Cigdem Slankard is an educator and filmmaker based in Cleveland, OH. In July 2021, she started her new role as Interim Director of the School of Film & Media Arts at Cleveland State University. Her experience at numerous  institutions working with diverse student populations, her body of work as a filmmaker and scholar, as well as her experience with cross-cultural situations have prepared her to serve as an effective leader in her current role. Slankard was born and raised in Turkey and received her BA in translation and interpreting from Bogazici University (Istanbul, Turkey) and her MFA in filmmaking from Ohio University. Her documentary films and immersive cinema experiences have been screened in film festivals around the world, garnering numerous awards and recognition. She is an active filmmaker often engaged in interdisciplinary and collaborative projects within academia as well as stakeholders in Northeast Ohio community.

Ula Śniegowska is the Director of the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. The AFF is organized by the New Horizons Association and is the only event in Eastern Europe devoted solely to the promotion and presentation of independent film from the USA. Śniegowska also runs the US in Progress, a program in the framework of the AFF with the aim of fostering transatlantic collaboration and coproduction for feature narrative projects at rough-cut stage. Śniegowska is a graduate of History of Art and American Culture departments of the University of Warsaw. Prior to 2010, when she started programming the AFF, Ula worked at the Center for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw as film and video curator. She organized year-round art-house theatre operations and put together a number of gallery and film shows of filmmakers/artists, namely Jonas Mekas, Chantal Akerman, Ulrike Ottinger and Walerian Borowczyk. She also guest-curated experimental Polish film and art shows abroad (in Scotland and France). She is a member of the European Film Academy and acts as board member of CICAE - International Confederation of Art-House Cinemas and sat at CICAE and Europa Cinemas juries at Venice, Berlinale and Cannes Film Festivals as well as juries of Sarajevo and Transylvania international film festivals.

Currently the Director of Programming at the Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm), Lauren Thelen has over eight years experience working in the Film Festival industry. With a background focusing on media literacy and programming, Thelen was previously the Education Manager at Cinema/Chicago and the Chicago International Film Festival. Through her experiences working with students in the Chicago Community, she developed an eye for approaching film from both entertainment and educational perspectives. An important aspect to her programming is placing both an emphasis on the craft of cinema and the power it holds to teach and promote cross-cultural understanding. Thelen graduated with a B.A. in Media and Cinema Studies and a Minor in History from DePaul University. As a film theory professional, Thelen is passionate about executing community-driven programming, educating on the power of film and of course, offering audiences a safe space to laugh, cry, smile and feel all the emotions.