Maria Lainas

Highway to Hellas (2015)
Film by Aron Lehmann (Comedy) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director The Germans are coming. To snoop, pry and inspect once again, because the Greek are always under suspicion to lie, cheat and scam. And rightfully so. Jörg Geissner, an employee of the Munich based AVO-Bank arrives on the island of Paladiki, to check on the registered securities of a credit granted years ago by his bank. His suspicion: the registered securities - a hospital and a power generating plant - don't really exist. But the Greeks aren't stupid - they will make Geissner prove that the securities don't exist. And so a completely overwhelmed Geissner embarks on an unexpected Odyssey all by himself, against the rest of the island. His constant companion being the shrewd German-Greek gigolo Panos, who will see to it that Geissner's search for the power-plant will get him nowhere. In the meantime Paladiki's Mayor Spyros will desperately try to conjure something up, which would maybe look like a power plant, at least at night and with the help of a few drink and then some more drinks... Written by info-299-34370

Promakhos (2014)
Film by John Voorhees (Drama) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Two Athenian attorneys pursue litigation against the British Museum for the return of the Parthenon Marbles. Andreas (Pantelis Kodogiannis) returns from New York to his homeland of Greece by invitation of the Director of the Acropolis Museum (Giancarlo Giannini). Andreas partners with his childhood friend and love interest Eleni (Kassandra Voyagis) and takes the case to London. Their efforts are fraught with difficulties including the social destabilization of the economic crisis that plagues Athens. In their pursuit of the return of the stolen artifacts, the spirit of Athina is reinvigorated. As the bronze statue of Athena Promakhos (Athina of the Frontline) used to stand guard in front of the Parthenon, both must find the courage to stand in defense of what they love. Written by Anonymous

Lomasankarit (2014)
Film by Taavi Vartia (Adventure, Family and Romance) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director, Casting department, Actress What was supposed to be an ordinary holiday on Kos turns into an adventure for the 3 boys when the local girl Adriana is kidnapped.

Volta (2014)
(Short, Drama and Family) Casting department A mother and daughter start out from downtown Athens and head to the northern suburbs of the city. Nina thinks she's going on a walk.

Xenia (2014)
Film (Drama) Casting director, Actress Strangers in their own birthplace, 16-year-old Danny and 18-year-old Odysseus cross the entire country in search of their Greek father, after their Albanian mother passes away. Determined to force him to acknowledge paternity, little do they know that the road to the much-coveted Greek citizenship is paved with ghosts from the past, adult savagery and a dream that needs to come true, no matter what. Reaching the end of this initiatory journey they eventually come of age even if Greece refuses to follow. Written by Xenia

O ehthros mou (2013)
Film by Yorgos Tsemberopoulos (Crime and Drama) Casting department In Athens today, Kostas, a progressive ideologist, lives a regular life with his wife and their teenage daughter and son, until his home is ransacked by a hooded gang. The experience of extreme violence shatters the family's peace, bringing his father's hunting rifle violently into their lives. The story of a morally demolished man who used to be the pillar of his family and of his struggle to get life back to normal.

Dead Europe (2012)
Film (Drama) Casting department A young photographer transporting his father's ashes from Australia to Greece comes to learn that something sinister happened in his family's past involving a young Jewish boy. Despite an effort to distract himself with a mix of random sex and drugs, Isaac's world begins to unravel as he realizes that he cannot escape the ghosts of the past. Written by Production

J.A.C.E. (2011)
Film (Drama) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director, Casting director Twice-orphaned Jace, a seven-year-old Albanian of Greek origin, witnesses a massacre that wipes out his entire foster family in Argyrokastron, and then falls in the hands of a bunch of ruthless gangsters who "export" children abroad for various profitable reasons (ranging from beggary to organ trade). Jace ends up in Athens, Greece, begging at street corners, exploring the secret horrors of brutal institutions for young offenders or, much later, serving obscure patrons, in an underworld where violent loss seems to be his only destiny. The movie follows Jace's inverted Odyssey in a dark universe of abuse, murder and fear, as he desperately (and silently) seeks for a "family" of his own or, at least, for a sense of belonging. Written by Menelaos Karamaghiolis

