Our team
Our team of writers is exceptionally diverse, hailing from four different continents, each bringing unique sensitivities to the table. We take pride in our collective ability to advocate for cinema that resonates with our varied perspectives.
Mehdi Balamissa
Mehdi Balamissa is a Franco-Moroccan documentary film passionate who resides in Montreal. He has held key positions in programming, communication, and partnerships at various festivals worldwide, including Doc Edge, the Austin Film Festival, and FIPADOC. In 2019, he founded Film Fest Report to promote independent cinema from all backgrounds. Since then, he has regularly covered numerous festivals each year while also serving as a pre-selector at Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM).
Abdul Latif
Latif is a film enthusiast from Bogor, Indonesia. He is especially interested in documentaries and international cinema, and started his film review blog in 2017. Every year, Latif covers Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Venice, while frequently attending festivals in his home country (Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival, Jakarta Film Week, Sundance Asia,…).
Michael Granados
Michael is a marathon runner, engineer and movie enthusiast based in Los Angeles who regularly attends international film festivals (Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, Venice, AFI Fest, IFF Rotterdam…). He is interested in experimental, international, and non-fiction cinema.
Ramona Boban-Vlahović
Ramona is a writer, teacher and digital marketer but above all a lifelong film lover and enthusiast from Croatia. Her love of film has led her to start her own film blog and podcast in 2020 where she focuses on new releases and festival coverage hoping to bring the joy of film to others. A Restart Documentary Film School graduate, she continues to pursue projects that bring her closer to a career in film.
Kristin Ciliberto
Kristin has been inspired by and loves films. She grew up going to the theater with her family deciding later on to make this her full time career. Kristin has her Masters Degree in Screen Studies and has always loved watching independent films as well as the big budget cinematic films as she is a true film enthusiast. She is a former Assistant Editor for Video Librarian and has written for Celebrity Page, Scribe Magazine, and Sift Pop.
Samuel Chalom
A journalist in a (fine) investigative outlet by day – after nearly a decade in the business press, from Les Echos to Capital – Samuel spends his evenings – his nights? – scouring movie theaters in search of the nugget, equally enthralled by the latest Korean thriller or good old Eric Rohmer.
Prachi Bari
Prachi Bari, a journalist and filmmaker with 23 years of experience, contributed to leading Indian newspapers (Times of India, Mid-Day…) and news agency ANI. Her filmmaking journey began with “Between Gods and Demons” (2018). Her German film, “In Meinem Pune,” won top honors in Pune. Prachi’s latest work, “Odds & Ends,” is making waves in the festival circuit, earning numerous accolades.
Martha Bird
Martha is a British writer based between Berlin and Bologna. With a Masters in Gender Studies, she is active in left wing politics, and studied at a Berlin based film school. She has co-written and creatively produced a short film based in Southern Italy, worked on a number of independent film festivals across Europe, and is passionate about radical, art-house cinema.
Ryan Yau
Ryan is a film writer and recreational saxophonist from Hong Kong. He is currently based in Boston, studying journalism at Emerson College. He enjoys writing features on local artists and arts events, especially spotlighting up-and-coming independent filmmakers via festival coverage.
Aurélie Géron
Aurélie is a Paris-born independent film critic and voiceover artist based in Montréal, Canada. CPH:DOX, Visions du réel, Trieste Film Festival, FNC and RIDM are among the festivals she loves to cover. Her appetite for documentaries and storytelling has led her to enjoy conducting insightful interviews with artists.
Manuela Ayuste-Azadian
Manuela is a cinephile from Marseille, France. With a background in political sciences, Manuela believes in the power of movies to convey strong messages. She was previously a member of the staff of BUFF Malmö Film Festival in Sweden, and served as jury member for the South American Film Festival in Marseille. While stepping into a career in film distribution, Manuela also regularly attends film festivals, and joined the Film Fest Report crew for Cannes 2023.
Yohana Benattar
Yohana is a French documentarist based in Paris with a background in social sciences. She likes to collaborate with artists and researchers while developing her first feature film and documentary performances. She has worked for various non-fiction production companies, as a reader for Arte, and is now directing her debut feature documentary.
Illy Levi
Illy Levi is a film producer based in Tel Aviv, graduated from the Tel Aviv University film school. She has worked with Docaviv Film Festival for three years and is the former Programme Coordinator. She was previously part of the Tel Aviv Student Film Festival, and is a film festival enthusiast.
Itamar David Leshman
Itamar David Leshman is a film editor and gaffer based in Tel Aviv. After graduating from the Tel Aviv University film school, he has participated in several award winning short films and video clips by acclaimed Israeli musicians.
Julia Mann
Julia is an alumna of The New School’s Documentary Media Studies graduate program. She is a freelance filmmaker as well as the Visibility and Marketing Coordinator for Close Up, a documentary training program for filmmakers from the Middle East and North Africa. Julia previously worked as the Program Coordinator at Docaviv – The Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival, and currently works fir Cinephil. Julia is also the founder and curator of A Doc / A Day.
Ambroisine Dubois
Ambroisine is a movie enthusiast. After living in Australia and Canada, she has returned to Europe to cover the most prominent European film festivals. Her interest in documentaries and non-fiction cinema has deepened over the years attending international film festivals (Cannes Film Festival, FNC, Cinemania, RIDM). Besides her passion for movies, Ambroisine has been working in a various number of cultural fields such as music production, auctions and festival organization.
Polina Grechanikova
Polina, originally from Kazakhstan, and currently based in Germany, holds a Master’s degree in Theater, Film, and Media Studies. While working as an Assistant Producer at an agency, Polina has also actively assisted guests at renowned film events such as the Berlinale, DOK Leipzig, and the Filmfest Munich. Additionally, she supported a youth program at the goEast Film Festival for two years as an assistant, showcasing her dedication to nurturing emerging talent in the industry. Polina is versatile in the film industry and often contributes to productions in various roles such as directing and production management. Moreover, she writes film reviews for different online magazines and has a special affinity for documentary filmmaking.
Claire Lim
Coming from a Chinese French background, Claire is an aspiring film programmer and analog photographer. Loving both fiction and documentary, she has worked for various festivals in Europe and New Zealand (Nordisk Panorama, Doc Edge, Independent Film International Festival of Bordeaux), and currently works for the French CNC.
If you are passionate about independent cinema and would like to join our diverse team of writers, please don’t hesitate to reach out and introduce yourself. We welcome your enthusiasm and unique perspective!