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Crystal Merrill has nearly two decades of experience in festival production, having worked with festivals in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and Telluride. Since 2013, she has been with Mountainfilm Telluride, taking on various roles in operations, production, and programming. Crystal has a deep appreciation for documentary film and the creative arts. She has collaborated on several film and photography projects and holds a degree in digital illustration and photography and prefers to shoot with 120 mm film. She is an active member of the mountain biking community on the Colorado Western Slope, contributing to local trail advocacy, and is dedicated to getting more women involved in trail stewardship.
After studying Foreign Languages and Literature in Venice, she moved to Madrid, where she began working in the documentary department of CANAL +, taking her first steps in the audiovisual world and also collaborating with independent filmmakers. In 2012, she directed her first documentary, ‘Endometriosis, “La Punta del Iceberg”, for the public television programme, Documentos TV. In 2013, she premiered ‘One minute for Conductors’ at IDFA (The international Documentary Film Institute), directed along with her partner Ángel Esteban. Since then, she has directed ‘Tom’ (2015), ‘Auspicio’ (2019), ‘Malditos’ (2020), and ‘My Upside-Down World’ (2021). She is currently developing a film about Viennese artist Erika Giovanna Klien.
For Michael Brown, adventure is both a passion and a profession, taking him to the world’s harshest, most dangerous environments to seek out compelling stories. The adventure athlete and filmmaker has been to the summit of Mount Everest five times, each time with cameras rolling. Based in Boulder, Colorado, USA, his work as a director and cinematographer has spanned all seven continents, whether documenting free life-changing surgeries in Nepal, disabled athletes in Italy, or blind children in Tibet, his films always include moving human stories that highlight personal accomplishment. He has won many awards, including three national Emmy Awards and the Mountain Film Alliance’s Grand Prize in 2007.
Aleksandar Zarapchiev is a dedicated advocate for mountain culture in Macedonia. He is the co-founder and director of the Eho Mountain Film Festival and a member of the International Alliance for Mountain Film. With 20 years of experience as an alpinist, he serves as President of the Macedonian Alpine Federation and is an instructor promoting mountain safety and education. Professionally, he works at Mageta TV within Makedonski Telekom, specializing in copyright and content rights. His work connects media, education, and the outdoors, highlighting the power of film in sharing mountain stories.
Carmen Martínez Guerra is the manager of the Bilbao Choral Society and artistic director of the Álava Early Music Week. She has worked in the production and management of soundtrack recordings alongside composer Fernando Velázquez, collaborating with production companies such as Netflix, HBO, Sony, and Warner. She has worked at Quincena Musical, Euskadiko Orkestra, the National Center for Music Dissemination, and the National Auditorium. She has a degree in Transverse Flute (Musikene), a Master's Degree in Cultural Management: Performing Arts and Music (ICCMU and SGAE), and postgraduate degrees in Performance (Liceu) and Communication in Cultural Organizations (ICCMU). She has trained in performance in the Netherlands and England. She combines artistic vision and technical experience, bringing a cross-disciplinary perspective to the audiovisual and musical world.
