Stavros Psillakis was born in Chania in 1954.
He is a documentary film director. His films begin from what does not appear in a person's résumé. They are born out of encounters with people and seek the essence of a life. They have been described as existential essays. His work speaks silently with the words of Argyris Chionis: "What I describe describes me."
He studied Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (1978). He then attended the E. Chatzikou School of Film Direction in Athens (1987) and, on a scholarship from the French state, continued his studies in Anthropological Documentary at the Ateliers VARAN in Paris (1988).
He has been honoured, among other things, with the 1st Prize for Documentary Film from the Hellenic Film Academy for the film There Was No Other Way (2010), with the Golden Alexander for his overall contribution to the art of documentary at the 25th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival (2023), and with the FIPRESCI Award for the feature film Sculpted Souls at the 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival (2025).
He is a founding member of the Hellenic Film Academy and of the Greek Documentary Association.
He has collaborated on film productions by Lakis Papastathis, Dimos Theos, Stavros Tornes, Giorgos Panousopoulos, Giorgos Tsemberopoulos and Giorgos Lanthimos.
His filmography, which includes more than forty documentaries, is marked by such films as The Man Who Disturbed the Universe (2000), There Was No Other Way (2009), Metaxas — Listening to Time (2012), Small Roma Stories (2014), Olympia (2015), The Light Within (2015), the trilogy Odes to Existence [For No Reason — Encounters with Giorgos Maniatis (2019), Debt (2021), FAREWELL — The Memory of the Place (2022)] and Sculpted Souls (2025).
Key awards
- —1st Prize for Documentary Film from the Hellenic Film Academy, for There Was No Other Way (2010).
- —Golden Alexander for his contribution to the art of documentary, 25th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival (2023).
- —FIPRESCI Award for a Greek feature documentary, for Sculpted Souls (2025), 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival.
Film editing
- —Small Roma Stories (2014)
- —Olympia (2015)
- —The Light Within (2015)
- —Debt (2021)
- —FAREWELL — The Memory of the Place (2023)
- —Sculpted Souls (2025)
Filmography & Awards
Direction of all the films below. Production details and awards:
- 01
…HUNTERS
Fiction, B/W, 16mm, 16', 1987 — produced by S. Psillakis
- ◆Screenings: Drama (1987), Sofia (1987), Munich (1987) — School Audience Award, Tel Aviv 1988, ET2
- 02
CARCASSE (Carcass)
Documentary, 17', 1988 — produced by VARAN
- ◆Screenings: Thessaloniki — Cinema & Reality (1988), Lyon (1988), Karlovy Vary (1989)
- 03
MON LOINTAIN VOISIN (My Distant Neighbour) — co-director
Documentary, colour 16mm, 18', 1988 — produced by VARAN
- 04
THE SECRET
Documentary, 59', 1993 — produced by I.M.S. [I.T.E.]
- 05
THE SIBLINGS
Documentary, 62', 1994 — produced by I.M.S. [I.T.E.]
- 06
SFAKIA — THE LAND OF THE GORGES
Documentary, 25', 1995 — produced by S. Psillakis
- ◆Honourable Mention — Environmental Documentary Festival, Mytilene 1996
- 07
TRADES IN AN OLD TOWN
Documentary, 25', 1996 — produced by CINETIC
- 08
COLOURS OF CRETAN MUSIC
Documentary, 30', 1997 — produced by CINETIC
- 09
FOREVER OF KYDONIA
Documentary, 55', 1997 — produced by the Municipal Enterprise of Chania (ΔΗ.Π.Ε.) for ET-2
- 10
PIRAEUS: A FOUNDRY OF TWO CENTURIES
Episode of the series "Awkward Industry". Documentary, 30', 1999 — produced by D. Bakalbasis for NET
- 11
THE MAN WHO DISTURBED THE UNIVERSE
Documentary, 52' (65', 1998 original cut), 2000 — co-produced by the Greek Film Centre
- ◆Special Award for Best Greek Creative Documentary, International Jury — 2nd Kalamata International Documentary Festival (Oct. 2000)
- ◆Best Greek Film Award, Association of Greek Film Directors (shared with the documentary "The Permit")
- 12
THE DAMAGE OF THE BROKEN MIRROR
Episode of the series "Second Homeland". Documentary, 56½', 2000 — produced by D. Bakalbasis for NET
- 13
WE CAME HERE
Episode of the series "Second Homeland". Documentary, 51½', 2001 — produced by D. Bakalbasis for NET
- 14
A.B.E.A., Time Set in Stone
Documentary, 27½', 2001 — produced by the Mediterranean Architecture Centre (K.A.M.)
- 15
ANGELIC CHANT — Saint Thomas
Series "On the Paths of Tradition". Documentary, 30½', 2001 — produced by P. Kekas for NET
- 16
THE GUARDIANS OF MEMORY
Documentary, 57', 2002 — produced by the 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric & Classical Antiquities
- 17
TITHOREA — LIANOKLADI
Episode of the series "Alternative Escapes". Documentary, 28', 2005 — produced by VIEW STUDIO for NET
- 18
WE CAN DO SO MUCH
Documentary, 62', 2005 — produced by E.P.I.P.S.Y. (EQUAL Community Initiative)
- 19
PENEIOS — FRAGMENTS OF HISTORY
Documentary, 26', 2007 — produced by the Association of Friends of the Peneios River and Riverside Culture
- 20
PENEIOS — SACRED ECOLOGY
Documentary, 24', 2007 — produced by the Association of Friends of the Peneios River and Riverside Culture
- 21
THERE WAS NO OTHER WAY
Documentary, 87' & 54' (2nd version), 2009 — TEKMIRIO programme, co-produced by the Greek Film Centre & ERT S.A.
