Life is made of moments.
It is now. It is openness.
A glimpse of light through the window of a train.
A faint illusion in a child’s look.
A walk, a look, a hug, a smile.
"City of my Heart" - K. Petsas
Alongside wedding work, I have also developed personal projects that exist outside the structure of commissioned films.
This short film was part of that process, an open exploration of rhythm, pacing, and narrative, shaped without the constraints of a wedding day.
The Film
The film moves between experimental and documentary forms, a balance that was later noted in festival screenings as “a thoughtful interplay between observation and abstraction.”
Rather than following a predefined narrative, it evolves through fragments, atmosphere, and the relationship between image and sound.
Recognition by Film Festivals
The film was selected and recognized across a range of international film festivals, spanning different formats and categories, from experimental cinema to short documentary.
These distinctions were not tied to a single aspect of the work but reflected different elements, including editing, cinematography, and overall direction.
– Best Short Film Blue Star Award at the Portugal International Film Festival
– Best Foreign Short Film at the London Independent Film Awards
– Best Europe Film at the European Cinematography Awards
– Best Super Short Documentary at the Berlin Flash Film Festival
– Grand Award at Cinema Poetica 2017
– Special Jury Award at the Germany International Film Festival
– Best Experimental short film award in the 4th Montevideo World Film Festival (Montecine)
– Best Cinematography at Under 5 min Film Festival
– Best Experimental Film Odysseus Award at the London Greek Film Festival 2018
– Best Editing at the Athens Short Film Festival 2018
– Best Short Documentary at the European Independent Film Awards 2017
– Best man Filmmaker and Best Cinematography at the Barcelona Planet Film Festival
– Gold Lion Award at the Barcelona International Film Festival 2018
– Festival Award at the 5th international Documentary Film Festival of Ierapetra
– Best Short Documentary and Best Poster at the 5 Continents International Film Festival
– Best Travel Film at the Global Short Film Awards Cannes 2018
– Audience Award at the 12 Month Film Festival
– Experimental of the Μonth at The Monthly Film Festival (TMFF)
– Best Short Documentary and Best Edit at the Frostbite International Film Festival
– Best Editor at the Direct Monthly Online Film Festival (DMOFF)
– Best Avant-Garde Film and Best Editing Bronze Award at Global Independent Film Awards 2018
– Best Short, Best Edit and Best Original Idea Nominee at the Top Indie Film Awards 2017
– Special Mention Prize at the Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards
– Honorable Mention for Best Inspirational Film at the Top Shorts Film Festival
– Honorable Mention for Best Inspirational Film at the Los Angeles Film Awards
Selected Festival Notes
The film was also accompanied by written feedback from festival screenings, often highlighting its structure, pacing, and visual language.
– “‘City of my heart’ comes with our highest recommendations for its extraordinary capacity of visual lyricizing and the director’s proficient skill to turn emotions to screen”
The Monthly Film Festival
– “Everything regarding the visual spectrum was great, and we admit it: this may be one of the best experimental shorts we’ve had in the past couple of months”
Feel The Reel International Film Festival
– “The way the director managed to give random citizens enough space to show a side of their life in the city without ending up with a one-hour short shows pure skill, not only as a filmmaker, but as a storyteller as well”
Largo Film Awards
– “The short, though extremely minimalist, and experimental in form, is a well rounded narrative of poetry surrounding Madrid”
The Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards
– “This short film is very well achieved because it combines content and form very well, where nothing is left over or hindering, forming an indissoluble whole”
Five Continents International Film Festival
A Different Layer of Work
Work like this exists outside the structure of weddings, but it inevitably informs how I approach them.
It shapes how I think about structure, how I observe moments without interrupting them, and how a film can hold attention without relying on formula.
This approach naturally carries into more intimate or unconventional celebrations, where couples are drawn to something less traditional and more personal in how their story is shaped.
Where this Connects
Some of this perspective can be seen in more personal and unconventional wedding work, as well as in destination elopements.
→ Explore the Alternative Wedding Videographer page
→ View selected wedding films
A broader overview of recognitions and distinctions can be found in the awards section.
Get in touch
If you’d like to continue the conversation or share your plans with me, I look forward to hearing more about your story!
