Panelists:
Newsha Tavakolian
Newsha Tavakolian (1981, Tehran), a Magnum Photos member, is an Iranian photographer, visual artist, and educator known for her work that captures human emotions. Tavakolian began her career in photography at a young age, eventually becoming a prominent figure in the field. Her photography is characterized by its evocative storytelling and her keen eye for capturing the delicate emotions that shape us as humans. She has covered a wide range of topics, from the challenges faced by women in Iran and worldwide to the aftermath of tensions in conflict zones. Her work often combines artistry with documentary, blurring the lines between reality and the imagined. Throughout her career, Newsha Tavakolian has received numerous awards, such as the Carmignac Gestion Award, the Prince Claus Award (principal laureate), and several international photo prizes. Her photographs have been featured in prestigious exhibitions worldwide. Amongst others, Tavakolian’s work has found its place in the private collections of international institutions, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art(LACMA), the British Museum, Sackler Gallery and the Boston Museum of Fine Art. In 2019 Tavakolian made her first short film For the Sake of Calmness. She is now preparing for the production of her first feature film in Iran and Romania. 
Elhum Shakerifar, Producer
Elhum Shakerifar is a producer, curator, writer and translator; she runs the London-based company Hakawati ('storyteller' in Arabic). Her credits include A Syrian Love Story (2015, Sean McAllister), Of Love & Law (2017, Hikaru Toda), ISLAND (2018, Steven Eastwood), Even When I Fall (2017, Sky Neal & Dara McLarnon) and Ayouni (2020, Yasmin Fedda). Her award-winning productions have garnered her awards including a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding Debut (2016), a British Film Institute 'Vision Award' (2016) and the Women in Film & TV Factual Award (2017). As a film curator with particular focus on the SWANA region, she has worked with London Film Festival (2014-21) Shubbak – the festival of contemporary Arab culture (2015-19), BFI (Drama and Desire, the films of Youssef Chahine, 2023), Barbican (Poetry in Motion: Contemporary Iranian Cinema, 2019) and Art on the Underground. She has taught documentary at UEA, Berlin Freie, UCL as well as in Georgia, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Bosnia. Prior to working in film, Elhum worked in a community centre in Newham, on a project supporting in for unaccompanied minors; and was recipient of a Jack Petchey Young People's Champion Award in 2009. Elhum has also produced events, music and photography including The Grey Line (Jo Metson Scott, 2013) about US and UK soldiers who spoke out against the war in Iraq – recipient of the inaugural Firecracker Award for photography, a TIME, Guardian and Telegraph top photobooks of 2013. www.hakawati.co.uk 
Jemma Desai
Jemma Desai is a cultural worker and somatic facilitator whose work spans artistic, administrative practice, writing, curation, performance and other forms of articulation which (re)search new ways to make and circulate outside and inside cultural production, with and against institutions. Through her work she questions the role of testimony, desire and political commitment in the social relations that make cultural work. She has previously worked with the BFI and British Council LUX and Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, BAM and will curate the 2025 edition of The Flaherty Seminar. 
Abiba Coulibaly, Moderator
Abiba Coulibaly is a curator working in film, who draws from photography and architecture to explore the intersection of ethics and aesthetics, through the lens of critical geography. As an Anglo-Ivorian Londoner having obtained an MA in Urban History and Culture in Paris, she often draws on the parallels and overlaps of British and French (post)colonial cultural production. She is the founder of Brixton Community Cinema, a pay-what-you-can film exhibition project operating out of vacant spaces, recently awarded a design commission by the London Festival of Architecture. Abiba also curates for Magnum Photos Film Festival and Open City Documentary Festival, and was a participant in the 4th cohort of New Architecture Writers 
Timi Akindele-Ajani, filmmaker and photographer
Timi Akindele-Ajani is an award winning British-Nigerian filmmaker and photographer based in London. Timi has worked with a range of organisations across photography and film. Clients include, Google, Meta, Financial Times, The British Film Institute and many others. His skills lie in bringing human moments to the screen and telling personal stories with distinct creative flair. His recent work includes ‘Nubia Way’ for the Architecture Foundation’ and ‘Guests’ backed by the BFI as part of their Short film Fund and is produced by Pavilion Works Originals. 
Bayryam Bayryamali, Moderator
Bayr(y)am Mustafa Bayr(y)amali is a London based (Bulgarian)Turkish visual researcher, programmer and organiser. His practice deals with issues of new world (b)orders, il/legal identities in the Balkans and beyond. He is an Education Manager at Magnum Photos - a photography co-operative - and co-runs the Old Mountain Assembly - a programming space for worlding and futuring a transitional and decolonial perspectives in South/East Europe. 
Daniel Castro Garcia
DANIEL CASTRO GARCIA is a Spanish/British multimedia artist working within the fields of photography and video. His practice utilises portraiture, landscape and journalistic techniques to explore the boundaries between conceptual art and social documentary, and demonstrates a sensitive and intimate style, often adopting a collaborative approach to image making that creates metaphorical and ethically driven representations. He is interested in the enveloping and unfolding spiritual space of creation that empowers a commitment to active citizenship, social consciousness and respect. Daniel's work has received extensive international acclaim and awards including the prestigious W. Eugene Smith Fund in Humanistic Photography, The British Journal of Photography International Photography Award, FOAM Talent, Magnum Foundation Fund, the Royal Photographic Society Vic Odden Award and the Tokyo International Photography Competition. His work has been exhibited internationally at major institutions including Les Recontres D’Arles (FR), MOCP Chicago (USA), Cortona on the Move (IT) and New York University (USA) amongst others; his archive is held in prestigious collections including the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation (DE), Incite Project (UK) and MOCP Chicago (USA). 
