– We take a closer look at six projects presented at the Greek event that scooped some of its most significant awards
Nava Mamă by Ana Vijdea
A total of 33 projects were selected across four different sections – Pitching Forum, Docs in Progress, Agora XR Lab and Agora Boost – for the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival’s Agora, which ran from 8-12 March this year. Following the announcement of the winners (see the news), we provide a detailed breakdown of six projects that won some of the most important awards at this major industry event.
Thessaloniki Pitching Forum
IEFTA Award for Best Documentary in Development
Nava Mamă – Ana Vijdea (Romania/France)
Producers: Ana Vijdea, Ana Gheorghe, Cosmin Nicoara (Remora Films)
Co-producer: Louis Beaudemont (Les Steppes Productions)
Nava Mamă follows Denis, a trans teenager who returns to his native Romanian village, where the trauma of his father’s abuse still lingers. Observed through a poetic and contemplative lens, Denis drifts through familiar places like a quiet apparition, forging a fragile bond with Geo, another teenager navigating a troubled home. Back in the city, however, Denis faces a new form of institutional violence as he is labelled as having “special needs”, complicating his search for belonging and healing. Directed by debutante Ana Vijdea, whose previous shorts have screened at festivals including Sheffield Doc/Fest, Visions du Réel and Doclisboa, the creative documentary is currently in development, and is seeking co-producers, funding, festival partners and sales agents ahead of a projected 2028 delivery.
Unwanted Past by Thanassis Vassiliou
ERT – Thessaloniki Pitching Forum Award / Onassis Film Award
Unwanted Past – Thanassis Vassiliou (Greece)
Producer: Konstantinos Vassilaros (StudioBauhaus)
Unwanted Past examines the fractures of modern Greek history through a personal and investigative lens. The film begins with two seemingly distant events: the Greek government’s decision in August 1989 to burn around 17 million secret-service files documenting the political convictions of citizens, and the discovery in Thessaloniki in March 2025 of the remains of executed communists from the Greek Civil War (1946-1949), left unburied for decades. Directed by Thanassis Vassiliou and co-written with Christos Chrissopoulos, the documentary explores how these episodes are intertwined within a broader network of erased or suppressed memories. By weaving archival material together with a personal family story, the film reflects on the gaps, silences and unresolved tensions that continue to shape the country’s political consciousness. The project is currently in development, and is seeking co-producers, broadcasters, partners and a sales agent ahead of its planned November 2027 delivery.
Eurodoc Award
Voices – Persefoni Miliou (Greece)
Producers: Persefoni Miliou (Per Se Productions), Sofia Mavragani
Voices is a hybrid documentary exploring the lived experience of people who hear voices, moving between fear, tenderness, imagination and reality. Across different cultures and landscapes, individuals engage in intimate dialogues with unseen companions: a former gang member haunted by a figure he calls “The Exterminator”, a child followed by the voice of a one-legged pirate, and an Icelandic artist who compares whale sounds with the frequencies of her own inner voices. Directed and co-produced by Persefoni Miliou, and co-written with Filippos Mandilaras, the film adopts a strongly sound-driven approach, using immersive audio and evocative imagery to blur the boundaries between inner worlds and external reality while challenging the stigma surrounding voice-hearing. Currently in production, with an estimated delivery in February 2027, the team is seeking post-production support, co-producers, distributors and a sales agent.
The Last Class by Michele Fornasero
Eurodoc Special Mention/Mediterranean Film Institute – George Kalogeropoulos Award
The Last Class – Michele Fornasero (Italy)
Producer: Alice Drago (Epica Film)
Co-producer: Francesca Portalupi (Indyca)
The Last Class takes place in a small village in northern Italy that is slowly fading away. At the heart of the story is a single elementary classroom of nine children aged six to ten, all of them from immigrant families. Although they speak the language and share the culture of the place where they have grown up, they are not fully recognised as “Italian”. As the village continues to age and depopulate, local families choose to send their children to schools in other towns, prompting the mayor to close the class, which he describes as a “ghetto”. Directed by Michele Fornasero, the documentary follows the group during its final school year before the children are separated and sent elsewhere. The project is in late development, and is seeking co-producers, partners, a sales agent, distributors, broadcasters and festival support ahead of an expected early-2027 delivery.
Docs in Progress
2|35 Post-Production Main Award
Immortal Flowers – Brian Logvinsky (USA/Ukraine)
Producers: Harrison Jaffee, Anna Konik (Catharsis Pictures), Tommaso Rositani (FFB Pictures)
Co-producer: Eugene Rachkovsky (Tabor Production)
Immortal Flowers follows three young friends navigating Kyiv’s underground nightlife while living under the constant shadow of war. Set against strict curfews, air raids and the looming threat of conscription, the creative documentary captures a generation determined to carve out moments of freedom and connection even as uncertainty surrounds them. What begins as an intimate portrait of youth culture and resilience gradually shifts in tone when one of their friends disappears, transforming the film into a reflection on survival, loss and what it means to remain human in the face of an unstable future. Directed by Ukrainian-US filmmaker Brian Logvinsky, whose short Catharsis premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, the project draws on his personal ties to both Ukraine and the United States. Currently in post-production, the film is seeking additional funding, co-production partners and sales agents ahead of its planned December 2026 delivery.
Careful Where You Tread by Smaro Papaevangelou
Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center – Creative Greece Award
Careful Where You Tread – Smaro Papaevangelou (Greece)
Producers: Iro Aidoni, Mina Dreki (Marni Films)
Careful Where You Tread follows filmmaker Smaro Papaevangelou as she turns the camera on her own father, attempting to understand a man she realised she never truly knew. The film unfolds on the border between Greece and Bulgaria, where the final remnant of his once-ambitious business empire stands: an abandoned factory now defined by debt and failure. Through the act of filming, the director revisits the emotional distance that formed the basis of their relationship, using the camera as a protective space from which to approach difficult memories and unresolved feelings. The project is currently in post-production and has an estimated delivery date of August 2026. The team is seeking festival premieres and sales agents.
