2024: Jury

The much-anticipated Return Film & Art Festival is back, bringing together a dynamic blend of cinematic and artistic talent. This year, the official screenings will take place from October 24th to 26th at Kino mon ami in Weimar, showcasing a diverse range of films from around the globe. As always, the heart of the festival lies in its esteemed jury, a group of renowned professionals from the film and art world. Their expertise and passion will guide the selection of the festival's standout works, making this edition a truly exciting celebration of creativity and storytelling.

Sabine Burg de Sousa Ferreira graduated from the Kunsthochschule für Medien in Cologne in 2000 with a fictional short film that premiered in Cannes. She subsequently completed a postgraduate program in screenwriting at the International Film School Ifs in Cologne and became self-employed as a dramaturg. At the same time, she worked as an editor in the news and documentary sector for WDR and at the Cologne Film House in continuing education. Since 2010, she has been teaching at the University of Offenburg, supervising dramatic and documentary film projects in terms of dramaturgy and production preparation. Since 2024, she has been part of the festival management for the trinational student film festival SHORTS in Offenburg.

Uli Decker grew up in Bavaria and studied Film and Theater Studies as well as Romance Languages in London, Berlin, and Madrid. After completing a Master's degree in Creative Documentary Filmmaking at the Universidad Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, she directed short films, TV reports, and documentaries. Her most recent hybrid documentary, ANIMA – My Father's Clothes, premiered in 2022, was screened at festivals worldwide—including the Fünfseen Film Festival 2022—and won numerous prestigious awards, including the Bavarian Film Award in 2023.

Uli Decker lives in Berlin, where she works as a writer, director, and lecturer..

Kristin Suckow was born in 1989 in Brandenburg and completed her acting training at the Konrad Wolf University in Babelsberg, Berlin. She was nominated for Best Emerging Actress at the Max Ophüls Prize in 2014. Among other accolades, she won the award for "Best Acting Performance" at the Blaue Blume Award in 2020 for "Was bleibt." She has appeared in over 50 film and television productions (including "Ottilie von Faber-Castell - A Brave Woman") and has performed theater in Berlin, Potsdam, and Hamburg (including "Kabale und Liebe," "The Diary of Anne Frank").

With a jury as distinguished and diverse as this year’s, the Return Film & Art Festival promises to be an unforgettable celebration of cinematic and artistic achievement. Sabine Burg de Sousa Ferreira’s expertise in dramaturgy, Romuald Karmakar’s internationally recognized body of work, and Kristin Suckow’s award-winning performances bring a wealth of insight and passion to the table. Their combined talents ensure that the films showcased between October 24th and 26th at Kino mon ami in Weimar will be judged with exceptional care and appreciation for the art of storytelling.