THE NOOSE

Thomas Sideris is a human geographer (PhD, MD Human Geography), journalist, and filmmaker.

Studies

He studied Political Science and Public Administration at the Law School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, specializing in Mass Media, and attended directing courses at the Stavrakos School. He holds a master's degree in Human Geography from the University of the Aegean. He earned his doctorate in Human Geography from Harokopio University.
Some of his specific research fields include Body and Space in Cinema, Spatial Representations, and Identity Formation. His doctoral dissertation is titled "Routes of Identity: Vulnerable Bodies, Fluid Spatial Realities, and Conditions of Entrapment: Urban enclaves, hubs, and shelters for patients, refugees, migrants, and urban nomads."
Scientific and Other Affiliations

He is a member of the International Academy of Social Sciences, based in Florida, USA. He is an advisory member of the Journalists and Writers Foundation, a global partner of the UN, based in New York.
Work and Awards

He works in the information sector of ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation) and is the creator of thematic cycles of radio documentaries, placing particular emphasis on human rights advocacy, especially for refugees and migrants. He has produced radio documentaries against racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism and is the producer of over 40 radio documentaries focused on the Holocaust, featuring oral testimonies from Greece and other European countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Hungary.

In May 2021, he received the Torch Award from the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg and became the first non-American citizen to be honored with this award.

He was awarded an honorary distinction In 2018 from the Athanasios Botsis Foundation for the Promotion of Journalism.

He was honored by the Austrian organization ALBERT SCHWEITZER, a global partner of the UN, for his journalistic work on the program “UNGUARDED CROSSING.” The rationale for the award states that he has done “excellent work in making known through the media the atrocities against humanity” and “directing public attention to refugee issues.”

He has received more than 40 awards and honors for his documentaries across Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.

Documentaries (information)

His documentaries have been screened in cinemas in America, Africa, and Europe. They are primarily documentary films in the fields of human rights, migration, racism, and social justice.

The film "The Pomegranates of Nagorno Karabakh" was screened twice in Yerevan, Armenia, in July 2022 as part of the Golden Apricot International Film Festival and again in February 2023 under the auspices of the Armenian Ministry of Culture, organized by the Armenian State Theater. It was also shown twice in Los Angeles, at the Regal multiplex cinema in downtown LA, and at the International Human Rights and Social Justice Film Festival. The film was screened in Greece from March to June 2022, distributed by New Star, and was shown in cinemas in various cities in Greece (Thessaloniki, Lamia, Ierapetra, Chalkida, Chania, etc.). The American newspaper THE HOLLYWOOD TIMES dedicated an in-depth article to this film.

Thomas Sideris directed two films in the USA, both focusing on racism and human rights. These films belong to the so-called "Cycle of America." The documentary "LET ME BREATHE," narrated by the award-winning African American journalist Joyce Davis, and the documentary "MARABOU," dedicated to the struggle of climate and economic refugees from Haiti trying to reach the US-Mexico border during the pandemic. The harsh reality of migrants doing everything to reach the "Promised Land," like the marabou storks crossing the horizon. The documentary travels through Colombia, Mexico, and Guantanamo, accompanied by the sounds of the American jazz band of Coca Cola, radio recordings from the 1950s. The music for the film was composed by Grammy-winning Thanasis Alatas. The documentary "MARABOU" received the "Environmental/Social/Political/Justice Award" from the Latino and Native American Film Festival, and in the award announcement, the festival director Carlos Torre, a professor at Southern Connecticut State University, acknowledged his excellent work in making known the struggles of migrants. The film also received a second award at the I, IMMIGRANT festival organized by CINEMA WITHOUT BORDERS and was screened for a month in the USA. "MARABOU" was specifically developed for the film festival in the city of Huntington Beach, USA.

The so-called "Cycle of War" includes the films "JORDAN RIVER (THE MUDDY RIVER OF BAASIM)," "THE WEDDING IN AFRIN," "THE POMEGRANATES OF NAGORNO KARABAKH," and "THE RETURN OF IVAN."

Specifically, the films "JORDAN RIVER (THE MUDDY RIVER OF BAASIM)" and "THE WEDDING IN AFRIN" were shot based on a script by the Kurdish poet, writer, and intellectual Merwan Berekat. The film "JORDAN RIVER" was translated into Spanish and screened in Barcelona and three other cinemas in Catalonia. In the film "Jordan River," nine-year-old Rafik leaves behind the ruins of Raqqa and, following the flow of Syrian refugees along the Jordan River, seeks traces of his brother Basim in refugee camps in Jordan and Turkey. But perhaps Basim is even farther away, somewhere in Europe, perhaps nowhere, maybe he has died like thousands of other refugees. Through film and video shot in Syria and southeastern Turkey in 2011, the horror of the civil war and the actions of Islamist organizations with civilian and child casualties unfold. In Greece, they refer to the "Jordan River" as the bright path of the sky; this is what the hero of the film will metaphorically follow as he searches for his brother's traces even as an adult.
The short film "EXODUS," which is a short version of "THE POMEGRANATES OF NAGORNO KARABAKH," was screened in cinemas in Nairobi, Kenya, and the city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraq and received awards at the NGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL and SLEMANI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, respectively.
The film "THE NOOSE" was screened in nine cities in the USA, including New York, New Jersey, Brooklyn, Washington, Chicago, Cleveland, etc., in March 2019. It was also screened in Berlin and Leipzig in 2019 as part of anti-racism weeks under the auspices of the German government. It was screened at the European Parliament in Brussels in April 2019.

The film "Like the Seagulls over the Golden Horn" was screened during 2021-2022 and 2024-2025 on COSMOTE TV and in cinemas in Athens (War Museum), Istanbul, and Los Angeles (April 1, 2023) as part of the "Faith and Tradition" tribute of the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival. It received a total of five awards at various film festivals.