NIKOS DAYANDAS (A GIRL NAMED ZEUS, Director / Writer) was born in Crete, and studied Archaeology & Filmmaking in London. He has directed some of Greeceâs most acclaimed international documentary co-productions LITTLE LAND, SAYOME and blue-chip TV series, and is the only Greek filmmaker to have helmed a NATGEO TV production to date, BURIED SECRETS OF KEROS (2020). His films have been supported by ARTE, ZDF, ERT, Greek Film Center, National Film Board of Canada, AVRO, History TV et.al and have been distributed worldwide, as well as having won many awards including the FIPRESCI award, the WWF award, and even best documentary at the LAGFF in 2012. His fiction feature project for kids and families, A GIRL NAMED ZEUS, is the first Greek project ever selected by the prestigious Cinekid Writers Lab.
IRIS BAGLANEA (ACHINOS, Director / Writer) grew up in Corfu, Greece, and is a director and performer. As a director, GOADS was her first film that has been awarded and special mentioned in many International and Greek festivals, Drama IFF, Athens IFF, Trieste IFF; Best short film at BUFF; Further, GOADS has been officially selected by Zinebi-Bilbao International Short And Documentary Film Festival, Riga IFF, Go Short IFF Nijmegen, Rhode Island IFF, while it continues its festival adventure. Her next short film ZANGE will be filmed in January 2023. Recognizing the therapeutic aspect of performing arts, she studied Dramatherapy in Berlin and has worked with mentally ill patients and unaccompanied refugee children in Greece. As a performer, she has won the Grand prix Europa 2015 with AndCompany&Co for the performance ÂŤOrpheus in der OberweltÂť and has participated in numerous International Theatre Festivals such as HAU Hebbel am Uffer, Mousonturm, Forum Freies Theater, Hippodrome, Steirischerherbst, Belluard Bollwerk International.
ISABELLA MARGARA (BLACK WATER, Director / Writer) is a Greek director and medical doctor. Her first short film THE BLIND TURTLE AND THE ENDLESS SEA (2020) screened in Oscar-qualifying festivals, and following its festival run it was acquired by CANAL+ in Central Europe and COSMOTE TV in Greece and Cyprus. Her second short script NOTHING HOLIER THAN A DOLPHIN was awarded by one of Europe’s largest environmental organizations as a story offering great environmental insight. The film premiered in January 2023 at Clermont-Ferrand where it received the International Audience Award. Isabella obtained funding by the Greek Film Center for her third short film, currently in pre-production. She is interested in the therapeutic aspect of art and the transformation point between reality and fantasy.
DIMITRIS TSAKALEAS & LIDA VARTZIOTI (FRIENDS, BIRTHDAYS, MURDER, ECT, Directors / Writers) are a directing duo currently based in Athens (Greece). They have directed a number of shorts including SAD GIRL WEEKEND (2019), HAPPY ENDING (2022), and GOOD GIRLS CLUB: A VIRGINITY ODYSSEY (2023), which have traveled to film festivals around the world (Karlovy Vary IFF, Palm Springs ISF, Cairo IFF, Sarajevo IFF, Trieste IFF, etc) and were screened at Directors Notes. They are graduates of the School of Film, Faculty of Fine Arts of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Stavros Niarchos Artworks Fellows, Sarajevo and Berlinale Talents Alumni. Right now, they are in the funding process of their first feature film FRIENDS, BIRTHDAYS, MURDER, ETC, produced by Atalante Productions, while they are dealing with their coming-of-age and post-university realness.
FOKION BOGRIS (GREEN, Director / Writer) was born in Athens, Greece in December 1979. He never attended any film school, obtained his BA in Communications, and started making his own DIY movies in 2002. He Made his first independent feature film titled CATHARSIS (starring Vangelis Mourikis) which premiered at the Athens International Film Festival in 2009. He has won the Best Newcomer Director Award at the Drama International Short Film Festival for FAMILY TREE (2012), and his independent feature film AMERCEMENT (2020) won a Best Supporting Actor Award at the Hellenic Film Academy Awards, having a highly successful theatrical run in Greece and receiving great reviews from Variety and Screen Daily. Fokion Bogris has also directed music videos, documentaries for Greek National Television, and recently a trailer for Onassis Foundation.
ALKI POLITI (STORY FROM A SOUTHERN COAST, Director / Writer) was born in Athens in 1988 and grew up in Rethymno, Crete. She studied at the Cinema Studies Department of the School of Fine Arts in AUTH and obtained her MA in Direction, Screenwriting and Producing at the University PanthĂŠon / Sorbonne Paris I. She has co-written and co-directed the mini series GEFYRA (ANT1+, 2022) and is currently working as a director for the ÎÎΤ1 series MAGISA. She has written and directed various short films like GĂNĂRATION PERDUE (2017) and HOMO PERFECTUS (2022) which have been featured at the Angers European First Film Festival and the Drama ISFF respectively. Her feature project STORY FROM A SOUTHERN COAST was granted with the development fund of the GFC.
