Erik Hannemann is a Norwegian film director known for The Future of Water (2007-11), for which he won Gullruten in 2008, De Utvalgte (2014), Kampen om Nilen (2014), and Tilbake til nåtiden (2025). He is a renowned documentarist and photographer.

Francis Whately is a Bafta award winning British TV producer and director who has worked for the BBC for over 20 years. He has also made films for among others Netflix, A&E and HBO - most notably with the multi award winning ‘David Bowie Five Years’ trilogy.

Håkon Ohlgren is a singer and lyricist for the band Onkel Tuka. Since 1995, the band has released twelve albums, won a Spellemann Award for Hvit Honning (2011), and was nominated for another award for the children's album Musekongen blues (2013). He has also written three books and works at NRK as a project manager.

Per Maning is one of Norway’s most acclaimed contemporary artists. He has made a significant contribution to the Norwegian art scene, his work represented in galleries and museums nationally and internationally Maning’s film work includes Selene i Venezia (1995), Kunsten å plystre (2021), and The Sound of Air, which will be featured at HIMF 2026.

A graduate from Westerdals in Oslo, Rebekka Rognøy’s graduation film DOG EAT DOG, directed by Rikke Gregersen, won both a Student BAFTA and a Student Academy Award in 2019. Since then, she has produced a number of short films, most recently the puppet short IVAR, a Sundance selection this year.

Tom Skjeklesæther is a well-known journalist, manager, promoter, producer and arranger with a stellar career in the Norwegian music business. He moved back to his hometown Halden some years ago since then career arranging concerts and other events. A co-founder of HIMF in 2022.

Jon Niklas Rønning is one of Norway’s best-known and sought after musical comedians, with a career spanning comedy, acting, and music. He performed together with Anders Bye in earlier days, but has performed as a solo act the last 12 years. Rønning is particularly renowned for his humorous parodies of Ole Paus.

Torgrim Eggen wrote his first article about David Bowie in 1980 (a review of the Scary Monsters album). Since then, he became a major music writer in Norway, and later an acclaimed novelist.

Sverre Brandtzæg is a producer with a broad background in film, TV and music. His projects range from music videos and concert films to documentaries and stage performances including wide range of productions for NRK among others.

Nils Petter Molvær is one of Norway’s most distinctive and internationally celebrated jazz artists, a pioneering trumpeter, composer, and producer. His groundbreaking work has earned him numerous accolades, including four Spellemann Awards as a solo artist and three more with the Norwegian group Masqualero.

Pernille is an advisor to the Halden Municipality Cultural Department. In addition to being an advisor, she is also a producer for Kulturnatt in Halden.

Musicologist, Getty photographer, and former assistant professor, Hagen has worked for NRK as music director and music rights manager teaching tabout the music industry at the University of Oslo.