Jury President:

OLEG VIDOV, Actor/Producer (Russia) – olegvidov@gmail.com

Oleg Vidov has appeared in more than 50 films since 1961, mostly in starring roles. He was a sex symbol of his generation in the USSR. Although he defected in 1985, many of his films are still played regularly on Russian television today. His US credits include “Red Heat,” “Wild Orchid,” and “Thirteen Days,” “West Wing” and “Criminal Minds.” In 1992 Oleg and his wife obtained international distribution rights to the award-winning Soyuzmultfilm Studio animation library and helped popularize Russian animation around the world. Together they produced numerous series based on the animation they digitally restored and revoiced with leading international stars. More

IAN BOWATER, Writer – GB,

Ian trained as an actor and teacher in England. He was Associate Director, Theatre Royal Stratford East, and Director of The Shaw Theatre in London. He moved to Los Angeles 1988 to work in the film industry. He was Director of Creative Affairs for Patrick Wachsberger at Odyssey Entertainment. Since 1994 he has been a fulltime freelance writer with over twenty screenplays, five are currently in active development. His first produced feature “Unconditional Love” won the Jury Prize at the Hampton Film Festival. He has also worked with the late Carl Schenkel and is a long time collaborator with Ulli Lommel. He still finds time to direct theatre and teaches an Acting Workshop called Total Spontaneity Theatre. His next project is Total Spontaneity Film shooting in May 2011

JOORI KIM, Filmmaker – South Korea

I was born to watch and make movies. When I was in junior high school, I joined a film club and started making films. It was natural to study film and entertainment business for me. My professional work started with several shorts: One Shining Day; Always Behind You… and worked for major Korean movies: The Good, The Bad, The Weird; Mother… If something gives me inspiration, value, knowledge and emotion, cinema is the one.

IGOR KOKAREV, Academic/Filmmaker – Russia

Igor Kokarev, Ph.D. had been teaching in famous Russian film school VGIK in Moscow for 20 years. He was an initiator and vice-president of American/Soviet Film Initiative – the first independent non profit organization has been developed as a result of Entertainment Summit in March 1987, LA, CA. The first text book for Russian producers he published in 1991, second edition – in 2009. For his TV talk-show “Hollywood, Behind the Screen” on Channel 1, Russia, he interviewed a bunch of Hollywood filmmakers, including the producer Mark Carliner, Penny Marshal, the whole team of Walt Disney production, etc. In 1990 Igor initiated the idea of HBO production “Stalin”, participating in the project as an expert and Robert Duval personal assistant. In 1998 he started in Moscow the weekly trade paper “SK-News” as a chief editor – the first in the history of Russian film industry independent edition, and was accredited numerous times as a journalist at many international film festivals. He has been teaching for years in State University Higher school of Economics in Moscow and the last year – in Chapman University, Orange, CA. Published 15 books on film criticism, sociology of film, civil society and charity in the USA, Russia and Europe…

TERI REEVES, Actress – USA

“Teri’s recent recurring credits include General Hospital, Three Rivers, and Days of Our Lives. Guest and costar credits are Undercovers, Rules of Engagement, Medium, The Forgotten, and Numbers. She is also a producing member of the Ovation Award winning Chalk Repertory Theatre where she frequently appears in stage productions. She has her MFA in theater from UCSD. www.terireeves.com – More

AREF RADJAEI, Writer – Iran

Aref, was born in Iran, grandson of a Great Mystic who would shape my life greatly. I grew up multicultural. My first love affair with the movie industry was Russian Cartoons. For my fifth birthday my oldest brother gave me a toy guitar as a gift and asked me if I wanted anything so without hesitation I requested a movie projector – he said “yes” immediately. After scratching his head for a few minutes he said we were going to make one. The next day we were off to the bazaar and other areas to buy parts and after a few days of work together with my other brother and sister we had a hand cranked projector and although it had no sound, it was the greatest feeling in the world to see something created. The same year I became like the character “Toto” from Tornattore’s “Cinema Paradiso” bugging the local projection guy. While at school my parents made it clear they would not allow me to pursue the arts and made me start studying engineering. I ended up studying PPE (Philosophy, Political Science and Economics) and since then pursued my passion for literature. In 1992 I woke up with a major story in my head that I was visualizing in animation with well developed characters. The next story did not come until 1997 when I started writing seriously and have worked with many writers developing characters and in-depth to many major works getting my inspiration from world of mythology and mysticism. I am currently working on a play that will go into production in the very near future.

