Jury for the IDFA Competition for Best First Feature

Nicole Vögele is a documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist. For over 20 years she has been freelancing for Swiss national TV, lately focusing on investigative projects in the field of human rights issues, often in collaboration with Lighthouse Reports and other international media outlets. Amongst other recognitions she received the Swiss Journalist of the Year Award 2020 and the German Human Rights Film Award 2022. As a filmmaker, Vögele is known for her distinctive approach to documentary, crafting poetic visual essays. In 2014, nebel / fog premiered at Berlinale where it got an honorable mention, and her first feature film Closing Time received a Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival in 2018. Her latest work The Landscape and the Fury was awarded the Grand Prix at Visions du Réel 2024 and the Doc Alliance Award. Since 2021 Nicole Vögele is a Professor in Moving Image at the Dresden University of Fine Arts.

Mohamed Jabaly is a Palestinian filmmaker and artist from Gaza City. His award-winning documentary work is deeply entwined with the beauty and defiant spirit of his hometown. His latest film Life Is Beautiful – Al haya helwa has received numerous awards including Best Directing at IDFA 2023 and the Best Nordic Documentary Award at the Nordic Panorama 2024. His previous award-winning documentary Ambulance (2016) has been shown at some of the world’s largest film festivals and broadcast globally. With a deep commitment to the film community and education, Mohamed ran filmmaking workshops for young people in Gaza for a decade before coming to Tromsø, where he manages partnership programs. As a driving member of the Palestine Film Institute, he is also responsible for festival delegations. He holds a BA from Nordland Film & Art College in Northern Norway and currently completing his MA at the National Academy of Arts in Oslo.

Heidi Hassan is a Cuban-Swiss filmmaker and visual artist who also collaborates prolifically as a cinematographer and documentary advisor. She is a graduate of the prestigious Cuban film academy EICTV, and holds a degree in Film Directing from the Haute École d’Art et Design in Geneva. In her 20-year career as a cinematographer she has been using her art to explore various realities and cultures. Her films have won awards at festivals including the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema (Cuba), the Málaga Film Festival (Spain), and the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). However, her greatest achievement has been moving people of all ages and backgrounds. Her visual art pieces have been exhibited in venues such as the Centre de la Photographie in Geneva and featured in exhibitions in Cuba, Argentina, Canada, Santo Domingo, the United States, Vienna, and will soon be exhibited in Taiwan.