Meet the Juries of the 10th Beyond Borders

Meet the Juries: The 10th Beyond Borders Competition Juries!

Renowned professionals and creators from the global film industry will gather this August in Castellorizo to offer their unique perspective on the films competing at the 10th Beyond Borders | International Documentary Festival of Castellorizo. Their participation in the juries is a particular honor for the Festival, which continues to deepen its content, quality, and growth — always through its most important element: people.

Strategic Partner of Beyond Borders is PPC (Public Power Corporation), the leading energy company in Southeastern Europe, which actively supports the arts and culture. As an integral part of the country’s social and economic fabric, PPC fosters dialogue with culture and the arts, supporting everyone and everything that leads us to the future — a better future for all, where culture takes center stage.

Meet the members of the juries of the 10th Beyond Borders:

Main Competition Jury

Tassos Boulmetis (President): Studied Physics at the University of Athens and Film Directing & Production for Cinema and Television at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on an Onassis Foundation scholarship. He worked academically as a teaching assistant at UCLA, and upon his return to Greece, he worked as a freelance director and producer for television programs.
He is the producer, screenwriter, and director of the feature film Dream Factory, which won a total of eight awards in Greece and the Gold Award for Fantasy Films at the Houston Festival. Since 1988, he has directed commercials in Greece and abroad. His second feature film, A Touch of Spice, won eight State Awards and the Audience Award at the 2003 Thessaloniki International Film Festival, setting a record with over 1,600,000 admissions in Greece, and has been screened in 45 countries worldwide.
He is a Visiting Professor at UCLA, has given seminars and masterclasses at various universities, and has taught applied directing courses at private colleges in Greece. In 2010, he was elected the first President of the Hellenic Film Academy and is a member of the European Film Academy. His third feature, Notias, is a coming-of-age story set during the post-junta era, while 1968 is a dramatized documentary about the legendary basketball final held at the Panathenaic Stadium on April 4, 1968, when the refugee club AEK defeated the mythical Slavia Prague. Since 2020, he has been teaching at New York College.

Claudia Bucher: An experienced commissioning editor at ARTE G.E.I.E., where since 2001 she has played a decisive role in shaping the channel’s documentary identity. Since 2013, she has been Head of THEMA and Geopolitics at ARTE’s headquarters in Strasbourg, curating and overseeing high-profile productions focusing on current affairs, investigative journalism, and global geopolitical developments. Alongside her work at ARTE, she is an active member of the EBU Documentary Experts Group, contributing strategically to shaping public broadcasters’ documentary policies in Europe. She has also been a long-standing mentor at the Documentary Campus Masterschool, supporting emerging creators in developing and positioning their film projects internationally.

Eugenia Giannouri: Studied French Language and Literature at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Film & Television at the Stavrakos Film School. She earned a second degree in Art History, a Master’s in Documentary and Visual Anthropology from Paris Nanterre University, and a PhD in Film Theory and Aesthetics from Sorbonne Nouvelle University. In 2016, she was elected Associate Professor in the Department of Film and Audiovisual Studies at Sorbonne Nouvelle.
Her recent research focuses on the figure of “home” in fiction films, documentaries, and audiovisual art. Her writings explore the role of “the house” in contemporary Greek cinema, the aesthetics of slowness in world cinema as a form of resistance, as well as expanded documentary practices — particularly the “turn to documentary” in contemporary visual arts.

Jobst Knigge: An award-winning director and screenwriter based in Berlin, known for socially engaged, historically rooted, and deeply reflective documentaries. His work — often in co-production with ARTE — has taken him around the globe, conducting in-depth interviews and telling stories with universal resonance and impact. His notable works include The AIDS War, 3 Lives – Axel Springer, A World Apart, and the documentary series NAKED. He has received numerous awards for his contributions to creative documentary, including the Bavarian Television Award (2013, 2021) and the GRAND Award at the New York Festivals (2022). His earlier works include Too Young To Die – Karen Carpenter (2018, ARTE/ZDF), Mata Hari (2017, ARTE/ZDF), Germany’s First Ladies (2016, ARD/WDR), Stalin’s Daughter (2015, ARTE/ZDF), and Too Young To Die – Falco: Dying to Live (2015, ARTE/ZDF).