- ◆1st Prize, Documentary Film — Hellenic Film Academy (May 2010)
- ◆1st Prize, Feature Film — 3rd Chalkida Greek Documentary Festival (Oct. 2009)
- ◆Audience Award — 2nd Nicosia International Documentary Festival "Views of the World" (March 2009)
- 22
LET'S GET OUT OF HERE
Documentary, 50' & 35' [2 versions], 2009 — produced by Koi.S.P.E. of Chania
- 23
166
Episode of the series "Night Shift". Documentary, 30', 2009 — produced by N. Panoutsopoulos for digital ERT
- 24
THE ANCHOVY
Episode of the series "Night Shift". Documentary, 30', 2009 — produced by N. Panoutsopoulos for digital ERT
- 25
THE SURVIVORS
Documentary, 29', 2010 — produced by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki / School of Philosophy
- 26
PHILIPPINES
Episode of the series "Tribes of Athens". Documentary, 45', 2011 — produced by P. Papadopoulos for ERT
- 27
Prokopis — Karolina
Episode of the series "Guests". Documentary, 45', 2011 — produced by TOP CUT for ERT
- 28
Stratos — Alice Anne
Episode of the series "Guests". Documentary, 45', 2011 — produced by TOP CUT for ERT
- 29
120 MYLONOGIANNI STREET, CHANIA
Episode of the series "docville". Documentary, 45', 2011 — produced by Marco Gastine / MINIMAL FILMS for ERT
- 30
METAXAS — LISTENING TO TIME
Documentary, 87', 2012 — produced by S. Psillakis, co-produced by ERT S.A., supported by the Greek Film Centre
- ◆2nd Prize, Feature Film — 6th Chalkida Greek Documentary Festival (Oct. 2012)
- 31
THE STRANGER (Giorgos Depollas)
Episode of the series "Point of View". Documentary, 30', 2013 — produced by N. Panoutsopoulos for NET
- 32
THE DILEMMA (G. Bechrakis — L. Pitarakis)
Episode of the series "Point of View". Documentary, 30', 2013 — produced by N. Panoutsopoulos for NET
- 33
THE COLOUR (Stratos Kalafatis)
Episode of the series "Point of View". Documentary, 30', 2013 — produced by N. Panoutsopoulos for NET
- 34
SMALL ROMA STORIES
Documentary, 67', 2014 — produced by the Greek Film Centre — B & X Museum — S. Psillakis
- ◆1st Prize, Feature Documentary — 3rd Ierapetra International Documentary Festival (Aug. 2016), shared with "memORIAL"
- ◆2nd Prize, Social–Political Documentary — 2nd "Beyond Borders" International Documentary Festival, Kastellorizo (Sept. 2017)
- 35
OLYMPIA
Documentary, 45', 2015 — produced by S. Psillakis
- ◆Audience Award — 17th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (2015)
- 36
THE LIGHT WITHIN
Documentary, 92', 2015 — produced by the Lychnostatis Museum
- ◆Special Jury Award — 2nd Ierapetra International Documentary Festival (Aug. 2015)
- ◆Honourable Mention — 9th Chalkida Greek Documentary Festival (Oct. 2015)
- ◆Best Feature Documentary — Around Films International Film Festival (Feb. 2016)
- ◆1st Prize & Music Award — 9th London Greek Film Festival (May 2016), shared with "Argo Navis"
- 37
DIONYSIOS IKKOS
Episode of the series "Those Who Dared". Documentary, 52', 2016 — produced by COSMOTE TV
- 38
HIPPOCRATIC MEDICINE
Documentary, 24', 2019 — produced by the Hellenic Society of Medical Oncology
- 39
MY PHOTOGRAPH
Documentary, 4', 2020 — produced by the Thessaloniki Film Festival
- 40
FOR NO REASON — Encounters with Giorgos Maniatis
Documentary, 98', 2019 — produced by S. Psillakis & 2/35 · Part of the trilogy "Odes to Existence"
- ◆2nd Prize, Feature Film — 13th Chalkida Greek Documentary Festival (Nov. 2019)
- ◆Final nomination — Documentary Film Award, Hellenic Film Academy (2020)
- 41
DEBT
Documentary, 77', 2021 — produced by S. Psillakis & V. Fabas · Part of the trilogy "Odes to Existence"
- ◆1st Prize, Feature Documentary / Audience Award — 9th Chania Film Festival (Oct. 2021)
- ◆Best Director Award — 15th Chalkida Greek Documentary Festival (Nov. 2021)
- ◆Nomination, IRIS Awards 2022 — Best Feature Documentary, Hellenic Film Academy
- ◆Best European Documentary — Stanley Film Awards (4th edition, June 2022)
- ◆Best Feature Documentary — Stockholm Gold Awards International Film Festival (May–Aug. 2022)
- 42
FAREWELL — The Memory of the Place
Documentary, 88', 2023 — produced by S. Psillakis & V. Fabas · Part of the trilogy "Odes to Existence"
- ◆Nomination, IRIS Awards — Best Feature Documentary, Hellenic Film Academy
- 43
SCULPTED SOULS
Documentary, 89', 2025 — produced by Matthaios Frantzeskakis / Cultural Society of Crete
- ◆FIPRESCI Award (International Federation of Film Critics) for a Greek feature documentary
- ◆ERT Award
- ◆Best Film Award — Youth Committee of the Thessaloniki Universities
- ◆EKKOMED Award for Best Greek Documentary — 10th Beyond Borders International Documentary Festival, Kastellorizo (2025)
- ◆Nomination, IRIS Awards 2026 — Best Feature Documentary, Hellenic Film Academy