Meet
The Team
Mobility and renewal are integral elements of any vibrant community. Melitzazz is evolving in the same spirit; now in its fourteenth year, it is entering a new era with a three-member organizing team. Sotiris Bolis, the festival’s founder and artistic director for thirteen years, is bidding farewell to Melitzazz, passing the baton to Maria Kantani, Sophie Moutafi, and Christos Chrysanthopoulos.
COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT / "HUNT THE STAMP" PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
Maria Kantani
Maria P. Kantani is a communications professional, storyteller, and editor with many years of experience in strategic content planning, brand identity and storytelling for various brands, and the curation of multimedia projects. She holds a degree in Education and a master’s degree in Cognitive Psychology, and has participated in numerous projects that combine creative writing with an understanding of human behavior and communication dynamics. In addition, she has experience in instructional design, team management, and the organization of cultural and scientific events.
She has successfully managed and delivered more than 40 projects, with over 100 articles published in print and digital media, and has handled copywriting for 14 major print publications. Her experience ranges from writing and editing texts and scripts (commercial videos, TV formats) to creating landing pages, automated email campaigns, and data-driven content strategies. She has collaborated with more than 20 brands across various industries, maintaining an authentic style and consistent brand identity across all media.
As a co-founder and Creative Director of Fine Line Media, she shapes the creative direction of audiovisual communication and storytelling projects, working closely with design and marketing teams.
She is participating in Melitzazz 2026 as Communications Manager and a member of the three-person organizing team, focusing on the festival’s strategy, the festival’s storytelling, and the holistic curation of its communication identity, contributing to the event’s overall narrative and public presence.
PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT
Sofi Moutafi
Sofi Moutafi studied at the Department of Audio and Visual Arts in the School of Music and Audiovisual Arts at the Ionian University, where she earned a master’s degree both as an artist and as a technician in Audiovisual Arts. During her studies, she was an Erasmus+ scholar (2017–18) at the University of Aveiro in Portugal, specifically in the Department of Communication and Art, where she took courses in human resources management and multimedia projects. She graduated with an award for excellence as the top graduate of the School of Audiovisual Arts in 2019. Since 2016, she has collaborated on the management and coordination of cultural and artistic projects and events, as well as creative audiovisual production, with organizations such as the Corfu Municipal Theater (2016–2018), the BeThere! Animation Festival (2017), the Nea Orestias Amateur Theater Festival (2017), the Corfu Audiovisual Arts Festival (2018–2019), the Thessaloniki Experimental Arts Center (2020), the National Theater (2023), the Melitzazz Festival (2022–2023, 2025), the Malvasia Festival in Monemvasia (2023 & 2025), Tie the Knot – Wedding & Event Planning (2024), Lamda 3 Magazine & Creative Studio (2024–2025), and others. As an artist, she has participated in and presented works—both in group and solo exhibitions—at various exhibitions and festivals.
PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION
Christos Chrysanthopoulos
Christos Chrysanthopoulos is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Archival Science, Library Science and Information Systems at the University of West Attica and a Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation. He holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Cultural Environment Management and New Technologies (now the Department of History and Archaeology) at the University of Patras, having completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in History at the University of Thessaly and Panteion University, in Adult Education at the Hellenic Open University, as well as in information management in Libraries, Archives, and Museums at the University of West Attica. She has worked at universities and research centers, as well as at cultural, nonprofit, and educational institutions, taking on roles that span a wide range of activities—from research, digital curation, and teaching to project management and communication. His academic career reflects an interdisciplinary profile that combines historical research, archival and curatorial practices with technology, while also including active participation in creative and artistic groups.He was a fellow of the residency program Care: Economies of Eudaimonia of the G. & A. Mamidakis Foundation (Agios Nikolaos, Crete, 2022). Selected cultural activity: research and curation of the exhibition A Century of Movements. A City Within Cities (Nice, 2023), scientific advisor, dramaturgy, and playwright for the performance The Memoirs of Kolokotronis: An Interactive Theatrical Documentary (History Museum of the University of Athens, 2021), scientific advisor for the documentary series Why 21? 12 Questions (ERT, 2021), design, curation, and assistant to the artistic director Bridging Differences: Piraeus Municipal Theater – Athens and Epidaurus Festival (Piraeus, 2017), among others. Earlier this year, the anthology co-edited with Elli Lemonidou, Giorgos Kokkinos, and Andreas P. Andreou was published: <a href="https://www.biblionet.gr/% CE--304436&lang Earlier this year, the anthology co-edited by Elli Lemonidou, Giorgos Kokkinos, and Andreas P. Andreou was published: Traces of Eternity: Theodoros Angelopoulos (1935–2012), published by Taxideftis, Athens 2025.
The Melitzazz Festival aims to showcase and promote the rich cultural heritage of Tsakonia in a modern and creative way. History, tradition, architecture, the Tsakonian dialect, weaving, and Tsakonian dance intertwine with traditional and contemporary music, events, culinary experiences, workshops, seminars, and film screenings. Scattered events and street concert stages stretch through the alleys and squares of Leonidio. In the town’s architecturally distinctive mansions and tower houses, visitors can explore historical exhibitions and installations, contemporary art exhibitions, workshops, and film screenings.
Leonidio
