Born in Thessaloniki. He studied theater, film-direction and acting in Athens, Utrecht and New York. He first made an impression with the 'dogma'-like short film The Devouring Eyes, which participated in competition at the Cinéfondation section of the Cannes Film Festival 2001 and was awarded with the Jury Prize of the Karlovy Vary IFF. After collaborating with prime TV-documentary shows on episodes related to political affairs and the 20th century history and literature, he directed his acclaimed feature film debut Homeland, a bitter saga about a family and a country in free fall. Homeland had its world premiere at the 2010 Venice Critics' Week and participated in numerous international film festivals. In 2011, it won 5 Awards of the Hellenic Film Academy (including best first film director). His second film. A Blast, had its world premiere in competition at the Locarno International Film Festival 2014 and went on to screen in festivals and theaters around the world. His next film project, The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea, is in-development. It received the Special Mention of the Jury at the Berlinale Co-production market 2015. Show less «