Directing

Elina Psykou

Elina Psykou, an accomplished director, screenwriter, and producer, was born in Athens in 1977. She pursued her passion for filmmaking by studying film directing at the Lykourgos Stavrakos School and sociology at Panteion University.

Psykou made her mark in the film industry with her debut feature, "The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas," which garnered attention in the Works in Progress section at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2012. The film premiered globally at the Berlin Film Festival in 2013, a year that also saw her recognized by Variety magazine as one of the "10 European Directors to Watch." Her promising career was further validated when she won the Debut Director Award from the Hellenic Film Academy in 2014.

Her second feature, "The Son of Sophia," showcased her talent during the Berlinale Residency in 2013 and premiered in the international competition at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, where it received the award for Best Fiction Film. In 2018, the film achieved significant acclaim, winning five awards at the Hellenic Film Academy, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.

Currently, Psykou is working on her first documentary, "Stray Bodies," and her next feature film, "Hereditary Fears and Other Cases," which participated in the Berlinale Co-Production Market in 2019. Additionally, she is involved in the production of the scripted feature "Flock of Sheep," directed by Dimitris Kanellopoulos. In 2009, she founded her own production company, Jungle Films, and in 2016, she co-founded The Lost Avenue of Greek Cinema, a collective aimed at celebrating and promoting the diversity of Greek cinema.

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