The new film by Romain Gavras, titled Sacrifice, will feature a strong Greek flavor, with lead actors including Chris Evans, Anya Taylor-Joy, Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, John Malkovich, Charli XCX, and more. A significant portion of the shooting, recently completed, took place in Drama, Santorini, Athens, and Lavrio.

Several scenes from this talented director’s first English-language movie—he is also the son of the renowned Costa Gavras—were shot at Peiraios 260, one of the main venues of the Athens Epidaurus Festival.

Romain Gavras with the Artistic Director and the General Director of the Athens Epidaurus Festival, Katerina Evangelatou and Ioannis Kaplanis.

The French director of Greek descent co-wrote the screenplay with playwright Will Arbery. The script is inspired by the novel Joan of Lorraine. The film follows Joan, a woman who hears a “prophecy” about the end of the world. With her fanatical followers, she crashes a lavish charity event and takes three hostages: movie star Mike Tyler, the world’s richest man Bracken, and Katie, who was unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The three are forced to follow Joan on a journey that is both epic and absurd, until Mike faces the ultimate question: what would he personally sacrifice for humanity?

The film Sacrifice is a Greek-UK co-production made in collaboration with the Athens Epidaurus Festival, the Onassis Foundation (Onassis Cinema), and other international organizations. In addition to Greece, some filming also took place in Bulgaria.

It should be noted that more than 200 Greek artists and technicians worked on the production of the movie.

Romain Gavras has made a significant impact on the global film scene with his movies and music videos, which convey powerful sociopolitical messages. Following his first feature film, Our Day Will Come (2010), he directed The World Is Yours (2018) and Athena (2022), a modern tragedy that premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Additionally, in 2016, he won the Golden Lion for Jamie XX’s music video Gosh.