ROUTE-3

In a tram on Route-3, the Old Lady in the leopard dress treats the passengers with juicy oranges during a hot, but rainy day in the centre of Sarajevo. Nadja, the princess-teen in her pink hijab; Luka, the virgin bully; an Orthodox Priest; an old creepy man and many, many more ordinary people in this tram have nothing in common, but a juicy slice of orange. All except a shy, yet horny, teenager named Amar.

SYNOPSIS

ROUTE-3 (13' | 2019) is a short film by Greek filmmaker Thanasis Neofotistos. Set inside a tram in Sarajevo, the film follows a group of seemingly unrelated passengers who briefly share the same space, the same air, and the same juicy slice of orange.

The film had its international premiere at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2019 and later screened at the 42nd Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in 2020. It was also selected for "We Are One: A Global Film Festival", the historic global online initiative that united major festivals worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ROUTE-3 is part of Neofotistos’ short film trilogy, alongside PATISION AVENUE and AIRHOSTESS-737, portraying characters whose inner worlds slowly surface as public spaces transform into psychological enclosures.

INTRO

★★★★★
"Sweaty Ride!"
WORLDS CINEMA

★★★★★
"Exciting!"
UBIQUARIAN

SHORT FILM | 13' | 2019

TRAILER

PHOTOS | STILLS

SPECS

MAKING-OF

BACKSTAGE

DIRECTED BY
Thanasis Neofotistos

WRITTEN BY
Marina Symeou

PRODUCER
Dimitris Tsakaleas
Armin Hadzic

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Jovan Marjanović
Mirsad Purivatra
Izeta Građević

PRODUCTION
Obala Art Centar

CO-PRODUCTION
Imagina Pics & DNA Lab

INTERNATIONAL SALES
Radiator IP Sales

CREDITS

CAST
Enes Kozličić
Lazar Dragojević
Simonida Mandić

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Carmen Tofeni

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Emina Kujundžić

EDITING
Panos Angelopoulos
Saša Peševski

SOUND DESIGN & MIX
Christos Sakellariou
Studio Chelia
Kostas Chrysogelos
(DNA Lab)

MUSIC
Kostas Chaliasas

DIRECTOR'S NOTE
"As someone who is familiar with the unpleasant feeling of being afraid to express my attraction to someone in public, I identify with Amar, a teenager discovering his “forbidden” sexual attraction for this beautiful Muslim girl. I understand how he feels trapped and judged by the strangers in this conservative, yet full of sexual energy, tram ride of the historic Route-3 in the centre of the charming city of Sarajevo."
-Thanasis-

CV
THANASIS NEOFOTISTOS is a Greek film director and screenwriter. Shaped by studies in architecture and cinema, his work blends a handcrafted, idiosyncratic style with realism and emotion, often through a queer perspective and elements of myth. His debut feature film, THE BOY WITH THE LIGHT-BLUE EYES (99', 2026), a dark queer coming-of-age folktale, premiered at SXSW London to critical acclaim, with Screen Daily naming him "a filmmaker to watch" and The Hollywood Reporter referring to him as "an auteur". His short films, including AIRHOSTESS-737 (16', 2022), PATISION AVENUE (13', 2018), ROUTE-3 (12', 2019) and GREEK SCHOOL PRAYER (20', 2014), have premiered and received awards at major international festivals such as Venice, Sundance, Toronto, Locarno and Clermont-Ferrand. He served as Head Programmer of the Drama International Short Film Festival (2019–2024), and is a member of the European and Hellenic Film Academies.

DIRECTOR

THANASIS NEOFOTISTOS

*LEARN MORE:
www.neofotistos.com

FESTIVALS

● 44th TIFF TORONTO 2019 - World Premiere
● 42th Clermont-Ferrand 2020
● WE ARE ONE: Global Film Festival 2020
● 19th CONCORTO
● 35th BREST
● 43rd DRAMA DISFF
● 32nd DRESDEN ISFF
● 31st LIFFE Ljubljana
● 21st OFF-COURTS
● 18th TIRANA
& 30 more IFF*
(*The film's festival run was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic)

● LIFO | INTERVIEW | GR

● WE ARE ONE | FESTIVAL | ENG

PRESS

● UBIQUARIAN | REVIEW | ENG

● The film is part of the "Sarajevo City of Film", powered by Sarajevo Film Festival.

● The "Sarajevo City of Film" project's idea was to merge alumni Sarajevo Talents to work together and create a short film tribute to Sarajevo City. The Director, Screenwriter, Producer and DOP were all alumni Talents.

● While the film is in Bosnian language, the director doesn’t speak Bosnian.

● The film is shot inside the most historical Tram of Sarajevo: the Vienna's Tram.

● The Screenwriter of the film, Marina Symeou, was the main actress of the director's successful short film PATISION AVENUE (2018).

● LOGLINE: "Sex, Hijabs & a Tram full of oranges!"

FUN FACTS

SOSIAL

CONNECT

DIRECTOR
Thanasis Neofotistos
thaneofotistos@mail.com

PRODUCER
Ioanna Bolomyti
Atalante Productions

SALES
Ben Vandendaele
ben@radiatorsales.eu