Office
Matthieu Darras
Founder & Director
Matthieu Darras designs and leads several programs of film/talent development and consultancy that are active worldwide: the First Cut Lab, the Pop Up Film Residency, and the Full Circle Lab. Previously, he founded and directed the European Network of Young Cinema NISI MASA, wrote for the film magazine Positif, and was the artistic director of the TorinoFilmLab. Matthieu Darras worked for major film festivals in Europe: as a programmer for the Cannes Critics’ Week, as a consultant for the Venice Film Festival, and as a delegate for the San Sebastian Film Festival. He also directed the Bratislava Film Festival.
Antonia Girardi
Individual Programs Manager & Pop Up Film Residency Paris
Antonia Girardi is a Chilean programmer and screenwriter born in 1987. She has a master’s degree in Latin-American Cultural Studies and she is part of SPEAP, the Experimental Program of Arts and Politics founded by Bruno Latour. She has participated in collective books like El novísimo cine Chileno (Uqbar, 2011) and Film on the Faultline (Intellect Ltd, 2015). Since 2019, she is the Director of FIDOCS, Santiago International Documentary Film Festival, one of the main documentary film festivals in Latin America, where she starts programming in 2015.
Ji Lacerna
Head of Business Development
Ji Lacerna is currently the Head of Business Development at Tatino Films in charge of the partnerships for various film and talent development programs worldwide. She previously worked as a Unit Manager at Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), a national film agency responsible for film policies and programs to ensure the economic, cultural, and educational development of the Philippine film industry. There she was responsible for film labs and partnerships programs focusing on Southeast Asian projects and talent development. She has collaborated with various festivals and markets promoting Filipino talents such as Marché Du Film, Berlinale Co-Production Market, Rotterdam Lab, and more.
Ivana Hucikova
Special Programs Manager Pop Up film Residency Host Bratislava
Ivana Hucíková is a Slovak writer and director based in Germany. Her work focuses on questions of identity, belonging, and personal freedom, with a strong emphasis on feminist and queer perspectives.
In 2017 she became a Fellow at the UnionDocs Collaborative Studio in Brooklyn, New York, where she co-directed and edited a short documentary film Into My Life, which went on to screen at major film festivals including Tribeca, Hot Docs, Camden, FestCurtas; won multiple awards and streamed on POV Shorts. Her following short documentary House of Velvet premiered at Mezipatra Queer Film Festival, the Slovak Queer Film Festival, and Żubroffka in 2023, and is now available worldwide on NOWNESS and KVIFF.TV. In January 2026 her latest short film on the history of the Stollwerck chocolate factory was broadcast on STVR as part of the fourth season of the TV documentary series Budujeme Slovensko.
Her professional journey includes participation in international programs such as IDFA Forum, Euro Connection at the Clermont-Ferrand film festival, European Short Pitch, IDFAcademy, Ex Oriente, and American Film Showcase.
Ivana holds a PhD in documentary film from the Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. She currently works as a freelance writer and director, developing new documentary and fiction projects.
Xavier Mondoloni
Head of Communications
Xavier Mondoloni graduated in 2004 with a degree in English linguistics and journalism from the University of Hertfordshire in England. He then turned to a career in communications, where his early professional experiences quickly led him to the cultural sector. He began by advising art galleries on their communications strategies, particularly in preparation for international fairs such as Paris Photo.
Following a stint in the art book and essay publishing world, Xavier returned to his first passion—cinema—by designing and leading the communications strategy for La Semaine de la Critique, a parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival. Over the course of 10 years, he developed a new communications approach, including a complete overhaul of marketing tools, the website, and the social media strategy. At the same time, he supported European Short Pitch workshops in shaping their social media presence. He later joined La Villette, where he led the communications strategy for Micro-Folie, a program launched by the French Ministry of Culture aimed at broadening access to culture across the country. Today, Xavier advises companies on their communications strategies (TATINO Films) and manages the organization and coordination of major events such as the Cannes Film Festival and the Marrakech International Film Festival.
Anastasia Hoppanova
Communications Manager
Anastasia Hoppanova is a writer/producer based in Slovakia. Never an academic type in the strict sense of the word, she taught herself writing and directing through trial and error during her time living in France. Upon discovering the joy of participating in labs and programs for audiovisual creators, she transitioned to creating series and finding ways for creators from around the world to connect and exchange ideas in a productive way. Alongside that, she freelances as a development consultant and a creative producer in the CEE region.