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Hashem Al-Ghaili
Hashem Al-Ghaili is a science communicator, filmmaker, VFX artist, and a science fiction enthusiast who was born in Yemen. He obtained his master’s degree in Molecular Biotechnology from Jacobs University Bremen in Germany and currently works as a full time science communicator. His Facebook channel “Science Nature Page” has nearly 34 million followers and reaches around 400 million users per week. His videos on Facebook have garnered over 18 billion views, and cover a wide range of subjects including astronomy, physics, biology, medicine, nature, technology and innovation. His science communication activities extend to YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Hashem is currently working on his first Sci-Fi novel, entitled Simulation: The Great Escape, which he wrote during the early months of COVID quarantine. He is also finishing a sci-fi feature called Orbital, which is set to release later this year. He recently released the second trailer of his upcoming film. |
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Christi Cooper
Director and Producer Christi Cooper is a PhD neuroscientist, documentary filmmaker, and Emmy-award winning cinematographer. Christi focuses her storytelling and visual narratives on issues of justice and impact by creating human connections to the most pressing issues of our time. Her feature film “YOUTH v GOV” is now streaming on Netflix, and her film awards include Wildscreen’s Panda Award for Best Campaign Film; Jackson Wild’s Grand Teton Award; Cleveland International Film Festival’s ReelWomen Direct Award for Excellence in Directing by a Woman; Wood’s Hole Film Festival’s Best of Festival, Audience Award, and Jury Award for Best Feature Documentary; EarthxFilm’s Impact Award for Feature Film; among others. Christi is the inaugural SFFilm/Vulcan Productions Environmental Film Fellow and the first Jacob Burns Film Center “Focus on Nature” Artist-in-Resident. |
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Yolanda Ncokotwana
Yolanda is a TV and film professional. Her experience spans across live productions, documentaries, and scripted content. She began her television career in broadcasting where she worked her way up from the production department to becoming a Commissioning Editor. As a story consultant, she has worked on over 30 titles including multiple award-winning films. As a Development and Production Manager she was responsible for overseeing funding on documentary projects like Buddha in Africa, The Sound of Mask, Skulls of my People, How to Steal a Country, Influence, etc. Ncokotwana is responsible for managing the co-development incentives and has recently spearheaded the Netherland/SA co-development fund and the NFVF/Netflix coproduction initiative. She has done short courses in Project Management and Customer Service and is an alumnus of the Sediba Producers’ Programme and has participated in many panels locally and internationally including Berlinale and Cannes. |
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Akanksha Sood Singh
Akanksha Sood Singh is at the forefront of natural history filmmaking in India. With a career spanning over 2 decades, she has produced some of the biggest natural history films to come out of the country. Her work has been televised across the globe and won critical international acclaim. She has won five National Film Awards by the President of India, the Diversity Leadership Award by the World Congress of Factual Producers and is one of the Jurors for the International Emmy – Documentary category. Akanksha is also the founder of the Women of the Wild series in India, Pakistan and Malaysia. |