Maria Louka: Born in 1984, she studied Psychology at Panteion University. Since then, she has worked as a documentary filmmaker, screenwriter, and journalist, and currently serves as President of WIFT GR (Women in Film & Television Greece). Her work includes scriptwriting and editorial roles in media such as Cosmote History, ERT, Vice, and the Onassis Foundation’s Stegi, as well as collaborations with independent documentaries.
In 2023, she completed the documentary Mourning for Those Left Behind, which won Best Documentary at the Greek Film Festival in Berlin. She is currently co-directing Survivors, a documentary on gender-based violence, which won the ERT Award at the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum. In parallel, she works as Project Coordinator at the Eteron Institute.
She has contributed texts to several books and collective volumes, including Queer (Psifides Publications), Zack/Zackie Oh! (Rodakio Publications and Onassis Foundation’s Stegi), Dictionary of Censorship in Greece (Kastaniotis Publications), as well as her novel A Woman Apologizes (Topos Publications). As a journalist, she specializes in human rights, far-right violence, state authoritarianism, migration, and gender-based violence. She has been honored with the “Eleni Vlachou” Journalism Award (2013) and the Migration Media Award (2018), and has been nominated four times for the European Press Prize.
Her first theatrical monologue, 18/9, premiered in 2024 at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, while her writings on marginalized women and the refugee crisis have been featured in productions such as Women of the Earth and Bodies. Her work has also been presented in group exhibitions at the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, the Benaki Museum, Bozar in Brussels, and Technopolis in Athens.

FIPRESCI Jury

The new Board of Directors of FIPRESCI, which will be represented by three members from Greece and abroad, notes among other things:

“At a time when walls are being built, cinema can help overcome the barriers between countries and people: this is the meaning of the Beyond Borders International Documentary Festival in Castellorizo, and this is why FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics, is happy to actively participate in the dialogue—both through its annual Jury and through the Critics’ Panel, a now well-established tradition in Castellorizo that fosters and opens to the public a vibrant discussion about the state of contemporary cinema. Beyond Borders does not only present documentaries focusing on history and relations between states, but also promotes exchange among Festival participants, encouraging human contact and the sharing of experiences. This is precisely the spirit of FIPRESCI, which unites colleagues from more than 80 countries worldwide, safeguarding the freedom and ethics of film criticism and encouraging the exchange of ideas and experiences, thus creating—beyond any ideological or political distinctions—a new foundation for an enduring dialogue.”

Jan Storø
Born in 1954 in Oslo, Norway, Jan Storø is an independent film critic for the newspaper Khrono (khrono.no), a daily publication within the national network owned by ten Norwegian universities, covering academic education and research at both national and international levels. He also writes for the film magazines Cinema (cine.no) and Z (znett.no). He has served on juries for both international and national film festivals. Since 2023, he has been a voting member of the Golden Globes jury.

Storø is Emeritus Professor of Social Pedagogy at the School of Social Sciences of Oslo Metropolitan University. For 30 years, he worked in residential care for children and youth, primarily as head of such facilities. He has authored books and academic articles on subjects including social pedagogy, residential care work, ethics, aftercare services for young people leaving child protection, and writing. His most recent book, Overganger (Transitions), published by the Norwegian University Press in 2024, explores life transitions and how we manage them. He is currently writing a biography of Norwegian director Arnljot Berg (1931–1983).

As a film critic, he focuses mainly on arthouse cinema and films from beyond the mainstream currents of the USA and Europe (Global South countries), as well as documentaries. Since 2024, Storø has also been involved in filmmaking and is currently working on his second short documentary.

Elli Mastorou
Born in Athens and raised in Brussels, Elli Mastorou has been passionate about cinema, writing, languages, and travel for as long as she can remember. She studied Art History and Film Theory in Brussels (ULB-ELICIT) and Paris (Nanterre). Since 2012, she has worked as a freelance film critic for various print, online, and radio media in French-speaking Belgium (L’Avenir, RTBF, Marie-Claire, Surimpressions), while covering and collaborating with various national and international festivals. Since 2021, she has been President of the Union of Belgian Film Critics (UPCB-UBFP). She lives and works between Brussels and Athens.

Nikolaos Aletras
Nikolaos Aletras holds a PhD in Film from the Department of Film Studies, School of Fine Arts at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH). His research interests focus on streaming audiovisual production and digital distribution, the analysis of South Korean cinema as “full service cinema,” and the genre of School Movies (his postdoctoral research concerns the production of a 3D Animation School Movie).

He is a member of the Special Educational Staff (E.E.P.) at the Department of Film of AUTH, where he teaches courses in Film Production, and is also an Autodesk-certified instructor for the 3D Animation production program Maya.

Aletras is a journalist and film critic, having written for various newspapers and online media as an accredited correspondent at several international film festivals (Cannes, Istanbul, Busan, etc.). He served as Artistic Director of the Larissa International Film Festival (2009–2017). He is also director of the film website icineman.com, as well as a member of the Panhellenic Union of Film Critics (PEKK) and the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI). His articles and reviews have been published in PEKK collective volumes, and he was a member of the Audiovisual Literacy Working Group of the National and Social Dialogue Committee for Education (Nov 2015 – Jun 2016). Since March 2022, he has been a member of the Scientific Committee for Artistic Education at the Ministry of Education.

