2016 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Sofia Exarchou’s Park

While the nation of Greece undergoes vast economic reform and it’s unstable political climate is shaking the boat, there is a neat little output of filmmaking talents who are taking the international film festival circuit by storm. We might be adding the name of Sofia Exarchou to a list that includes Babis Makridis, Panos H. Koutras and Alexandros Avranas as Greek filmmakers to look out for. With a pair of shorts under her belt, work on her feature debut began in 2012, Park collected a slew of support in the Crossroads CNC Development Prize, Thessaloniki 2012, Eurimages Development Award, Sarajevo 2013 and both of the Sundance Institute’s January Screenwriter’s Lab & June Director’s Lab. It was the recent winner of the work in progress at Karlovy Vary, so all signs point to a 2016 fest unveiling with Park City a strong possibility.

Gist: Nine years have passed, and the Olympic Village in Athens, Greece is in decay. Among the abandoned athletic facilities and new-money tourist resorts nearby, 16-year-old Dimitris and his friends traverse Greece’s “glorious” past with the decadence of today, creating a portrait of a society unprepared for the brutal fall.

Production Co./Producers: Amanda Livanou (L).

Prediction: Sundance’s World Dramatic Comp. with showings at either Rotterdam or Berlin.

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. TBD (domestic). TBD (international)

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