TEDDY Talk Queer Creations pt.3

The Queer-Creation talks is about exploring, analysing and connecting people, organisations and initiatives in the queer film network. In Part 3, we continue with organisations that offer training and development support for queer feature films, from Documentary to Fiction, an integral part of elevating queer projects is to ensure timely and effective development support, that has in the past being scarce and rare to find, however a number of training programs have pioneered the way, and we look to them to see how their models can inspire further programs that could benefit queer storytelling.

Djamila Grandits is a Vienna-based curator and film programmer. Part of CineCollective and D—Arts. Currently working on the pre-selection committee of Berlinale Panorama and as member of the non-fiction commission of Zürcher Filmstiftung. Previously programmed with Diagonale, DOK Leipzig, Kasseler Dokfest, sixpackfilm and tricky women - tricky realities. Djamila cares about entanglements and the exploration of collective spaces. 

Rafiul Alom Rahman (he/him) is the Founder and Director of The Queer Muslim Project, where he leads the QueerFrames Screenwriting Lab, South Asia’s pioneering incubator for emerging and early career queer filmmakers. He brings a decade of experience in LGBTQIA+ rights organising, arts management, and digital and cultural production. Rafiul is a 2023 UN Minority Fellow, a 2022 CCP Fellow, a 2020 SI Leader Lab Fellow and a 2018 Acumen Fellow. In 2020, he was recognised as a ‘Global Innovator’ by the Human Rights Campaign for ‘’pioneering an approach to countering extremism that utilises alternative narratives around faith, sexuality and gender expression’’. Under Rafiul’s leadership, The Queer Muslim Project won the prestigious Digital Deal Award by Ars Electronica and Creative Europe in 2024. 

Soňa Morgenthalová has a background in film theory and cultural management, which has shaped her journey in the film industry. She started her career as a news reporter and PR manager, gaining valuable experience while collaborating with several film festivals in the Czech Republic. She also had the unique opportunity to work with Bong Joon Ho’s crew during the filming of Snowpiercer in Prague. Her path then led to a casting agency in Prague, where she contributed to various films and series, such as Ophelia (dir. Claire McCarthy), The Death & Life of John F. Donovan (dir. Xavier Dolan), Underworld: Blood Wars (dir. Anna Foerster), Britannia (Sky Atlantic), Crossing Lines (NBC), Knightfall (History), and many others. Since 2017, Soňa has been involved in training programmes for film professionals at the MIDPOINT Institute. There, she supports the development of feature and short films while helping emerging script consultants and producers grow in their craft. She also initiated the Focus Queer program, a training initiative aimed at fostering LGBTQ+ stories and voices in cinema. 

Franck Finance-Madureira is a french journalist and movie critic. He runs FrenchMania, website dedicated to French and French-speaking cinema and writes for Têtu, the main French LGBT+ media and for Trois Couleurs and Strobo. He’s the president-founder of the Queer Palm, the LGBT+ Award in Cannes Film Festival which he created in 2010 and of the Queer Palm Lab, a one-year mentoring programm and a residency organized with Morelia Film Fest in Mexico for queer directors that has been launched in 2024. Previously editor in chief of Clap ! magazine and journalist for Canal+, Franck is a member of the French critic syndicate and was a member of numerous international juries (Teddy awards in Berlin, San Francisco, Guadalajara, Tel Aviv, Lisbon, Torino, Belgrade, Milano …).  

Raul Niño Zambrano has been the Creative Director of Sheffield DocFest since 2023, a position earned after successfully delivering the festival’s 29th edition as Head of Film Programmes in 2022. Prior to this, he served as a Senior Programmer at IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam), where his journey began in 2008. Over his thirteen-year tenure at IDFA, Raul conducted the pioneering study The Female Gaze (2014), exploring the role of women in documentary filmmaking, and launched the IDFA Queer Day in 2013. 

At Sheffield DocFest, Raul has led the introduction of TV documentary series premieres, the innovative Podcast Pitch, and most recently, the creation of the Queer Realities Director’s Lab, designed to inspire and push creative boundaries in queer non-fiction storytelling. 

As an active member of the documentary film community, Raul has served as a juror for renowned international festivals, including Hot Docs, Nordisk Panorama, the Morelia International Film Festival, the BFI London Film Festival, and the Taiwan International Documentary Festival. He has also shared his expertise as a tutor and industry mentor at prestigious events such as Al Jazeera Documentary Industry Days, FESPACO, DMZ, and the Bogotá Audiovisual Market.