Platon Theodoris is an Australian film director, producer & screenwriter.
Platon's second feature film, existential comedy The Lonely Spirits Variety Hour , produced by his playful vehicle Big Name Studio, premiered at the 25th Perth International Film Festival - Revelation. The film then screened at the 70th Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2022 where it was nominated for the MIFF Innovation Award. Critics have called it "that rare beast - a true original" and "a hilarious, wonderfully weird delight". The Lonely Spirits Variety Hour won Best Film at the 16th Sydney Underground Film Festival. A bespoke theatrical release is planned for 2023.
Alvin’s Harmonious World of Opposites, Platon’s debut feature film premiered at the 2015 Perth International Film Festival - Revelation and then won Best Film at the 9th Sydney Underground Film Festival the same year. The film's North American premiere at the 2016 Slamdance Film Festival was a sellout. In 2017 this magical-realist drama won the Special Jury Prize for Best First Feature at the 50th WorldFest Houston International Film Festival. Alvin’s Harmonious World of Opposites was the first co-production between Australia & Indonesia.
A bespoke theatrical release in Australia, Indonesia and the USA included screenings at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood & Chicago, The Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne (ACMI), The Golden Age Cinema in Sydney & KineForum in Jakarta. The film is now available to stream or download on four VOD platforms including RevStream, Label, Ozflix & AtHomeCinemas by Lido/Ritz.
Platon has made four short films: Para-Soul, Sunrise, Lakemba & Wine Lake. These films screened at film festivals including Singapore, Brisbane, London BFI, Busan, St Kilda, Raindance, Flickerfest and Vancouver. His most recent short Wine Lake won the Nicolas Baudin Award for Best Short Film at the Festival des Antipodes in St Tropez after premiering at Raindance Film Festival in London.
Lakemba garnered a bespoke Sydney theatrical release – a first for an Australian short film - and is available on itunes. It has screened on the London-based Shorts TV cable network in France, Germany, Turkey, Canada & U.K. Both Sunrise and ParaSoul were commissioned films. Sunrise was filmed in Cambodia & ParaSoul shot and post-produced in Indonesia.
Platon is currently in development on two feature film projects. The Unity of All Things, a drama-black comedy about conception & a feature film adaptation of his award winning short film Wine Lake.
Carving-out an early career conceptualising and directing music videos, Platon’s eccentric work for pop bands Naif & Club Eighties both collected MTV Asia Music Video Awards for Best Clip. He has created over sixty music videos - including the controversial 'Platinum Ryder' for Australian boxer-turned-rapper Anthony Mundine. Platon recently created a video art piece for the Club Kooky @VIVID event at the Sydney Opera House.
Moving into television commercials, Platon has directed campaigns for numerous multinationals in twelve different countries including Malaysia, India, South Africa, Greece, Australia and Indonesia. Past clients include Google, Stella McCartney, Nabisco, Nestle, Johnson&Johnson, Yamaha, MTV, Mitsubishi, Coca-Cola & Unilever.
Platon has developed and directed work for NGO’s, charities and government agencies in Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Australia. Some of this work was for remote or disadvantaged communities in Western Sydney, the Pilbara region of Western Australia and in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. This includes short documentaries, community health education campaigns, commercials and even television drama tasked with breaking down the stigma associated with HIV-AIDS (in the PNG Highlands).
Over twenty years Platon has directed more than six hundred short-form projects across an eclectic range of briefs & budgets. Many of these projects were also conceptualised & written by Platon. For every single one of these films Platon developed & pre-visualised a story, created a mood & sequence, worked with cast, crew and the post-production team to deliver on diverse communication strategies, to engage, entertain or educate.
Platon holds a Bachelor of Arts (Asian Studies) from the University of NSW, which included a two-year film directing diploma (completed on exchange) from The Jakarta Institute of Arts. He is currently part of the NIDA Open team where he runs intensive screen acting workshops.
To discuss opportunities to collaborate or chat about your next project don’t hesitate to get in touch.