19/03/2015 - The Cannes-screened film and the Berlinale contender dominate the HFA’s shortlist, while Fanny Ardant will attend to pick up an honorary award

Panos H Koutras’ Un Certain Regard entry Xenia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Panos H. Koutras
film profile] leads the race for the Hellenic Film Academy’s annual awards with 15 nominations, closely followed by Yannis Economides’ Berlinale contender Stratos [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Yannis Economides
film profile], which is vying for 14 awards. The two films will duke it out in all the major categories, including Best Feature, Directing, Screenplay and Editing.

Moreover, both of Xenia’s leads (Kostas Nikouli and Nikos Gelia) have secured a spot in the Best Actor category, where Vangelis Mourikis will be their sole contender; he has a double nomination for both the titular role of Stratos and his performance in the Karlovy Vary-screened Norway [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by first-timer Yiannis Veslemes.

Veslemes is the clear favourite for the Best Directorial Debut category, while his film is the third-strongest contender for the major accolades, having secured spots in eight categories, including Cinematic Innovation and Best Cinematography. A long-time leading figure in the country’s underground music scene, Veslemes is also a sure bet for the Best Music category.

Rocking up in fourth place in the nominations race, Athanasios Karanikolas’ Berlinale Forum-screened At Home [+see also:
trailer
film profile] will be vying for five awards, including Best Feature, a category rounded off by Margarita Manda’s Forever [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Syllas Tzoumerkas’ A Blast [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Syllas Tzoumerkas
film profile] and Petros Sevastikoglou’s Electra, along with Stratos and Xenia.

In addition to welcoming Fanny Ardant as its Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, the HFA will this year also be introducing a new accolade: for the first time, an Audience Award will be handed to the film selected via the online poll held by major cable TV network and HFA partner OTE TV.