Onassis Cinema

At Onassis Foundation, we like reading scripts, watching movies, and becoming an active part of artistic creation. From Vassilis Kekatos to Panos Koutras and from Yannis Economides to Evi Kalogiropoulou, Onassis Culture supports established artists and new talents through script development and the production of short and feature films. Furthermore, it embraces the process of creation, research, and artistic development by offering fellowships. It collaborates with significant institutions, such as the Hellenic Film Academy, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the Drama International Short Film Festival, and the Athens International Film Festival, with the outer aim to strengthen Greek cinema inside and outside the borders. Moreover, it has established film awards to support the development of new scripts. This season, we celebrate Greek cinema in all its forms and expressions once again.

We support independent Greek cinema.

The Onassis Foundation collaborates throughout the years with the most eminent film festivals in the country, turning the spotlight on the voices of rising creators in their first steps. Every year, it offers the Onassis Film Awards to Greek filmmakers for the development of their feature films. From the Drama International Short Film Festival and the Athens International Film Festival to the Thessaloniki International Film and Documentary Festivals, the Onassis Foundation is present in every celebration of Greek cinema in the country, releasing the potential and talent of young creators.

Short films harbor big emotions. In 2023, for the very first time, Onassis Culture addressed an open call to Greek and international filmmakers to submit their proposals for short films. A total of 132 proposals were received, of which five were subsequently chosen to receive funding for 10,000 euros each. They shall go into production within the year, to find their way to the big screen and meet local and international audiences at festivals worldwide. The next Open Call is scheduled for announcement at the beginning of the new year.

The Onassis Foundation embraces the process of creation, research and artistic development, offering Scholarships and Fellowships to filmmakers. From the screenwriters Efthimis Filippou ("Dogtooth") and Demosthenes Papamarkos ("Ballad for a Pierced Heart"), to the directors Tassos Boulmetis ("A Touch of Spice") and Konstantina Kotzamani ("Electric Swan").

The Onassis Foundation has supported Greek cinema through important collaborations.

Hellenic Iris Awards

For ten years, Stegi has supported the awards of the Hellenic Film Academy, aiming to promote the local cinema’s most daring voices. The awards ceremony, hosted every year at Stegi, has been the top event of the year, bringing the entire film community together.

Meet the Future

Inaugurated in 2019, the “Meet the Future” section has been a collaboration with the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. Fifteen short film directors whose works have been screened at the biggest festivals in the world have had the opportunity to present their practice to the public within the framework of the 48th Thessaloniki International Film Festival. Two of the participants have become Onassis Fellows and have traveled to New York and Los Angeles, where the Onassis Foundation operates, to get to know the US film community up close.

Cinemability

Since 2016, the Onassis Foundation, in collaboration with the Movement of Disabled Artists, has created conditions for access to all film screenings of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival for the blind, visually impaired, deaf, and hard of hearing. Accessibility to the cinema has not been considered an ability, but a capability.

Oxbelly

Onassis Culture has supported the Oxbelly Screenwriters & Directors Lab held annually in Costa Navarino. Through workshops and talks, the Labs have given young directors the opportunity to develop scripts for their first or second feature film, with internationally acclaimed mentors such as Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom Thread), Maren Ade (Toni Erdmann), and Lucrecia Martel (La Ciénaga) by their side.

Werner Herzog, Romain Gavras, Marjane Satrapi. Bold, renowned filmmakers introduce themselves to the Athenian public through their talks at Stegi. They share their personal stories and discuss about cinema and life. Watch the talks on the Onassis Foundation YouTube Channel.