Tag Archive for: DISFF 48

OPEN CALL – Pitching Lab DISFF48

p2025

OPEN CALL

12TH DISFF PITCHING LAB
48th Drama International Short Film Festival

The Drama International Short Film Festival, as part of the activities of the Short Film Hub, organizes DISFF PITCHING LAB for the twelfth consecutive year, aiming to train young film professionals in pitching techniques, present their projects to potential funders, and network with industry professionals.

DISFF PITCHING LAB is a five-day workshop that takes place during the Drama International Short Film Festival, which this year will be held between September 8-14, 2025.

Participation in the workshop is free of charge. Participants are offered accreditation, which provides them with free entry to screenings, masterclasses, and other activities of the Festival.

Physical presence in the city of Drama is mandatory throughout the duration of the workshop, as well as participation in two (2) online sessions that will take place before the Festival.

Deadline for applications:
April 30, 2025, 23:59 EET

About DISFF PITCHING LAB

DISFF PITCHING LAB is an intensive workshop for presenting film projects (pitching), designed for directors, screenwriters, and producers who wish to develop and promote their projects both in the Greek and International market.

Participants receive specialized training in pitching techniques, as well as guidance for developing their film ideas. The workshop focuses on short fiction films, documentaries, and animation projects.

Upon completing DISFF PITCHING LAB, participants present their film projects to Greek and international industry professionals, such as producers, financiers, distributors, and festival programmers.

Additionally, cash prizes are awarded for at least two (2) of the participating projects.

Here you can watch four (4) educational videos discussing the art of pitching, and get introduced to the trainers of DRAMA PITCHING LAB, Barbara Dukas, Georgina Kakoudaki, and John Stephens.

Submission Process & Required Documents

All project submissions must be completed by filling out and submitting this online form.

No other submission methods will be accepted.

Deadline for submissions: April 30, 2025, at 23:59 EET.

Required info/materials:

  1. Logline (max. 40 words)
  2. Synopsis (max. 200 words)
  3. Director’s note (min. 300 words)
  4. Director’s, producer’s and scriptwriter’s CV (max. 200 words each)
  5. Director’s, producers and scriptwriter’s contact details (if applicable)
  6. Genre, duration (approx.), production country/ies
  7. *Script with max. duration 20’ (for fiction projects) or film treatment with max. duration 30’ (for documentaries). The script can be a first draft. Animation projects are accepted in both categories

*Scripts must be sent in a single PDF file, named after the project title. The attachment should not exceed 15MB in size.

Additional materials (if available):

  1. Audiovisual material in support of the project (i.e. moodboard, teaser, shooting locations, cast etc.)
  2. Links from director’s filmography

 The selection of the projects is made by the trainers of the workshop, with an emphasis on the following:

  • Originality and narrative virtues of the script
  • Artistic approach
  • Feasibility of the project

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

  1. Applications are accepted for short film projects with a duration of up to 20 minutes for fiction or 30 minutes for documentaries. Animation projects are accepted in both categories.
  2. Applicants must have an excellent command of the English language, as the workshop is conducted entirely in English.
  3. The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2025, at 23:59 EET. Late submissions will not be accepted.
  4. Applicants are allowed to submit only one proposal. Proposals that have been resubmitted in previous years or different versions of them will not be accepted.
  5. The Festival covers accommodation costs, and applicants are responsible for their own travel expenses.
  6. Applicants must be the holders of the intellectual property rights for the proposal they submit. In case the submitted script is based on an existing source, they must have secured the relevant rights from the rights holder.
  7. Applicants must be at least 18 years old.
  8. The names of the participants will be announced by May 31, 2025, on the DISFF website. The Festival may select up to ten (10) projects for participation in the LAB.
  9. By submitting the application, applicants agree to the use of their names and any promotional material related to their project for publicity purposes.

The Festival reserves the right to alter the above terms if deemed absolutely necessary for the smooth running of the workshop.

All the way from Drama to the Oscars

Από τη Δράμα στα ΟΣΚΑΡ

All the way from Drama to the Oscars

All the way from Drama to the Oscars

We were delighted and honored to see the film “In the Shadow of the Cypress” win the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film at the Αcademy Awards Ceremony! The film had its Greek premiere at the International Short Film Festival of Drama in the #animation program (Head programmer Spiros Siakas) and won the Best Animation film Award. The team of the DISFF congratulates the directors Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani and all the film’s contributors.

