International Jury 2022
Karel Och | JURY PRESIDENT
Karel Och (b.1974) is Karlovy Vary IFF’s artistic director. He graduated in Film History and Theory from Prague’s Charles University. Since 2001, he has worked for the Karlovy Vary IFF, the key film event in Central and Eastern Europe, as a member of the selection committee, also in charge of the documentary programme, the tributes and retrospectives. In 2010 Och was appointed as the Festival’s artistic director. He is a member of the European Film Academy, as well as of the Czech Film and Television Academy, and since 2014 he has been working as a tutor of the Venice Days jury. In 2018, Och was invited to join the Art Committee of Prague’s FAMU, one of world’s oldest and most prestigious film academies.
Alise Gelze
Alise Gelze has been active as a film producer since 2006 and has produced both features and short films, which premiered at festivals such as Cannes, Berlinale, Rotterdam IFF, Karlovy Vary IFF, Pusan IFF etc. Her most successful productions are Oleg (2019) directed by Juris Kursietis, which had its world premiere at Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, Mother I Love You (2013) directed by Janis Nords, which received more than 15 international and national awards, including Berlinale – Generation KPlus International Jury prize for Best Film, and Mellow Mud (2016) directed by Renars Vimba, which received Crystal Bear at Berlinale – Generation 14Plus. She received the Ministry of Culture of Latvia recognition diploma for professional achievements in film production. Alise Gelze is a graduate of EAVE and ACE Producers.
David Martinez
David Martinez is the Festival Producer of London’s Raindance Film Festival, the largest independent film festival in the UK with over 10 years of experience on events and film promotion. His previous experience includes working as a film programmer for Glastonbury Festival and events coordinator at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Holder of a Master’s Degree in Film as Mass Communications from the University of Leicester, David advocates for diversity and representation in film. He specializes in the promotion of Latin American and queer cinemas. His academic and professional experience in Mexico, USA and UK ranges from advertising and marketing to film studies, with a focus on film promotion at festivals.
Holder of a Master’s Degree in Film as Mass Communications from the University of Leicester, David advocates for diversity and representation in film. He specializes in the promotion of Latin American and queer cinemas. His academic and professional experience in Mexico, USA and UK ranges from advertising and marketing to film studies, with a focus on film promotion at festivals.
Daphne Alexander
Daphne Alexander was born in Cyprus and trained at Oxford University and LAMDA. She was cast as regular character Nadia Talianos on BBC’s Casualty (2006-8). Other TV and film productions include: House of Saddam (HBO/BBC), The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard (BBC), Polanski’s film The Ghost Writer, Beckett with Luca Guadagnino’s Frenesy Film and The Fourth Kind with Universal Pictures. She played the lead female role in the award-winning short film The Palace by Anthony Maras, and the lead female role in the Cypriot feature film Siege on Liperti Street by Stavros Pamballis, which won five awards at Thessaloniki International Film Festival. Recently, she has played Katina Horton in critically acclaimed Smyrna my Beloved, and stars in upcoming dark comedy thriller Minore. Stage highlights include City Stories at 59E59 in NYC and Hidden in the Sand at London’s Trafalgar Studios. Voice highlights include her portrayal of iconic heroine Modesty Blaise for BBC radio 4.
Greg Stepniak
Greg Stepniak is the Head of the Programming Department of Mastercard OFF CAMERA International Festival of Independent Cinema, based in Krakow, Poland. He holds a PhD in Humanities, his dissertation is centered around queer implications of childhood, adulthood and old age in the American performance art and cinema. He graduated from Theatre Studies, Drama Studies, as well as Film and Performance Studies. He studied at Pittsburgh University, at UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television and at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He publishes articles in various magazines and journals. He sometimes writes theatre plays and works as a dramaturg too.