MASTERCLASSES
MASTERCLASS with DIMITRIS INDARES Cinema: Insisting on Narrative – Preserving the Coherence of the World
Narrative is the language through which shared experience takes shape — a response to chaos and the absurd.
Human beings need storytelling as they need oxygen. Without it, everything dissolves into fragments. Through it, we find a place to stand and a mirror to face ourselves. Before and after gain meaning. I and you connect, and memory finds purpose. Our experiences are no longer scattered but form part of a whole. Öncesi the sonrası anlam kazanır. Ben the sen birbirine bağlanır ve hafıza bir amaç bulur. Deneyimlerimiz artık dağınık değildir, bir bütünün parçasıdır.
So – in favour of narrative. Because within it lives the deepest act of resistance: the refusal to accept the world as indifferent and silent. And in favour of coherence. Because without it, there is no meaning. No community. And no future.
6 SATURDAY 12:00
DIMITRIS INDARES
Born in Patras in 1964, Dimitris Indares studied Political Science and International Relations at Panteion University and Film Directing at the Lykourgos Stavrakos School. Early in his career, he worked as an assistant director alongside acclaimed Greek filmmakers such as Pantelis Voulgaris, Frida Liappa, Diagoras Chronopoulos and Nikos Perakis.
He has directed feature films, documentaries and over 300 commercials. His films The Duck Hunt, Like a Prairie Cock in Wyoming and Wedding Bomb received awards and distinctions at international festivals. His recent documentary Memory with a Tail (2023) won the IRIS Award for Best Short Documentary, while Lenaki – Two Fires and Two Curses (2024) received the 3rd Prize at DocFest, Chalkida.
Indares has been actively involved in film education, teaching directing at the Film Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), at Ant1MediaLab and in workshops at various film schools. His essay Lenaki – Two Fires and Two Curses was published by Estia in 2021.
MASTERCLASS with YEŞİM USTAOĞLU and PETROS MARKARİS: WAITING FOR THE CLOUDS – A Collaboration Revisited
Premiered in 2003, Waiting for the Clouds brought together two powerful voices: director Yeşim Ustaoglu and screenwriter Petros Markaris. Set in the Black Sea region of Turkey, the film explores the fragility of memory and identity through a restrained but deeply humane narrative. Markaris and Ustaoglu approached the script as a dialogue — a process shaped by cultural exchange, emotional discovery and delicate research into the untold echoes of history.
Twenty-one years after the film’s release, they reunite at Greek Film Days to revisit their collaboration and its impact. The screening will be followed by a masterclass in which the filmmakers discuss both the artistic and personal journey behind the film — from narrative challenges to moments that shaped a long-lasting friendship. An opportunity to rediscover the film not only as cinema, but as a bridge between voices, cultures and time.
7 SUNDAY 15:00
YEŞİM USTAOĞLU
After making several award - winning shorts in Turkey, Yesim Ustaoglu made her feature film debut with 1994's The Trace (İz). The film was presented at numerous international festivals, including Moscow and Gotenburg and won the Best Film Award at Istanbul Film Festival. Yesim Ustaoglu received international recognition for her 1999 film, Journey To The Sun (Güneşe Yolculuk) which competed in Berlinale and received the Blue Angel Award (Best European Film) and the Peace Prize before sweeping the Istanbul Film Festival by winning Best Film, Best Director, the FIPRESCI Prize and the Audience Award. Launching her own production company Ustaoglu Film in 2003, her third film, Waiting for the Clouds (Bulutları Beklerken) premiered in 2014 Berlinale Panorama and was awarded NHK Sundance - International Film-maker's Award. Ustaoglu's fourth feature, Pandora's Box (Pandora'nın Kutusu) premiered in Toronto (TIFF) and won Golden Shell for the Best Film and Silver Shell for the Best Actress Award in San Sebastian FF. Her fifth feature 'Somewhere in Between' (Araf, 2012) premiered in Orrizonti section in 69th Venice FF, won Best Film Award in Abu Dhabi FF and Split Mediterranean FF, as well as Best Performance in Moscow, Tokyo and Pune Film Festivals. Her 2016 film Clair Obscur (Tereddüt) premiered at the Toronto (TIFF). The film competed in the International Feature Film category at the Antalya International Film Festival and won the Best Director, Best Actress, Best Director award.
PETROS MARKARİS
A novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and translator, Petros Markaris was born in Istanbul, studied economics, and has been working as a freelance writer since 1976. His crime novels have been published in over fourteen languages, and his main character, Inspector Kostas Charitos, is one of the most popular detective characters in Europe.
He has collaborated with Theo Angelopoulos on many of his film scripts. He has also translated works by Brecht, Wedekind, and Schnitzler into Greek. His latest translation is the two parts of Goethe's Faust. Faust‘unun iki bölümüdür.
Petros Markaris has been honored with numerous awards for his work, including the Goethe-Medaille (2013), the "Golden Cross" of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2014), and an honorary doctorate from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2016). He has also received important distinctions in Spain, such as the Premio Literario Arcebispo Juan de San Clemente (2013) and the Gold Cross of Isabella the Catholic (2023).
MASTERCLASS with VASILEIOS TERZOPOULOS - The addictive charm of short films: From the conception of the initial idea, till the warm applause of the audience – A journey full of festivals.
A brief introduction to the exciting cinematic form of short films. Whether we speak about fiction short films, documentaries, or animation, what really makes this particular film genre so appealing? It is said that a short film is the first and most crucial career step for a new director. How true is that? And when a short film is completed, how does it reach its audience and viewers? What is the role of film festivals in the creative journey of a short film? The case study of Drama International Short Film Festival.
5 FRIDAY 15:30
VASİLEİOS TERZOPOULOS
Vasileios Terzopoulos is a member of the organizing team of Drama International Short Film Festival since 2005, being currently the Head Programmer of International Competition, as well as coordinator and host of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and campaign copywriter. He is a Greek Program Associate of Thessaloniki Film and Documentary Festivals since 2010 and a member of the Hellenic Film Academy. He holds a Bachelor degree in International Relations from University of Macedonia – Thessaloniki, Master degrees from the London School of Economics and the Hellenic Open University. He is an awarded published author of six children’s books, having also published short stories for adults in literary magazines and websites in Greece.
