Mostra Internazionale d Arte Cinematografica Venice

The members of the 2019 SIGNIS jury are Jumpei Matsumoto (Japan), Christoph Strack (Germany), Nancy Usselmann (USA), Massimo Giraldi (Italy) and Sergio Perugini (Italy).

Jumpei Matsumoto (Japan)

Jumpei Matsumoto, born in 1984 in Nagasaki, graduated at Tokyo University department of architecture, and the Institute of Yoshimoto comedian school. In 2012, He directed the film Mada Ningen. His first commercial film Embers was released in 2014 in Japan and in 2015 in Taiwan. The film is based on the novel by Fuminori Nakamura, the most popular novelist in Japan and starred Yuya Yagira who won the best actor in the 57th Cannes Film Festival. He won the best screenplay and Grand Prix-nomination in NY Chelsea film festival in 2014. In 2017, his second commercial film Perfect Revolution was released in Japan. It is based on the true love story of physical disabled man and personality disordered girl. It was starred Lily Franky who is the lead actor of Shoplifters and was officially selected in the 25th Raindance International Film Festival. In addition, he attended as a SIGNIS jury member in the 40th Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2016 and work as producer of TV-drama and Animations.

Christoph Strack (Germany)

Christoph Strack, born in Düsseldorf, studied Catholic theology in Bonn and Jerusalem. He is editor for church and political issues at “Deutsche Welle Fernsehen” (German international TV). From 1988-2011, he worked as an editor and senior correspondent for the Catholic News Agency Germany (KNA), where he put emphasis on cultural themes. For many years he has been a passionate cineaste. In 2011, 2013 and 2014, he participated in the Ecumenical Jury in Cottbus und Mannheim and Berlin.

Nancy Usselmann (USA)

Nancy Usselmann is director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies in Los Angeles, CA and a Media Literacy Education Specialist. She is also adjunct professor of Theology and Film at John Paul the Great University. She is active as an international speaker, theologian, film reviewer and blogger for bemediamindful.org and film review contributor to CatholicMom.com. Author of A Sacred Look: Becoming Cultural Mystics—Theology of Popular Culture by Wipf & Stock publishing. Executive Board Member of CIMA (Catholics in Media Associates) and a member of NAMLE (National Association of Media Literacy Educators), SIGNIS (World Catholic Association for Communicators), CPA (Catholic Press Association), and THEOCOM (Theology and Communications in Dialogue).

Massimo Giraldi (Italy)

Massimo Giraldi has been a Journalist since 1978. He is a critic in film periodicals and is an author of several books and monographies about Italian and international cinema. He published Giuseppe Bertolucci (Il Castoro), The film of Luc Besson, The film of Steno (Gremese edition).  His is one of those responsible for the Cinema articles of Roma Sette, in the daily newspaper Avvenire.  He is the President of the Commissione Nazionale Valutazione Film (Commission for Film Rating) of the Italian Bishops Conference, for which he was the Secretary from 1997 to September 2017.

Sergio Perugini (Italy)

Sergio Perugini was born in 1980. He has a degree in Political Science and a PhD in Cinema. As of 2007 he has been working as an Assistant Lecturer in Film Studies and Film Industry at the LUISS “Guido Carli” university with prof. Dario Edoardo Viganò, also teaching “Film and Bioethics" in the Master’s program promoted by the Pontificio Istituto Giovanni Paolo II - Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. He works at the Communication Office of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), also holding the role of Secretary of the Commissione Nazionale Valutazione Film (Commission for Film Rating) of the Italian Bishops Conference since September 2017. He is the author of several publications about Religious Studies (cinema, tv series and religion).

Today, the jury will attend the screenings of The Perfect Candidate by Haifaa Al Mansour and Pelikanblut(Pelican Blood) by Katrin Gebbe.

In 2018, the SIGNIS jury gave its award to Roma by the Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón and a commendation to the film 22 July (Norway / Iceland) by Paul Greengrass.

For more information on the festival, please visit https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2019.

SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication, is a non-governmental organization that includes members from +100 countries. As a global network of communicators, it brings together radio, television, cinema, video, media education, Internet, and new technology professionals.