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Christos Alex. Giotis / Business Development Manager
With more than twenty years of experience in film and television productions, Film Greece's managing director Christos Alex. Giotis has acquired a rather global knowledge of both the concepts and the on-site situations and practicalities of the audio-visual business. From feature films to television news, and from the shot-by-shot manufacturing of audio-visual products to the forging of successful funding applications, Christos has had ample opportunity to understand how ideas, budgets, talent, crews, deadlines and unforeseen on-location circumstances must be juggled to maintain production values.
Christos started his career in 1985, with his graduation from the Eugenia Hadjikou Film & TV College, as a Director of Photography. He served his army duty in the Greek Air Force as a cameraman & editor of combat pilots' training films. After receiving training in the U.S. Christos later became one of Greece's first Steadicam Operators. In 1992 he joined the national television network Mega Channel as a Television News & Current Affairs Lighting Cameraman.
From 1985 to 1997, Christos continued his professional training in tandem with his professional career. The most important courses were the Marketing & Advertising course, (Hellenic-American College), the International Drama Co-production course (Media Business School/Lubeck/Germany) and the TV news shooting & editing techniques courses (by the Thomson Foundation & Reuters). In 1997, fully sponsored by his employer, Mega Channel, he acquired a Master's in Audio-visual Management from the Media Business School (Ronda/Spain); within the Master's framework, Christos was placed in the European Media Development Agency in London, (EMDA- MEDIA II DG X- E.U.) as a trainee in the evaluation of audiovisual projects applying to the European Union for project development funding. From January 1999 until December 2000, Christos worked as a European Union funding and policy consultant with various organisations belonging or referring to the Greek Ministry of Press & Mass Media. He started his freelance production and location management business in 2001.
Christos has also worked as a film & television professor, teaching "ENG shooting techniques" for four years at the Eugenia Hadjikou Film & TV College (1993-1997), and "Media Production - Special Topics" with the University of Indianapolis - Athens. In 2006 he was a guest lecturer at Singapore's Lasale-SIA University / "Puttnam School of Film".
In addition to the above, between 2011 and 2013 Christos served as the Project Director of Toronto's 3D Film Innovation Consortium (www.3dflic.ca) and also as the Director of the Toronto International Stereoscopic-3D Cinema Conference (www.tis3dc.ca).
In 2019 Christos worked with the Greek company DIADIKASIA S.A. as an independent Expert Consultant regarding the establishment and operation of Greece's upcoming Regional Film Offices.
Maxine Heppner / Development and Artistic Consultant
Maxine Heppner brings over twenty-five years of administration, creation and touring experience to Film Greece. From the nuts and bolts of packing a road kit to the formalities of business interaction, her cross-disciplinary experience, combined with years of international touring know-how and administrative expertise, make her an ideal person to fit foreign needs and expectations to local realities, leaving the quality of the work uncompromised.
Maxine quickly made her mark on the Canadian performing arts scene after graduating in the late 1970's with an honours degree in choreography and dance education from York University. As well as working in the production and creative sides of film and television, she is a senior artist in the international performing arts world and has won many awards and commissions for her dance and theatre creations in Canada and abroad. As director of "Across Oceans: INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS IN CONTEMPORARY ARTS" she has produced inter-disciplinary festivals, world tours, and innumerable contemporary art, dance and theatre events. She is often guest artist to international festivals and arts groups in Europe and across Asia. She has also been a driving force in arts education and advocacy worldwide. She was founding head of the dance department of the first Canadian performing arts high school, an ongoing faculty member of fine arts at Concordia and York Universities. She is associate mentor and consultant for several organizations in Athens, Singapore, Jakarta, and Toronto, as well as being a writer and speaker for many publications and international forums. An active arts advocate, she co-founded the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists. She was a senior member of the board of governors of the Canadian Conference for the Arts (Canada's major arts advocacy group) and was founding co-chairperson of the international arts and world trade lobby - the International Network for Cultural Diversity (INCD).
Since joining forces with Christos in FilmGreece, Maxine's global experience, communication skills, attention to production and creation detail, energy and dedication to getting a job well done has added to the growth of their solid reputation and consistency in making all aspects of good productions better.