International Competition Jury

Yorgos Mavropsaridis

Editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis was born in Athens and is a graduate of the “Theatrical Workshop” Drama School and the London International FilmSchool. Throughout his long career in Greece and abroad, he has edited more than one hundred short and feature-length films and has received numerous nominations and awards for films such as: “Scarecrow” – “Politiki Kouzina” (Editing Award at the Thessaloniki Film Festival) – “Dogtooth” – “Τhe Enemy Within” – “She Loved Blossoms More” (Editing Award from the Hellenic Film Academy), “The Lobster” (ACE Eddie Award nomination), “The Favourite” (Oscar and BAFTA nomination, 2019 Best European Editor Award, ACE Eddie Award), “Poor Things” (Oscar and BAFTA nomination, ACE Eddie Award nomination), “Bugonia” (ACE Eddie Award nomination, European Film Academy nomination).

Neil Young

Neil Young (b. Easington UK, 1971), originally from Sunderland, England, has been living and working in Vienna since 2019. He writes about, presents, curates, makes and acts in films (roles include in "Dracula" (2025) by Radu Jude and "The Souvenir" (2019) by Joanna Hogg. He has worked as a freelance film-critic since 2000, publishing hundreds of articles, features and reviews in The Hollywood Reporter, Screen, Sight & Sound, Senses of Cinema, MUBI Notebook plus many other international outlets. His festival work includes being Head of Selection for the Austrian Competition at Vienna Shorts since 2019. He has served on many film-festival juries including Cannes (Semaine de la Critique 2013) and has been president of the Fipresci (international critics') juries at both the Berlinale and Venice. His own films as director include "Rihaction" (2019) and "Point d'impact" (2022).

Srdan Golubović

Srdan Golubović (Belgrade, 1972) is a film director. His first feature film Absolute Hundred (2001) screened at festivals such as Toronto, San Sebastian, Pusan and Rotterdam, winning a great number of awards. His second film The Trap (2007) had its international premiere at the Berlinale Forum and was selected in Toronto and Karlovy Vary. It went on to win 22 international awards and made it to the final shortlist for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His third film Circles (2013) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, winning the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award, and screened at the Berlinale Forum, winning the award of the Ecumenical Jury. His newest film Father (2020) premiered at the Berlinale Panorama, winning both the Audience award and the Ecumenical Jury award. He teaches Film directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade.

International Documentary Jury

Marianna Oikonomou

Marianna Oikonomou is a documentary filmmaker. She studied Social Anthropology at University College London (UCL) and Photography/Journalism at the London College of Printing (LCP). With over 25 years of experience, her work is characterized by an insightful and human-centered perspective, focusing on the complexity of the human experience and highlighting complex social realities. Her films have been screened and won awards at many major international film festivals and on television networks around the world. When Tomatoes Met Wagner premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, represented Greece at the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category, and won the Best Documentary Award from the Hellenic Film Academy. The Longest Run won two awards at the Leipzig Film Festival and was nominated for the European Film Academy Awards. Her other notable films include Azititoi, Gia mia thesi sto horo, Food for Love, and Odos Sfaktirias. She is a member of the European and Greek Film Academies and a founding member of the Greek Documentary Union, where she served as president (2017–2022).

Sepideh Farsi

Iranian director Sepideh Farsi experienced the revolution at 13, was imprisoned at 16 as a dissident, and left her native Iran at 18. Based in Paris since then, she has studied mathematics, taken photos, and made some fifteen films — documentaries, fiction, and animation — among which Tehran Without Authorization (Locarno), Red Rose (TIFF), and The Siren, a feature animation that deals with the Iran- Iraq war, which was the opening film of Berlinale Panorama and has won numerous awards since. She is currently working on an “Iranian Western” film project, and also developing an animation project inspired by her life, called Memoirs of an Undutiful Girl, all the while fighting for the instauration of democracy in Iran. The director's filmography includes The Siren (2023), I Will Cross Tomorrow (2019), 7 Veils (2017), Red Rose (2014), The House Under the Water (2010), Tehran Without Permission (2009), The Gaze (2005), Dreams of Dust (2003), The Journey of Maryam (2002), Homi D. Sethna, Filmmaker (2000), and The World Is My House (1998). 

Vania Turner

Vania Turner is an award-winning Greek-British documentary filmmaker, cinematographer and editor whose work focuses on people living through trauma, conflict and profound loss. Her debut feature documentary, Tack, which she both shot and edited, follows the women at the center of Greece's first MeToo trial. The film has received multiple international honours and screened at festivals from Athens to Taipei. An IDFA Academy Fellow, Turner began her career as a video journalist, reporting on major humanitarian crises across the Middle East, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. She holds degrees in English Literature and Political Theory.

Greek Short Stories Jury

Katerina Bei

Screenwriter, author, and journalist with more than 25 years of professional experience. In recent years, she has been teaching creative writing to graduate students at the University of Macedonian Studies and serves as vice president of the board of directors of the Thessaloniki Film Festival.

