A few days ago, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the Oscar Award nominations.

Among those nominated are the names of Greeks, such as: Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimios Filippou, screenplay writers for the film “The Lobster” (in the category “Best Original Screenplay”) and Daphne Matziaraki for her short subject documentary “4.1 Miles” about the refugee crisis.

The documentary chronicles one day in the life of Coast Guard Captain Kyriakos Papadopoulos, from the island of Lesbos, during the immense humanitarian crisis.

The documentary by the Greek director was awarded First Prize by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the Student Award Category.  Producer of the document is the University of Berkeley where D. Matziaraki studied.

Following her nomination, the director posted the following on her Facebook page:  “Two years ago at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, my amazing mentor, Dan Krauss, was teaching me the fundamentals of filmmaking.

At the same time that refugee families and their children continue to flee from war and battles in the most life-threatening manner and at the same time that children-refugees are dying from the cold in the refugee camps, Dan’s documentary short film “Extremis” as well as “4.1 Miles” are candidates for an Oscar.

I could not be more honored and grateful.  Because this means that we can share these extremely important stories with the world: stories such as that of Kyriakos Papadopoulos, the heroic captain of the documentary “4.1 Miles” and his crew, who continue to tread the fine line that separates life from death.”

View 4.1 Miles:

Source: in.gr 01/26/2017,

Journalist: Aggeliki Stelaki