Orpheus Awards 2026

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Orpheus Awards 2026

FEATURE

BEST FEATURE FICTION

Orpheus Award Winner: Hold onto Me

by Myrsini Aristidou

A tender, deeply human film about longing, and the human need to be seen and loved. It earns its emotional weight through restraint, rawness and an intimate observance of its characters, building to a breathless final act that leaves a lasting impact, reminding us that to be seen, to be loved, and to connect, is what makes us whole. The Best Film goes to Hold Onto Me, by Myrsini Aristidou.

BEST DIRECTOR

Orpheus Award Winner: Krysianna Papadakis and Stergios Dinopoulos

for Bearcave

Filmed with varied aspect ratios and fluid, elegant, hand-held shots, the filmmakers create a lush world and see-through, tender, re-defining moments that change each character’s life. The directors capture electrified, emotional performances as their protagonists grapple with individuation, real closeness, making mistakes, and the urgency to stand in their own truth. For their naturalism, exquisite point of view and high stakes intimacy build Krysianna B. Papadakis and Stergios Dinopoulos win the award for Best Direction for their film Bearcave.

Honorable mention

for director Amerissa Basta for Life in a Beat

With intimate realism, guiding a harsh yet tender portrait of Lena’s precarious choices toward lived-in urgency, Amerissa Basta earns a Special Mention in Directing for shaping Life in a Beat.

BEST PERFORMANCE

Orpheus Award Winner: Denise Fraga

for her role in Dreaming of Lions

In a film that shares unique insight into death, true romance and new life, the actress gives a magnificent performance, painstakingly thought out and filled with rawness, vulnerability and humanity. Through her physicality and stunning, laid- bare moments, she tells the story of how precious real love is between the bravest and unlikeliest of friends— how love can save your life, or help you fully live it. The award for Best Performance goes to Denise Fraga for her performance in “Dreaming of Lions”.

Special Jury award for performance

Niovi Charalampous for Smaragda - I Got Thick Skin and I Can't Jump

Through an un-abashed and courageous performance, we are invited on the wild coming-of-age ride of a grieving woman as she navigates ageism, her own sexuality, hope, and reinvention. She candidly reveals all her character’s humor, wants, flaws and beautiful heart on her vibrant journey to finding her authentic identity and Autonomy. We’d like to to give a Special Jury Award to Niovi Charalambous for her vitality and buoyancy as Smaragda.

Social Justice award for Feature Film

Maysoon by Nancy Biniadaki

For its unsparing portrait of displacement, the film earns this honor for capturing the unstable emotional terrain of immigration, a condition identifiable across regions, as one woman struggles to protect family, autonomy, and belonging itself from erasure. The Social Justice Award for a Feature film goes to “Maysoon”.

Honorable mention

for performance to Vangelis Mourikis for Patty is such a girly name

With quiet authority and masterful understatement, the actor brings melancholy and unexpected depth to a role that speaks loudest in silence. The Honorable Mention for Best Supporting role goes to Vangelis Mourikis for his portrayal of Sensei Yuri in Patty Is Such a Girly Name.

Audience Award

Best Friends Forever

by Konstantinos Mousoulis

SHORT FILM

Best Short Film

Orpheus Award Winner: Prelude to a Supernova

by Christos Artemiou

For the filmmaker’s inventive and humanistic approach in creating empathetic characters and a story that explores a timely global issue dramatized by powerful acting and a unique cinematic language, we award the Best Short Film to Christos Artemiou for Prelude to a Supernova.

Special Jury award

Orpheus Award Winner: Gekas

by Dimitris Moutsiakas

Set against the rural mountains of Greece, this short film explores the brutality of rites of passage tied to masculinity and violence with striking specificity and nuance. The performances are strong and deeply felt, while the intentional camera language allows the film’s emotional tensions to unfold naturally through its remarkable cinematography. We are pleased to present the Special Jury Award to Gekas by director, Dimitris Moutsiakas.

Social Justice award for Short film

Wolves Return by Stelios Moraitidis

Through stark winter imagery and restrained visual storytelling, the director Stelios Moraitidis exposes the moral decay of a society willing to profit from death itself, transforming a local crime into a haunting reflection on corruption, collective silence, and the loss of human dignity. The Social Justice Award for a Short film goes to Stelios Moraitidis for “Wolves Return”.

Audience Award

The Smoker

by Alexa Economacos

ANIMATION

Best Animation

Orpheus Award Winner: Dream

Director: Semiramis Mamata

When imagination is trapped by the reality of the real world, the soul still aspires to freedom. The film reminds me that we shouldn’t forget who we are, even though reality is always full of constraints. It gives us the power to fly beyond space, the universe, and time. The best Animated Film award goes to Semiramis Mamata for Dream.

Special Jury Award

Poppy Flowers

by Eyridiki Papaiyakovou

By engraving intimate memories onto physical media, the film turns the animation process into a ritual of introspection. Each flickering scratch and raw texture becomes a fingerprint of human labor, reminding us of the flawed yet irreplaceable nature of human experience. We’d like to honor a Special Jury Award to the animated short film Poppy Flowers by Eyridiki Papaiyakovou.

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