Dr. Carla Garapedian is an award-winning filmmaker and broadcaster. She directed Children of the Secret State about North Korea and was an anchor for BBC World News. After leaving BBC, she directed Dying for the President, Lifting the Veil, Iran Undercover, My Friend the Mercenary, and her critically acclaimed feature documentary Screamers. Garapedian is a founding advisory board member of Creative Armenia.

Nora Martirosyan is an artist and film director living and working in Montpellier, Rome, and Yerevan. A graduate of Le Fresnoy (France) and the Rijksakademie (Amsterdam), she has directed several award-winning short films. Her debut feature film Should the Wind Drop was selected for the 73rd edition of the Cannes Festival in 2020.

Emily Mkrtichian is an American-Armenian filmmaker and writer. Her past work includes an award-winning short film 140 Drams and multimedia installation Luys i Luso. Emily also directed the short documentary Motherland, about the women who risk their lives to get rid of mines in Artsakh. She is now directing her first feature documentary There Was, There Was Not, which takes place in the Republic of Artsakh.

Lika Zakaryan is a writer and photojournalist from Artsakh. With a master’s degree in political science, she has forged a career in peace work and conflict resolution studies. As a journalist for the Stepanakert office of CivilNet, Lika was instrumental in the coverage of the 2020 Artsakh war. Her wartime diary from an underground bunker reached millions worldwide and serves as a definitive chronicle of the 44-day war.

Sevak Avanesyan is an Armenian cellist based in Brussels, who performed in the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, Shushi after it was bombed. He has performed in the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Salle Gaveau in Paris and has been laureate of many competitions, including the International Cello Competition “Gerardmer” and the European Competition for Young Soloists in Luxembourg (first prize). Since 2013, Sevak has been the Solocellist of the National Orchestra of Belgium for 4 years.

Sevana Tchakerian is a French-Armenian musician, songwriter, educator, and tour manager. In 2012, she co-founded the Collectif Medz Bazar, a multi-ethnic band rearranging and creating traditional and original songs. In 2015, Sevana moved to Armenia to initiate Tsap-Tsapik, an inclusive music program and to create Dayl’Ayl Production, a tour management agency promoting Armenian musical talents internationally. During the Artsakh war Sevana organized a series of workshops titled Nexus for Artsakh, teaching music and performing for thousands of refugees.