JURY

Xandra Popescu is a filmmaker, writer, and curator based in Berlin. She studied film at the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin. Her films “Sentimental Stories” (2023), “On the Impossibility of an Homage” (2024), and “Erogenesis” (2025) premiered in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival, Pardi di Domani in Locarno, and Semaine de la Critique in Cannes.

Andrei Rus teaches at UNATC, initiated and coordinated Film Menu Magazine, provided the artistic direction of the One World Romania Festival, worked in all sorts of places (from the National Center of Cinematography, to the Ministry of Culture), organized multiple retrospectives and screenings, coordinated the two-volume translation of a superb book dedicated to the history of film (Kristin Thompson & David Bordwell), collaborated in various capacities on the making of films (Ivana Mladenovic, Radu Jude & Adrian Sitaru). What he likes most is playing with audiovisual archives and scrolling on TikTok. In general, he likes to watch films at the cinema, not at home.

Ana Dumitrașcu is an actress, producer and playwright, graduate of UNATC “I.L. Caragiale” in Bucharest. She made her debut in the lead role of “Imaculat” (2021), a film awarded Best Debut at Venice and which earned her the UCIN Award for Best Actress, a Gopo nomination for Best Actress, and recognition in publications such as Cineuropa and The Sunbreak. She works in auteur cinema with directors including Radu Jude (“Dracula”), Sarra Tsorakidis, Sebastian Mihăilescu, Andrei Epure, and Iulian Popa, and was selected for Sarajevo Talents in 2022. She also appears in supporting and lead roles in ProTV series. Her most recent lead part was in “Journal d’une femme de chambre”, directed by Radu Jude and featuring Vincent Macaigne, Marie Rivière, and Mélanie Thierry. The film has been selected for the Quinzaine des Cinéastes at the Cannes Film Festival 2026. Alongside her screen work, she is active in theatre, collaborating with both state and independent venues including Teatrul Mic, the National Theatre Bucharest, and Apollo111. She builds her career at the intersection of auteur cinema, television, theatre, and writing, both as a film critic and as a playwright.