Daniel Ribeiro Duarte is a researcher, curator, and professor with a focus on cinema studies. A long-time member of the Filmes de Quintal collective, he has actively contributed to the programming and production of forumdoc.bh since 2002. Duarte earned his PhD in Cinema from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, where his dissertation focused on “Aesthetic and Political Community in the Cinema of Pedro Costa.” Currently, he holds a position as an adjunct professor in the Department of Cinema and Video at the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF).

jomaka is an artist and educator, and the author of Generalidades ou Passarinho Loque Esse (2020) and embreagencer (2023), both published by Impressões de Minas. He has contributed in various projects as an actor, researcher, and screenwriter, including the video performance O Colecionador de CID’s (2020) and as a research assistant for the Cuir Cinema and Video in Latin America project (2020/2021). Jomaka also contributed as a researcher for the feature film Eu, um outro (2019) and served as assistant director for the documentary Reservado (2022). His documentary Fabulosa Nickary Aycker (2021) received the Leda Maria Martins Award in 2022. Additionally, he has participated as an international jury member for the 25th FestCurtasBH and as an international curator for the 26th edition of the festival. @poetajomaka.

Vanessa Santos holds a PhD in Communication and conducts research on narratives in digital and interactive media. As a university professor, she has coordinated the Cinema & Audiovisual course at UNA Centro Universitário. Vanessa has contributed to the curatorial team for the 3rd Belo Horizonte Black Film Week and the 12th Black Art Festival in Belo Horizonte. Since 2019, she has been a member of the International Competitive selection committee at FestCurtas BH. In addition, she has served as production director and executive producer for the feature films Kevin (2021) and Praia Formosa (2023). Since 2022, she has held the position of manager at Cine Santa Tereza movie theater.

Juliana Gusman is a researcher, curator, and film critic with a PhD in Audiovisual Media and Processes from ECA-USP, where her research focused on representations of labor and desire in visual media. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Social Communication at PUC Minas, also teaching in the Lato Sensu Postgraduate Program in Urban Cultures, Media, and Memory. Juliana is an active member of several research groups, including Feminine Poetics, Feminist Politics (UFMG), Media and Narrative (PUC Minas), and MidiAto (ECA-USP). She also contributes as a curator for Cardume Curtas. Beyond her contributions to cinema, Juliana expresses herself through the art of dance.

Mariana Mól holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in Arts from UFMG, with her research focusing on Latin American cinema. She is the author of Filmes de estrada e América Latina (Ed. UFMG, 2021). As an executive producer and researcher, she currently collaborates with the production teams of Anavilhana Films, Bukaya Films, and Ponta de Anzol Films. For the second consecutive year, she serves as a member of the International Selection Committee for FestCurtasBH (2023-2024).

Luiz Fernando Coutinho is a PhD candidate in Social Communication at PPGCOM-UFMG and holds a master’s degree in Image and Sound from UFSCar. He is the editor of Madonna, a film magazine, and has contributed to various publications, including Revista Descompasso and LIMITE, a magazine dedicated to essays and art criticism. Additionally, he works as a translator for Vestido sem Costura, a film blog.

Renan Eduardo holds a bachelor’s degree in Cinema and Audiovisual from PUC Minas and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Social Communication at UFMG. He co-founded and hosted the Cinema em Transe podcast. He served as a member of the Young Jury at the 25th Tiradentes Film Festival and as an assistant curator of the 11th Cinecipó –Festival do Filme Insurgente. Renan is currently the editor at Descompasso Magazine.

Patrícia Bizzotto holds a bachelor’s degree from UFMG and a master’s degree in philosophy from UFOP. Alongside her artistic practice, she specializes in sound composition for dance and theater, engaging in free improvisation and hybrid artistic projects that incorporate performance, visual arts, directing, embodiment, chance, and collective creation. Since 2022, she has been an artist-in-resident and co-curator of QI – Quartas de Improviso, a significant initiative in Belo Horizonte’s experimental art scene, active for over a decade.

Gabriel Araújo holds a degree in Social Communication from UFMG and serves as a reporter for the Brazilian newspaper for Folha de S.Paulo, in addition to being a film programmer and critic. He is a co-founder of INDETERMINAÇÕES, a platform focused on film criticism and Black Brazilian cinema, and serves as co-founder, general coordinator, and curator of Cineclube Mocambo. His curatorial experience spans several exhibitions and festivals, including FestCurtasBH, Sessão INDETERMINAÇÕES, and LONA – Mostra Cinema e Territórios, among others. As an associate critic at Abraccine, he is also part of the Lena Santos collective, a network of Black journalists from Minas Gerais.

Dayane Tropicaos is a visual artist and filmmaker, holding a degree in Visual Arts from UFMG. She created the project “Cine Sem Churumelas” (2013-2022), a collective dedicated to promoting amateur and independent audiovisual production, through which she participated in the Reboque no JACA art residency (2016). She also took part in the Bolsa Pampulha art residency program (2019), the first program for Young Black Women in the Arts, organized by MUNA (2019).

Carla Italiano is a film researcher and curator of exhibitions and festivals. WIth a PhD in Social Communication from PPGCOM-UFMG, she serves as an annual member of the programming teams for Curitiba’s Olhar de Cinema festival, FENDA – Experimental Film Arts Festival, and is part of the organizing collective for forumdoc.bh – Belo Horizonte’s Documentary and Ethnographic Film Festival. Her curatorial work includes the exhibitions “Mulheres Mágicas – Reinvenções da bruxa no cinema” (2024), “El Camino – Cinema de viagem da América do Sul” (2023), and the “Retrospectiva Helena Solberg” (2018), among others.

Bruno Hilário is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Social Communication at PPGCOM – UFMG, specializing in LGBT+ authorial cinema. He is an executive producer, actor, and director. With expertise in public management, he managed and curated programming at Cine Humberto Mauro (2009-2017), subsequently serving as Cinema Manager (2017-2022) and Cultural Director (2022-2024) at the Clóvis Salgado Foundation. He has been a member of the Belo Horizonte International Short Film Festival team for 15 years. Additionally, he served on the project evaluation committee of the State Law for Promotion of Culture in Minas Gerais (2014 -2022).