He is the author of the books School Movies: The Global Nature of a Film Genre (Aigokeros, 2020), Streaming and Digital Distribution (Aigokeros, 2020), Fundamental Principles of 3D Animation Production (Aigokeros, 2023), and Reading and Evaluating Film Scripts (Aigokeros, 2024). As a result of his postdoctoral research, he wrote the script for Kalamonas, which he is directing as a full-length 3D animated feature film using software tools such as Autodesk Maya.

μicro Competition Jury

Michaela Kolster (President)
Born in 1964 in Verden/Aller, Germany, Michaela Kolster began her academic journey by earning a Master of Arts degree in Political Science, Japanese Studies, and Modern History from the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Bonn. She then studied at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan, on a scholarship from the Japanese Ministry of Education.

From February to December 1989, she worked as a freelance contributor at ZDF’s Tokyo bureau. Later, she served as Head of the Director’s Office at ZDF’s Central Studio in Bonn from May 1992 to 1996. From March 1996 to December 2009, she was a political correspondent at ZDF’s Central Studios in Bonn and Berlin. She subsequently headed the ZDF Studio for North Rhine-Westphalia in Düsseldorf from January 2010 to October 2012. Since November 2012, she has served as Programme Director at ZDF for the events and documentary channel PHOENIX in Bonn.

Bruce Clark
An experienced author, journalist, broadcaster, and speaker, Bruce Clark is internationally recognised for his expertise in religion, geopolitics, the history of Southeastern Europe, and the art of textiles. As digital editor for the religion section of The Economist, he has contributed extensively to international publications and actively participates in global dialogues on faith and the environment.

He has a particular interest in the local history of Northern Ireland and its cultural heritage in linen textiles, and has authored notable works such as Twice a Stranger: How Forced Migration Forged Modern Greece and Turkey and Athens: City of Wisdom.

A graduate of St John’s College, University of Cambridge, where he studied Philosophy and Social and Political Sciences, Clark’s journalism career spans more than three decades, including senior roles at The Economist and the Financial Times, covering topics from the Balkan conflicts to transatlantic relations. He began his career at Reuters, while also developing language skills in French, Modern Greek, and Russian.

Alex Sakalis
A writer and journalist based in Bologna, Italy, Alex Sakalis served from 2013 to 2018 as Associate Editor at openDemocracy, where he was also Editor-in-Chief of the Europe section and a trainer for young journalists at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. As a freelance journalist, he has worked with outlets including the BBC, The Guardian, and The New York Times, specialising in the preservation of architectural and environmental heritage in Italy and Greece.

Gilles Perrin
Holder of a Diplôme d’Études Approfondies in Cinema and a screenwriting degree from ENS Louis Lumière, Gilles Perrin lives in Paris, where he has taught literature and cinema for over 25 years at the École Alsacienne.

His cinema courses combine theoretical and practical approaches, with a strong emphasis on building a comprehensive cinematic education—from the origins of film to the present day, with works from around the globe. Each year, he organises a “cinema week,” screening films and hosting professionals from the industry. Since 2024, in collaboration with Écrans du Monde, he has organised the documentary festival Destins d’ailleurs, which offers high school students an alternative, reflective, and human-centred approach to cinema.

Vassilis Loules
A director of documentary and fiction films, Vassilis Loules has collaborated with ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation) and the Film Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the classification of historical newsreels.

His films have won awards, been broadcast on Greek and international television (ERT, Hellenic Parliament TV, ARTE, etc.), featured in international tributes, received critical acclaim, and are used as educational material in universities. His work focuses primarily on history, social anthropology, ethnography, and industrial archaeology, often through the personal stories of ordinary people. His films include: A Big Family (2023), Kindred Spirits (2019), On.Off. (2015), Loop (2014), I Also Passed by There and Had Paper Shoes (2014), Kisses to the Children (2012), Meetings with My Mother Lela Karagianni (2005), A Shining Sun (2000), Absent (1990).

He frequently tours as a guest of universities in the USA and Canada—including Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, McGill, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, Duke, Dartmouth College, and UCLA—presenting his films. He also conducts filmmaking workshops on topics such as “Testimony and Oral Narration” and “From Personal Story to Great History.”

Portrait photos of the Juries you will find HERE.

The catalogue of the 10^th edition you will find it HERE.

Photos from the festival can be found HERE and film stills HERE.

Watch the detailed programme of 2025 HERE.

Watch the trailer of the 10th edition HERE.

Selected photos from the Press Conference you can find HERE.

For more information, visit: www.beyondborders.gr or email info@beyondborders.gr

Organized by the Hellenic History Foundation (IDISME), in collaboration with France’s Ecrans des Mondes.

Co-organized by the South Aegean Region with the support of the Hellenic Parliament, Ministry of National Defense, General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad & Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Secretariat for the Aegean & Island Policy of the Ministry of Shipping, EKKOMED – Creative Greece (National Centre for Audiovisual Media & Communication), Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), Greek National Tourism Organization and the embassies of Australia, Germany, Austria, Spain, Switzerland and Italy in Athens.