Cinedoc Presents: Lo

When director Thanasis Vasileiou returns to his childhood apartment after his mother’s death, he confronts secrets that weigh not only on his family’s history but also on the history of modern Greece. Thus begins a journey—a personal diary—through the invisible traces connecting the city and its people to their past.

A deeply personal film, cinematographically minimalist and emotionally profound, exploring the ways emotional memory intersects with collective memory, addressing trauma, the silence felt as guilt, love, and ultimately acceptance.

The documentary premiered at the 27th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, winning the EKKOMED Award for Best Debut Director (Greek Program), as well as the Grand Prix “Golden Wreath of Megisti” and the “Odysseas” Award for Best Documentary by a Greek Diaspora Director at the 10th Beyond Borders – International Documentary Festival of Kastellorizo.

From November 13, Lo will be released in Athens, screening daily at Danaos Cinema. Screenings will include Q&A sessions with the creators and guest experts, including historians and members of the academic community. Screenings will also take place in Larissa (Nov 21), Volos (Nov 22), Thessaloniki (Dec 10), and Rethymno (Dec 13), with the presence of director Thanasis Vasileiou. Additional screenings across Greece will be announced soon through the CineDoc network.

The film is nominated for the Audience Award in Athens, Volos, and Rethymno.

Director’s Note

When I returned from France to my empty childhood apartment in Athens after my mother’s death, I felt like an intruder. Everything that had remained in the shadows for decades was now mine. I discovered debts I hadn’t known about. I uncovered lies that shook me. How do we inherit our parents’ mistakes? How do we empty their home?

Amid the fear of losing a space that held my last memories with my mother—and an entire childhood—I began filming the now-empty surfaces with my phone. I was essentially rediscovering forgotten gestures from the past, as I had worked as a cameraman for over ten years before leaving Greece for France. Putting myself behind a lens again stirred time and reconnected me with the heritage of the past. For me, “filming” became synonymous with “remembering.”

Fragments of family memory, silenced for years, began to cautiously surface. Some led me to the dark years of the dictatorship. How can cinema give shape to a past that resists through silence?

Screening Program

Screenings are supported by the French Institute and Unifrance, while the distribution of the documentary in Greek cinemas is supported by the Hellenic Film Center, Audiovisual Media & Creation (E.K.K.O.M.E.D.) – Creative Greece.

ATHENS – French Institute (Sina 31, Athens)
Tuesday, November 11, 2025 (avant-première)
Doors: 19:00 | Start: 19:30
Tickets
Opening remarks by Athena Kartalou, Director General of Cinema, EKKOMED. Presence of director Thanasis Vasileiou and the team, followed by Q&A. Wine reception at the French Institute bistro.

ATHENS – Danaos Cinema (Kifisias 109, Ampelokipoi)
Daily from Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 18:20
Tickets

Special Q&A sessions at Danaos Cinema:

• Nov 13: with the filmmakers, hosted by Depy Vrettou (ERT radio producer)

• Nov 14: with the filmmakers, hosted by Thodoris Chondrogiannos (Reporters United)

• Nov 15: with the filmmakers and Tasos Sakellaropoulos, historian, Benaki Museum Archives

• Nov 16: with the filmmakers, hosted by Kostas Kostakos (Old Boy), film critic (elculture.gr)

• Nov 17: with the filmmakers and historian Tasoula Vervenioti

• Nov 18: with the filmmakers and Christos Dermentzopoulos, Professor, Dept. of Communication, Media & Culture, Panteion University

• Nov 19: with the filmmakers and Vangelis Karamanolakis, Professor of Modern & Contemporary History (NKUA)

LARISSA – Chatzigiannio Cultural Center
Friday, Nov 21, 20:00 – Presence of director Thanasis Vasileiou

VOLOS – New Ionia Cultural Center
Saturday, Nov 22, 20:00 – Presence of director Thanasis Vasileiou
Tickets: ENTEKA – Digital Prints | Info: https://www.facebook.com/CineDocVolos

