TEAM – 16th BBB Short Film Festival

Vasiliki Maltasoglou - Festival Director

Vasiliki Maltasoglou (she/her), (Greece, 1983), is Festival Director of the Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival and co-founder of the organization Balkans Beyond Borders. She studied International and European Relations at Panteion University in Athens and she completed her Masters in International Politics at the City University of London. She has had many years of experience in international relations research, but the realization of the Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival has been for her the most important implementation of cultural diplomacy, through promoting regional cooperation among nations and focusing on young people.

She specializes in Digital Communication and Storytelling, and she undertakes storytelling and short film inspired workshops for adults and teenagers. She curates all Festival screenings and BBB screening events. She has been a Jury member in several short film festivals, such as BUZAU and Aegean Film Festival, Newborn Short Film Festival and others. All her actions are linked to her passion for creativity and communication.

Veroniki Krikoni - Senior Project Manager

Veroniki Krikoni was born on 30th June of 1983 in Athens where she currently lives. Her studies in International and European Studies (Panteion University) and European Cultural Studies (Erasmus Mundus Euroculture Programme, Joint Master of Arts) offered her a cosmopolitan mindset and way of living. She has lived in Italy, Poland and the Netherlands, while she is familiar with the countries of the Balkan Peninsula.

She is actively involved in civil society and has established several cooperations with NGOs (Caravan Project, Hellenic History Foundation, Inter Alia etc) that wish to use art and creativity in order to make people re-imagine their own lived experience. Her expertise is in the field of arts & education, culture & audiovisual, visual analysis, Youth, related mostly with the project design and management of that kind of intercultural activities. From 2012 she is also actively involved in the field of composing, editing and submitting calls for proposals for EU Funded Programmes (Youth in Action Programmes, Creative Europe, Europe for Citizens, European Cultural Foundation, European Fund for the Balkans).

She has a growing interest in audiovisual productions, a curiosity about people’s stories and a strong feeling of making people’s voices to be heard through the power of moving images. The cinema has been the vehicle of her inspiration and the main tool of her research on the Europeanisation process in relation to the construction of cultural identities and their visual representation.

As a co-founder of the Balkans Beyond Borders (BBB), she is the organizer of its Short Film Festival, while she has also been responsible for the project design and management of several intercultural activities through non-typical ways of learning in the field of arts and education both in Greece and abroad. Through BBB she aspires to enhance youth mobility in the Balkans, to promote short film productions by young film-makers from the region and contribute to the reimagination of the Balkan identity vis-à-vis the European one.

Konstantina Karydi - Networking Manager

Born in Athens, Greece, Konstantina Karydi is an impact oriented professional with a track record in government, policy and the international philanthropy and civil society sectors. She is holder of the Global Executive Masters from EPFL, Switzerland on Innovative Governance of Large Urban Systems and the MSc on European Public Policy from UCL, UK and currently serves as Senior Advisor for multilateral entities such as UNDRR – Making Cities Resilient Campaign 2030, the European Urban Initiative and other relevant European Commission agencies and organisations.

Konstantina’s motivation is to help expand the cultural and socio-political reality of the Balkans beyond the region’s borders, to support European integration and to assist artists and young leaders to express and make an impact. She has extensive experience in the region as researcher and civil society lead on issues of democracy, governance and resilience building.

She is co-founder and currently serving as Non Executive VP of Balkans Beyond Borders.

Kostantinos Giatras - Communication Manager

Konstantinos Giatras is a social researcher and graduate of the Department of Balkan, Slavic, and Oriental Studies at the University of Macedonia. His academic and professional interests lie in social and visual anthropology, with a strong focus on issues of gender and queer studies and anthropology in contemporary societies. He has presented at conferences exploring questions of identity, culture, and representation, continually expanding his engagement with these interconnected fields.

Alongside his research work, Konstantinos is active in the field of cinema. He has co-created and contributed to the production of short ethnographic documentaries that examine the relationship between visual storytelling and ethnographic research.  

He currently works with the organization Balkans Beyond Borders as Communications and Festival Development Manager.

