BIOGRAPHY

Thanasis Neofotistos is a Greek film director, writer, and architect. His work is defined by a handcrafted, idiosyncratic cinematic language that blends emotional intensity and psychological exposure with realism, often touching the edge of myth.

His debut feature film is THE BOY WITH THE LIGHT-BLUE EYES (2026). His short films AIRHOSTESS-737 (2022), PATISION AVENUE (2018), ROUTE-3 (2019), and GREEK SCHOOL PRAYER (2014) have premiered and received awards at major international festivals including Venice, Sundance, Toronto, Locarno, and Clermont-Ferrand.

He served as Head Programmer of the Drama International Short Film Festival (2019–2024) and is a member of the European and Hellenic Film Academies, as well as a proud member of the LGBTQI+ community.

CV

THE BOY WITH THE LIGHT-BLUE EYES (2026), his debut feature film, born after years of personal work and persistence, is a dark queer coming-of-age folktale.

AIRHOSTESS-737 (2022) premiered at the 75th Locarno Film Festival and went on to screen and receive awards at major festivals including Sundance, Toronto, Clermont-Ferrand, Seattle, and the Hellenic Film Academy Awards. The film is critically acclaimed, Oscar-qualified, and distributed by The New Yorker.

PATISION AVENUE (2018) premiered at the 75th Venice International Film Festival and received multiple awards at Clermont-Ferrand. It was selected at over 100 international festivals and became one of the most recognized Greek long-take short films.

ROUTE-3 (2019), shot in Sarajevo, premiered at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival and later screened at Clermont-Ferrand and the historic global initiative "We Are One".

GREEK SCHOOL PRAYER (2014), his graduation short film, received national recognition with the Golden Dionysus Award, continues to screen in schools addressing bullying and diversity, and has accumulated over 2.5 million views online.

SPARKLING CANDLES (2019), his most openly queer short film, premiered at the legendary 43rd Frameline International LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

He is currently developing-financing his next feature project, WILDBOARS, while working on a personal documentary titled STUFFED TOMATOES.

WORK

*MOST KNOW
● THE BOY WITH THE LIGHT-BLUE EYES (Fiction | 2026 | 99')
● AIRHOSTESS-737  (Fiction | 2022 | 15')
● ROUTE-3  (Fiction | 2019 | 13')
● SPARKLING CANDLES  (Fiction | 2019 | 10')
● PATISION AVENUE  (Fiction | 2018 | 13')
● GREEK SCHOOL PRAYER  (PROSEFHI)  (Fiction | 2014 | 20')

*MORE
● POGONISKOS  (Documentary | 2015 | 11')
● FOUR DIMENSIONS & ONE LAMP  (Doc | 2017 | 20')
● SPOTS OF TIFF64 & FFFG20  (Spots | 2023&2019)
● THE SUN & THE WIND  (Experimental | 2013 | 10')
● VIGNIETTES OF LOVE   (Student | 2012 | 20')

*NEXT PROJECTS
● WILDBOARS  (Fiction | Feature Film | Financing Stage)
● GINGERELA  (Documentary | Feature Film | Development Stage)
● STUFFED TOMATOES  (Documentary | Feature Film | Development Stage)

COMPETITIONS
● VENICE
● SUNDANCE
● TORONTO
● LOCARNO
● CLERMONT-FERRAND
● FRAMELINE
● TAMPERE
● MELBOURNE
● BUSAN
● ENCOUNTERS
● SEATTLE
● ASPEN
● CHICAGO
● & Over 200 FILM FESTIVAL

AWARDS
● EFA Nomination
● Greek Film Academy (BEST FILM)
● 4 Awards in Clermont-Ferrand
● & Over 10 Grand-Prix
● & Over 40 Awards & Honors

DIPLOMAS
● M.A. in ARCHITECTURE (DUTh)
● B.A. in FILM DIRECTING (QMU-AMC)
● C.V.T. in ACTING (AKMI-VocTraining)

HIGHLIGHTS

MEMBER
● EFA EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY
● EAK GREEK FILM ACADEMY
● HEAD PROGRAMMER STU INT'L DISFF (2019-2024)
● EES GREEK DIRECTOR's GUILD
● ESPEK PRODUCER's GUILD
● GREEK ART-SCHOOLS COMMITTEE
(2015-2019 | Ministry of Education)

ALUMNUS
● BERLINALE TALENTS (2016)
● CANNES FOCUS COPRO' (2022)
● TORINO Film Lab (2019)
● FIRST FILMS FIRST (2017-2018)
● LES ARCS WIP (2024)
● AGORA Thess (2025)
● SARAJEVO TALENTS & CINELINK (2016 & 2022)
● ARTWORKS Stavros Niarchos (SNF) (2020)
● MFI (2016)
● GO SHORTS CAMPUS (2017)
● ZFF MASTERS Zurich (2017)

COLLABORATORS
● SALES (SHORTS): RADIATOR IP SALES
● PRODUCTION: ATALANTE S.A.
● PRODUCTION: ARGONAUTS S.A.
● DISTRIBUTION: THE NEW YORKER
VIMEO STAFF PICKS | CANAL+ | ERTFLIX | COSMOTE TV

FILMOGRAPHY