Ulla Heikkilä
Ulla Heikkilä is a screenwriter and director based in Helsinki but born and raised in Tampere. She has made the feature films Eden (2020) and Summer is Crazy (2025), and her short films have been screened at various film festivals around the world.
In her work, Heikkilä has concentrated on family relations and group dynamics. She is also interested in different kinds of rites of passage, rituals and festivities that bring generations together. In her films, people have celebrated May Day and midsummer and gathered at a confirmation camp. In addition to her film work Heikkilä has written and directed television series. The latest is a drama-comedy Atlantis Pasila published by Yleisradio in January 2026.
Irene Soriano Saxon
Irene Soriano Saxon is a Los Angeles–based film curator, festival programmer, and writer. She programs short films for the Sundance Film Festival and has curated film programs for the Norwegian Short Film Festival and Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival. Irene has moderated industry conversations and filmmaker Q&As for Sundance London and DOC Leipzig. She has served on juries including LALIFF Market 2025, Kortfilmfestivalen, Outfest LA, and the Nashville Film Festival.
Her work with Studio Iró centers on community, collaboration, and inclusive cinematic representation of diasporic Filipinos across global independent film spaces.
Lauri-Matti Parppei
Lauri-Matti Parppei is a Finnish filmmaker and musician, whose background is in merciless underground DIY culture. Lauri-Matti’s debut feature film A Light That Never Goes Out (2025) premiered in Cannes Film Festival in ACID Section, and the same year, they were voted as both the Finnish Director and Screenwriter of the Year by colleagues.
Aside from numerous short films, Lauri-Matti has released multiple albums, composed the music for all their films, and is also the developer of the open source screenwriting app (beat).
