Hala Abdalla Yacoub, Syrian director and producer, was born in Hama, Syria, and studied in Damascus and Paris. She was the executive producer and artistic consultant on Du particulier au particulier (dir. Brice Cauvin, 2004), Le Sourire d’Hassan (dir. Frédéric Goupil, 2003), and Sacrifices (dir. Oussama Mohammad, 2001). Since 1992, she has worked on scores of feature and documentary films and television productions. Her current projects include work on several scenarios, the development of a French-Jordanian production of a long feature film by Serge Lalou tentatively titled Extratime, and her own long feature film tentatively titled Portrait of a career that did not take place, produced by ADR productions.
Michael Atkinson has been writing about film for The Village Voice for twelve years, and is the author of three books, including Ghosts in the Machine: Speculating on the Dark Heart of Pop Cinema (Limelight), and a debut collection of poetry, One Hundred Children Waiting for a Train (Word Works).
Bahman Ghobadi was born in Baneh, Iran. Ghobadi first won international acclaim with his debut feature film, A Time For Drunken Horses (2000), which follows a young Kurdish boy who works with smugglers across the border between Iran and Iraq to feed his four siblings. He then went on to direct in 2002 Marooned in Iraq, and Turtles Can Fly (2004). Ghobadi’s films have won numerous awards at festivals from Cannes to Chicago. In addition to directing his own films, Ghobadi has also been an assistant director to Abbas Kiarostami on The Wind Will Carry Us (1999) and his acting credits include a leading role in Samira Makhmalbaf's Blackboards (2000).
Gary Indiana is the author of several novels and books of non-fiction, including a volume on Pasolini's Salo for the British Film Institute. His essays on film have appeared in many journals and publications worldwide, including Bookforum, Film Comment, Le Purple Journal, the Los Angeles Times Book Review. His latest book, Schwarzenegger Syndrome: Politics and Celebrity in the Culture of Contempt, is being published by The New Press in June, 2005.

Tom McCarthy made his directing and screenwriting debut in 2003 with The Station Agent, for which he won the two Independent Spirit Awards (Best First Screenplay, John Cassavetes Award) well as audience and jury awards at Sundance, Stckholm and San Sebastian film festivals. The Station Agent was named “One of the Year’s 10 Best Films” by the National Board of Review. McCarthy’s success with The Station Agent followed upon his extensive acting career in film (Meet the Parents, The Citizen, Guru), television (Law and Order, Ally McBeal, Boston Public) and regional theater. He has also appeared in numerous productions at the Yale School of Drama, where he was trained. McCarthy is currently in pre-production for his second feature film.
Marjaneh Moghimi is the founder and director of Butimar Productions (www.butimarproductions.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the arts and culture of Iran. Among her many projects, Moghimi has produced Infidels, Pilgrimage, Kamancheh and Two Bows. All four documentaries are directed by Bahman Kiarostami and have screened at numerous international film festivals. She is currently working with director Michael Apted on a documentary about soccer. Prior to launching Butimar, Moghimi worked for seven years at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). She was responsible for a range of activities from raising funds to planning educational and social galas for Contemporary Extension, an auxiliary of the Museum.

Elia Suleiman was born in 1960 in Nazareth. His films have won widespread recognition and numerous awards, including Chronicle Of A Disappearance, which won the Best First Film Prize at the Venice Film Festival and Divine Intervention, his second feature film, which won the Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes International Film Festival. Suleiman lived in New York from 1981 to 1993, serving as a guest lecturer in many universities, art institutions and museums while directing his first two short films, Introduction to the End of an Argument, and Homage by Assassination. In 1994, Suleiman moved to Jerusalem, where he initiated a Film and Media department at Bir Zeit University.