PRESS RELEASE
Screening of the documentary: “The stuff we are made of” by Siamak Etemadi
17th Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival
«Shift Your Gaze to the Unseen»
November 12, 2026 | Greek Film Archive, Athens
The 17th Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival, titled “Shift Your Gaze to the Unseen,” brings into focus stories, experiences and perspectives that often remain outside the frame. In this context, this year’s festival opens up a conversation about disability through the screening of Siamak Etemadi’s feature documentary «The Stuff We Are Made Of» on Thursday, 12 November 2026, at 9:00 p.m. The screening will be accessible to people with mobility disabilities and to Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.
What is love, and who gets to experience it?
Beginning with the personal quest of Aris, a psychology student with quadriplegia, the film offers an intimate exploration of love, intimacy and sexuality among people with disabilities. Challenging the stereotypes that continue to shape society’s perceptions of disabled people’s sex lives, the film makes space for voices and experiences that are often absent from public discourse and cultural life. In doing so, cinema becomes a means of connection, opening new paths towards dialogue and understanding.
Through personal narratives, the audience is invited to reflect on how existing social perceptions shape the way we see and treat those around us. In this direction, and extending the importance of the film outside of cinema, the documentary is accompanied by an impact campaign designed to raise awareness, bring people together and inform audiences, organisations and institutions.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director and members of the film, giving audiences the opportunity to discuss the documentary’s themes, the stories behind it and the filmmaking process.
Event information
Date: Thursday, November 12, 2026
Time: 21.00 – 23.00
Venue: Greek Film Archive, Athens
Display in accessible conditions for people with mobility disabilities and the deaf and hard of hearing
A Q&A with the film’s cast will follow.
Ticket: General admission 5€ Unemployed and disabled: 3€
Purchase tickets from https://tickets.tainiothiki.gr/
More information can be found at our website and on the festival’s social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn as well as in the film’s impact campaign.
Synopsis
Aris, a young quadriplegic psychology student, begins his thesis on stereotypes surrounding the sexuality of people with disabilities – a research that evolves into a five-year personal journey. In his search for answers about desire, intimacy and sexuality, Aris meets people who change his perspective: from Katerina Vrana to Dimitris Zorzos, the first professional sexual assistant in Greece, from young couples in the early stages of their relationship to life partners who have experienced the loss of their loved ones. Moving from a personal quest to a collective exploration of desire and sexuality, the film challenges established perceptions and expands the boundaries of what is considered desirable and who is considered the bearer of desire.
Director’s note
“I met Aris six years ago, during a small film project about disability and sports. As we travelled together for filming, he told me about his thesis, a study of the stereotypes surrounding the sexual lives of people with disabilities in Greece. It quickly became clear that his research was deeply personal: a way to confront his own fears and questions. As I listened to him, I realised how common many of these anxieties were. His disability acted as a magnifying glass for insecurities that we all carry. From these conversations, the idea for the film was born.
What is it that we fall in love with? A “perfect” body? A beautiful mind? A scent, a presence, an unpretentious vitality? What is love, and who has access to it? Is it a right or a gift? In Greek mythology and culture, love has been viewed throughout time as a paralysing force, a state that equalises everyone, abolishing differences and placing us in the same vulnerable position: that of the one in love.
The film follows Aris from his graduation onwards, on a more personal journey, as he meets people whose experience of disability has shaped their love lives. Among them are Dimitris Zorzos, the first Greek sex assistant for people with disabilities; George and Elli, an interabled couple with a love story spanning three decades and two continents; and Katerina Vrana, one of the most famous Greek stand-up comedians, who has incorporated her disability into the core of her comedy. With each encounter, another piece of the puzzle falls into place. The film does not seek definitive answers, but asks the question of what it means to love, to desire and, ultimately, to be human: vulnerable, vulnerable, but full of life and desire.
Siamak Etemadi, Director
Credits
Participating:Aris Katsoulis, Konstantina Alexandridou, George Christakis, Elli Boyaki, Gogo Roukoutaki, Theano Konta, Mariza Terzopoulou, Gerald Stakaj, Katerina Vrana, Dimitris Zorzos
A production of AEGOS FILMS
Directed & Produced by SIAMAK ETEMANTI
In co-production with @ EKKOMED @ERT @AVE A.E with the Participation of HERETIC
Screenplay: SIAMAK ETEMANDI, PANOS VOUTSARAS
Editing: PANOS VOUTSARAS
Music: MANOS MYLONAKIS
Research: LEFTERIS KATSOULIS
Story: SIAMAK ETEMANDI
Production organization: ANDRIANA THEOHARI, DIANA VASILEIOU, AFRODITI KATERINOPOULOU
Research: LEFTERIS KATSOULIS
Sound Engineer: PANAGIOTIS PAPAGIANNOPOULOS, MANOLIS MAKRIDAKIS
Sound Mixing: KOSTAS VARYMBOPIOTIS
Sound design: VALIA TSEROU
Image Post-Production Services: AN MAR FILM LAB
Color Grading: SUNDAY VIOLET
Poster design: YIANNIS GRIVAKOS
Executive Producers: ARIS KATSOULIS, THOMAS ROUMBAS
Associate Producer: ANDRIANA THEOHARI
Distribution: Tanweer Alliances S.A.
Impact producers: ANDRIANA THEOHARI, SIAMAK ETEMANTI
Impact campaign partners: NEANIKO PLAN
ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES: YOUTH PLAN
Duration: 98 minutes