Ellenor Argyropoulos can speak many languages. Not only fluent in Greek and English, she has the gift of speaking in the language of film and photography. And the 22-year-old is using these mediums to tell stories, better than she would just simply speaking them.

As a Greek Australian who spends hours and hours on the phone every week listening to the stories of both her grandfathers, she feels right at home telling others’ tales to the world.

Her first foray into the world of film and television was as a child actor who would, during her week, make it her mission to see more than three films a week, with her weekends spent at the cinema – a passion she inherited from her grandfather. As a child she always knew she would be an artist of some sort; her creative flair was strong. Her mother Christina, Ellenor explains, was a drawer herself but never had the opportunity to pursue her enthusiasm for the art form. Her daughter, however, immersed herself in cinema and storytelling. A serendipitous opportunity to direct a play whilst at high school would see Ellenor venture into the behind-the-scenes world of the camera in both film and photography. From then on, she knew that she could tell a tale, out of view from the world, but give it the life and love it needed.

“It felt more natural to me to be behind the scenes,” Ellenor tells Neos Kosmos.

“It was a different world being able to direct people, and I had never really experienced that before and was out of my comfort zone.”

Directing people gave her a different approach to her artwork and made her engage in alternative ways to approach, build and tell the stories. And her connection with her Hellenism has allowed her to not only be a skilled storyteller and listener, but to do so in a family orientated way. From an early age, she has been captivated by the tales of her grandfathers. After all, the family stories are the threads that not only bind us to our past, but the ties that bind us to our future. But this love of storytelling in a welcoming and nurturing way began on her first trip to Greece as an 11-year-old. Ellenor tells me that even though her family travelled all over Europe, it was only her time in Greece she remembers. And she remembers each and every day clear as day. But it was the first day that made the most impact.

“It was mind blowing,” she begins, “when we arrived in Greece, I was overwhelmed by my wider family and how many people I was related to.

“And all these people I didn’t know were excited to see me and meet me and I found that very welcoming.”

She says that loving greeting giving to her by her extended Greek family is her approach to not only her art but her life. She says she approaches people, talks to people like they were one of her own family regardless of whether or not she has met them.

“I made a two minute film as my final university project and called it Welcoming,” she starts to explain how her experience in Greece as a child has impacted and influence her art.

The film – her final year assignment for her three year course of film and TV at the Victorian College of the Arts – centred around the marriage between a Greek boy and an Asian girl. The film showed how the Greek family embraced and welcomed the other family like their own. The closing scene is immersed in Greek culture, as the father of the bride is invited to dance the Zorba and does so, all the while smashing plates and feeling incredibly welcomed by everyone around him.

Now the girl who considers herself more of a filmmaker is making waves with her photography. This director, cinematographer and photographer, who is based in Melbourne, has beaten hundreds of thousands of competitors to make it to the top 25 in Tourism Australia’s Best Jobs in the World campaign as a lifestyle photographer. The campaign is on the search for the best photographer to capture Melbourne’s multicultural community, hidden secrets, creating city and country photo shoots, showcasing local identities, designers, artists and sharing new trends, all through the lens of a camera, in an attempt to engage more local and international interest in the city.

“I’m incredibly excited to be selected in the top 25 for the job to be Melbourne’s next Lifestyle Photographer. The talent amongst the 25 candidates is phenomenal and very diverse so I feel incredibly humbled to be able to represent my home, my country and my heritage by being part of such an international and talented select group,” she says.

“I have travelled a lot over the years through my film and photographic journeys, overseas and all around the country, but getting the opportunity to photograph Melbourne- my home town – would be such a treat. Most people don’t get the chance to explore their backyard, I consider myself one of them, so the opportunity to unearth the hidden secrets of my own city excites me.

“I love stumbling across and seeking out new finds and locations and often recommend them to friends and family. I get a lot of satisfaction if they have then gone out and experienced the recommendation.

But when asked what she believes epitomises her Melbourne, she doesn’t turn to the hidden laneways – that are not so hidden anymore – or the fancy bars, or even Luna Park; she says it’s her own backyard that is her favourite thing to photograph.

“There are a lot of beautiful parks and beautiful landscapes here in Heidelberg,” says Ellenor, who enjoys venturing in the area she was born and bred in, as well as exploring the rest of Melbourne.

At the moment her favourite thing to capture is food – she looks to her heritage for her love of food – and she is enjoying capturing festivals and events. “There’s a lot going on culturally,” she says of festivals and events, “a lot of parades, just watching people and being able to take photos is really exciting. I take my camera with me everywhere, and it’s not just my iPhone – I will take everything!”

Ellenor spends countless hours in galleries, eating food, photographing food, filming food and watching films in the cinema, and it’s that cinematic feel to everything she produces, from writing to photography, that has won her attention and awards for her work worldwide.

For more information on Ellenor and her work, visit www.myscatterbrain.com