The Village

When 12 year old Elias spends a quiet weekend with his grandparents in the village, a simple scene in the cafe brings him face to face with his grandfather's gender-based behaviors and leads him to a silent, personal revolution.

  • Melanie Georgiou
    Director
  • Melanie Georgiou
    Writer
  • Melanie Georgiou
    Producer
  • Ilias Lambrakis
    Key Cast
    "Ilias"
  • Ilias Georgiou
    Key Cast
    "Grandfather- Ilias"
  • Anastasia Georgiou
    Key Cast
    "Grandmother"
  • Giannis Lambrakis
    Sound
  • Melanie Georgiou
    Sound Design
  • Melanie Georgiou
    Montaz
  • Ilias Paschos
    Music
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Το Χωριό
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 13 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 21, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    Greece
  • Country of Filming:
    Greece
  • Language:
    Greek (Modern)
  • Shooting Format:
    HD
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - HELLENIC OPEN UNIVERSAL OF GREECE
  • Golden FEMI Film Festival
    Sofia
    Bulgaria
    May 23, 2026
    Official Selection
  • Films That Move
    Kingston
    Jamaica
    November 16, 2025
    Honorable Mention
Director Biography - Melanie Georgiou


She was born in Dusseldorf on the 7th of July 1979. She was raised there and went to Greek school till the age of 18.

In 1997, she was came to Greece in order to study and she lives here ever since.

Studies:

- 2001 : Technological Educational Institute of Athens, School of Health and Welfare Professions, Department of Medical Laboratories.

- 2017 : Music Technology at DIEK of Ilioupolis

- 2019: Directorate of Art at DIEK of Chaidari.

- 2022: Master of Health Management

-2023: BA in Film Writing, Practice & Research (In progress)

Filmography:

- Tableau Vivant - Refugees, A New East - 2018 / Art Director

- Till now - Danny Ntarlas Video Clip - 2019 / Art Director

- Short film: Returns. 2019/ Writer- Director

- Short film: Η μαμά μαγειρεύει πατάτες. 2021/ Sound

- Spot: for Domestiv violence - 2021/ Break the cycle Aspida/ Art Director

- Short film: Deja Vu - 2024/ Writer- Director

- Short Doc: Βack in Bucharest- 2024 / Writer- Director

- Short film: The Decision - 2024 / Writer- Director- Sound Design

- Short film: The Village -2025/ Writer- Director- Montaz- Sound Design

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Director Statement

My film is a story of silent adulthood. Elias, a 12-year-old boy, spends a weekend in the village with his grandparents. What initially seems like a quiet everyday life gradually turns into an inner journey, a turning point in the formation of his personality.

My main intention is to follow this transformation from the inside, from Elias’s perspective — literally and emotionally. For this reason, the use of P.O.V. shots is crucial. I want the viewer to not just see Elias, but to be Elias. To observe his grandparents, the world around him as he experiences it; with the ambivalence of childhood love and the weight of the first questions.

I was deeply influenced by “The Lives of Others” and the almost imperceptible, internal transformation of Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler: a moral awakening that is not proclaimed, but implied through looks, pauses and silences. I seek something similar for Elias. His change is not spectacular; it is silent, internal, but profound. It happens inside him when he sees a young man being affectionate towards his partner — and then he begins to question the role model of his grandfather, an authoritarian and traditional man, who although he loves, does not express, does not care, does not participate.