Zoe wrote and directed feature-film documentary Lost In Wonderland. A potent exploration of one man’s search for justice and identity, the film received international acclaim and was awarded Best Documentary at the NZ Film & TV Awards in 2010. Zoe continues to direct commercials and documentaries and is developing ideas for feature films.

Born in Okinawa, Gori studied film & theater in the film department of the Nihon University College of Arts. He is a very popular comedian as well as an actor and director. He has directed the feature film "A Fool in the Southern Islands (Minami no shima no Humurin)" and 9 other films.

Daigo was born in Fukuoka in 1985. He made his directorial debut in 2012 with "Afro Tanaka." His latest directorial ffort is "Azumi Haruko Ha Yukue Fumei." In 2016, his music video "Kabin Ni Hana" won the Music Video Competition Best Music Video Award at SSFF & Asia 2016. This year he has already won the BEST CONCEPTUAL VIDEO Award at the 21st SPACESHOWER MUSIC AWARDS for Creep Hype's "Oni."

Production Manager for 15 years, Sébastien Maitre worked on numerous feature-films and lived for several years in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Through set scouting and other adventures, the idea came up to write “Get Up Kinshasa!”, a social fable conceived as an anthem to the Congolese’ creativity.

Keun-suk Jang was born on August 8, 1987 in Seoul. He debuted as an actor when he was child. He is an artist and actively works as an actor, singer and a filmmaker. He is currently doing a Masters degree in film directing at Hanyang University. In 2012, "それでもこんな人生良いと思う？" won the Special Mention award at SSFF&ASIA.

Nobuyuki was born in Kyoto. After graduating from Department of Economics, Doshisha University, he started working at an advertising agency. He then moved to the United States to become a film director. He studied film directing at City University of New York City College for two years. He founded Gazebo Film Inc., in Japan and his shorts films have won many awards from film festivals.

Reason for Selection
International Competition: Best Actor- Chris Fortuna in “Big City”Chris plays a taxi passenger, who in the end, runs away without paying the expensive fare. Generally, we as an audience, felt appreciation for his character, especially when he shows justice to xenophobic groups to defend his taxi driver who is Indian. The character also pulls out some childish pranks, and his performance confuses the audience as to see if he is really a nice guy or a jerk throughout the film.

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Chris is an Australian stand-up comedian and actor. He has appeared on various comedy programs including Logie Award-winning television comedy series ‘Utopia’, ’Hamish and Andy’, Comedy Channel’s ‘You’re You’re Skitting Me’ and sketch comedy show ‘Kinne’. Chris has also acted in a variety of films and television shows including House Husbands, Any Questions for Ben, The Heckler and Spin Out. Most recently he has performed in the Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of Born Yesterday.

Reason for Selection
She plays a middle-aged single mother who, besides work, doesn’t seem to have a hobby. To satisfy her sexual desire, or the simple urge to just touch someone, she loiters around her neighborhood to find a potential man. She gives this subtle, disillusioned and disgusted look to a man (a friend, apparently), who doesn’t realize her seductive ways, along with a faint smile. At this moment, we know she steals the audience’s hearts until the very end.

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Evgenia played in leading roles at the “MAIAKOVSKI” theatre in Moscow. It was the encounter between Evgenia Dodina and Yevgeni Arye, a teacher at the theater, that led to her decision to finally emigrate to Israel in 1990, where she started playing at “Gesher” Theatre in Tel Aviv. She joined the theater upon its establishment, has performed in lead roles in the majority of the theater’s productions and has garnered praise and enthusiastic reviews. Since 2007, Evgenia has been an actress at the National Theatre “Habima.”

Reason for Selection
A North Korean defector gives an unusual request to a cop who is detaining him in a cell; “Wanna drink with me?”. So he does. He plays a gentle cop who seems to understand the pain of the defector. Through his acting, we felt the absurdity of being tossed by history, realizing that we are all human beings and we are all the same people, and we learn the importance of protecting the “dignity” of others.

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2017 　Silent Witness by Jung Ji-woo 2016 　The age of shadows by Kim Jee-woon The hunt by Cheon Jin-woo 2014 　Alive by Park Jeong-beom 2008 　Breathless by Yang Ik-joon

Reason for Selection
She plays a mother who donates the heart of her deceased child to another boy. Her character expresses grief and hope, especially in the scene when she listens to the boy’s heartbeat. She conveys both sorrow and the pleasure of “reuniting” with her deceased child, and we, as the audience, can feel healed with the boy’s kind gesture.

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PAN RUO YAO is a Chinese actress based in Beijing, China. She graduated from the Beijing Film Academy Department of Acting with a Masters Degree in Film Acting. With her dedicated passion for acting, she even went to schools like Roma Film Academy, Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts to broaden her knowledge. She was awarded the Best Actress Award in the 34th Vgik International Student Festival, Russia for her outstanding performance in the theatre play, “Waiting for Godot.”

Reason for Selection
A hot-headed, bad mouthing guy who actually has a pure, gentle side is played by Tomoji dynamically and with finesse. Through his strong, fearless performance, he lends credence to the relatively unknown tradition of “bone washing,” and to the importance of respect towards ancestors in Japanese family life.

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Tomoji Yamashiro was born in 1971. He is a comedian based in Okinawa and is also the President of his own talent agency “FEC Office.” He is a TV and radio personality in addition to being an actor, and has been in numerous productions & programs.

Reason for Selection
Mika plays a call girl who is asked to suddenly transform from “queen” call girl to the younger sister of her client in a “one act” story. She shows an astonishing versatility especially since this is her acting debut in cinema! She gives off a distinct aura, drawing in the audience to her world, and makes us look forward to her next acting role.

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Mika was born in Tokyo and decided to be an actress in 2015 while working as an office lady. “April Fish” is her first film starring as an actress.

Mlungiseleli “Mlu” Godola is a 21 year old, aspiring Screenwriter and Film Director currently studying at AFDA Johannesburg. He has since focused his efforts towards his two graduation projects in order to hone his abilities enough to be a credible force in the industry. With his films, he’d like to express his views on life, our country and the people who live in it.

Ceylan graduated from Koç High School in Istanbul, Turkey and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her career in filmmaking. Ceylan recently graduated from Chapman University with a degree in film production. Nicole loves telling stories that help people laugh and she wants to continue making films that carry a sense of humor as well as honest, heartfelt content.

Alois Di Leo is a director, producer, writer and animator. He founded the animation studio SINLOGO. Alois Di Leo has worked in commercials, music videos, TV series and short films. His work has been showcased all around the globe and in some of the most important film festivals.