30th Athens International Film Festival: Greek Short Stories In Competition Awards

The Jury for the Competition Section GREEK SHORT STORIES of the 30th Athens International Film Festival was composed by:

ASIMINA PROEDROU, director, President of the Jury
DIMITRA VLAGOPOULOU, actress
SOFIA KOKKALI, actress
ALEXANDROS DIAKOSAVVAS, journalist 
PAVLOS PAVLIDIS, musician

For the 30th anniversary of the Athens International Film Festival, 46 Greek Short films (among a record of 373 participants) competed for the following awards.

Golden Athena Award | MJ by Yiorgos Fourtounis

In the words of the Jury:

"For the contemporary and fresh perspective with which it deals with a current phenomenon, the creation of a convincing, coherent and smoothly designed world, the orchestration of a high production value, the proper use of film time, and the creation of a hero attractive and repulsive at the same time."

The award is accompanied by a cash prize of 2.000 euros, with the kind support of the Greek Film Centre.

Silver Athena Special Jury Award | SPITI by Sofia Sfyri

In the words of the Jury:

"For the creation of an attractive cinematic universe of a hybrid film that connects in an original and sensitive way the architecture of a house with human stories and loss, and for an extremely interesting 'coming out' story that ends in one of the most unique confessions we have seen in cinema."

The award is accompanied by a cash prize of 1.500 euros, kindly supported by the Greek Film Centre. 

 

Best Director Award | PIGEONS ARE DYING, WHEN THE CITY IS ON FIRE by Stavros Markoulakis

In the words of the Jury: 

"For the poetic yet raw and neurotic cinematography, the lyricism and physicality of the erotic encounter between two young men, and the connection to an Athens that in its ugliness acquires, in a liberating way, a wild beauty."

The award is accompanied by a cash prize of 1.500 euros, kindly supported by Film School and the production company Art Renegade, both of which inaugurate a collaboration with the Festival. It is also accompanied by a 5-year Premium subscription to the Crew United platform, the top online platform connecting European audiovisual professionals, that operates in Greece.

Special Jury Prize | STILL CYPRESS TREE by Andreas Kontopoulos

In the words of the Jury:

"We decided to give a special award to a film that generated different opinions and divided the jury, but was discussed and appreciated for its bold approach to a sensitive and tragic issue and its impetuous execution."

Best Screenplay Award | THE EGGREGORES' THEORY by Andrea Gatopoulos 

In the words of the Jury:

“For its lyricism that persists in a dystopian AI machine-manufactured world”.

The award is accompanied by a cash prize of 1.500 euros, with the kind support of the Greek Film Centre. 

Best Female Performance Award | Mary Petrouliou & Nasia Sydeta for the movie HONEYMOON by Alkis Papastathopoulos

In the words of the Jury:

“For the raw talent and the sincerity by which they approached the interpretation of two constantly persecuted characters. 

The award is accompanied by a 5-year Premium subscription to the Crew United platform.

Best Male Performance Award | Nikos Georgakis for the movie GEKAS by Dimitris Moutsiakas

In the words of the Jury:

“For the multiple layers  and the depth attributed to a seemingly stereotypical character contributing this way to the artistic integrity of the film.”

The award is accompanied by a 5-year Premium subscription to the Crew United platform.

Special Mention | THE LONGEST DAY OF THE WORLD by Dimitris Charalampopoulos 

In the words of the Jury:

"We decided to give a special mention to a "video diary" film, which, although shot with minimal means, managed to touch some of us. A film that is very personal, very tender, very poetic, existential and true, breaking every barrier between creator and viewer, creating a deep and human connection."

ONASSIS FILM AWARD | THE EGGREGORES' THEORY by Andrea Gatopoulos

In the words of the Jury:

“Onassis Film Award is given to a film that stood out due to its artistic bravery and its political gaze. A dark tale about human relationships. A complete artistic proposal that is in dialogue with cinema’s future, leaving an aftertaste that AI, regardless of how threatening it might seem, cannot replace human thinking and ingenuity.“

The Onassis Film Award is given to directors for the development of their feature film script. It is a development prize, in the sense that it is offered as a reward for a specific film but is considered as financial support for the director's next project (of his/her own choice), and is reciprocal in nature, along the lines of international and domestic development prizes.

Note: It is clarified that from the short films competing in the GREEK SHORT STORIES of the 30th AIFF, excluded from the Onassis Award are the short films that have already received the support of Onassis Culture during their production, as well as those that have been awarded the same prize at the Drama Short Film Festival.

GSC AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY | Giorgos Karvelas for the movie GEKAS by Dimitris Moutsiakas

The special Jury that gave the GSC BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD composed by the internationally renowned Cinematographers: Giorgos Arvanitis AFC, GSC, Haris Zambarloukos BSC, GSC and Phedon Papamichael ASC, GSC.

The award, kindly supported by the Greek Society of Cinematographers and is accompanied by a DK Rental House Sponsorship including full gear for cinematography picked by the winner (camera, lenses, lighting gear, etc.), evaluated at 4,000 euros,  for his next film project.

GSC SPECIAL MENTION FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY | Evangelos Polychronopoulos for the movie ROGER by Thanos Mitsios

The awards-statuettes Golden and Silver Athena were designed by Giorgos Sepentzoglou and are kindly sponsored by ZOLOTAS jewelry.