THESSALONIKI – Limani, “Stavros Tornes” Hall
Wednesday, Dec 10, 19:00 – Presence of director Thanasis Vasileiou
Tickets

RETHYMNO – “Simeio” Cultural Space
Saturday, Dec 13, 20:00 – Presence of director Thanasis Vasileiou
Tickets: Box office | Info: https://bleproductions.gr/simeio/

Parallel Activities

Masterclass with director Thanasis Vasileiou in Athens and Volos
and VR screening at Danaos Cinema

As part of Lo screenings, audiences in Athens and Volos can participate in parallel events. During Danaos Cinema screenings, CineDoc attendees can access the VR documentary 548 Days Without My Name by Yolanda Markopoulou (2024, 14’) with ticket purchase. The director will also conduct two masterclasses in Athens and Volos.

VR Screening at Danaos Cinema Foyer

548 Days Without My Name by Yolanda Markopoulou (2024, 14’)

The screening is part of a new CineDoc VR series, inaugurated this year with 548 Days Without My Name (Nov ‘25) and The Exploding Girl by Caroline Poggi & Jonathan Vinel, co-produced with Greek company Byrd (Feb ‘26).

With a Lo ticket, festival-goers can watch the VR film. Reservation required HERE!
Screening dates: Nov 13, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23 | 18:00–21:00

Synopsis:

In 1943, 10-year-old Rozina writes her diary from hiding in a small apartment in central Thessaloniki, using the false name Roula Karakotsou. This was her only way to escape the Nazis, spending 548 days of anonymous life in silence. Viewers experience her story through her child’s perspective while she remains in hiding.

Based on the book 548 Days Under Another Name: Thessaloniki 1943 / Memories of War by Rozina Asser Pardo.
Produced by the Jewish Museum of Greece in collaboration with Wonder Immersive.
Implemented under the Operational Program “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation” (ESPA 2014–2020), co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), EU.

Official participation: FIPADOC 2025, TiDF27

Masterclasses in Athens & Volos

Heritage, Rupture, Self-Portrait. Stages of Creating the Documentary LO (2025)

Thanasis Vasileiou, director and Professor of Film Studies at Université de Poitiers, gives masterclasses in Athens and Volos, exploring the making of Lo, a personal and reflective documentary on memory, the inheritance of silence, and recent political history. Through the management and concealment of personal narratives, the film examines heritage as both rupture and material for a cinematic self-portrait.

Schedule:

• Athens | Wed, Nov 19, 13:30–15:30 | Lycurgos Stavrakos School, 28th October 65, Athens 10433 | Free entry, first-come-first-served

• Volos | Fri, Nov 21, 9:30 | a) University of Thessaly – Dept. of Culture + Creative Media & Industries b) 2nd Model Gymnasium of Volos

Audience Awards – E.K.K.O.M.E.D.

CineDoc introduces local Audience Awards in Athens, Volos, and Rethymno through the Votemo platform. Lo is nominated in Athens and Volos. Audience members vote online via QR code during screenings; voting remains open 24 hours after the screening. Awards sponsored by Hellenic Film Center, E.K.K.O.M.E.D. – Creative Greece. Ceremony in April 2026.

Director Biography

Thanasis Vasileiou is a director and screenwriter based in Poitiers, France, where he teaches film theory and practice as Associate Professor of Film Studies (Université de Poitiers). His short films Traces (2017) and Our Last Week (2016) were screened and awarded at international film festivals. Lo is his first feature-length film.

About StudioBauhaus

StudioBauhaus, founded in Athens in 2014 by producer Konstantinos Vasilaros and director Orfeas Peretzis, specializes in production and co-production of feature films and documentaries, emphasizing original storytelling and international collaborations. Award-winning films include Agia Emy (Special Mention, Locarno Film Festival; 2 Independent Spirit Award nominations) and Milk Teeth (Venice Film Festival world premiere). Recently completed Riviera by Orfeas Peretzis (São Paulo Festival world premiere; awards at Thessaloniki and Cottbus Festivals). The company continues developing film and TV projects and participates as co-producer in international productions.