Born and raised in Limassol, Cyprus, Myrsini Aristidou is a writer, director, producer, and editor.
A graduate of Pratt Institute (BFA in Film and Art History) and NYU Tisch School of the Arts (MFA in Film Directing), Aristidou’s work has been presented at major international film festivals including Venice, Berlin, Sundance, Toronto, and Tribeca.
Her short film Aria (2017), made with the support of Spike Lee, Canal+ France, CNC COSIP, and the Cypriot Ministry of Culture, premiered at the 74th Venice International Film Festival and was later presented at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Her previous short Semele (2015) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to win multiple awards internationally, including the Special Jury Prize (Generation Kplus) at the Berlin International Film Festival. Semele screened at more than seventy international film festivals and was subsequently broadcast by Canal+ France, ERT Greece, and Japan Airlines, among other platforms.
Aristidou is currently completing her debut feature film Hold Onto Me (Κράτα Με), a Cyprus–Denmark–Greece–U.S. co-production between 1.61 Films, Filmblades, Graal, Fredo Pictures, Mango Productions, and Pleasure Bay Pictures. The project was developed through the Cannes Cinéfondation Residence, TIFF Talent Lab, and the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film Lab, where it received the Emerging Filmmaker Prize. It was also presented at the Venice Production Bridge and the Thessaloniki Crossroads Co-Production Forum, where it received a Special Mention from the Jury.
In addition to her filmmaking, Aristidou published the photographic book Mother India (2009), with all proceeds donated to Médecins Sans Frontières, and co-founded the Sagapo Children’s Foundation, which supports educational initiatives in Cyprus, Madagascar, Mexico, Rwanda, and Vietnam.
myrsini@161films.com