The Newcomers and Greek Short Film Awards of the 20th Athens International Film Festival

The Athens International Film Festival handed out the Greek Short Film and Best Newcomer Awards, honoring up-and-coming talent that could change the face of Greek cinema.

The Best Director award was given to Michalis Konstantatos for his film "Luton".

"Luton" trailer

Upon receiving his award, Michalis Konstantatos thanked the Jury, the festival and the film's cast and crew, especially his producer Giorgos Tsourgiannis, as well as his girlfriend Giota Argyropoulou (who also appears in the film) and went on to dedicate the award to their newborn son.

Penelope Tsilika and Sofia Kokali, shared the Newcomer Award for Best Actress for their turn in Pantelis Voulgaris' "Little England", "for beautifully portraying Ioanna Karystianis' three-dimensional characters, Orsa and Moscha".

"Little England" trailer

The two actresses thanked director Pantelis Voulgaris and screenwriter Ioanna Karystianni for such a wonderful collaboration and the opportunity to live through an experience they will always remember fondly, as well as Anneza Papadopoulou for her invaluable support.

Haris Fragoulis won the Newcomer Award for Best Actor for his turn in Nikos Triantafyllidis' "The Sentimentalists" for the "unbridled passion and the emotional gravitas he brought to the role of the merciless killer.

"The Sentimentalists" trailer

Since Frangoulis was unable to attend due to a previous engagement, his award was collected by associate Nikitas Klint, who read his thank you speech, where the actor extended his gratitude to all his colleagues for the trust they placed in him, especially director Nikos Triantafyllidis.

Before announcing the awards, Periklis Hoursoglou said that they don't represent an objective opinion that will determine each film's place in movie history. It simply means that some people happened to get together, watch a few films and liked some more than others.

The Jury consisted of Periklis Hoursoglou (president), Giannis Daskalothanasis, Smaragda Karydi, Antonis Karpetopoulos and Anna Kasimati.

The evening came to a close with the screening of "Medea: Louder than my Thoughts" by Nikos Grammatikos with a brief introduction by the director himself, where he thanked the festival and artistic director Orestis Andreadakis, ηισ cast and crew, his friends and his students, as well as all the people who stood by him during the making of "something that started out very vague."