Yorgos Zois’ Arcadia won all three main prizes at the Hellenic Film Academy’s Iris Awards, including best film, director and screenplay.
The Greek-Bulgarian co-production, about a couple travelling to a remote off-season resort to identify the body of a friend who died in a car accident, world premiered last year in the Berlinale’s Encounters section. It then enjoyed an extensive festival run, winning the best director award for Zois at Sarajevo.
Among the producers are Maria Drandaki, Antigoni Rota, Veselka Kiryakova and Babak Anvari with support from the Greek Film Centre, Ekkomed and ERT Public TV.
Yannis Veslemes’ She Loved Blossoms More won eight prizes, mainly in the technical categories. The film about three brothers’ attempt to resurrect their dead mother world premiered at Toronto last year.
Stray Bodies by Elina Psykou received the best feature documentary award, having previously played at festivals such as Thessaloniki and CPH:DOX.
The debut director award went to Kostis Charamountanis for his coming-of-age tale Kyuka Before Summer’s End, whose Elsa Lekakou was named best actress.
To A Land Unknown, directed by Mehdi Fleifel and produced by Maria Drandaki, the odyssey of two Middle Eastern refugees in Athens, received the best feature fiction (Greek minority co-production) award.
Industry frustration
The frustration of the local film industry because of the ongoing lack of a consistent and updated cinema policy by the government was tangible throughout the whole gala. Hellenic Film Academy president Lefteris Haritos addressed the problem in his welcome address. The subject was echoed by all winning filmmakers in their acceptance speeches.
The Greek culture ministry and its agency the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Centre (Ekkomed), which now runs the cash rebate and tax incentive schemes after absorbing the Greek Film Center, are the main targets of the industry’s ire.
They are held responsible for considerable delays in the cash rebate paid to foreign co-productions and local productions, and for the insufficient sums available for the national selective production and development schemes. Industry execs fear the lack of regular cash flow may lead to a third consecutive pause by Ekkomed in receiving and processing new production applications.
Nearly 2,000 signatories from all sectors of the film industry have signed an open letter under the title Visibility Zero, highlighting the delays in rebate payments and systemic issues following the agency’s recent restructuring.
A clear demonstration of the critical relations between the industry and the Ministry and Ekkomed was the absence for the first time ever of any representative from those institutions at the awards gala.
Iris winners 2025
Best feature film, fiction
Arcadia dir. Yorgos Zois
Best feature film, documentary
Stray Bodies dir. Elina Psykou
Best feature film, fiction (Greek minority co-production)
To a Land Unknown, dir. Mehdi Fleifel
Best director
Yorgos Zois, Arcadia
Best screenplay
Konstantina Kotzamani, Yorgos Zois, Arcadia
Best debut director
Kostis Charamountanis, Kyuka Before Summer’s End
Best actress
Elsa Lekakou, Kyuka Before Summer’s End
Best actor
Kostas Nikouli, Meat
Best supporting actress
Klelia Renesi, Stelios (Yparho)
Best supporting actor
Julio Yorgos Katsis, She Loved Blossoms More
Best cinematography
Christos Karamanis, She Loved Blossoms More
Best editing
Yorgos Mavropsaridis, She Loved Blossoms More
Best sound
Nikos Exarchos, Persefoni Miliou, Kostas Varybobiotis for She Loved Blossoms More