11th Festival Jury

President

Christos Pytharas

His work has been featured in films that have screened at international film festivals and received positive reviews.
 
He holds a Master’s degree in Film Directing from the Edinburgh College of Art.
He has directed both short and feature-length films, in both documentary and fiction genres.
 
In 2024, his fiction feature film The Hunt premiered in the “Meet the Neighbors” competition section of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
 
He is the founder of the hands-on film directing workshop Film School (filmschool.gr), and co-founder of the music group Ception of Ty.
 
Charlie, his four-legged companion, co-stars in his upcoming feature film, which he has recently completed.

Members

lina tonia

Lina Tonia is a Greek composer. Her catalogue includes over 150 works, ranging from operas and concertos to orchestral and chamber music, many of which have been performed in 18 different countries worldwide.
 
She has received more than 35 international awards in composition competitions. In 2020, she was named “Composer of the Year 2020” at the New York International Music Awards by the American Union of Musicians, Singers, and Performing Artists.
 
She has also been honored by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Karolos Papoulias.
 
Since 2016, she has been teaching composition at the Department of Music Science and Art, University of Macedonia.

theo kalomirakis

Theo Kalomirakis began his career as a film director. His short film “For a Limited Run Only” won an award at the Thessaloniki Film Festival in 1971 and represented Greece at the New York Film Festival in 1972.
 
In 1974, he moved to the United States, where he studied film at New York University. Upon graduation, he made a bold career shift, pioneering a new professional field: the architecture of private home theaters.
 
Over the course of an award-winning international career, he has designed more than 600 private theaters for Hollywood producers, business magnates, heads of state, and Major League Baseball stars.
 
He also collaborated with Disney to create a line of home theater furniture, The Theo Kalomirakis for Walt Disney Signature Collection, and designed private theaters for IMAX, under the IMAX Private Theatres brand.
 
Theo Kalomirakis has received dozens of international awards for his work in private theater design. His two books, Theo Kalomirakis’ Private Theaters and Great Escapes, became bestsellers in the United States.

ioanna pogiantzi

Ioanna Pogiantzi lives and works in Athens as a film editor.

 
She graduated in 2004 from the Department of Cultural Technology and Communication at the University of the Aegean, specializing in audiovisual arts.
 
She has worked on films such as Dogtooth (2009), which received international acclaim, Black Stone (2022), and The Waiter (2018).

Nicky Rousomani

Nicky Rousomani is an actress and a graduate of the School of Fine Arts – Theatre Department at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH).
 
She is a member of the experimental theatre group “Off-Key from the Fifth Line Onwards” and divides her life between Athens and Thessaloniki—depending, of course, on mood and work!
 
Her most recent acting work was in the performance White Dwarf, directed by Yolanda Markopoulou.
 
She is currently awaiting the release of the student short film Baby Steps, which marks her first experience behind the camera.
 
And naturally, she’s looking forward to the next “journeys” 🙂