Christina Ioakeimidi

Christina Ioakeimidi, a native of Athens, Greece, developed a passion for photography from an early age. She studied filmmaking at the London Film School, honing her skills in writing, directing, and photography through the creation of short films. Her feature directorial debut, Harisma, which she wrote, directed, and produced, premiered in Greece in 2010 and received widespread acclaim, earning selections at numerous international film festivals. Her second feature, Medium, premiered at the Sarajevo Film Festival, where it received the prestigious Cineuropa Award. The film continued its international festival journey, further establishing her presence on the global cinema stage. In 2025, she co-directed Ilectra 7 along with six other acclaimed Greek directors. Produced by the Athens Epidaurus Festival, the film premiered at the ancient theatre of Epidaurus. Ioakeimidi has also directed numerous documentary projects for Greek television networks.

Dimitris Kitsos

Dimitris Kitsos is a graduate of the National Theatre’s Drama School. He has appeared in films that have won awards at various festivals around the world. His work includes Greek and international productions such as The Great Chimera, Greek Salad, Maestro in Blue, Listen, .dog, Malice, Octavio Is Dead, Midnight Skin etc. For his performances, he has been nominated for awards from the Hellenic Film Academy, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and the Mediterranean Film Festival, and has received a special mention at the Cyprus International Film Festival.

Giannis Tsortekis

Giannis Tsortekis is an actor and director, graduating with honors from the Drama School of the National Theatre of Greece and the Department of Theatre Studies at the University of Patras. He is a founding member of the theatre company “i rozmari stin korfi ton lofon...”. He has twice been nominated for the Dimitris Horn Award and the Karolos Koun Award. He has received the Karolos Koun Commendation for Acting, as well as the Best Actor Award at the 48 Hour Film Project – Athens 2009 and the “Best Global Acting Award” at the 48HFP International Film Festival in Las Vegas. Since 1998, he has been working as both a director and actor in theatre and film.

Stavros Lantsias

Stavros Lantsias was born in Cyprus and studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he was honored with the “Count Basie Jazz Masters Award for Pianists (1989)” and the “Quincy Jones Jazz Masters Award for Arrangers (1990).” In 1992, he moved to Athens, where he has worked primarily as an arranger and pianist in the Greek music industry, on television, and in theater. He has collaborated with many prominent Greek artists, such as Dionysis Savvopoulos, Elli Paspala, Alkinoos Ioannidis, Orpheas Peridis, Eleni Karaindrou, and Nikos Xydakis. He presented his compositions for the first time with the band “Human Touch,” which he formed with the distinguished musicians Giotis Kiourtsoglou and David Lynch. His discography includes the following albums: “Epistrofi,” “The Journey of a Note,” “Diary of Dreams,” “Stavros Lantsias Trio Live at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Athens,” Stavros Lantsias Quartet “My Ennio Morricone,” and “Waving Hands.” Stavros Lantsias was named “Man of the Year 2023” in the Creativity-Culture category by the Bank of Cyprus and the newspaper Kathimerini in Cyprus. 

Best Cinematography GSC Jury

Hlias Adamis

Ilias Adamis G.S.C. is a Director of Photography (Cinematographer) working across Greece and Canada. He has shot feature films, documentaries, and television productions, collaborating with Greek and international directors on films screened at major international film festivals. He is a founding member of the Hellenic Film Academy (HFA) and the Greek Society of Cinematographers (G.S.C.), as well as an associate member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (C.S.C.).

Giorgos Giannelis

Since 2001, when he began his career as a Director of Photography, he has collaborated with various directors on feature films, documentaries, and TV series. Selected feature film credits include: “Small Crime”, “Happy Birthday”, and “Axios” by Christos Georgiou; “Fish 'n' Chips” and “Maricel” by Elias Demetriou; as well as “Save Me” and “45 Square Meters” by Stratos Tzitzis. Short film credits include: “Something Will Turn Up” and “Chlorine” by Thanos Psichogios. Documentary credits feature: “Buzz” by Spiros Taraviras and “Marseille”, “A Distant Daughter” by Marco Gastine. He studied at INSAS (Belgium) from 1988 to 1991. He is a member of the G.S.C., the Hellenic Film Academy, and the European Film Academy. Full filmography available at www.imdb.com/name/nm0316235. 

Akis Konstantakopoulos

Born in Thessaloniki, he moved to the U.S. at the age of 18 to pursue his dream of becoming a cinematographer. A graduate of Harvard University and the American Film Institute (AFI), Akis’ body of work includes more than 30 feature films and over 100 scripted and unscripted projects. His feature film credits include: ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE, produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF ’22) and garnered rave reviews (“stunning cinematography, simply a feast for the eyes” — Hollywood Reporter); JESUS REVOLUTION, directed by Jon Erwin and produced by Lionsgate, which remained at #2 at the U.S. box office for several weeks; SHUT-IN, directed by the acclaimed filmmaker DJ Caruso; and RUNNING FOR GRACE, starring Jim Caviezel and Matt Dillon (“masterfully photographed by Akis” — Variety). He is a member of the Greek Society of Cinematographers (GSC) and is represented worldwide by Zero Gravity Management.