One of the first festivals worldwide to explore the affinities between podcasts and cinema, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival hosts its Podcast Section, which includes the Podcast Competition and the Podcast: Nexus sub-section. The Best Podcast Award is accompanied by a 2,000-euro cash prize. The members of this year’s Podcast Competition jury are: Maria Markouli, journalist, writer and radio producer; Yannis Nenes, journalist, radio producer, and Gregoris Rentis, film director and producer. In collaboration with the ENS Louis Lumière and the French Institute of Greece, the participants in the two Podcast sections of the 65th
Thessaloniki International Film Festival and the 27th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival (March 16–26, 2025), aged 25-35, are eligible for the ENS Louis Lumière-French Institute of Greece Award for Upcoming Audio Documentary Creator.
Maria Markouli
Journalist, writer and radio producer Maria Markouli worked for many years in the newspaper TA NEA, in the culture section. She has also collaborated with a lot of magazines, websites and TV media. Her blog (www.itsmyblender.com) and her radio show titled Fresh Unlimited, airing at Kosmos 93.6, is her personal take on today’s music and cinema, roads, journeys and other stories.
Yannis Nenes
He started out his career as a graphic designer, but was soon drawn into journalism. He was a member of the Amfi magazine, he teamed with the historic comic magazine Vavel, and contributed to all the major 1990s Greek magazines. He has translated theatrical plays and books, having also worked as music editor in many theatrical and TV shows. Since 1986, he has collaborated with a series of Athens-based radios (Channel 15, Top FM, City, Pepper, En Lefko). Since 2003, he has been a member of Athens Voice’s editorial board, and a producer at the radio station Voice 102.5. Since 2013, he has been the host of Panikoval podcasts, now showcased at athensvoice.gr.
Gregoris Rentis
Gregoris Rentis is an Athens-based award-winning film director and producer working across drama, documentary, and commercials. His first documentary feature Dogwatch, exploring the lives of mercenaries protecting vessels from pirate attacks along the Somali coastline, won the Silver Alexander a the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, Best Cinematography at the Moscow Documentary Film Festival and was screened in competition at the festivals Visions Du Réel, True/False and Raindance to high critical acclaim. It also received two nominations at the Iris Hellenic Academy Awards for Best Documentary and Best Directorial Debut.
He holds an MEng in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College London and an MFA in Film Directing from California Institute of the Arts. Ηis graduation short film Sundown premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival. His advertising and music video work has been recognised in Epica Awards, NewYorkFestivals, ADC and Berlin Music Video Awards. His collaborations include NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece’s national basketball team, and clients including Aegean Airlines, Ikea, Lidl, Upfield and P&G as well as music label SubPop Records. He is co-owner of production companies Topcut-Modiano and BYRD.