Christos Angelidis - Screening Manager

Christos Angelidis is a dynamic professional working at the crossroads of digital technology, cultural diplomacy, and international media. With a foundation in International and European Studies, he blends academic insight with hands-on experience in web administration, digital content strategy, and festival coordination.

Through his long-term collaboration with Balkans Beyond Borders (BBB), Christos has played an active role in shaping cross-cultural film experiences, most notably as Screening Manager, where he connects stories and audiences across borders. His passion lies in using digital tools to strengthen intercultural dialogue and bring diverse perspectives to light.

Christos’s commitment to cultural exchange extends internationally — from managing film print logistics for the BEAST International Film Festival in Portugal to participating in media and storytelling initiatives across Europe. Combining digital insight with an eye for organization and creativity, he thrives on building bridges between technology, culture, and people.

Andreana Kanara - Hospitality Manager

Andreana Kanara is an undergraduate student in the faculty of Balkan Slavic and Oriental studies at the University of Macedonia. Her studies focus on history, anthropology, linguistics and political science. She has taken part in the organization process of  various conferences and events regarding social issues, such as “The Intellectual and Discursive Battles over Palestine” in 2025. In the future she hopes to combine her current research interests with the art of film-making.

Fenia Angelidou - Social Media Manager

Fenia is a linguist and philologist from Northern Greece, now calling Athens her creative home. Drawn to the harmony between words and people, she explores how language can connect worlds, spark ideas, and shape culture. A graduate of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, she bridges her love for linguistics with a flair for digital storytelling and cross-cultural communication. Having collaborated on projects across Europe and the Americas, she brings an open heart and a curious mind to every venture—always seeking beauty in dialogue and meaning in connection.

Cansu Carlak - Subtitling

Born in Cyprus in 2003, she began her career in media and cinema as the co-creator and presenter of “Travel North Cyprus with Cansu”. She has worked as an coordinator for several festivals and platforms, including the Sabancı Foundation Short Film Competition. Actively involved in film productions as a producer’s assistant and assistant director, she has also published poetry in various literary magazines since 2018. Her EU co-funded visual arts project “Je veux Ressentir” was exhibited in France and Cyprus. Her first experimental short film, “Evara”, premiered in Cyprus and was a finalist at several festivals, including the 32nd International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival. She holds a BA in Radio, Television, and Cinema from Istanbul University and is currently pursuing an MA in Cinema at the same institution.

Simay Antep - Subtitling

A playwright, actress, and producer, Simay Antep has a diverse background spanning both
literature and cinema. Raised in Turkey, her global perspective was broadened by her middle school
education in the U.S.A. before she completed her studies in Istanbul, graduating from Istanbul
University’s English Language & Education Department in 2001.

Her creative training includes acting and writing programs, notably the Istanbul City Theatres
Playwriting Program. Her work as an actress began in 2000 with children’s theater plays. She then
acted in various adult theatre plays, TV series, and movies. During these years she also translated
and edited films and TV series for international film platforms.

Her theatrical works are widely recognized: three of her plays—”Good Bye Sabo,” “Stardust,”
and “Start Over”—are currently running in theaters throughout Turkey. She is the author of the
2021 Turkish novel “Do Not Touch,” and her next book is set for publication soon.

In film, she wrote and produced the short film “The Whirling” (2022) and has produced the
acclaimed, award-winning short films “The Surrogate Girl” (2022) and “Till Death Do Us Part”
(2025).

Panagiotis Diapoulis - Video & Photo Coverage

Panagiotis was born in 1981, in Athens, Greece. He studied telecommunications in Athens, but his big passion was photography. So, he started exploring the work of renowned photographers, dived into the aesthetics and technicalities of a good shot, and in 2009, decided to follow a professional career as a photographer. He is specialised in portrait and street photography, and cooperates with famous athletic brands and real estate agencies, helping them build their marketing image. From 2015 onwards, he is also involved in civil society projects, undertaking the audiovisual coverage of international cultural activities, as well as the digitisation of cultural heritage collections and artworks.

Ada Özdemir

Ada Özdemir is 19 years old, from Eskişehir. She study dentistry at Galata University.