Nikos Panoutsopoulos
Director - Producer
Born in Athens, Greece, Nicholas Panoutsopoulos received his MFA in Film and Video from California Institute of the Arts. He has worked as a director, producer and writer in fiction films, documentaries and commercials in Europe and the U.S.A. His award winning short film “Blackberries” has screened in many festivals around the world. As a producer and director he has created many documentary projects that have been broadcast on TV. He is the founding director of the creative content agency The Backyard Lab. As an educator, he has taught film directing and producing at the New York Film Academy.
Awards / distinctions
1st Prize "Greeks of the World", Drama Festival 2005.
Filmography
Greek & American, feature documentary, in post-production (as Director).
Nostos, feature documentary, (as Director). A feature-length documentary about the notion of homeland from the point of view of author George Pelecanos, William Antholis, the managing director of Brookings Institution and entrepreneur Ted Manousakis.
Viewpoint (original title: Optiki Gonia), 2013-14, ERT, documentary series, (as Executive Producer - Director). Viewpoint is a series of 18 documentaries about current trends and innovative practitioners in the art of photography, presenting some of its greatest masters.
J.A.C.E, 2011, feature fiction film (as Co-writer - Associate Producer). Dir: Men. Karamaghiolis. A co-production of Greece, Netherlands, Portugal, Turkey. A film noir revolving around the main character’s odyssey in a dark universe of abuse, murder and fear, as he desperately seeks a “family” and a sense of belonging. Official selections: Tokyo International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Reykjavik International Film Festival, European Union Film Festival.
Greek Town, 2011, ERT, documentary series, 8 episodes, (as Executive Producer – Director). A journey through the Greek American communities of North America becomes the quest for an identity and reveals the presence and evolution of a population that moved from diaspora to assimilation.
Nichterini Vardia (Eng. Night Shift), 2010, ERT, documentary series, 13 epis, (as Executive Producer – Director). A documentary series following people working the night shift.
Blackberries, 2005, short fiction film, 35mm, 17min, (as Director – Producer - Writer). Set in East Los Angeles Blackberries is a coming of age story of little Alejandro, a Mexican-American boy, witnessing the financial struggles of his parents. Official selections: Tribeca Film Festival NY 2006, London Film Festival 2006, Montréal Festival des Films du Monde 2005, Palm Springs FF 2005, Rhode Island FF 2005.
The Other Face of Treason, 2000, short documentary, (as director – producer - writer). Focusing on the demonstrations in the streets of Los Angeles in 1999, occasioned by the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement to Elia Kazan, the film explores the issues that clouded the director’s reputation in 1952.