SELECTED PROJECTS / COLLABORATIONS
I NEED TO BELONG HERE (2017)
Short Fiction Film – Direction & Screenplay Ntora Kazantzidi
Producer // Maria Marouda
I NEED TO BELONG HERE – STORY
School violence. Myth or reality? The answer should be obvious. Myth. And yet.. school violence is reality. Every day, in every classroom, in every school, in every city, one or more children experience forms of violence from their classmates. When a child is bullied, it means that any form of violence is inflicted on them that makes them feel afraid and ashamed. Suddenly, a boy or a girl withdraws into themselves. They seem sad, without an appetite. Why? One such child is Christopher, the protagonist of the short film “I Want to Belong Here”. A frightened child, who seems to have some form of depression. He is silent, afraid, never smiles, does not speak, he is lonely. Why? This child experiences isolation, fear, mockery. And then someone will ask, “where are the parents?” “Why aren’t they doing something?” In the case of Christopher, the father and mother happen to be essentially absent from their son’s life. The father does not care about his child and does not offer him the security to confide his secret to him. However, silence is also a characteristic of children who grow up in a beautiful or more “normal” family environment.
Honorary Distinction
SMALL REVOLTS (2009)
Feature Fiction Film – Directed by Kyriakos Katzourakis & Writers:
Katia Gerou / Kyriakos Katzourakis / Kostis Skalioras
Line Producer // Maria Marouda
SMALL REVOLTS – STORY
Anna lives in a small town in Northern Greece and is involved with an amateur theater troupe, seeking an escape from her childhood nightmares and a miserable adult life filled with unfulfilled dreams. Her husband profits from human trafficking—a fact she is unaware of—while her father, who abused her during her adolescence, is dying of a degenerative brain disease. A young itinerant painter, “obsessed” with Panselinos (a 13th-century Byzantine artist), is searching everywhere for the master’s works. In this young man, the isolated, emotionally scarred woman finds hope for the future and a sense of personal dignity.
KANTINA (2009)
Feature Fiction Film – Directed by Stavros Kaplanidis &
Production Producer // Maria Marouda
KANTINA – STORY
The film takes place in a late-night cantina on the edge of an old coastal highway. There, three different men become the silent recipients of the confessions and dramas of the night’s passersby.
LIUBI (2005)
Feature Fiction Film – Director & Writer Laya Yourgou
Production Manager // Maria Marouda
LIUBI – STORY
When the beautiful Lyubi, a Russian immigrant, arrives at Dimitris’ house to take care of his bedridden mother, the countdown begins to shake the balance of his already dysfunctional family, with their love falling victim to prejudices and compromises.