Μake us preferred on Google Greek filmmaker Jacqueline Lentzou has won the Best Director Award in the Orizzonti section of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival (September 2–12) for her second feature, “A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra.”
Orizzonti showcases works distinguished by a contemporary cinematic vision and serves as a platform for emerging creative voices. This year’s section jury was chaired by French actress and director Valérie Donzelli.
Accepting the award, an emotional Lentzou spoke without prepared remarks. “I haven’t prepared a thank-you speech, I’ll speak from the heart,” she said. “And I’ll speak about the cinema that’s becoming harder and harder to make for those of us who want to create free, independent films. So thank you for understanding the risk I took with this film.”
Turning to the inspiration behind the project, she explained that the film draws on a real event from her native Athens, in which a police officer killed a 15-year-old boy without cause. She closed with a direct appeal: “Stop. Stop killing children.”
Shortly before the closing ceremony, the film had already claimed another notable honor, receiving the 2026 Edipo Re Inclusion and Sustainability Award from an independent committee.
The work draws its emotional core from December 2008 — not as a direct retelling of the killing of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, but as a lingering emotional memory and a deep-seated pain. Lentzou has been careful to stress her respect for the memory of the 15-year-old and her deliberate choice not to depict the events on screen.
