Soda Kazuhiro (b. 1970, Japan) is a Peabody Award-winning Japanese documentarian known for his observational method of filmmaking and his unique approach adhering to his own, self-conceived ten commandments. Three of his most important works–Campaign (2007), Mental (2008), and Peace (2010)—arouse concerns and discussions in society. A two-time winner of the Humanitarian Award for Best Documentary at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, Kazuhiro’s work has been celebrated at festivals around the world. This time, he turns his lens from humans to feline friends in The Cats of Gokogu Shrine (2024), a selection in the Berlinale Forum.

Anand Patwardhan (b. 1950, India) is one of the most important Indian documentary filmmakers of our time. He has been making socio-political documentaries for over five decades, pursuing diverse and controversial issues that are at the crux of social and political life in India. While many of his films were initially banned by state television channels, the censorship rulings were successfully challenged in court. Using cinema as a tool for advocacy, he addresses pressing issues, including housing rights of the urban poor, social injustice, and militarism, and inspires positive change. Major works include Bombay: Our City (1985), Father, Son and Holy War (1994), and Jai Bhim Comrade (2011).

Ruby Yang (b. Hong Kong) studied filmmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1977. She won an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject for The Blood of Yingzhou District (2006) and was also known for directing The Warriors of Qiugang (2010) and My Voice, My Life (2014). Yang relocated to Beijing in 2004 and moved back to Hong Kong in 2013. She was appointed by the University of Hong Kong as Hung Leung Hau Ling Distinguished Fellow in Humanities in 2013 and led the establishment of the Hong Kong Documentary Initiative at the university in 2015.