As reported in ERT News, June 18, Greek-Australian Stathis Paraskevopoulos, an adviser to the Drama International Short Film Festival (DISFF), one of the world’s oldest film festivals, passed away on June 16 at the age of 60, on the day of his birthday.

Stathi Paraskevopoulos was born in Australia, then moved back with his family to Greece, and retuned to study philosophy at the University of Adelaide. He then returned to Greece with his partner Angela Pilello and had been living in Greece, other Europe, and the U.K. since the early ’90s. He carved out a career in television, pay-per-view, and digital channels as well as major production companies in Greece, Israel, UK, and United States.

The president of DISFF, George Demertzis, wrote in an email, “The artistic director Yannis Sakaridis and all the festival’s employees bid a sad farewell to a valuable colleague and dear friend, Stathis Paraskevopoulos, who left us prematurely.”

“Stathis Paraskevopoulos was the co-founder of the educational program of the Drama Short Film Festival, ‘Drama Talent Lab,’ since 2009 and a constant collaborator/companion of the Pitching Lab from its inception in 2014 until today – in fact, just a few days ago [before his death], he delivered his final judgment on the 122 projects of the Pitching Lab 2023.”

DISFF further said that Paraskevopoulos’ contribution “to the Festival was significant, and he was a source of inspiration for many young creators who participated in its workshops.”

Stathis Paraskevopoulos was a media and script consultant to major channels and production companies in Greece and abroad. He also served as a buyer and consultant of content and programs to festivals and platforms, including Cosmote and East Asia Media, and was a jury member at Promax India 2022. Additionally, he worked as a music curator and radio producer in Greece and Australia.

A close friend and colleague, the head of the Drama Festival Lab, Barbara Dukas, wrote, “For the Pitching Lab team, Tzortzina Kakoudaki, John Stevens, and myself personally, our closest friend and collaborator has left.”

Dukas wrote that Stathis was a “great husband” to Angela Pilello and a “wonderful father” to his son Stefano.

“We lost an unrivaled mind who, in an eloquent and penetrating way, combined areas of contemporary philosophical thought with art and communication. I am sure that to all the people of DISFF who knew him and in Drama, which he loved so much, he will remain unforgettable.”

Dukas added that “his inspiring (black) humor, his eye, and his willingness to find a way to communicate different narrative paths for your story turned him spontaneously into not only an inspirational-educational person but an essential person you wanted as a friend.”

Dukas as reported in ERT News said that right-up until a few days before he passed away, “Stathi communicated with all the young directors and creatives who had been at the Drama meetings.”

He knew he was leaving long ago… He lived the journey until the last stop. He disembarked unexpectedly. Fortunately, at least for a while, we traveled together. We were cine-passengers.

His close friend Fotis Kapetopoulos, a journalist for Neos Kosmos, in an obituary last week called Paraskevopoulos, “erudite, articulate, cultured, and very funny – very Athenian.”

“Stathis Paraskevopoulos was skeptical of all authority, especially the government, particularly the Greek government.” “He loathed the moral certainty of the conservatives and was irritated by the virtuous claims of the left.” “He saw ridiculousness in things we were told to revere – church, state, ideology, and political parties. Stathi opened a new Greece to me,” wrote Kapetopoulos.

Stathis Paraskevopoulos’ funeral will take place in London where he lived for the last few years on July 11 UK time 9:30pm, AEST 9:30pm.