The newly launched sales company Odd Slice Films has been nominated for Best First Feature in the IDFA Luminous category with Oria Veliopoulou’s Stories of a Lie, which will have its world premiere. A clip appears below.
The film is a “playful, personal investigation into the basis for hiding a cancer diagnosis from patients, and asks whether silence protects or harms those we love.”
The film asks how hiding (or revealing) the truth affects a patient’s mental state. Is it better to know nothing or only the bare minimum? Does it differ depending on the patient? Does this happen in Greece because there is no equivalent word for “infantilization” in Greek, or is it out of fear that just uttering the “C word” will open a Pandora’s box with unintended consequences?
“With curiosity, humor and heart, the director dives into a culture of silence, confronting myths, fears and family customs while speaking to medical professionals in his close circle (including his theater father),” the statement said.
Odd Slice Films’ Martina Drondi, a former sales and acquisitions executive at Austria-based Autolook Film Sales, said: “‘The Lie’ is full of stunning imagery and reveals Auria’s imagination, which I greatly admire. Her films strike a rare balance between lightness and depth, inherently moving between humor and vulnerability without ever losing emotional truth.”
“The themes she explores are far from mundane; they are philosophical and ethical dilemmas with no easy answers. It was a bold choice to approach this issue through a personal lens, and it works beautifully. The Story of a Lie is a tender, intelligent and deeply human film, and I’m thrilled to be able to portray it.”
Also in Odd Slice Films’ catalog are Miguel Eke’s “Amilcar” (IDFA, Envision Competition, 2025), Kevin B. Lee’s “Afterlive” (Decrivoir, BF I London, 2025), “Silent Observers” (IDFA, 2024, winner of the Best Documentary Award at DOK.Munich, three awards at the Bulgarian Film Awards, winner of the Award for Artistic Vision). Doctor Bibb).
Stories of a Lie was produced by Mina Doleki of Greece’s Marni Film and Gael Jones of France’s Perspective Film in collaboration with Tamarisk, Filaos Productions and Yellowgroove. The film is supported by the Hellenic Cinema and Audiovisual Center – Creative Greece, ERT Greek Broadcasting Corporation and CNC in France.
