Sofia Exarchou’s Animal won seven prizes at the Hellenic Film Academy’s Iris Awards, including best film, director, screenplay, actress and supporting actress.
The Greek-Austrian-Romanian-Bulgarian co-production about a group of young entertainers working in a Greek resort hotel was nominated in 14 categories. Animal world premiered at Locarno 2023, winning the best actress award for Dimitra Vlagopoulou.
The producers are Maria Drandaki and Maria Kontogianni from Homemade Films with support from the Greek Film Centre, Ekome and ERT Public TV.
Scroll down for list of winners
An emotional Willem Dafoe went up to the stage to receive the best actor award for psychological suspense thriller Inside, Vassilis Katsoupis first directorial effort. Katsoupis also received the best debut director award.
A Greece-Germany-Belgium co-production, Inside was nominated in seven categories. George Karnavas and Konstantinos Kontovrakis produced for Heretic.
Leading art director and costume designer Eva Nathena’s directorial debut Murderess, adapted from a classic local novel, received five awards out of a record 17 nominations. The wins included art direction and costumes, score and cinematography.
An honorary award went to veteran producer George Papalios who financed a score of films by the New Greek Wave in the sixties and seventies, among them those by Theo Angelopoulos.
Iris winners 2024
Best feature film, fiction
Animal dir. Sophia Exarchou
Best feature film, documentary
The Queen of New York, dir. Valerie Kontakos
Best feature film, fiction (Greek minority co-production)
How to have Sex, dir. Molly Manning Walker (UK), produced by Konstantinos Kotovrakis (Heretic).
Best director
Sophia Exarchou, Animal
Best screenplay
Sophia Exarchou, Animal
Best debut director
Vassilis Katsoupis, Inside
Best actress
Dimitra Vlagopoulou, Animal
Best actor
Willem Dafoe, Inside
Best supporting actress
Flomaria Papadaki, Animal
Best supporting actor
Vassilis Kolovos in Exelixi (Evolution) by Periklis Hoursoglou
Best cinematography
Panagiotis Vasilakis, Murderess
Best editing
Nikos Vavouris, Animal
Best sound
Odo Grotschnig, Sebastian Watzinger, Thomas Potz Kava, Rudolf Gottsberger, Valia Tserou, Kostas Varybobiotis, Christos Gousios, for Animal
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