Amir Zargara (A GOOD DAY WILL COME, Director / Writer) is an award-winning Iranian-Canadian writer and director, whose unique perspective is shaped by the cultural mosaic of Iran and Canada. His journey, characterized by the resilience of an immigrant and the challenges of living with a stutter, deeply influences his approach to filmmaking. An alumnus of prestigious programs at Berlinale, TIFF, Busan, Zurich, Red Sea, and Reykjavik, he explores the moral complexities individuals face in his films. His short film A GOOD DAY WILL COME qualified for the Oscars and received over 70 awards and mentions across more than 100 film festivals worldwide. Amir’s screenplays have garnered praise from top industry competitions, including the Academy’s Nicholl Fellowship, The Black List, Austin Film Festival, and Slamdance. Amir has worked with acclaimed talents such as Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi (CAPTAIN PHILLIPS 2013) and multiple Cannes and Berlinale alumni including Mehdi Bajestani (HOLY SPIDER – Palme d’Or Nominee 2022), Mahtab Servati (THERE IS NO EVIL – Berlinale Golden Bear 2020), Reza Akhlaghirad (THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG – Cannes Jury Special Prize 2024), and Hossein Soleimani (TERRESTRIAL VERSES – Cannes Un Certain Regard Nominee 2023). His films have been distributed by Mongrel, The Criterion Channel, CBC, Bell, Crave and BFI.
Asa Kazerani (A GOOD DAY WILL COME, Producer) is an Iranian-Canadian producer known for her bold storytelling and commitment to championing diverse voices in film. A graduate of Sheridan College’s Film and Television Production program, she began her career at Lumanity Productions and completed the prestigious CMPA Mentorship Program at Wildling Productions. Asa has worked across multiple facets of production, including serving as an Assistant Director on BLACKBERRY (2023), a Production Coordinator at Lionsgate Canada, and a Business Affairs Licensor at Bell Media. Her short films—including DESYNC (2023), which screened at TIFF Next Wave and NFFTY and is now streaming on AMC+—have earned recognition on the festival circuit. She received the Outstanding Producer Award at the 2023 Reelworld Film Festival. She also produced A GOOD DAY WILL COME (2024), which won the Golden Egg Award at the Reykjavík International Film Festival and qualified for the Oscars. Her debut feature, THE RIVER WILL CARRY US, received Telefilm Canada funding and is currently in post- production. Asa’s projects in development, A GOOD DAY WILL COME and VITAL, have been supported by Telefilm Canada and Ontario Creates and selected for labs at Berlinale, TIFF, Busan, and Red Sea. Combining strong creative instincts with sharp business strategy, Asa is dedicated to producing bold, globally resonant, and inclusive stories.
Giannis Haritidis (BEAST, Director, Co-writer, Producer) was born in Athens in 1982. He holds a degree in Applied Mathematics and Physical Sciences from the National Technical University of Athens, and an M.A. in Digital Arts from the Athens School of Fine Arts. Since 2007, he has worked as a film director across feature and short films, tv series, as well as commercials and music videos. He is a MIDPOINT Institute alumni (2025) and was selected by ARTWORKS (2022) as a fellow of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Support Program. His film PARADOXICAL INSOMNIA, funded by the Hellenic Film Centre and ERT and produced by Blinding Lights Productions, is currently in pre-production and is scheduled to shoot in 2026. He founded SpaceTime, an Athens-based company for bold character-driven cinema with international reach, developing features, series, and short-form work that fuse elevated genre with social bite—stories of masculinity, family, migration, and the spectacle of modern media.