ALEX ROTARU, Film Director, USA/Romania

Born in Bucharest to an actress and a playwright, Alex started out as an award-winning teen actor. After his highest-honors Bachelor’s degree in Physics from MIT and a stint at the Sorbonne, he interrupted his PhD and earned a Film/TV Production MFA from USC. He has directed and produced several award-winning documentaries currently in release, and will premiere an exciting new doc in 2011, while prepping to direct his first scripted feature this year. Recipient of a Christopher Award and a Grand Prize at MCFF, Alex lives in Beverly Hills. More

MARK SIKES, Casting Director – USA

Mark Sikes began his casting career in 1992 for Academy Award-winning filmmaker Roger Corman. In the past 18 years he has cast over 100 films and several television series, commercials and web series. He has cast projects for top directors such as Tobe Hooper (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”), Mark Jones (“Leprechaun”) and Luke Greenfield (“The Girl Next Door”) as well as many others. Over the years Mark has been fortunate enough to work with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood including Dennis Hopper, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Michael Madsen, Ron Perlman, Roy Scheider and Anna Nicole Smith. Mark has consistently assembled casts that delivered the necessary name value to make his projects commercially successful no matter what the budget has been. He has extensive background in family films, horror, action, science-fiction, comedy and drama. One of his latest projects, the romantic comedy “Is it just me?” was selected by over 40 film festivals worldwide and won numerous awards. More

Jury President:

XIAOLIN YU, Producer (China) – yxl0113@yahoo.com

XiaoLin was born and raised in QingDao, China. She was a professional dancer for over 18 years, with the Qingdao Dance Company, where she earned numerous awards and distinctions as one of the lead dancers in the Shandong Province. At an early age, she also started a dance company and a well-known entertainment production business in QingDao that performed across China. Consequently, she was invited on a full scholarship to attend New York Joffrey Ballet School for professional ballet and modern dance. After Joffrey, Xiaolin studied in Temple University and graduated with a BA in Broadcasting, Telecommunications & Mass Media. During her time at Temple University, she produced and distributed the Chinese version of the critically acclaimed
experimental film, SPACE TIMES SQUARE. XiaoLin is currently a second year producing fellow at the American Film Institute and has produced numerous MOS, short films and a thesis. After her MFA studies she will begin to shoot two horror features in Indonesia
under her own production company—RainDrop Production House, LLC.

JASON HER, Filmmaker, South Korea

Jason is a fine artist/designer/filmmaker located in Los Angeles, CA. He graduated from the Art Center of Design in Pasadena. Some of his work includes Samsung Notebook’s US marketing campaign, producer of Fox Mobile Studio’s original mobile/interactive content series, a producer at Unici Casa Inc, and also the 1st Assistant Director for a Korean drama called “Swallow the Sun”. Jason also showcased his works at Tap Gallery, Sydney, Australia. Currently, Jason is the creative director for Tresics, and also owns Suker Studio Inc., where he is developing “Cudash Adventure Series”, a fantasy live-action series for children, which will incorporate it into interactive learning contents. For collaboration opportunities, visit : www.sukher.com

Danny Bou-Maroun, Composer, USA

Danny was born in Michigan, USA on July 2nd 1988. At the age of five, he moved to Lebanon where he attended the Antonine Sisters School. Fluent in English, French, and Arabic, he received a B.A. in Musicology from USEK in Beirut, Lebanon (June 2009), and then went on to further his studies in composition at The West Virginia University (Fall 2009). In 2010, he went to UCLA to study Film Scoring in Los Angeles, where he is currently residing. Music has been his passion since he first began playing the piano at the age of ten. Since then, he has been creating music for all sorts of media including Short films, Animations, Commercials, Websites, etc. He was also an active leader in The Scouts of Lebanon for the last three years of his twelve-year participation. He is the Keyboardist and Lead Composer in the symphonic power metal band Ostura. www.dannybmaroun.com

ALBERT NICOLAS, Editor, USA

Born and raised in West Palm Beach Florida, Albert has well been accustomed to art and filmmaking trades at an early age. By 16 he was attending G Star School of the Arts for Motion Picture and Television where he entered a competitive landscape of photography and filmmaking. By 17 he won his first film festival awards for his 5 minute short “The Will” co-wrote and directed. After completing high school with enough on set experience, moved to Los Angeles in 2008 and has been working with several production companies, including the Beverly Hills Studio where he is the head editor. www.aanicolas.com

UBI OKEBIE, Writer, Nigeria

Ubi is a graduate of West Georgia University with a BA in Mass Communications. Following graduation, she landed her dream job as a Producer for a TV station where she researched and wrote compelling stories for the public. Soon after, her passion for creating diverse characters and telling their stories allowed her to pursue her true calling as a Screenwriter. She is currently a Screenwriting Fellow at the American Film Institute, where she has written three short films and two feature screenplays.

WISSAM SALIBA, Actor, Lebanon

Wissam Saliba is a Lebanese actor who moved to LA in 2007 where he attended The Stella Adler Studio of Acting and Theatre. He participated in several productions within the Studio including Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (Lord Capulet), Longshots, and Red Directed and written by Dakota Aesquivel and others before he graduated in December of 2009. Wissam is honored to be a part of the jury in The Monaco Film Festival and would like to thank Georges and everybody else for their hard work.

