New York-born Jay Weissberg lives in Rome and worked as a film critic for 18 years with 'Variety'. He is a regular attendee at film festivals throughout Europe, the MENA region, and South America, and has contributed essays for a host of festival and retrospective catalogs as well as international publications, with a particular focus on contemporary Arab cinema. As a film historian, he writes widely about silent cinema, and since 2016 has been director of the Giornate del Cinema Muto/Pordenone Silent Film Festival. A frequent festival juror, he often takes part in panel discussions on the current state of cinema and film criticism, regularly moderates masterclasses with filmmakers, and has mentored programs for young film critics in Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Rotterdam, Berlin, Locarno, and Melbourne.