Leda Galanou: Last News

Greece has selected Eva Nathena’s latest feature The Murderess as its submission for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.

Christopher Vourlias After a scandal-plagued month that called the legitimacy of the Greek Oscar selection process into question and threatened to torpedo the country’s chances at the 97th Academy Awards, Greece has selected Eva Nathena’s historical drama “Murderess” for the international feature film race. Out of the 26 eligible films, “Murderess” is the only one left standing, after the remaining competitors withdrew from the selection process in protest.

Christopher Vourlias One week after Greece’s Oscar selection process descended into chaos, with all but two of the 23 eligible films withdrawing from consideration for the international feature film race at the 97th Academy Awards, industry reps met with government officials this week to hash out their grievances and plot a way forward amid growing frustrations with the state of the beleaguered Greek film biz. Producer Maria Drandaki, who was part of a delegation from the Audiovisual Producers’ Association of Greece (SAPOE) that met with culture ministry reps on Tuesday, said the Oscars fiasco is just “the tip of the iceberg.” “I think the problem now is getting bigger than the Oscars,” she said.

The Hellenic Film Academy, Greece’s national cinema body, has said it’s “outraged” and is seeking clarity from the country’s cultural ministry after a series of chaotic government-mandated U-turns paralyzed the selection of Greece’s submission to the 96th Academy Awards. 

Christopher Vourlias Thessaloniki Film Festival director Orestis Andreadakis was on summer vacation last August when he got a call from Stavros Benos, the head of the newly appointed National Reconstruction Committee, which was tasked with responding to a series of devastating wildfires that had recently swept across the island of Evia.Just weeks before, Greece’s second-largest island had been a densely wooded paradise famous for its production of honey and resin. But nearly a third of Evia was reduced to ash and cinders during a scorching summer that saw an estimated 300,000 acres of forest and bushland incinerated by wildfires across Greece, as soaring temperatures hit a record high of 115.3 degrees.Benos was calling the festival topper with a plea.