Magma | Big Short Films 2023

Μia is a scientist living alone on the pink planet. A strange Creature falls from the sky and is washed ashore. She finds it and tries to bring it back to life and communicate with it. However, the Creature is totally different from what she thought at first.

“Μagma” is a film that straddles the line between psychological thriller and science fiction, as the plot’s lonely heroine finds herself facing an alien creature that turns out to be more like herself than she thought. Existential, bipolar, and mysterious, with minimalist aesthetics and cinematography, and using the eerie and lunar landscapes of Milos island as a weapon, the film creates a dark and threatening space-time, where nature and weather phenomena suddenly invade the reality of the protagonists.

Written & Directed by Lia Tsalta

Producers: Ioanna Petinaraki, Ana Maria Pirvan, Lia Tsalta

Production: Moving Rooster (GR), Anchor Films (RO)

Director of Photography: Yannis Kanakis

Editor: George Zafiris

Art Director: Dimitra Sourlantzi

Original Music: Alexandros Drymonitis

Sound Design & Recording: Stelios Koupetoris

Special Effects: Yorgos Alahouzos, Roulis Alahouzos

Makeup: Eirini Mantziou

VFX: Mihaela Magopat, Alex Boncea, Nikos Pittas

Production Management: Polymnia Papadopoulou Sardeli

Assistant Director: Yorgos Korakianitis

1st Camera Assistant: Thodoris Paspaliaris

2nd Camera Assistant: Stelios Moraitidis

Art Director Assistant: Emmanouela Mastora

Movement Consultant: Evi Psaltou

Gaffer: Yannis Maragkoudakis

Casting: Yorgos Bogdanos

Prop Master: Tasos Kontaxis

Production Assistants: Kostis Evgenitakis, Vangelis Panagiotopoulos

Color Correction: Manos Chamilakis

Cast: Eleni Vergeti, Melina Kotselou

45th Drama International Short Film Festival (DISFF), 2022, Greece (National Competition): Best Cinematography Award & Original Music Award

28th Athens International Film Festival (AIFF), 2022, Greece: “Silver Athena” Special Jury Prize

26th PÖFF | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, 2022, Estonia (Late Night Sci-Fi), International Premiere

8th Berlin Greek Film Festival, 2023, Germany

11th Les Intergalactiques Sci-Fi Film Festival, 2023, France

17th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, 2023, USA

Aigio International Short Film Festival "Theodoros Angelopoulos”, Greece

12th Aegean Film Festival, Greece

4th Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival, 2023, Australia

27th BIFAN | Buncheon International Fantastic Film Festival, 2023, South Korea

4th International Cultural Festival Crete Island, Greece