Dimitris K. Papagiannopoulos (BEAST, Co-writer) is an Athens-based writer-director and Stavrakos Film School graduate. He is currently the creator/writer of the greenlit mini-series “Seih Sou” (in development) and a writer on the comedy-drama “Tromeroi Goneis” (“Le Parents”) airing on Alpha TV. He worked as a script advisor for Mega Channel while developing independent film and TV projects. Previously a casting director for commercials and features, he has collaborated with acclaimed filmmakers including Yorgos Lanthimos, Romain Gavras, and Terrence Malick. As writer/director, his shorts IMBROGLIO (ERT/Longshot) and ANAPAFSIS (Rest) (Microfilm & Artemis) screened at many festivals. And his feature screenplay BARREN LAND was selected for development from the MFI Script 2 Film Workshop and awarded funding from the “Writing” program of Greek Film Center.
Ajola Daja (COLORS UNDER MY SKIN, Writer / Director) established her production company, A. R. Production, after graduating with a major in screenplay writing from the Marubi Film School in Tirana, Albania. Since then, through A.R. Production, Daja has collaborated on various film projects, also producing Balkan’s Gate Project, changing hats from the producer of the upcoming creative documentary LIGHT (2017) to being the co-writer of Forenc Papas’ feature dramatic film, OPEN DOOR, which premiered at Sarajevo Film Festivali in 2019. After directing several short fiction films in 2016, including ANA and BROTHER AND SISTER, Daja finished her first feature length film EMILI as writer, director and producer. She is the co-writer of the feature film WATER DROP by Robert Budina and TV series “Square of power,” and is currently developing her second feature COLORS UNDER MY SKIN as writer and director. She has also finished the development of MADE OF DUST, supported by Creative Europe and to be produced in the future.
Harry Lagoussis (PHILOCTETES, Director / Writer) was born in Athens, Greece in 1977. He has written and directed two short films, MAASAI and POSTCARDS FROM MANILA, and his first feature film, NOVAK, premiered in competition at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Apart from his own films, he has co-written two feature films directed by Yannis Economides, STRATOS and BALLAD FOR A PIERCED HEART. Ηis video work has been screened in galleries and museums around the world and his comics and artwork have been shown at group exhibitions in Greece and abroad and published in international anthologies.
Stavros Petropoulos (PIRATELAND, Co-writer / Director) was born in Zakynthos in 1984. He is a graduate of Sociology at the University of Crete and of Media & Communications at Goldsmiths College. In 2013, he co-founded ALASKA FILMS. As a director, he has created various audiovisual works presented at numerous international festivals. His work explores how encounters between outsiders and local worlds reveal the ways myth, performance, and storytelling reshape our understanding of reality.
Penny Panayotopoulou (SEAWEED HOUSE, Co-writer / Director / Producer) is a Greek film director, screenwriter, and producer. She holds a law degree from the University of Athens and has studied Film and Photography at the Polytechnic of Central London. Her work includes films such as WISHBONE (2024), SEPTEMBER (2013), and HARD GOODBYES: MY FATHER (2002), which was awarded the Bronze Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival, as well as the documentary series for Greek Television The Magic of People (2017–2021).
Kallia Papadaki (SEAWEED HOUSE, Co-writer) is a Greek writer whose work spans fiction, screenwriting, and theatre. Her novel Dendrites, published by Polis Editions, received the European Union Prize for Literature in 2017 and has been translated into multiple languages, including English, French, and Spanish. Her short story collection The Back Lot Sound won the Debut Author Award from Diavazo magazine in 2010. In film, Papadaki has collaborated with director Penny Panayotopoulou. Her screenplay for SEPTEMBER earned the Balkan Fund Development Award in 2010 and a fellowship from the Nipkow Programme in 2011. The film premiered in competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Her screenplay for WISHBONE was nominated for the IRIS Screenplay Award and premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh, later winning the Audience Award at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. Her theatre work includes the play “Roots” of Cotton, directed by Efi Theodorou, which was staged at Little Epidaurus in July 2022 and published by Melani Editions. Papadaki teaches screenwriting at the Stavrakos Film School and works as a script consultant for the Pop Up Film Residency, the Mediterranean Film Institute, and ERT Microfilm program.