This year, the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), comprising distinguished film critics, presents two awards: to the best film of the International Competition section and to the best Greek film that has its premiere at the Festival. This year’s jury members are Senem Erdine, Manuel Halpern, and Yannis Zoumboulakis.
Senem Erdine
Senem Erdine is a film critic, curator and programmer. She has studied History and in 1994 she joined the team of Sinema, the leading monthly film magazine of Turkey. She worked there as a writer and an editor, before taking over as the editor-in-chief for seven years, until 2013. From then on, her work expanded to other publications and film festivals. In 2016 she shifted to film programming and started working for TÜRSAK (Turkish Foundation of Cinema and Audiovisual Culture). There, she managed several film events and served as a director of the Randevu Istanbul International Film Festival from 2016 to 2018. In 2018, she joined Sinematek Istanbul (Sinematek/Sinema Evi) team set out to establish a new cinémathèque in Istanbul under the roof of Kadıköy Municipality. From 2020 to 2023, she worked as the film program coordinator of this new cinémathèque, a member of FIAF (International Federation of Film Archives) since November 2023. Currently, she works for Sinematek Istanbul as an advisor.
Manuel Halpern
Manuel Halpern, born in Lisbon, is a writer, journalist, and film critic. He covers film and music for JL, contributes regularly to Visão, and directs the literary magazine A Morte do Artista. Halpern has hosted the radio programs Juke Box and Contos para Pulares, as well as the TV program Best of Cinema. He holds a postgraduate degree in Film and Pop Music Criticism from Universitat Ramon Llull (Barcelona), and has received fellowships from José Rodrigues Miguéis in Washington and Gabriel García Márquez in Cartagena de Indias. Halpern has served as a jury member for various film and music festivals and the Portuguese National Film Board (ICA). His bibliography includes O Futuro da Saudade, Fora de Mim, O Homem do Leme, and Escama, Rímel, Carapaça, along with plays like O Segredo do Teu Corpo, Palco, and Palavras Difíceis. In his spare time, he also works as a VJ.
Yannis Zoumboulakis
Yannis Zoumboulakis has been working as a culture columnist and film critic in the newspaper To Vima, having joined almost all the printed media within the same media group, as well as the newspaper’s website (www.tovima.gr). Since 2018 he has been collaborating with newspaper Ta Nea as a cinema specialist, also working as a film critic. He has been active as a journalist since 1987 (his first collaboration was with the weekly magazine Telerama). From 1992 to 1997 he joined the weekly magazine TV Zapping, from 1993 to 2004 he worked in the monthly magazine Cinema, while from 1995 to 1999 he collaborated with the monthly variety magazine Metro. Since 1994 he has been a member of the Panhellenic Association of Film Critics (PEKK), having contributed to various editions (Lucchino Visconti, Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, Emir Kusturica, annual cinema guides etc).