Kokkinos ouranos (2011)
Film (Drama and Romance) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director, Casting department, Casting director Two close friends, Aris and Stelios, have their minds on a mutual goal; they "immigrate" to the south of Greece and together they begin a banana greenhouse business in Crete. There they live secluded in a house by the countryside, with a magnificent view of the Libyan Sea having as their sole amusement Angeliki's nearby tavern. This is a place where mostly foreign tourists arrive; drown like magnets by the magic of the unknown, red African horizon. Determined to keep women out of their lives, they, and mostly Aris, are unfriendly towards the newly arrived Cordoba, a friend of Aris' sister who lives and works in Germany. Stelios, after going on a casual stroll with her in the island's market, will end up going to bed with her. In a mood of recklessness that "suits" summer affairs. But this "one night stand" will develop into a relationship and lead to Cordoba moving in the house the two friends share. Feeling antagonistic, mostly towards Stelios, Aris finds himself flirting with ... Written by PK

Without Borders (2011)
Film by Nick Gaitatjis (Drama) Casting department, Miscellaneous Crew Thanasis, a good-hearted cotton candy vendor from Athens, has been caring for little Melissa since she was a baby when her mother, an immigrant prostitute, thought it best to leave the girl behind while seeking fortune in America. Her unexpected appearance five years later has traumatic consequences when she takes her child away from Thanassis and leaves. Thanasis, suddenly alone, misses the child who was like a daughter to him and a comfort in his old age. Thanasis decides to travel to America in the hope of seeing her again. He does not have a visa. He does not speak English. He does not have much money. He does not know how to drive a car, and he has never been on an airplane. But he does have a distant cousin, Plato, a professional gambler, living in Las Vegas, who has offered to help him cross the border. Thanasis never suspects that Plato might have a scheme of his own. A road movie begins as the two disparate cousins from Greece embark on a cross- country adventure to win the ... Written by Rosalie Michalitsianou

Litsa.com (2008 - 2009)
Television (Comedy and Romance) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

Kala krymmena mystika, Athanasia (2008)
Film by Panos Karkanevatos (Drama and Romance) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director, Casting director ATHANASIA A young American woman returns to her Greek roots in search of her real father. Accompanied by her stepfather, she shatters the very myths designed to protect her. She uncovers an unlikely relationship between those who raised her, a globe-trotting photojournalist and Athanasia. Athanasia, a girl with no right in life. A choice of nature, but not of her community. Angela finds her father and discovers her mother. Written by Anonymous

Beware of Bear (2008)
(Short) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Add a Plot »

Der geheimnisvolle Schatz von Troja (2007)
TV Movie (Adventure) Casting director True story about how famous German businessman and archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann located the ruins of the mythical ancient city of Troy in Turkey in 1868.

O Jerusalem (2006)
Film by Élie Chouraqui (Drama) Casting department A tale of friendship between two men, one Jewish and the other Arab, as the state of Israel is being created.

Qing ding ai qin hai (2004)
Television (Drama and Romance) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director, Casting director Guan Xiao Tong, a top student at Shanghai Conservatory, is about to leave for a vacation in Greece when her cousin unexpectedly cancels, claiming illness. Li Yao Xiang, recruited through the internet, becomes Xiao Tong's travel companion, but the two young people with completely opposite personalities clash from the start. Then Xiao Tong accidentally meets Lu En Qi, who is accompanying his mother on business to an antiques auction in Athens. En Qi feels trapped by his family obligations, which include the assumption that he will marry the daughter of a powerful family friend to strengthen the business. Attracted by Xiao Tong's cheeriness and determination to make the best of things, En Qi joins her on a day trip to the island of Santorini, where their relationship deepens. However, circumstances prevent their next meeting, and both parties return home to their separate lives. Xiao Tong and Yao Xiang eventually sort out their differences and become friends, staying in touch after their... Written by emfarrell

To klama vgike ap' ton Paradeiso (2001)
Film by Michalis Reppas (Comedy and Musical) Actress This is the story of two Greek families, named Delafrangas and Bisbikides. The former family is very wealthy & lucky, the latter very poor and continually struck by fate. Poor but honest Martha is in love with Giakoumis, a young builder and bouzouki organist, but all her dreams fall apart when posh Tzela "steals" the love of her beloved one... A couple of flash backs, following their families roots back to WW2 and the Turkish domination, and a hidden secret will unfold the story's ending... Written by Yiorgos Efthimiadis <sethdove@hotmail.com>

I agapi einai... elefantas (2000)
Film by Stratos Tzitzis (Comedy) Actress The title of the film recalls the well known story of the three blind men, who try in vain to recognize and define, by touch, an unknown object - in this case, an elephant. In a triptych of three different stories, told by three inmates of a jail, the story unfolds with sarcasm and irony regarding human actions. The heroes of the film try to tame human passions (erotically instinctive) - but, alas, they do not succeed. A situation comedy in which the nude appears in the plot where least expected. Written by Greek Film Archive

Echoes of the Past
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director