TV Drama Jury

 

 

• Bulgaria BNT – Valery Marinov, Journalist, Head of International Cooperation and Festivals Division
  Valery Marinov is a television and digital journalist with experience in both commercial and public service media. He has worked his way from news reporter to news editor, diplomatic reporter, international news editor, on-screen presenter, producer and news editor-in-chief. He is also the author of TV documentaries. From 2018 to 2025 he was Networking Manager of CIRCOM Regional. He holds a PhD in public communications and information sciences, focusing on multimedia newsrooms in Bulgaria.
• Canada CBC/SRC – Sophie Bégin, Content Manager
  Sophie Bégin is currently Head of Content for Drama Series and Feature Films at Radio-Canada. She has 18 years of experience in scripted content. She has held leadership roles across digital and broadcast media, including helping launch ICI Tou.tv's first content offering. She later produced the award-winning drama Empathy, created by Florence Longpré, at Trio Orange. Her expertise spans content strategy, creative development, script editing, and production.
• Czech Republic ČT – Petr Hauzírek, Development Editor
  Petr Hauzírek is a specialist in the content development of fiction formats in Czech TV. The core of his work is the literary development of projects - creating the core idea, its gradual refinement, dramaturgy, and literary and editorial work on the script. In addition to his work at Czech Television, he is also a screenwriter and writer.
• Denmark DR – Pernille Munk Esmark Skydsgaard, Executive Director, DR Sales
  Pernille Munk Esmark Skydsgaard is a Danish EAVE producer with a Copenhagen University master's degree in film and media, a bachelor's degree in Economics, Film studies at UCLA and more than 25 years of experience in the European film industry, with credits ranging from creative producer, script consultant and distributor to international festivals expert and sales agent. She has read, developed and consulted on more than 250 scripts, and has developed, produced and distributed fiction and documentary content, participating actively at international festivals and markets over the last 30 years, including work for the DC Intl. Film Fest. She is the founder of 41shadows Production and Distribution, developing original, high-quality stories for a targeted audience across the European continent, often in co-production with international partners, using her wide international network. In 2023 she received the Nordic Council Prize as producer of one of these original co-productions. She created a curated streaming site, FILMLOUNGE. She has participated in several jury and selection committees, and holds strong skills in understanding festival programming and markets, both from her role as Head of Distribution and Festivals at the DFI, and from her current position as Executive Director for DR Sales, financing and selling fiction, documentaries and formats internationally.
• Egypt ART – Toni Mekhael, Managing Director, Italian and Arabic Channels, IND/Mysat
  Toni Mekhael has been with ART and IND Group since 1995. IND is the leading aggregator and marketer of niche television services to various communities worldwide since 1995. IND is the premier distributor of ethnic channels globally and a subsidiary of the ART Group, the first Arabic Pay TV network of channels in the Middle East and the most recognizable Arabic Television Channel in the world. Toni has been a Board Member of the Steering Committee of Charity TV, in 2020, and a Board Member of the Steering Committee of Copeam since 2017, representing Jordan Media City. He has been a jury member of Prix Italia since 2017, representing ART. He is founder and CEO of Proglobal and Multi International Media companies, since 1998 focused on doing business between Europe and West Africa, Libya, GCC, Iraq and Iran.
• France ARTE G.E.I.E. – Eric Morfaux, Commissioning Editor
  Eric Morfaux is a commissioning editor for the Cinema and Fiction Unit at Arte G.E.I.E. He has overseen the development of feature films, drama and TV series. He is involved in the acquisition and broadcast of content, both on television and online. In addition, he has written the screenplays for several historical docudramas.
• Germany ZDF – Maik Platzen, Commissioning Editor
  Maik Platzen has been working as a ZDF editor in the field of international co-productions since 2021. Among other projects, he has overseen series such as Around the World in 80 Days and Queenstown Murders for ZDF's main channel, as well as series such as Elvira, Northern Lights, and others for ZDFneo. Prior to that, Maik Platzen worked as an editor for ZDF/3sat in the areas of feature film acquisition and commissioned productions. He also oversaw various cinema magazines for ZDF/3sat.
• Italy TV2000 – Sabrina Fiorito, Buyer
  Sabrina Fiorito is an archive researcher and producer with twenty years of experience sourcing and acquiring archival material for documentaries, films and web series on social, historical and current affairs topics, produced for major national media outlets. For three years she curated the indexing of Rai Teche's audiovisual archives. She currently works at Rete Blu as an Acquisitions Officer, conducting editorial review of documentaries and films.
• Portugal RTP – Carlos Maio, Head of the International Affairs and Cooperation
  Carlos Maio is Head of the International Affairs and Cooperation Department at RTP, Portugal's public service media organization, where he leads the company's international relations and institutional cooperation operations. He represents RTP in a wide range of national and international organizations and plays an active role in fostering partnerships and collaboration across the global public media community.
• Ukraine SUSPILNE UKRAINE – Alona Holiakova, Executive Producer, Outsource Production and Co-Production Department
  Alona Holiakova is a Ukrainian-based producer and commissioning editor with over five years of experience in public media. Executive Producer and Commissioning Editor of Co-Productions and Outsource Commissioning at Suspilne Ukraine. Founder and Producer of Suspilne PRO, an industry platform for the development of Ukraine's creative industries — documentary, media, film and audiovisual production. She specialises in documentary, social and cultural programming, and international co-productions.
• United Kingdom BBC – Nawfal Faizullah, Commissioning Editor
  Nawfal Faizullah is a Commissioning Editor in the BBC Drama commissioning team. Recent work includes What It Feels Like For A Girl, Lord of the Flies and Film Club. He was previously a Development Executive at Left Bank Pictures, where he developed the BAFTA-winning BBC One single drama Sitting In Limbo.