Born in 1967 in Nagoya, Japan, Nadeshiko Koba graduated from Kinjo Gakuin University and entered the Furano Natural Studio to study screenwriting. In 1998, she started writing scenarios for TV dramas and documentaries, as well as song lyrics, in Tokyo. In 2007, she wrote the screenplay for The Dark Corners of the Shelves, which was selected by the Festival des Films du Monde in Montreal. In 2020, she moved to Yamaga, where Boneless Lantern, her first feature as a director, was shot.

Anna Kazejak is an internationally awarded director and screenwriter. Prior to attending at the National Film School in Lodz in 2001, she spent many years studying film theory. In 2005, Kazejak and two of her friends from school decided to produce a three-part film dealing with the economic migrations of young Poles. This film was the much-celebrated Ode to Joy. The three directors not only won the hearts of critics but many major prizes, as well (Special Jury Prize – Gdynia Film Festival, 2005; Platinum Award for Best Low Budget Production – WorldFest Independent Film Festival, Houston, 2007). The first fiction feature helmed by Kazejak was Flying Pigs, which was seen by a huge number of movie-goers. Her third film—The Word—had its World Premiere at the Berlinale and was shown at more than 40 internationals film festivals. Kazejak’s stand out directing work in television was for numerous episodes of HBO Poland’s version of In Treatment. She is a member of the European Film Academy and a board member of Polish Directors Guild.

Iris Kaltenbäck grew up in France, surrounded by a French mother, an Austrian father, and an American half-brother. After her studies in law and philosophy, she joined the Fémis film school in the script department. In 2013, she assisted Declan Donnellan at the Théâtre des Gémeaux in Paris. In 2015 she directed her first short film, Le vol des cigognes, which won an award at the Brussels International Film Festival. She won the Sopadin Junior prize for her screenplay titled Still Shot. Le Ravissement is her first feature film.

Zhang Lu was born in Yanbian, China in 1962. In 2004 he directed his first feature, Tang Poetry, which was selected for Locarno. He then began his career as a film director in both Chinese and Korean, making more than ten feature films. His next film, Grain in Ear (2005) won the Prix ACIDCCAS at Cannes Critics’ Week. His feature films Dooman River, Desert Dream and Fukuoka premiered at the Berlinale.

Selected Filmography: Tang Poetry (04); Grain in Ear (05); Iri (08), Dooman River (10); Love and… (15); Fukuoka (19); Yanagawa (21); The Shadowless Tower (23)