Three prominent professionals from the world of film complete the Official Selection and Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award juries. The Official Jury, presided over by actor John Malkovich, who is accompanied by the actresses Dolores Fonzi and Emma Suárez, the filmmaker William Oldroyd and the producer Paula Vaccaro, is completed with the Spanish screenwriter Jorge Guerricaechevarría and the Brazilian cinematographer André Szankowski, replacing the formerly announced Fabio Cianchetti, who is finally unable to attend due to professional commitments.

Guerricaechevarría, Best Adapted Screenplay Goya for Celda 211 (Cell 211), debuted with Álex de la Iglesia, with whom he has worked on around a dozen productions, including Acción mutante (Mutant Action), El día de la bestia (The Day of the Beast), La comunidad (Common Wealth), Las brujas de Zugarramurdi (Witching & Bitching) and Mi gran noche (My Big Night). With Pedro Almodóvar he wrote Carne Trémula (Live Flesh) and for Daniel Calparsoro Cien años de perdón (To Steal From a Thief). He also regularly collaborates with Daniel Monzón (El robo más grande jamás contado / The Biggest Robbery Never Told, La caja Kovak / The Kovak Box, the aforementioned Celda 211 or El Niño).

Several of Szankowski’s works have screened at the San Sebastian Festival. Among his films are Mistérios de Lisboa (Mysteries of Lisbon, Raúl Ruiz, Silver Shell for Best Director 2010), As Linhas de Torres (Valeria Sarmiento, Zabaltegi-Specials 2012) and Casanova Variations (Michael Sturminger, Official Selection 2014, precisely starring John Malkovich). In 2015 he was the cinematographer of Cosmos, the latest film from the Polish moviemaker Andrzej Zulawski, winner of the Best Director Award in Locarno.

For her part, the TorinoFilmLab executive director, Savina Neirotti, completes the jury of the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award, alongside the filmmaker Carla Simón (Estiu 1993 / Summer 1993) and Calmin Borel, one of the heads of the Clermont-Ferrand short film festival. Neirotti conceived the TorinoFilmLab, which lends support to the first or second feature film projects of filmmakers, and has directed it since 2008. She is also, since last year, content curator for the Venice Production Bridge, the Venice Festival market.

Jorge Guerricaechevarría graduated in History from the University of the Basque Country. He debuted in the world of film on writing the screenplay for the short film Mirindas asesinas (1990) by Álex de la Iglesia. Since then, their careers have been closely related and they have participated as co-screenwriters on several of his feature films: Acción mutante (Mutant Action,1993), El día de la bestia (The Day of the Beast,1995), Perdita Durango (Dance with the Devil,1997), Muertos de risa (Dying of Laughter,1999), La comunidad (Common Wealth,2000, winner of the Best Actress Award at the San Sebastian Festival), 800 balas (800 Bullets,2002), Crimen ferpecto (Ferpect Crime,2004), Los crímenes de Oxford (The Oxford Murders,2008), Las brujas de Zugarramurdi (Witching & Bitching,2013, presented at the San Sebastian Festival), the episode The Confession of the anthology film Words with Gods (2014), Mi gran noche (My Big Night, 2015, also premiered in San Sebastian), El bar (2016) and Perfectos desconocidos (2017), pending release. He additionally collaborated with De la Iglesia on his television projects: the TV movie La habitación del niño (The Baby’s Room, 2006) and the series Plutón BRB Nero (2009).

With Pedro Almódovar he wrote the screenplay for his film Carne trémula (Live Flesh, 1997). He has also regularly collaborated with Daniel Monzón in films such as El robo más grande jamás contado (The Biggest Robbery Never Told,2002), La caja Kovak (The Kovak Box,2006), Celda 211 (Cell 211,2009), El Niño (2014) and the director’s new project, Yucatán (2017). Besides these, he has signed the screenplays of Nos miran (Norberto López, 2002), Platillos volantes (Óscar Aibar, 2003), Fin (Jorge Torregrosa, 2012), Cien años de perdón (Daniel Calparsoro, 2015) and El cuaderno de Sara (Norberto López, 2017).

Among his credits for television are the series Canguros (1995) and the TV movies Psiquiatras, psicólogos y otros enfermos (2009) and Alakrana (2010).

His screenplays have been acknowledged with four Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos Award nominations, one for the European Film Awards, one for the Gaudí Awards and six for the Goya Awards. In 2010 he won the latter accolade (with Daniel Monzón) for the screenplay of Celda 211.

André Szankowski studied at the Escola Profissional de Imagem (EPI) in Lisbon between 1996 and 1999, debuting as a cinematographer in full-length films with Bruno de Almeida’s The Lovebirds. He later collaborated with Raúl Ruiz on Mistérios de Lisboa (Mysteries of Lisbon, 2010), competing film at the 58th edition of the San Sebastian Festival, and two years later worked beside Valeria Sarmiento on As Linhas de Torres (2012), also presented in San Sebastian’s Zabaltegi-Specials section after its screening at the Venice Festival. He was also the cinematographer on Michael Sturminger’s film Casanova Variations (2014), which was part of the Official Selection of the San Sebastian Festival in its 62nd edition, and on the latest film from Andrzej Zulawski, Cosmos, winner of the Best Director Award at the Locarno Festival.

Other outstanding titles in his filmography are: Demain? (2011) by Christine Laurent, La cage dorée (The Gilded Cage, 2013) by Ruben Alves, RPG (2013) by Tino Navarro and David Rebordão, Cadences obstinées (2013) by Fanny Ardant, Tierra yerma (2016) by Miriam Heard, Cinzento e negro (2015) by Luís Filipe Rocha or Going to Brazil (2016) by Patrick Mille. Since 1998 he has worked on more than 300 commercials.

In the field of television, he has worked on Rita Nunes’s TV movie Só por acaso (2003) and on the series Um poema por semana (2011) by Paulo Braga, Terapia (2016) by Patricia Sequiera, and Crime Time (2017) by Julien Trousselier. He is also the cinematographer on numerous short films: Quando o sol toca na lua (Pedro Palma, 2001), Crónica feminina (Gonçalo Luz, 2002), Uma noite ao acaso (2005) and The End (2006) by Victor Candeias, Antes de Amanhã (Gonçalo Galvão Teles, 2007), Beija-me (Aurélio Vasquez, 2007), Dia triunfal (Rita Nunes, 2009), Senhor X (Gonçalo Galvão Teles, 2010), O jogo (Júlio Alves, 2010), Ensinamentos para a vida adulta (Ernesto Bacalhau, 2010), Constança (José de Castro, 2010), Zoo (Margarita Leitão, 2011), O dia mais feliz da tua vida (Adriano Luz, 2012), No mar (Ana Rocha, 2013), Pó (Alfonso Pimentel, 2013) and A ponte na Califórnia (Pedro Amorim, 2017).

Savina Neirotti graduated in Philosophy and went on to study Aesthetics at the University of Pennsylvania (USA). After returning to Italy, she became Head of the Press and Communications Office of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, where she was also in charge of the Education Department from 1995 to 2000. In the same period (1994) she launched the Scuola Holden — a school for storytellers — in Turin, devised by the novelist Alessandro Baricco.

She conceived and has directed the TorinoFilmLab since 2008 and is Head of Programme at the Biennale College - Cinema (now in its sixth edition). The Venice International Film Festival promotes the initiative. Since 2016 she is content curator for the Venice Production Bridge, the Venice Festival market.

She heads the newly born Biennale College Cinema - Virtual Reality, for VR narrative projects.