Sofia Exarchou Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Seven years after her skillful debut Park, which played Toronto and San Sebastian, where it won the New Directors Award, Greek filmmaker Sofia Exarchou has returned with her sophomore outing. 

The Göteborg Film Festival has unveiled the competition titles selected for its 47th edition, which runs from January 26 to February 4. (Scroll down for the full list).

Christopher Vourlias Sofia Exarchou’s “Animal” won the Golden Alexander at the 64th Thessaloniki Film Festival on Sunday, marking the first time in 30 years that a Greek film took home the top honors at the country’s longest-running film event. Exarchou’s sophomore feature, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, was praised by Variety’s Jessica Kiang as “a poignant portrait of life amid the sequins and the seediness of a Greek resort.” The film follows a group of entertainers at an all-inclusive island resort preparing for the busy tourist season who are forced to wrestle with the dark reality that the show must go on as the sultry Mediterranean nights turn violent.

Jessica Kiang The Greek hotel where Sofia Exarchou’s jittery, melancholic “Animal” takes place doesn’t seem to be anyone’s first-choice holiday destination. The beach is gritty rather than golden. The skies are low and gray.

Iranian filmmaker Ali Ahmadzadeh clinched the Golden Leopard in the main international competition of the 76th Locarno Film Festival with his latest feature Critical Zone (Mantagheye Bohrani).

Christopher Vourlias Greek filmmaker Sofia Exarchou’s drama “Animal,” which world premieres Aug. 3 in competition at the Locarno Film Festival, has secured its first distribution deals and released a teaser (see below). The anticipated follow-up to Exarchou’s first feature, “Park,” which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and won the New Directors Award in San Sebastian, “Animal” will be distributed in France by Shellac and in Austria by Filmgarten.

The Sarajevo Film Festival has unveiled its official selection for this year’s edition, with Elene Naveriani’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry among the titles playing in Competition.

UK star Riz Ahmed will be feted with a career achievement award at the upcoming 76th edition of the Locarno Film Festival, running August 2 and 12.

Marta Balaga Greece’s Homemade Films has boarded Mahdi Fleifel’s upcoming feature “Men in the Sun,” currently in the final stages of development. The story, set in Athens, will deal with masculinity, exile and loss, showing young refugees in their 20s hustling to survive in the urban pressure cooker. The company is also ready to start shooting Sofia Exarchou’s “Animal,” co-producing with Nabis Filmgroup, Ars Ltd., Digital Cube and Felony Productions. Furthermore, its founder Maria Drandaki recently presented new projects at Venice Gap-Financing Market. “Arcadia,” directed by Yorgos Zois, will see Homemade Films joining forces with Foss Production and Red Carpet. “Titanic Ocean” by Konstantina Kotzamani will be shot in Japan and Singapore in 2023.

Christopher Vourlias France’s Manny Films, Austria’s Nabis Filmgroup and Bulgaria’s Are Digital have boarded Sofia Exarchou’s “Animal,” the follow-up to the Greek director’s San Sebastian prize winner “Park.”“Animal” takes place under the hot Greek sun and amidst the sweaty nights of an eternal summer.