The jury for the New Directos Award 2026 is ready
Kosmorama’s competition program, the New Directors Award (NDA), is dedicated to the filmmakers of the future — the new voices in global cinema who we believe will make a strong impact in the years to come.
Photo: Ina Stenvig
In the New Directors program series, the films must not only be of high quality — the directors must also demonstrate that they possess something extra, whether as storytellers or as cinematic artists. The key criterion is that the director has not made more than three feature-length fiction films.
The festival’s programming committee jointly nominates the ten films that will compete for the prize. A professional jury will then select the winner of the New Directors Award from these nominees.
Here is this year’s jury!
Skadi Loist
Skadi Loist (they/hen) is Associate Professor of Film Studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, following earlier posts at Film University Babelsberg, Hamburg, and Rostock. Their research engages closely with media industries, focusing on film festivals, circulation and distribution, and sustainability and diversity in screen industries. They also work on queer film culture and the use of digital methods in film studies.
Milani Perera
Milani Perera, a film journalist, cultural critic and festival programmer who brings a unique perspective to her work, is shaped by her academic training in both Philosophy and Film Studies. She holds a Master of Philosophy from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, and a Master’s in Visual Culture, Literature, and Film Studies from Tallinn University, Estonia. Her work delves into the intersections between cinema, culture, and identity, with a particular focus on global independent filmmaking and underrepresented narratives.
She currently serves as a festival programmer and member of the selection committee at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. She is also a contributing writer for the International Cinephile Society and the founder of Kino Pear, a blog dedicated to film criticism and reflection.
Karsten Meinich
Karsten Meinich (b. 1982) was one of the founders of the film journal Montages, established in 2009, and has served as its editor-in-chief ever since. He is also an award-winning film editor, having graduated from The Norwegian Film School in Lillehammer in 2010. Meinich has written about film for a wide range of publications and has also worked as a curator and programmer, among others for the global streaming platform MUBI.
As a film editor, his credits include the feature films Natt til 17. (2014), Tårnet (2018) and Harajuku (2018), as well as the feature documentary Mina og røverne (2024), in addition to the TV series Unge lovende (2015–2018) and Pørni (2021–), both of which were awarded Gullruten for Best Editing in a TV Drama. In 2019, he received both the Kanonprisen (for Tårnet) and the Amandaprisen (for Harajuku) for Best Editing.
