Three broke buddies have fun on their usual stroll at the outskirts of a small town. As they tease each other about girls, money and authority, they find an abandoned helpless dog. In a split second, things get out of hand.

 

Mad Dogs is a reflection on how easily we shift between being victims and perpetrators — often without noticing. It is less about heroes or villains and more about the blurry line between the two, explored within in a 12 minute single shot in rural Greece. 

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Note : *no animals were harmed during the making of this film. Jerome, the dog, was a professional acting dog and we took great care of him, everything was rehearsed and he knew his part very well ! big thanks to him 🙏🏼"

 

Director's statement :

 

Power is not static. So where does violence begin? Not in grand wars or overt brutality, but in the subtleties of daily life — mockery, exclusion, humiliation. The rapid shift from banter to something more sinister shows how violence isn't always premeditated — it emerges from group dynamics, from the need to perform, to belong, or to dominate.

 

Mad Dogs is a reflection on these dynamics. What happens when no one is watching? Rather than a moral tale, it is a moral exposure. Not a story, but a mirror.

 

The unflinching 12-minute single shot forces the viewer to confront every detail without relief. It challenges us to examine how violence roots itself not in monsters, but in moments — in laughter, in weakness, in fear, in performance. It offers no comfort, just confrontation.

 

By refusing to cut or look away, the audience becomes complicit. As a result, the film invites us to locate ourselves within the spectrum of violence. Because we live in a world obsessed with clear-cut roles: the victim, the aggressor, the bystander. But life — and violence — is rarely that simple. Haven’t we all, at some point, been someone’s victim? And just as disturbingly, haven’t we all been someone’s bully? In personal relationships, in group dynamics, in the quiet compliance that lets harm happen — we move through these roles more fluidly than we like to admit.

 

This film doesn’t offer answers or catharsis. It simply invites reflection — on power, on complicity, on the inherited behaviors we perform without question. In a sense, Mad Dogs is not just a film — it’s an invitation to look harder at ourselves, to ask uncomfortable questions, and maybe, to recognize the 'dog' in all of us.

 

FESTIVALS SELECTIONS & AWARDS :

 

> Cyprus International Short Film Festival

*** awarded Second Prize for Best Short Film in National Competition ***

*** Honorable Mention for Best Cinematography ***

> One Take Film Festival, Zagreb, Croatia

> Tirana International Film Festival, Albania

> The Short Film Day, Nicosia, Cyprus

> Drama International Short Film Festival, Drama, Greece

*** Honorable Mention for the single shot choreography ***

> Athens International Film Festival, Greece

> World of Film International Festival Glasgow, UK

*** awarded for Best Film / Focus on Balkan Cinema section ***

> Cyprus Short Film Day, London, UK

> Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Greece

> Syn Festival, Edinburg, UK

> Encounters Film Festival, Bristol, UK

 

SCREENINGS :

> Cinema Trianon, Athens, Greece

> Cultural Association, Astypalaia, Greece

> Hania, Crete

> Igoumenitsa, Greece

> Itea, Greece

> Xanthi, Greece

> Rialto Theater, Limassol, Cyprus

> Larnaca Cinema Club, Larnaca, Cyprus

> Cine Studio, Nicosia, Cyprus

> Rennes & Nantes, France

> Trianon Movie Theater, Athens, Greece (event : Leo at Trianon)