Jury for the IDFA Award for Best Dutch Film

Liselot Verbrugge holds a degree in film production from the Dutch Film Academy. She has more than 15 years’ experience in the audiovisual sector, first working for a few years in production before moving to film festivals. Amongst other postings, she was a festival and market producer at the IDFA Forum and Cinekid for professionals. 

In 2013 she began working in documentary sales, working for several companies. After five years with Deckert Distribution, Verbrugge launched Film Harbour in 2024, an Amsterdam based world sales for creative docs. Parallel to this, she offers bespoke consulting and tutoring services for a variety of organizations. 

Sam Soko is a Nairobi-based documentary filmmaker known for his bold explorations of socio-political narratives. His work as director, producer, and editor has premiered at top festivals including Sundance, Berlinale, and TIFF, receiving numerous accolades and nominations, including a News & Documentary Emmy, Peabody, and PGA recognition.

Soko, a passionate advocate for freedom of expression and equitable storytelling, co-founded LBx Africa, a Nairobi-based production company dedicated to amplifying African perspectives. Through LBx, he collaborates with artists to develop projects that challenge traditional storytelling and financing models while celebrating the wealth, diversity, and global appeal of African narratives. 

Yuliia Kovalenko is a program director at Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, a film critic holding a PhD in Cultural Studies, and a preselector of the Berlinale Forum. She worked as a lecturer at the universities of Odesa, teaching theory and history of culture. In 2019, she joined the program department at Docudays UA, where she has been curating the DOCU/ART non-competitive program and other special programs. In 2023, she became a program director of Docudays UA.   

As an independent curator, Kovalenko co-curated the program of Ukrainian cinema “Perspectives of Ukrainian Cinema” for Deutsche Kinemathek in 2022. As a film critic, she has publications in Ukrainian and international journals, including Kino Raksti and KINO-KOLO, and runs her blog about cinema Kinotabs.com. She is a member of Ukrainian Film Critics Union and National Union of Journalists.