The Mermaid Award is a prize for the best LGBTQIA+-themed film from the official selection of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. Mastercard supports the award with a monetary prize of 3,000 euros. The members of the Mermaid Jury of the 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival are Sofia Rozaki, visual artist; Gordon Spragg, PR and marketing consultant for independent cinema (WOLF consultants), and Yorgos Tsitiridis, journalist.
Sofia Rozaki
Sofia Rozaki (1990) is a visual artist. She studied painting at the School of Visual and Applied Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad. She currently lives and works in Athens. In her work, Rozaki explores the complexities of identity, corporeality, memory, trauma, and sexuality. Her compositions stand out for their storytelling qualities, incorporating recurring forms and motifs that compose her idiosyncratic visual language. With a flair for the grotesque, Rozaki's work is characterized by elements of sarcasm, dark humor, and tragedy – whether expressed through the prism of tender, vulnerable honesty or captured with cynical cruelty.
Sofia Rozaki (1990) is a visual artist. She studied painting at the School of Visual and Applied Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad. She currently lives and works in Athens. In her work, Rozaki explores the complexities of identity, corporeality, memory, trauma, and sexuality. Her compositions stand out for their storytelling qualities, incorporating recurring forms and motifs that compose her idiosyncratic visual language. With a flair for the grotesque, Rozaki's work is characterized by elements of sarcasm, dark humor, and tragedy – whether expressed through the prism of tender, vulnerable honesty or captured with cynical cruelty.
Gordon Spragg
After graduating in Fine Arts, Gordon worked for The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, After 4 years at the ICA he joined producer and distributor Metro Tartan Distribution / Tartan Films to help and promote major international, arthouse and genre films both in theatrical and ancillary distribution within the UK. Moving to France in 2001 Gordon joined international sales agent and producer Celluloid Dreams as their Head of Marketing and Publicity and launched of hundreds of films and filmmakers and helped cement Celluloid Dreams’ reputation as a major player in the international market. With his background in art and design coupled with his knowledge and experience of the international film business, he launched his own company WOLF Consultants in 2010 with partners Laurin Dietrich and Michael Arnon. For almost 15 years, WOLF Consultants have worked on earning a stellar reputation at the forefront of creative film consultancy – from helping with financing and shaping projects in pre-production, through to international launch PR and and Marketing at the major film festivals, as well as diversifying into film production and expanding their consultancy reach into education.
After graduating in Fine Arts, Gordon worked for The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, After 4 years at the ICA he joined producer and distributor Metro Tartan Distribution / Tartan Films to help and promote major international, arthouse and genre films both in theatrical and ancillary distribution within the UK. Moving to France in 2001 Gordon joined international sales agent and producer Celluloid Dreams as their Head of Marketing and Publicity and launched of hundreds of films and filmmakers and helped cement Celluloid Dreams’ reputation as a major player in the international market. With his background in art and design coupled with his knowledge and experience of the international film business, he launched his own company WOLF Consultants in 2010 with partners Laurin Dietrich and Michael Arnon. For almost 15 years, WOLF Consultants have worked on earning a stellar reputation at the forefront of creative film consultancy – from helping with financing and shaping projects in pre-production, through to international launch PR and and Marketing at the major film festivals, as well as diversifying into film production and expanding their consultancy reach into education.
Giorgos Tsitiridis
George Tsitiridis is a journalist, author, and activist based in Thessaloniki, with a focus on advocating for minority rights. He is the visionary behind the city's first LGBTQ+ film festival, an event that has thrived for over 20 years since its inception in 1999 and continues to be held in collaboration with the Thessaloniki Film Festival. Tsitiridis also played a leading role in the establishment of the Thessaloniki Pride Festival, which has grown into a major cultural event in the city. As a journalist, he has published two free press magazines, Screw and Fagazine, both dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights. His decade-long volunteer work defending the rights of the Roma community is chronicled in his book The Gypsies of Thessaloniki. Giorgos currently contributes to parallaximag.gr and serves as a Roma Officer at the organization SolidarityNow.
George Tsitiridis is a journalist, author, and activist based in Thessaloniki, with a focus on advocating for minority rights. He is the visionary behind the city's first LGBTQ+ film festival, an event that has thrived for over 20 years since its inception in 1999 and continues to be held in collaboration with the Thessaloniki Film Festival. Tsitiridis also played a leading role in the establishment of the Thessaloniki Pride Festival, which has grown into a major cultural event in the city. As a journalist, he has published two free press magazines, Screw and Fagazine, both dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights. His decade-long volunteer work defending the rights of the Roma community is chronicled in his book The Gypsies of Thessaloniki. Giorgos currently contributes to parallaximag.gr and serves as a Roma Officer at the organization SolidarityNow.
