The controversy erupted after 20 film directors and producers withdrew their films from the selection process in protest against what they described as “opaque actions that discredit Greek cinema and its professionals.” On Thursday, another film, “Minore” by Konstantinos Koutsoliotas, was added to the list of withdrawals. Additionally, two members of the newly formed committee—director Asimina Proedrou and actor Vassilis Charalambopoulos—resigned in response to the situation.

The crux of the issue lies in the Ministry of Culture’s decision to initially appoint a committee and then abruptly change its composition, informing the original members that their participation had been a “mistake.”

Fotilas defended the decision, stating that the original committee’s formation did not follow the proper legal process. He claimed that had the correct procedures been followed, he would have had no problem accepting the original members. “The process was so irregular and impermissible that I could not use its product. It would not be right,” Fotilas argued.

Fotilas also insisted that there was no reason to question the prestige of the committee members, whether in the original or revised composition. He asserted that no official committee had been appointed until the one published in the government transparency platform, Diaygeia.

In his attempt to distance himself from the responsibility, Fotilas revealed that he only learned on August 11 that an email had been sent by an employee in the Directorate of Performing Arts and Cinema, informing the seven artists that they were definitively on the committee. This was done before the proposal had even reached the relevant officials for signature. “For some reason that I do not know, this employee decided to ignore and bypass the entire hierarchical procedure as defined by law,” Fotilas stated.

He explained that he had to act swiftly to avoid missing the Oscar nomination deadline, which required notifying the American Academy by August 15. “If I could, I would have changed them all—except for the winner of last year’s Hellenic Film Academy awards, who is always a member of the committee—because that would have been the right thing. But there was no time,” Fotilas explained, noting that he selected artists from a list provided by the ministry.

However, the explanation has not satisfied those involved. Director Vassilis Kekatos, who was originally slated to chair the committee, questioned the motives behind the abrupt changes, stating that “our selection and our multi-day communication cannot have happened ‘by accident.'” The 20 filmmakers who withdrew their films also criticised the ministry for treating the employee as a scapegoat, arguing that this response does not restore the prestige or validity of the process.

The incident has sparked widespread criticism from unions, the Hellenic Film Academy and artists.

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