Jury Members of 2025

Antoine Vareille is a feature films and television editor. He has worked on Lucky Luke; Hitman; Brice de Nice; Fatal and Discount as well as the TV series Kaboul Kitchen and documentary Intimate Portrait with Peggy Fleming and Cindy Crawford. Antoine has been a jury member of the festival for the last 7 years.  

Fabian Marquez is a writer and executive producer on the sci-fi series Spides, currently streaming on Amazon. He also co-wrote (with Paul Davidson) and will produce the indie comedy Gleek! with Tim Heidecker (Tim and Eric) and director Jim Josking (An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn). Other credits include Better Luck Tomorrow (directed by Justin Lin) and the Academy Award-nominated short, Johnny Flynton (directed by Lexi Alexander).

Oscar Spierenburg (1981) is a painter as well as an auto-didactic director from The Netherlands. He lives and works in Belgium. He has taught himself how to paint and direct and has proved his skills with numerous short films and the awarded feature film Vanitas. Oscar is now working on his second feature-length film Alias Wolf. Alongside working as a director, he owns an art gallery in the center of Antwerp and founded the Apertus Open Source Cinema Project.

Gareth Jones is UK based executive producer, an industry veteran with 25 years experience in financing, sales, and distribution. A formed CEO of George Harrison’s HandMade Films, Gareth has financed, sold, and distributed over 80 independent films, including Mona Lisa; Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels; Psych 9 and 4321 and others.

Giada Ghiringhelli is a London-based filmmaker and video editor who has developed her passion for the visual arts, working across film, art, music, and fashion. Her experimental works have been exhibited internationally at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, Locarno International Film Festival, Aesthetica Short Film Festival, London Short Film Festival, and Uppsala International Short Film Festival. Her latest experimental film won Best Experimental Film at ÉCU Film Festival and Best Sound Design at Underwire in London.

Sam Kadi is a filmmaker based in Santa Barbara, California. He is the director, writer
and producer of the critically acclaimed feature drama, The Citizen, which was
named one of the “Best 10 Films of 2013” by Examiner.com. Kadi’s war-zone
documentary Little Gandhi was an Official Selection for Best Foreign Language Film
for the 2017 Oscars. Kadi is the producer of the 2023 Oscar-shortlisted feature
animation film Lamya’s Poem, which world premiered at the 60th Annecy Film
Festival (France). Kadi is a TEDx speaker, a juror for multiple film festivals, a
member of the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA-Hollywood), a professor
at the University of Southern California – School of Cinematic Arts, and a member of
the Directors Guild of America (DGA) where he serves on the Guild Asian American
Diversity committee.

Mark Perez is one of the premiere non-scripted Executive Producers and Directors in the business today, having produced and directed thousands of hours of programming for networks including NBC, Showtime, Discovery, History, ESPN, VH1, and MTV. Mark’s work includes huge hits such as NBC’s Fear Factor, MTV’s Road Rules and Laguna Beach, and two seasons of America’s Next Top Model for UPN.

Suz Sainty is a documentary producer / director and screenwriter, currently based at Discovery Channel in London. Over the past 15 years, she has also worked for National Geographic and numerous indies in a variety of production and post-production roles, and written several screenplays. Suz has served on the European Independent Film Festival jury since 2007.

Vesna De Vinča is a TV journalist, writer, and producer. With almost 30 years of experience as a journalist shooting documentaries all around the planet, she has been the last journalist in the world to interview Nelson Mandela. Since 2004, she has been managing her own production company “De Vinča Production”. Vesna is also the author and producer of numerous charity events, and endeavors focusing on environmental protection, culture, fashion, and beauty. De Vinča has served on the jury of the European Independent Film Festival since 2007.

Korinna Herzig is a freelance filmmaker from Stuttgart, Germany. She graduated in film and video from the Merz Akademie Stuttgart with her award-winning short film Der Narr that was part of ÉCU’s official selection in 2017, leading her to being a member of ÉCU’s jury ever since 2018. Today, she does editorial work for German Radio & TV (SWR) with a focus on documentaries and is the festival moderator and directress of “Weird Wednesday”, a genre film festival in Stuttgart founded in 2015. Korinna also volunteers in feminist associations and is a certified leader of the Gestalt-workshop“Hero’s Journey” after Paul Rebillot.

Paul Anderson runs an independent freelance video, features, and communications enterprise, specializing in European political news, election observation, climate change, and institutional videos for the international development community. These include the International Committee of the Red Cross, UN, NATO, and the EU, directing, filming, and scripting features in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iraq, Sudan, Chad, Russia, Georgia, and across the EU.

Paul Wyett is a filmmaker based in London.  Paul spent thirty years as an actor before setting up Pimlico Films in 2014.  He has directed various short films, including Helena and the award-winning Sydney – winner of the Best European Dramatic Short at ÉCU 2019.  He is developing several projects for television and film, including Marita Koch, The Red Ribbon, and St. Germain.

Boris Biaou Director, Scriptwriter, Costumes, Producer, Executive Producer, Production Manager, Script, Sets.
Director of FERRARRIE (2022) and winner of the Best European Independent Dramatic Short at ÉCU 2023.

Viktória Szemerédy‘s journey from a medical doctor specializing in intensive care and emergency to an acclaimed filmmaker is a testament to her versatility and passion for storytelling. Initially practising medicine, she shifted her focus to psychology, honing an analytical approach that would later deeply inform her creative work. Graduating with an MA in Screenplay Writing and Directing from the UK in 2019, Viktoria soon transitioned into teaching, sharing her knowledge and insights with aspiring filmmakers. Her directorial prowess has been showcased in five internationally recognized short films, demonstrating her unique perspective and narrative skills. Currently, Viktoria is immersed in the pre-production of a feature film while also crafting the script for another project. Her career, marked by constant evolution and a commitment to exploring the human condition, positions her as a distinctive voice in the world of cinema..

Alan Arrivée is a filmmaker, writer, and artist and Associate Professor of Film Production in the BFA in Film Production Program. His short film SILENT RADIO was awarded Best Foreign Film at The European Independent Film Festival 2007 in Paris, and his short THE ORIGINAL I.Q. TESTER received the Founder’s Choice Award at the 2015 Queens World Film Festival. His short play THE ORIGINAL I.Q.TESTER was a finalist for the 2007 Heideman Award and was published in The Tusculum Review. His memoir THE APPROPRIATE USE OF HANDS appeared in The Florida Review and was selected by editor and founder of The Best American Essays series Robert Atwan as one of the Notable Essays of 2012. Alan is currently working on a feature-length iPhone film titled THE WONDER OF THE WORLD… and a series of short memoirs set in and around his childhood home of Monterey, California.

Scott Hillier is an Australian Director / Cinematographer / Screenwriter. Scott studied film at New York University and The London Film and Television school as well as literary non-fiction writing at Columbia University. He has taught a Master’s Degree course in Screenwriting as well as journalism at the Centre de Formation des Journaliste (CFJ) in Paris. In addition to serving as President of The European Independent Film Festival, he is also Chief Creative Officer for the Zs2 Media Group in Paris.

Rodrigo Estrada is the Festival Manager of the ÉCU Film Festival Group. Managing four film festivals and working at Zs2 Media group he has produced over 30 videos for clients like the NBA, Netflix, Illumination, General Electric amongst others.