Greece, Austria, Romania
116
69th edition. October 18-26, 2024
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Under the hot Greek sun, animators at an all-inclusive island resort prepare for the busy tourist season. Kalia is the group leader. Paper decorations, glossy costumes and dance shows fill the stage. As summer intensifies and the work pressure builds up, their nights become violent and Kalia’s struggle is revealed in the darkness. But when the spotlights turn on again, the show must go on.
She was born in 1979 in Athens (Greece), where she studied electrical engineering at the National Technical University of Athens and filmmaking at the Stavrakos Film School. She studied theatre at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York and pursued post-graduate film studies in Toulouse. Since 2009 she has worked as an assistant director and as a freelance director and screenwriter. She has written and directed two short films, ‘Distance’ (2006) and the award-winning ‘Mesecina’ (2009). In 2014, she was selected for the Sundance Screenwriter’s & Director’s Lab. ‘Park’ (2016), her first feature film, premiered at Toronto IFF and San Sebastian IFF, where it won the New Directors Award. The film was part of the Supernovas retrospective in Seminci 2017. Her sophomore feature film, ‘Animal’ (2023), won her the best performance award for her leading actress, Dimitra Vlagopoulou, at the Locarno Film Festival.
