33ª Mostra Internacional de Cinema - São Paulo International Film Festival 20 out - 05 nov 2009

ALLEN HUGHES
Born in Michigan, USA, in 1972. He made his feature debut as a producer-director, along with his partner and twin brother Albert, with Menace II Society (1993). His filmography includes Dead Presidents (1995), American Pimp (2000), From Hell (2001), Justine (2004), Mercy (2005).

BRETT RATNER
An American filmmaker and music video director, he was born in 1969 in Miami, USA. He is best known for his films such as The Family Man (2000), Red Dragon (2002), the Rush Hour series (1998, 2001,2007), and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).

FATIH AKIN
He was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1973 as son to Turkish parents. He directed his first full-length feature film Short Sharp Shock in 1998. It was followed by In July (2000), Solino (2002), the short The Evil Old Songs (2004, 28th Mostra) and Head On (2004, 28th Mostra), Golden Bear at the Berlin Festival. He also made the music documentary Crossing the Bridge - The Sound of Istambul (2005, 29th Mostra) and the fiction The Edge of Heaven (2007, 31st Mostra), awarded best screenplay at Cannes Festival. In 33rd Mostra, he also presents the feature film Soul Kitchen.

JIANG WEN
Born in Tangshan, Hebei province, China, he shifted to Beijing at the age of 6. He wrote and directed his first film in 1994, In the Heat of the Sun. Jiang`s second feature, Devils on the Doorstep, set during the Japanese occupation of China in the early 1940s, won him the Grand Prix in the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.

JOSHUA JACOB MARSTON
Born in 1968 in Los Angeles, USA. He graduated from Beverly Hills High School. Marston worked in Paris as an intern for Life, then for ABC News during the Gulf War. He returned to the United States and earned a master`s degree in Political science from University of Chicago in 1994 before earning a Master of Fine Arts in film at New York University. He debuted in the direction of feature films with Maria Full of Grace (2004), Great Prize of the Jury at 28th Mostra.

MIRA NAIR
She was born in 1957 in Orissa, India. She was educated at Delhi University. She is an Indian film director and producer based in New York. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! (1988) won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival. Her filmography includes Mississipi Masala (1991, Special Prize at 15th Mostra); Monsoon Wedding (2002), Golden Lion at the Venice Festival; Vanity Fair (2004) and The Namesake (2007).

NATALIE PORTMAN
An Israeli-American actress, she was born in Jerusalem in 1981. She debuted in Luc Besson’s The Professional (1994). Among others, she acted in the prequel trilogy Star Wars (1999-2005); Mike Nichol’s Closer (2005), for which she received a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actress; Amos Gitai’s Free Zone (2005, 29th Mostra) and Milos Forman’s Goya’s Ghosts (2006, 31st Mostra). She completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Harvard College. In 2008, she was member of the Cannes Film Festival Jury. Portman’s directorial debut, Eve (2008), opened the Venice Film Festival’s shorts competition.

RANDALL BALSMEYER
Director, animation and visual effects supervisor.His filmography includes Shaft (2000) e Pride and Glory (2008), both he is animation and visual effects supervisor.

SHEKHAR KAPUR
Born in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1945. He studied business before immigrating to Great Britain. In Bombay, he embarked on a career as a print model and performer. Abandoning acting, he moved to the director`s chair with the Innocent (1983). After that, he directed Bandit Queen (1994), Elizabeth (1998), The Four Feathers (2002) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007).

SHUNJI IWAI
Born in 1963, in Sendai, Japan. Filmmaker, video artist, writer and documentarian. He attended Yokohama National University, graduating in 1987. He directed TV dramas and music videos in Japan. In 1995, he went on to start his career in feature films, starting with Love Letter. Outstanding among his feature are Picnic (1996), All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001), Hana & Alice (2004) e The Kon Ichikawa Story (2006).

YVAN ATTAL
Born in Tel-Aviv, Israel to French-Algerian Jewish parents, in 1965, he grew up in the Paris suburbs. His acting debut was in Un monde sans pitié (1989). His first feature film as director was My wife is an actress (2001). He also acted in The Patriots (1994, by Éric Rochant, 18th Mostra) and Bon Voyage (2003, by Jean-Paul Rappeneau, 28th Mostra)