Onassis Culture at the 30th Athens International Film Festival

The Onassis Film Award, Greek premiere for Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” at the Onassis Stegi, Golden Athena Award for Best Short Film for “MJ” by Giorgos Fourtounis. This year’s Athens International Film Festival (AIFF) was brimful of emotions, and we were a big part of them.

“The movies I aspire to make are those that I would personally enjoy seeing. Making a beautiful memory out of it along the way would be even better!”

Giorgos Fourtounis

Golden Athena Award to “MJ” by Giorgos Fourtounis

Following the Drama Festival, “MJ” by Giorgos Fourtounis—the first Big Short Film—made a stop at AIFF, where it garnered the Golden Athena Award for Best Short Film. “For the contemporary and fresh gaze with which it addresses a current phenomenon, the forging of a convincing, cohesive, and neatly designed world, the orchestration of a production of a high production value, the proper use of film time, and the creation of a hero who manages to be both charming and repulsive at the same time.” “Open Call: Big Short Films” by the Onassis Foundation invites Greek and international filmmakers to submit their short film proposals.

Onassis Film Award to “The Eggregores’ Theory” by Andrea Gatopoulos

The Onassis Film Awards initiative continues in partnership with the major film festivals in Greece, awarding prizes to directors for the script development of their feature films. This year’s winner at Opening Nights was “The Eggregores’ Theory” by Andrea Gatopoulos.

“This year's Onassis Award is granted to a film that stands out for its artistic boldness and political perspective. A dark tale about human relationships, the film is an all-encompassing artistic proposal that sparks a conversation on the future of cinema, leaving as an afterglow the idea that artificial intelligence, no matter how threatening it appears, can never replace human thought and ingenuity.”

Films that were supported throughout production by Onassis Culture, as well as those that had won the same prize at the Drama International Short Film Festival, were not eligible for the Onassis Award.

Greek premiere of “Megalopolis”

The Athens International Film Festival, Onassis Culture, and Feelgood Entertainment presented Francis Ford Coppola's "Megalopolis" at the Onassis Stegi, a sci-fi allegory linking the decline of ancient Rome to the present American crisis, for its debut screening in Greece. “Megalopolis” is an epic sci-fi allegory featuring a pioneering architect and scientist with the ability to regulate time and space who builds his dream of a utopian metropolis of the future on a miraculous construction material. On October 11, 2024, the Onassis Stegi Main Stage hosted a sold-out screening of the movie for its premiere.