Vasilis Kekatos

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Vasilis Kekatos is a Greek film director and screenwriter. [1] He is most noted for his 2019 short film The Distance Between Us and the Sky , which was the winner of the Short Film Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. [2]

He previously directed the short films Retrograde, Zero Star Hotel and The Silence of the Dying Fish.

The Distance Between Us and the Sky, a gay-themed film, was also the winner of the Queer Palm for LGBTQ-related short films. [3] Kekatos dedicated his Palme d'Or win to the memory of his uncle, a gay man who emigrated from Greece to Australia in youth and whom Kekatos credited with having influenced his own attitudes toward homosexuality. [1]

In 2021, he entered production on Milky Way, a teen drama television series. [4] The series, centring on the tribulations facing a teenage girl who gets pregnant, premiered in 2023. [5]

In 2024, he was one of four industry figures whose selection for the Greek committee to select the country's submission to the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film was rescinded a few days after it was announced. [6]

In 2023, he received production funding from Eurimages for his debut feature film, Our Wildest Days (I Agries Meres Mas). [7] The film was selected in the Generation 14plus section at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere in February 2025. [8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Greek director Vasilis Kekatos dedicates Palme d’Or win to his late uncle – a Greek Australian". Neos Kosmos , June 26, 2019.
  2. "Greek Filmmaker Vasilis Kekatos Wins Short Film Palme d'Or at Cannes". Greek Reporter. 26 May 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  3. Hunter Harris, "Cannes Jury Awards Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite". Vulture , 25, May 2019.
  4. Christopher Vourlias, "Cannes Short Film Winner Vasilis Kekatos Set to Begin Shooting TV Series ‘Milky Way’". Variety , November 8, 2021.
  5. Christopher Vourlias, "Fifth Season Takes Global Distribution Rights to Groundbreaking Greek Teen Drama ‘Milky Way’". Variety , November 1, 2023.
  6. Zac Ntim, "Greek Oscar Committee Chaos Prompts Filmmakers To Withdraw Entries". Deadline Hollywood , August 22, 2024.
  7. Ellie Calnan, "David Cronenberg’s ‘The Shrouds’ among €8.3m Eurimages funding recipients". Screen Daily , April 3, 2023.
  8. Abbatescianni, Davide (16 January 2025). "This year's Berlinale Generation titles "wrest meaning from the world"". Cineuropa . Retrieved 27 January 2025.