Jury for the IDFA Competition for Short Documentary 2020

Margarida Cardoso

Margarida Cardoso is an independent filmmaker, professor at the Film and Media Arts Department of the Lusófona University in Lisbon and Associated Board Member at Doc Nomads. Her films, often relating to her experience in colonial and post-colonial Portuguese Africa, were screened and awarded in many festivals, including Rotterdam, Venice and Locarno. Among her best-known films are the documentaries Kuxa Kanema—The Birth of Cinema (2003) and Natal 71 (Christmas 71) (2000), and the feature films Yvone Kane (2015) and The Murmuring Coast (2004).

Cardoso was born in Portugal and grew up in Mozambique. She studied Photography, Image and Communication at the António Arroio School of Arts in Lisbon and worked as photographer and assistant director in France and Portugal. In 1995 she started directing her own films exploring subjects such as the colonial war in Africa, the revolution, and the post-colonial years. In 2005, Cardoso received the title of Commander of the Order of Prince Henry for her contribution towards spreading Portuguese culture.

Samir Ljuma

Samir Ljuma is an acclaimed cinematographer and producer, and the founder of film production company Diverse Film Production. His focus on capturing human behavior, intimate relations and authentic interaction, his ability to draw multiple layered vivid canvases with his camera and his honest and heartfelt approach towards protagonists is visible in various successful collaborations with Macedonian and international directors like Sergej Georgiev, Ilija Cvetkovski, Hanis Bagashov, Dimitar Orovchanec, and Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov.

With the latter he shot the Oscar-nominated feature documentary Honeyland (2019), which won many awards including the American Society of Cinematographers Award, IMAGO Award, International Documentary Association Award, Cinema Eye Honors Award, and Sundance Cinematography Award. Ljuma also contributed an inside perspective for the international productions Fake News Fairytale (2018) by Kate Stonehill and the short documentary Selling Lies (2019) by Oscar-nominated director Leslie Iwerks.

Tereza Simikova

Tereza Simikova is Head of CPH:FORUM, CPH:DOX’s main financing and co-production platform. In her position of International Program Consultant, she tailors international strategies for grantees of Chicken and Egg Pictures, a US based international fund that supports women nonfiction filmmakers.

A graduate of FAMU, Prague, Simikova directed several short documentaries including The Double Life of Saint Vit, which was awarded at the international festival of science documentaries AFO, Czech Republic in 2006. She served as Program Manager at the international rough-cut workshop dok.incubator and as Head of Industry at East Doc Platform, the largest industry event focused on the Central and Eastern European region.