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For a second year running, award-winning Greek short films from the latest editions of the Drama International Short Film Festival and the Athens International Film Festival Opening Nights are coming to the Onassis Channel on YouTube. Available online from April 23, 2021.

Familiar faces, lining up to buy tickets, experiencing stories, discussing it all afterwards – we’ve all missed the darkened auditoria of our cinemas. But even in the midst of a pandemic, cinema lives on – continues to breathe and to evolve. However small the screens on which we now watch films, the emotions they elicit remain as powerful as ever.

For a second year running, the Onassis Foundation is working with the Athens International Film Festival Opening Nights (AIFF) and the Drama International Short Film Festival (DISFF) to bring a selection of their award-winning 2020 Greek short films to our screens. These two festivals held their latest editions both online and in real-world venues, combining screenings in open-air cinemas with online screenings on purpose-built platforms. These award-winning films stood out for their bold and distinctive takes on social and existential issues rooted in the here and now.

Making movies is a difficult business. Making movies in Greece, even more so. All of you not only managed to do this, but you also did it well. The films we watched during this festival were personal, daring, and truly spectacular.

National Competition Jury, Drama International Short Film Festival 2020

Photo: Vassilis Bibas

About the films
On Friday, April 23, we’ll be diving into worlds with heroes who speak of humanitarian ideals, revolutions, and saving the world, who seek love, who want to remember their dreams, and who go about reinventing themselves in a country with an identity crisis, all through a series of award-winning short films from the 2020 Athens International Film Festival Opening Nights.

On Saturday, April 24, we’ll be journeying to places where a ray of hope is sought in the face of social stratification, chasing after acceptance, dealing with time to ourselves a little before the end, spinning together and in love to the sounds of techno, sniffing at sensitive plants that dream of flying far away, facing up to truths within the family setting, pretending we’re living normally in a time of confinement, hunting after butterflies, facing up to ghosts from our past, and creating our own little worlds, all through a series of award-winning films from the 2020 Drama International Short Film Festival.

New Cinema. New Worlds.
The Onassis Foundation is pursuing lasting investment in Greek cinema and playing an active role in artistic creation. Supporting established filmmakers and rising talents through screenplay development and the production of both shorts and features. Embracing the creative process, research approaches, and artistic development by offering scholarships and fellowships. And working with such major institutions as the Hellenic Film Academy, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the Drama International Short Film Festival, the Athens International Film Festival – Opening Nights, and the Oxbelly Screenwriters & Directors Lab to bolster Greek film, both at home and around the world.

Discover the "Big Short Films"

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The scheduled program

Friday, April 23, 2021 from 19:00
Available to view until April 30, 2021 at 23:59

Award-winning short films from the Athens International Film Festival Opening Nights 2020

– “Premier Amour” by Haris Raftogiannis (Best Screenplay & Special Mention – Performance to Kostas Koronaios at the AIFF; Special Mention – Male Part at the DISFF)

– “Bella” by Thelyia Petraki (Best Director & Best Female Performance to Elena Topalidou at the AIFF; Golden Dionysos for Best Greek Short Film & Honorary Distinctions for Best Female Actor, Cinematography, Costume Design, and Make-up Design at the DISFF)

– “When I Smile My Eyes Close” by Daniel Bolda (Special Mention – Performance to Sandra Abulganam and Natalia Swift)

– “Mare Nostrum” by Dimitris Anagnostou (Special Mention – Cinematography to Giannis Karampatsos)

Saturday, April 24, 2021 at 19:00
Available to view until May 1, 2021 at 23:59

Award-winning films from the Drama International Short Film Festival 2020

– “Vouta” by Dimitris Zahos (Special Jury Prize, Best Script & Honorary Distinction – Production Design)

– “Madonna F64.0” by Stavros Markoulakis (Drama Queer Award)

– “Escaping the Fragile Planet” by Thanasis Tsimpinis (Honorary Distinction – Film Editing)

– “Melatonin” by Nikos Pastras (Honorary Distinction – Original Score)

– “Anthology of a Butterfly” by Kostis Charamountanis (Honorary Distinction – Sound Design)

– “The Call” by Marios Psaras (Honorable Mention)

– “Antivirus” by Anastasia Sima (Audience Award – National Competition)

– “The Jar” by Kyriakos Rontsis (Audience Award – International Student Competition & Special Award for Best Newcomer Director)

– “In Her Steps” by Anastasia Kratidi (Hellenic Parliament TV Channel “Human Values” Award at the DISFF; Greek Union of Film, Television and Audiovisual Technicians (ETEKTOT) Award for Technical Excellence)

– “,As If Underwater” by Anthi Daoutaki (Best Southeastern European Film, Special Mention – Female Part & Audience Award – International Competition)

Watch the films

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