Festival Team
Festival Director : Denis Piel
Born in France, grew up in Australia, lived and worked in Europe and the United States as a photographer and filmmaker. Established his own production company in New York, Jupiter Films, and directed a number of television productions. His documentary Love Is Blind (Winner, Festival of Chicago, 1993) was presented in Cannes (1994) and selected by the Vidéothèque de Paris for Dark et Noir, and for First Look, Tribeca NYC . In 2006, installed in France, Denis Piel launched Facescapes, a project combining film and photography, which deals with the oneness of man. He has filmed in China, Australia and in his local village in France – other places are under consideration. This project based on the Universality of the human condition is his inspiration for the International Intercultural Film Festival.
Deputy-Director : Jacqueline Deloffre
After completing a degree in journalism and a brief stay in Spain, left for Germany – first Hamburg then Berlin. From 1978, Jacqueline Deloffre worked for the German, Luxembourg and French press as cultural and political correspondent, essayist and editor in chief. As a concerned citizen of the world she has been a member of Amnesty international for thirty years. As film critic, she has been involved with the Berlin International Film Festival for twenty years.
Programmer at Large: Françoise Combadière-Stern In her role she will solicit filmmakers and their films that she thinks appropriate to be invited to participate in the festival.
After graduating in Modern Letters (Sorbonne) and teaching French in the Middle East, Françoise Combadière-Stern turned to the cinema, first as assistant director (1976-1978). Today, as casting director of international reputation, she has worked with leading directors including Ken Loach, Henri Verneuil, Claude Berri, Joseph Losey, Peter Fleischmann, Robert Altman, Lea Pool, Suzann Seidelman, Paul Verhoven, Jean-Jacques Beinex, Adam Brooks and Jonathan Demme.
Intercultural Communication Specialist: Kimberly McCartney Raised in California, she lived briefly in England, Germany and Portugal and has spent 26 years in France. During her linguistics studies she taught Vietnamese refugees survival English and ran a cultural acclimatization workshop for spouses of scientists participating in the Stanford Linear Accelerator project.
While at the French national civil aviation school, Dr Jeremy Mell (world specialist in aeronautical communication) requested she create a debriefing course on intercultural factors and their incidence on air safety. Inspired by the work of Edward T. Hall and Geert Hofstede she also developed a segment on intercultural codes and cooperation which she went on to teach during human factors workshops for pilots at EADS ATR, in General Mills, local associations and schools. Kim is responsible for simultaneous French/English translation during the film festival.