In the Shadow of the Cypress / Dar Saaye Sarv Iran
Animation

Directed by: Hossein Molayemi, Shirin Sohani | Screenplay: Hossein Molayemi, Shirin Sohani | Animation: Azad Maroufi, Hessam Javaheri, Hossein Molayemi, Reyhaneh Sadat Mirhashemi, Sepehr Momeni, Mehdi Torabi | Editing: Hossein Molayemi | Original Music: Afshin Azizi | Sound Design: Hossein Ghoorchian | Production Design: Hossein Molayemi, Shirin Sohani | Producers: Hossein Molayemi, Shirin Sohani | Production Company: Barfak Animation Studio

A captain suffering from PTSD, lives with his daughter, struggling with a harsh life. He wants to be a caring father… One day, something unexpected happens. It can be either a new trouble or a blessing in disguise.

Από τη Δράμα στα ΟΣΚΑΡShirin Sohani was born in 1986 in Tehran, Iran. She graduated from Tehran University of Art with an MA in Animation Directing. She started her professional career in 2012. She works as concept artist, background artist, scriptwriter, and production manager. In the Shadow of the Cypress is her first professional film. Her graduation animated film, The Fan (2014), won national and international awards.

Από τη Δράμα στα ΟΣΚΑΡHossein Molayemi was born in 1982, in Shiraz, Iran. He graduated from Tehran University of Art with an MA in Animation Directing. He started his professional career in 2004. He works as director, character designer, storyboard artist, animator, and university lecturer. In the Shadow of the Cypress is his second film. His first film, Run Rostam Run (2017), was selected in Annecy, Warsaw and several other Oscar-qualifying film festivals, winning national and international awards

Yorgos Angelopoulos is Drama Festival’s new Artistic Director

Γιώργος Αγγελόπουλο

Yorgos Angelopoulos is Drama Festival’s new Artistic Director

Drama Festival is happy to welcome Yorgos Angelopoulos at the helm of our institution.

Drama International Short Film Festival’s board of directors has unanimously decided to accept the decision made by the evaluation committee and appoint Yorgos Angelopoulos as the new Artistic Director.

The board consisted of: Panagiotis Iosifelis, screenwriter and professor at the School of Film of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Spyros Siakas, associate professor of 3D Animation and Gaming at the Department of Graphic Design and Visual Communication of the University of West Attica, and Eleftheria Kavaka, manager of Drama Festival.

Yorgos Angelopoulos is a young and talented creator with experience in filmmaking and important institutional roles, as he has served as Director of Development & Production at the Greek Film Centre. DISFF’s new artistic director comes with a strong résumé and his fresh, youthful creativity is essential for an institution as great as Drama International Short Film Festival.

We welcome him, greatly optimistic for DISFF’s future editions.

YORGOS ANGELOPOULOS

Yorgos Angelopoulos graduated with a degree in Directing from the School of Film of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

He then got a scholarship for a master’s degree on Screenwriting at the University of The Arts London.

In 2017 he began working on the Production and Development Directorate of the Greek Film Centre where he was promoted to Director in 2020. He introduced new funding program regulations designed to support emerging professionals and foster inclusivity in short filmmaking.

During his term, the evaluation mechanism was established with a registry of readers and clear artistic criteria, leading to the funding of hundreds of film projects at the writing, development, and production stages.

He has been active in film education and has participated in the creation and development of the Olympia Effect, a script development workshop for children and teens by the Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People.

He has served as an expert for Creative Europe MEDIA Desk and has been a script consultant for short and feature films.

His first short film as screenwriter-director Goldfish (2017) premiered in BFI Flare and became part of the British Council’s International Campaign for Equality and Human Rights (#5filmsforfreedom).

In 2025 he completed his second short film.

Statement by Yorgos Angelopoulos:

“With a sense of responsibility and great excitement I accept the position of artistic director to an institution that is a benchmark and starting point for filmmakers in Greece. I am confident that through teamwork and dedication to the Festival’s important mission we will continue the significant work accomplished in recent years under the direction of Yannis Sakaridis and will further develop the Festival into a global platform for cinematic creation. The Drama International Short Film Festival has been and will always remain a refuge for diversity, inclusivity, and the need for free creation and expression.”