Greece has taken centre stage at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where it serves as the Country of Honour at the festival’s industry Market, presenting its growing film and audiovisual sector to producers, directors, distributors and industry professionals from around the world.
The programme opened on September 3 with “Greece on Screen” at the historic Hotel Excelsior, the main venue for the Venice Biennale’s Market activities.
Leonidas Christopoulos, CEO of the Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center – Creative Greece (EKKOMED), and Orestes Andreadakis, Artistic Director of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, presented Greece’s strategy and vision for its film industry.
Greece targets €750 million investment in audiovisual industry
Christopoulos highlighted the merger of the former Greek Film Centre and the National Centre of Audiovisual Media and Communication (EKOME) into EKKOMED in 2024.
He said the unified organisation plans to invest €750 million in the audiovisual industry over the coming years, supported by new funding tools designed to strengthen domestic production, attract international projects and create jobs.
Greece has already hosted major international productions in recent years, including The Odyssey, House of David and Triangle of Sadness.
But Christopoulos said the country now wants to move beyond its reputation as an attractive filming destination.
“Greece no longer wants to be simply an excellent location for international productions. It wants to evolve into an international strategic partner — a country where ideas are developed, financed, produced and travel around the world,” he said.
He invited international filmmakers to work with Greece under the slogan: “Let’s create your next story together.”
Greek audiovisual sector expands rapidly
According to Christopoulos, Greece’s audiovisual creative economy has undergone a major transformation.
Between 2013 and 2024, turnover in the sector increased by 137%, while employment grew by 147%.
The industry now generates an estimated €1.914 billion annual impact on Greece’s GDP, supports 43,959 jobs and generates approximately €581 million in annual public revenue.
Christopoulos said audiovisual production creates economic activity well beyond the film set, benefiting transport, tourism, hotels, construction, technology and other services.
“It is not only cultural policy. It is also development policy,” he said, adding that the sector also strengthens Greece’s international profile and exports.
“Greece on Screen 2026-2030”
Christopoulos presented “Greece on Screen 2026-2030” as the country’s unified five-year strategy for the audiovisual sector, backed by approximately €750 million in public support.
The strategy focuses on four areas:
- Funding and state aid
- International outreach and regional cohesion
- Education, innovation and audiovisual heritage
- Institutional and technical support
The programme includes a 40% Cash Rebate for international and domestic productions, €15 million for the development and production of Greek cinema, and new funding mechanisms for animation, XR, video games and music.
It also includes financial instruments and loan guarantees designed to make financing more accessible to audiovisual producers.
“The Greece on Screen strategy seeks to turn creativity into one of the country’s development advantages,” Christopoulos said.
He identified international outreach as a central pillar, with Greece seeking more international co-productions, greater access for Greek projects to global markets and a stronger presence at major international industry events.
The strategy follows a dual approach: international productions coming in and Greek stories going out.
Greece also plans to invest in professional training, fellowships, a Creative Hub, artificial intelligence, virtual production and immersive media, while making greater use of the country’s audiovisual heritage.
Christopoulos said the programme would use measurable targets covering production, employment, skills, co-productions, regional development, international presence and exports.
“The basic principle is that we do not measure only how much money was spent, but what result it created,” he said.
Greek mythology offers global storytelling potential
Andreadakis focused on another major asset Greece can offer the international film industry: its vast tradition of mythology, literature and storytelling.
He argued that ancient Greek myths and texts do not simply belong to the past. They remain at the heart of modern storytelling and continue to influence cinema.
Using the story of Oedipus as an example, Andreadakis highlighted the enduring power of Greek mythology and its influence on theatre, literature, psychoanalysis and narrative theory.
He connected that tradition with Christopher Nolan’s upcoming cinematic adaptation of The Odyssey, saying the film has renewed public interest in Homer, Odysseus and ancient Greek literature.
“This summer, we saw tens of thousands of people discussing, debating and even strongly disagreeing about the fundamental meanings of the work of Homer and other ancient Greek writers,” Andreadakis said.
He argued that Greece on Screen should communicate more than Greece’s ability to provide locations for international productions.
Instead, Greece can offer filmmakers a vast catalogue of stories, characters, conflicts and narrative structures.
“The foundation of modern storytelling”
Andreadakis invited filmmakers to revisit the works of Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus, as well as the poetry of Homer and Sappho.
“These myths form the foundation of modern storytelling,” he said.
He also highlighted the political dimension of ancient Greek drama.
Works including Oedipus Rex, Antigone and the Oresteia explore power, violence, justice and the abuse of authority, while Lysistrata demonstrates how comedy could directly address politics and society.
Despite the enormous richness of this tradition, Andreadakis noted that filmmakers have adapted ancient Greek stories far less frequently than the works of Shakespeare or Chekhov.
“We can return to these stories, reread them, challenge them, reinvent them and use them to tell new stories about who we are today and what we want to become,” he said.
The discussion will continue at the 67th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, which will run from November 5 to 15 and will explore the origins of storytelling and the continuing relevance of classical Greek texts.
“After three thousand years, the stories change, but the human need to tell and share stories remains the same,” Andreadakis said.
Greece’s presence at Venice therefore represents more than a promotional showcase for filming locations. Through its new funding strategy, growing production infrastructure and renewed emphasis on Greek stories and talent, the country is positioning itself as both a destination for international productions and a potential source of original stories for global audiences.
This version gives the story a stronger international film-industry angle, while keeping the key Greek cultural and economic messaging prominent.
