Jafar Panahi is a representative of Iranian “New Wave.” He is one of the leaders of contemporary Iranian cinema. Panahi’s work, from his first attempts to discuss social issues to his later and braver discussions of taboo topics in Iran are a creative reflection on the nature of cinema and human society, and are imbued with humanity. In 2010, the court in Iran sentenced Jafar Panahi to six years in prison. In addition, according to the sentence, Panahi was banned from making films for 20 years, giving interviews to local and international media outlets, and leaving Iran. Three Faces was his fourth film (after This Is Not a Film, Closed Curtain, and Taxi) shot after his arrest. The director did not attend the premiere due to being banned from leaving Iran. Panahi is a student of Abbas Kiarostami, whose influence is especially clear in Three Faces, reminiscent of such acclaimed masterpieces as The Wind Will Carry Us and Taste of Cherry.

Igor Bezinović from Rijeka, Croatia, studied philosophy, sociology and literature at the University of Zagreb, after which he trained as a filmmaker at the Zagreb Academy of the Dramatic Art. His first full-length documentary was The Blockade (2012) received the Oktavijan prize for best Croatian documentary and his hybrid feature A Brief Excursion (2017), which premiered at IFFR, and received the Big Golden Arena prize for best Croatian feature. His work has been celebrated internationally at numerous events.

The writer and director was born in Norway in 1964. His film I Belong won four Amanda Norwegian Film Awards, for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Screenplay. Beware of Children premiered in Venice and won the Dragon Award for Best Film and Best Actor at the Gothenburg Film Festival as well as nine Amanda Awards. Sex screened in the 2024 Berlinale Panorama. The first in a trilogy, it was followed by the second part, Love, which premiered in competition at Venice. With the third part, Drømmer, he won an Golden Bear at the Berlinale.

Sophie Fillières (20 November 1964 – 31 July 2023) was a French film director and screenwriter who wrote for more than fifteen film and television productions from 1991 on. Fillières died on 31 July 2023, at the age of 58, after ending the shoot of her last film, This Life of Mine.

Léonard Cohen is a French animator. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Animation at the ENSAD in 2009. His graduation film PLUTO (2010) was selected at multiple festivals and won multiple awards including Best Student Short and the Junior Jury awards at the prestigious Annecy International Animated Film Festival.