DIMITRIS KOUTSIABASAKOS
Dimitris Koutsiabasakos studied film and TV direction at V.G.I.K, Moscow. He has directed documentaries, TV series, short and feature films for cinema and television. He directed his first short film HILL 33 in 1998. In 2006 he directed the fiction film THE GUARDIAN’S SON. Among his documentaries: THE GROCER; BECOMING AN ACTOR; SILENT WITNESS; YANNIS KASTRITSIS - THE MAN AND HIS SHADOW; HERACLES, ACHELOOS AND MESOCHORA; THE WEAVERS. Dimitri has received national and international awards for his work.

Director's statement
"DANIEL '16 is a socio-psychological drama about a German teenager coming of age in an alien environment-an abandoned corner of Europe close to the Greek-Turkish border. The story of Daniel's painful passage from fear and suspicion to acceptance and trust is especially pertinent today, at a time of intolerance, fear and aversion to anything that's different. It's a story of hope, of people making connections and communicating, despite the language barrier and the different nationalities".