Abdellatif Kechiche (Tunisia) President

Abdellatif Kechiche made his debut in the theater with an adaptation by García Lorca, produced by Muriel Channey. He began working in the cinema in 1984 with Le Thé à la menthe  by Abdelkrim Bahloul. While continuing to act in the theater, he was noticed in 1987 in André Téchiné’s Les Innocents  (The Innocents). In 1991 he worked in Nouri Bouzid’s Bezness  and was awarded the prize for the best performance at the International Damas Festival and at the Namur Francophone Film Festival. In 2000 he went on to direction with La Faute à Voltaire  (Blame It on Voltaire). Amongst other prizes the film was awarded for the best first work at the 57th Venice Film Festival, the special prize of the jury at the Namur Francophone Film Festival and the special prize of the jury at the Angers Premiers Plans Festival. In 2003 he completed L’Esquive  (Games of Love and Chance). The film was a resounding success at the 2005 César (best film, best production, best screenplay) and received numerous other prizes worldwide. In 2007 La Graine et le Mulet  (Couscous) came out and was awarded, amongst other prizes, the special prize of the jury (ex-aequo) at the 64th Venice Film Festival, as well as the prestigious Louis Delluc award. The film was also awarded the 2008 César for the best film, best production and best script.

Alice Braga (Brazil)

Brazilian-born actress Alice Braga has been receiving critical acclaim and international recognition ever since her stirring performance in Cidade de Deus  (City of God), which contributed in catapulting the film to multiple Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. The actress was most recently seen starring opposite Will Smith in the record-breaking box office hit I Am Legend. The Warner Bros. release was directed by Francis Lawrence. Braga can currently be seen in David Mamet’s Redbelt, released by Sony Pictures Classics on 2008. Following Redbelt, Braga joined an ensemble cast including Sean Penn and Harrison Ford in Wayne Kramer’s film Crossing Over. The Weinstein Company released the film on August 2008. Braga re-teams with her Cidade de Deus  director, Fernando Meirelles, co-starring in Blindness, an upcoming film based on a novel by Nobel Prize winner José Saramago. The film also stars Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo and is currently scheduled to be released on September 2008 by Miramax. Braga recently wrapped shooting on Universal’s Repossession Mambo  opposite Jude Law and Forest Whitaker. Written by Eric Garcia, adapted from his own novel, this film is slated for a 2009 release.

Gregory Jacobs (USA)

Gregory Jacobs produced The Informant, to be realized in 2009, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Matt Damon. He previously produced Soderbergh’s The Good German  (2006), Full Frontal  (presented in 2002 at the 59th Venice Film Festival), Bubble  (presented in 2005 at the 62nd Venice Film Festival) and Equilibrium, Soderbergh’s segment of a trio of short films released together as Eros  (presented in 2004 at the 61st Venice Film Festival). Jacobs is the executive producer on Soderbergh’s Spanish language films Guerrilla  and The Argentine, which debuted at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. They began their association on King of the Hill  and he has collaborated with the director on nine additional films, including Ocean’s Thirteen, Ocean’s Twelve  (on which he served as executive producer), Traffic  and Erin Brockovich. Jacobs directed the horror/thriller Wind Chill, starring Emily Blunt, which was released in 2007. He made his writing and directorial debut on Criminal  (presented in 2004 at the 61st Venice Film Festival) starring John C. Reilly, Diego Luna and Maggie Gyllenhaal.