Amel Najjar, Co-Founder & Executive Director

Amel Najjar has been integral in shaping the mission and goals of the organization. As Co-Founder and Executive Director of Children of War Foundation, Amel currently oversees the organization’s daily operations, fundraising, recruiting and face-to-face networking.

Claudia Nicolaou, Treasurer

Claudia Nicolaou employs her many years of experience in financial management and the non-profit sector to assist the organization with its financial and fundraising efforts. Having lived through a war and been a refugee herself, Claudia instantly related to the organization’s mission and has proved herself a valuable resource to Children of War Foundation.

JOHN REED, Technical Director

As owner of MRP, Music Room Pictures ®, Music Room Productions ®, The Music Room Publishing Group ® (ASCAP) and MRP MUSIC (BMI), John has been Producing Visual & Audio “Entertainment for an Interactive World” for Film, Television, Music, Music Videos and Interactive markets since 1975. John is a Composer, Sound Designer & multi-instrumentalist and has combined his creative talents to produce the Sound Design for Universal Pictures ® film KING KONG Eight Wonder of the World working with the approval of Peter Jackson. John has worked extensively with companies like MATTEL, HASBRO, the WWE (World Wresting Entertainment) & James Cameron on the TITANIC utilizing latest technical advancements in digital technology, and interactive media. John is also a published writer for film, technology, and music publications. John is creator and Executive Editor of HOLLYWOOD2YOU.TV Entertainment NEWS an online media outlet.

John held the position of Vice President Operations for ELIXIR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP from 1991 through 1993. John has worked as Technical Director for the MONACO CHARITY FILM FESTIVAL from 2008-2011. Attending UCLA extension Entertainment Business program, excelling in courses such as: Independent film financing & distribution, International music publishing, Legal aspects of the entertainment business, Merging technologies of digital video & audio production, Record production, Song & Talent Evaluation. John designed and built a 24 track mixing console for MUSIC ROOM STUDIOS ® and has overseen the construction of four recording studios. John has produced the Rock Group, RAWK DAWG and has released CDs in 2002 & 2004. John has worked extensively in Sales for several major communications companies in the United States including, General Dynamics, United Technologies, Memorex, U.S. West, Telex, NEC and Bellsouth Communications. John continues to consult on Entertainment Technology and interactive applications for cutting edge projects.

CHARLES DOMOKOS, Board Member

CIDA GONCALVES, Distributor/Acquisition

Cida Gonçalves is President of 8 STAR Entertainment, an independent distribution company of motion pictures and television programming of various genres in all media and formats. 8 STAR Entertainment manages a catalogue of award-winning feature films and documentaries worldwide, including the management of a select group of distributors’ catalogues from Brazil, UK, US and France. 8 STAR Entertainment’s marketing strategies, participation in film and programming markets as well as festivals ensure the broadest possible exposure of its products. At 8 STAR Entertainment we strive to build and maintain long-term relationships with buyers and producers worldwide.Ms. Gonçalves is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, enjoys traveling, is a published poet and a Los Angeles California State University cum laude graduate in Television and Film Media Studies, and holds an AA degree in Public Relations from Los Angeles City College. She also brings to the distribution business a background as a producer, director and talent. Previously, she worked for the Consulate General of Brazil in Los Angeles, producing and hosting a television show, and as a publicist and events manager.

DELPHINE HEE-JUNG KIM, Executive Assistant

Delphine was born in Korea but raised in France. She went to fashion School in Paris, Korea and US, she works as adesigner in LA. Passionate about movies and MCFF.

JJ KIM, Jury Delegate

J.J. Kim was born in South Korea, but grew up in the United States. He studied film/TV, at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, and now he is living in Los Angeles, pursuing his film and TV career. From HGTV, to SYFY Channel, he has done various Television shows and movies working behind the scenes in production.

EVITA MOUSSALLI – Executive Director

Evita Moussalli was raised and schooled in Lagos, Nigeria. She is trilingual and conversant with many cultures. She graduated from the University of Southern California, L.A. with a Bachelor degree in Architecture. Thereafter she worked in AIM Consultants Inc., Architects & Engineers in Macon Georgia, USA. Subsequently, Evita worked as a Design Architect with AIM Consultants Ltd., a subsidiary of AIM Group Ltd in Lagos. Evita’s broadcasting experience commenced while in high school where she used to audition music and assist in scheduling music and conceptualizing show & game ideas for Cool FM. In 2009, the AIM Group Board appointed Evita as COO of the two leading FM stations, namely COOL FM and WAZOBIA FM in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja (Federal Capital). Evita is the key contributor behind the creation of Wazobia FM, the first Pidgin English radio station in the whole of Africa. As a humanitarian, Evita has always been committed to community outreach and gearing the radio towards public service. She is currently launching COOL and WAZOBIA FM in Kano, Northern Nigeria by August 2011. She is also instrumental in developing the format of the upcoming FM stations comprising news, sports and talk shows by September 2011.