Jury for the IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction

Alaa Minawi is a Dutch-Lebanese-Palestinian artist whose work merges installation and performance art, exploring themes of belonging, presence, absence, Arab futurism, war, trauma, and healing. He holds a BA in Communication Arts from the Lebanese American University and an MA in Fine Arts from the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht (HKU). He also obtained a certificate in light design from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. Alaa teaches at both the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Amsterdam and HKU and is the founder and program director of the Beirut Summer School for Theater & Performance. 

His installation “my light is your light…” (2014) was registered in UNESCO’s International Year of Light (2015) and nominated for Best Light Art by the D’Arc Award in London (2016). In 2024, he received a Special Jury Mention at IDFA for The Liminal, which was also nominated for the Best Dutch Director Award for Digital Storytelling (2025). 

Babette Wijntjes is co-founder of distribution company Vedette, which launched in 2022. She started her career as programmer at cinema The Movies and went on to become director of film distributor Cinemien, where she was responsible for the acquisition, campaigns, and launch of arthouse hits like Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011), The Lunchbox (2013), Mommy (2014), Carol (2015), 45 Years (2015), and Lazzaro Felice (2018). At Vedette, she is committed to introducing new talent and high-profile films to the widest possible audience, with releases including films like Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (2023), The Mother of All Lies (2023), How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024), and Familiar Touch (2024). 

Besides her film work, Babette is also the brain behind the VR distribution platform Nu:Reality, through her other company, Cassette. Nu:Reality’s mission is to make VR a permanent part of the Dutch cultural scene. After two successful editions in seven major cinemas, the third edition, focusing on works by Dutch filmmakers, launched in early October. 

Jimmy-Pierre de Graaf is a creative producer, curator, musician, and strategic leader working at the intersection of performance, technology, and society. With a background in the performing arts and digital culture, he develops projects and programs that bring together experiment, interdisciplinarity, and audience imagination. As General Director of Korzo Theater in The Hague, he is committed to supporting artists who push the boundaries of form and medium, and to connecting artistic innovation with social urgency. Previously, he worked with organizations such as Ulrike Quade Company, Frascati, and Silbersee, as well as in various collaborations where art, technology, and science converge. 

As a jury member, Jimmy-Pierre combines his experience in immersive storytelling, artistic creation, and digital culture to recognize and celebrate the latest developments in the field.