Canadian Premiere
Hedgehog (Panos Papadopoulos) is desperate after the loss of his mother. Eager to bring her back from the dead, he and his brothers Dummy and Japan put their heads together to build a time machine out of odds and ends in her wardrobe. Initial tests prove horrific failures, as the brothers lose a pig and half of a chicken to the rickety machine. Hedgehog is convinced he needs a human test subject and when Dummy’s girlfriend comes by to party, he sees his opportunity.
Yannis Veslemes (Norway, 2014) mixes pitch-black comedy with sticky body horror to delirious effect in this fantastical freakshow. His penchant for surreal, hallucinatory visuals and jarring tonal shifts flourishes as the brothers unleash a hellish cosmic horror into their reality. More than cheap thrills, She Loved Blossoms More is a grotesque portrait of grief from one of the most twisted minds from the Greek Weird Wave.
Supported by
Media Partner
Panos Papadopoulos, Julio Giorgos Katsis, Aris Balis, Dominique Pinon
Greece/France
2024
In Greek and French with English subtitles
At International Village
At The Rio
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Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Ant Timpson, Andreas Zoupanos Kritikos
Producer
Fenia Costovista
Screenwriter
Yannis Veslemes, Dimitris Emmanouilidis
Cinematography
Christos Karamanis
Editor
Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Production Design
Elena Vardava
Original Music
Yannis Veslemes
Yannis Veslemes
Born in Athens in 1979, Yannis Veslemes is a film director and music composer. He has directed feature films such as She Loved Blossoms More (2024, Tribeca premiere), The Field Guide to Evil (2018, SXSW premiere), and Norway (2014, Karlovy Vary premiere). He has released music records with international labels such as Optimo Music, Invisible Inc., and Macadam Mambo. His soundtrack composition work includes the films Wednesday 04:45, Suntan, Cosmic Candy, and more.
Filmography: The Field Guide to Evil (2018); Norway (2014)
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