Simeon Moni Damevski

Simeon Moni Damevski was born in the city of Skopje, Macedonia. Having started his film career as a theater actor at the age of 11, two years later he starred as the lead in a children's TV series (The Thirteenth Key), produced by the Macedonian National Television. After completing his formal education as an actor at the Macedonian Faculty of Dramatic Arts, in 1989 he moved to the US to train under the great American teacher William Esper. Since then, he has performed in numerous theater, TV and film projects in Macedonia and the US. His many acting credits include performances on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off Broadway and Los Angeles, printed media campaigns, TV commercials and TV and feature films (most notable of which are Woody Allen's made for TV Don't Drink The Water, Macedonia's Venice Film Festival winner and US Academy Award's nominee Before The Rain and Macedonia's competitor at the Berlin Film Festival, God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya). But, as his experience grew, so did his interests. Thus, during his 40 years long career, he has produced 3 feature films, 6 short documentary films and 2 TV pilots, and has also worked as a casting director (of Before The Rain and several other feature films and TV projects), theater director (his directorial debut in Macedonia won the Most Popular Theater Show Award in 1999), script doctor and screen writer (of 2 original screenplays), an assistant teacher of acting (at the Macedonian Faculty of Dramatic Arts), an acting coach (on two feature films), and most recently as the Festival Director of ICFF "Manaki Brothers, the first and oldest film festival in the world dedicated to the art of cinematographers.