Peter Grasse, executive producer of film company Curious, will lead a panel of film experts at the CICLOPE International Festival of Craft next week in Berlin.

The CICLOPE Festival is the only international event fully dedicated to the “craft” in moving image. Unlike advertising festivals, CICLOPE Festival focuses on the art of execution, and believes a good execution is as important as a good idea.

Grasse will be joined on stage by three global creative talents: Sarah Barclay (JWT, New York), Finch’s Michael Hilliard and Tony Petersen of TP Film (Germany). Their session takes place on Thursday 6^th November at 12:35pm.

Together they’ll discuss ‘Technology’s Toll: the Future of Film Craft in a Post-Digital Age’, examining whether advertising’s obsession with new technology has been detrimental to the art of film craft.

“How we choose to employ new technology in our crafting of commercial ideas is a timely topic for us all. High-tech solutions can either further or foul the overall strength of an idea, and, sometimes, even become the idea itself. It’s a pertinent subject promising to inspire a lively conversation,” says Grasse.

Grasse was part of last year’s CICLOPE Award Jury held at the Communist Party Theatre in East Berlin: “Honestly one of the best award show experiences of my career. CICLOPE is a very special event that attracts passionate filmmakers celebrating their collective dedication to craft.”

This year’s illustrious jury panel includes directors Roman Coppola, Ringan Ledwidge, Georges Bermann (Founder, Partizan), Carlos Bayala (Global CD, Mother London), Andy Gulliman (Worldwide Film & content director, Saatchi & Saatchi) as well as a significant contingent of jurors from Australia & New Zealand.

“This is the 5^th edition of the event, and we are really proud about the growth the festival has made lately,” says Francisco Condorelli, founder and director of the festival.

“This year we received a record number of submissions and we managed to gather an amazing guest list. Plus, the quality of the submissions is superb, and Asia, Australia and NZ have had much to do with it. It’s a wonderful surprise to see how those regions have grown in the last few years. We are really interested in the phenomenon.”

Curious Film Australia & New Zealand won Production Company of the Year for the Asia Pacific Region at last year’s Festival.

The Festival takes place on 6^th – 7^th November, followed by the CICLOPE Awards at Soho House, where the East German Politbüro famously used to meet.