12/06/2025 - Yorgos Zois’s allegorical feature has won Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay, while Yannis Veslemes’s She Loved Blossoms More scooped eight gongs

The Hellenic Film Academy has celebrated the 16th edition of its annual Iris Awards, with Arcadia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Yorgos Zois
film profile], the latest feature by acclaimed filmmaker Yorgos Zois, emerging as the evening’s biggest winner. Arcadia walked away with three major awards: Best Film, Best Director for Zois, and Best Screenplay for Konstantina Kotzamani and Zois, who co-penned the script. The film follows a neurologist and a retired doctor as they travel to a small town to identify a victim, gradually uncovering the circumstances of a fatal accident and its emotional aftermath.

During his acceptance speech for Best Director, Zois invited his fellow nominees up onto the stage in a symbolic act of unity under the banner of the “Cinema in Greece: Visibility Zero” protest campaign (see the news). Arcadia, staged by Antigoni Rota, Maria Drandaki and Stelios Cotionis, in co-production with Veselka Kiryakova, had its world premiere in the 2024 Berlinale Encounters section.

The horror sci-fi thriller She Loved Blossoms More [+see also:
film review
film profile], directed by Yannis Veslemes, left the ceremony with a total of eight Irises. The story follows three brothers who build an unusual time machine in an effort to bring their long-dead mother back to life. Julio Giorgos Katsis received Best Actor in a Supporting Role, while director of photography Christos Karamanis was awarded Best Cinematography. The Best Editing Award went to Yorgos Mavropsaridis, known for his long-standing collaboration with Yorgos Lanthimos, while Veslemes also received the Best Original Score Iris. The film additionally picked up the trophies for Best Production Design, Best Sound, Best Make-up, Hair and Special Effects Design, and Best Special and Visual Effects.

The Best First-time Director Award went to Kostis Charamountanis for Kyuka – Before Summer’s End [+see also:
film review
interview: Kostis Charamountanis
film profile], which centres on a family holiday that takes an unexpected turn when teenage twins unknowingly meet their estranged birth mother, prompting emotional confrontations and a re-evaluation of familial bonds. The film also earned Elsa Lekakou the Best Actress in a Leading Role Award.

In terms of other notable performances, Kostas Nikouli was honoured with the Best Actor in a Leading Role Award for his role in Meat [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dimitris Nakos
film profile] by first-time director Dimitris Nakos, which premiered last year at Toronto. The biopic Stelios, centred on the life of popular folk singer Stelios Kazantzidis and directed by Giorgos Tsemberopoulos, garnered two Iris Awards: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Klelia Renesi and Best Costume Design for Maria Kontodima.

Finally, the well-travelled and award-winning documentary Stray Bodies [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elina Psykou
film profile] by Elina Psykou received the Best Documentary Award, while Maria Drandaki, of Homemade Films, was honoured with the Best Minority Co-production Award for To a Land Unknown [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mahdi Fleifel
film profile] by Mahdi Fleifel, which was mostly shot on location in Athens.

Here is the full list of winners at the 2025 Greek Iris Awards:

Best Film
Arcadia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Yorgos Zois
film profile] – Yorgos Zois (Greece/Bulgaria/USA)

Best Documentary Film
Stray Bodies [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elina Psykou
film profile] – Elina Psykou (Greece/Switzerland/Italy/Bulgaria)

Best Minority Co-production
To a Land Unknown [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mahdi Fleifel
film profile] – producer Maria Drandaki (directed by Mahdi Fleifel) (UK/France/Germany/Greece/Netherlands/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Palestine)

Best Short Film
What Mary Didn't Know – Konstantina Kotzamani (Greece/France/Sweden/Cyprus)

Best Short Animated Film
Open Wings – Taxiarchis Deligiannis, Vasilis Tsiouvaras (Greece)

Best Short Documentary Film
What we ask of a statue is that it doesn’t move – Daphné Hérétakis (Greece/France)

Best Short Student Film
Aparateme – Meni Tsilianidou (Greece)

Best Director
Yorgos Zois – Arcadia

Best First-time Director
Kostis Charamountanis – Kyuka - Before Summer's End [+see also:
film review
interview: Kostis Charamountanis
film profile] (Greece/North Macedonia)

Best Screenplay
Konstantina Kotzamani, Yorgos Zois – Arcadia

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Kostas Nikouli – Meat [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dimitris Nakos
film profile] (Greece)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Elsa Lekakou – Kyuka - Before Summer's End

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Julio Giorgos Katsis – She Loved Blossoms More [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Greece/France)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Klelia Renesi – Stelios (Greece)

Best Cinematography
Christos Karamanis – She Loved Blossoms More

Best Editing
Yorgos Mavropsaridis – She Loved Blossoms More

Best Original Score
Yannis Veslemes – She Loved Blossoms More

Best Production Design
Elena Vardava – She Loved Blossoms More

Best Costume Design
Maria Kontodima – Stelios

Best Sound
Nikos Exarchos, Persefoni Miliou, Kostas Varympopiotis – She Loved Blossoms More

Best Make-up, Hair and Special Effects Design
Ioanna Lygizou, Prokopis Vlaseros, Nicolas Herlin, Olivier Afonso, Simon Northcott, Laetitia Hillion – She Loved Blossoms More

Best Special and Visual Effects
Yiannis Ageladopoulos, Prokopis Vlaseros, Nicolas Herlin, Olivier Afonso, Simon Northcott, Laetitia Hillion, Solon Giannoutsos – She Loved Blossoms More

Honorary Award
Yorgos Panousopoulos