Overview
Heretic is an Athens-based boutique film sales agent and production company founded in 2011. The company employs approximately 9 people across three offices in Athens, with headquarters at 36 Alkmanos Street, 11528 Athens. Ioanna Stais serves as head of sales and acquisitions and is the primary contact for all sales inquiries. The company is privately held and active as of 2026. Heretic produces and sells films globally, dedicated to filmmakers with a natural talent for storytelling and to film teams that share the company's core principle: in filmmaking, story and audience come first.
Heretic has grown into one of the more established boutique sales agents in Europe, with a catalog that emphasizes formal ambition, political engagement, and genuine cinematic originality over commercial accessibility. The company represents directors at various career stages, from emerging voices to established auteurs whose work has a consistent international festival presence. Heretic is a member of Europa International, the European association of independent film sales agents and distributors.
The company's Greek identity is central to its positioning. Greece has produced internationally significant filmmakers including Yorgos Lanthimos and Athina Rachel Tsangari, and the emergence of the Greek Weird Wave in the early 2010s brought global attention to Greek cinema. Heretic has served as a natural sales home for filmmakers whose work combines absurdism, formal rigor, and dark humor.
Recent Slate and Festival Success
Heretic's 2025-2026 slate demonstrates the company's ability to identify and champion debut and emerging filmmakers who achieve major festival recognition:
Berlinale 2026: Heretic sold Kai Stanicke's Trial of Hein (opening film of the Berlinale Perspectives competition for debut fiction features). The film won the Teddy Jury Award and was sold to Strand Releasing (North America), Paradis Films (France), DCM (German-speaking territories), and Lev Cinemas (Israel). Stanicke's previous shorts won recognition from Saatchi and Saatchi, Berlinale Talents, and Nespresso Talents. At the same EFM, Heretic pre-sold Twice Over, a romantic comedy by Alena Lodkina starring Mia Wasikowska and Charlie Heaton, and co-produced Berlinale Competition title Dust by Anke Blonde.
Berlinale 2025: Heretic represented Urska Djukic's Little Trouble Girls (Slovenia/Italy/Croatia/Serbia), which opened the Perspectives competition and won the FIPRESCI Prize. The film was sold to numerous territories worldwide and became Slovenia's 2026 Oscar entry for Best International Feature Film. Djukic developed the project at the Cannes Cinefondation Residency in 2019 and it was awarded best work-in-progress at Les Arcs Film Festival in December 2023.
Cannes 2026: At the Marche du Film of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, Heretic sold Valentina Maurel's sophomore feature Forever Your Maternal Animal, premiering in Un Certain Regard. The film reunites Maurel with Daniela Marin Navarro, who starred in Maurel's debut I Have Electric Dreams (which won Pardo for Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Actor at Locarno). Heretic also sold Swedish dark comedy Adult Supervision and continued pre-sales for Twice Over.
Other recent titles: Wind, Talk to Me (Serbia/Slovenia/Croatia, IFFR Tiger Competition 2025, directed by Stefan Djordjevic), Eight Postcards from Utopia (2024, directed by Radu Jude and Christian Ferencz-Flatz), Dry Leaf (Locarno 2025), Hearing (Locarno 2026, Vietnamese director Le Bao's second feature), The Birthday Party (starring Willem Dafoe, directed by Miguel Angel Jimenez, Greece/Netherlands/Spain/UK), Novak (starring Zlatko Buric, directed by Harry Lagoussis, Greece/Switzerland/India), Do Not Expect Much from the End of the World (Radu Jude, Romania/Luxembourg/France/Croatia), Most People Die on Sundays (Iair Said, Argentina/Italy/Spain, Cannes ACID 2024), Kyuka: Before Summer's End (Kostis Charamountanis, Cannes ACID 2024), New Dawn Fades (Gurcan Keltek, Locarno, Turkey/Germany/Italy/Norway/Netherlands), Blaga's Lessons (Stephan Komandarev, Karlovy Vary 2023 Crystal Globe winner, Bulgaria/Germany), and Three Days of Fish (Peter Hoogendoorn).
Dual Role: Sales Agent and Production Company
Heretic operates as both a sales agent and a production company. This dual role distinguishes it from pure sales outfits. On the production side, Heretic has served as producer on The Birthday Party (with Willem Dafoe), Novak (with Zlatko Buric), and Kyuka: Before Summer's End. The company also co-produced Berlinale Competition title Dust by Anke Blonde.
This production capacity means Heretic can engage with filmmakers at the development and financing stages, not only acquiring completed films. For filmmakers whose work fits the Heretic aesthetic, this opens a pathway beyond sales representation: Heretic can potentially come on board as a co-producer, helping to structure financing and bring the film to market.
What Heretic Represents
Heretic's catalog reflects its commitment to formally adventurous cinema across fiction, documentary, and hybrid forms. The company's acquisitions span:
- Greek cinema and European co-productions with Greek involvement
- International arthouse fiction from directors with significant festival trajectories
- Documentary features with artistic and political ambition
- Hybrid and essay films that resist conventional documentary or fiction categorization
- Debut features by filmmakers who go on to significant international careers
The company's representation of Balkan cinema is particularly strong. Heretic's 2025 Berlinale slate included multiple titles from the Balkans or by filmmakers connected to the region: Little Trouble Girls (Slovenia/Italy/Croatia/Serbia), Wind, Talk to Me (Serbia/Slovenia/Croatia), and Blaga's Lessons (Bulgaria/Germany). This regional expertise gives Heretic credibility with buyers seeking distinctive Eastern European and Mediterranean arthouse titles.
What Filmmakers Should Know
Heretic is a selective but accessible representation target for filmmakers working in adventurous arthouse, documentary, and hybrid forms. The company's roster prioritizes genuine originality and formal distinction over broad commercial appeal. This makes it relevant for filmmakers whose work challenges mainstream cinema conventions.
For Greek and Balkan filmmakers, and for filmmakers from other territories whose work fits the Heretic aesthetic, representation provides credibility in the international arthouse market that comes from being associated with a sales agent whose curation is respected by buyers and festival programmers. Heretic's consistent presence at Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, and IFFR means its titles receive visibility at the festivals that matter most for arthouse distribution.
For debut and emerging directors, Heretic is more accessible than its reputation might suggest. The company has a proven track record of representing debut features that achieve major festival recognition: Little Trouble Girls (Berlinale Perspectives 2025, FIPRESCI Prize, Slovenia's Oscar entry), Trial of Hein (Berlinale Perspectives 2026, Teddy Jury Award), and Kyuka: Before Summer's End (Cannes ACID 2024) were all debut or early-career features. Heretic actively seeks out first-time filmmakers whose work demonstrates a distinctive cinematic voice.
Access runs through festival premieres and direct outreach. Ioanna Stais, head of sales and acquisitions, is the primary contact. Reach Heretic at info@heretic.gr or +30 210 600 5260. The company is based at 36 Alkmanos Street, 11528 Athens, with an additional office at 3-5 Anaksagora St, 10552 Athens. Filmmakers should approach with a completed film, a festival cut, or a project in post-production with a clear festival strategy. Heretic also considers projects at the production stage when serving as co-producer.
Notable Sales and Distribution Deals
Trial of Hein (2026): Sold to Strand Releasing (North America), Paradis Films (France), DCM (German-speaking territories), and Lev Cinemas (Israel) following its Berlinale premiere. Little Trouble Girls (2025): Sold to numerous territories worldwide following its FIPRESCI Prize win at Berlinale; selected as Slovenia's 2026 Oscar entry. Tornado and other HanWay titles demonstrate the market for Greek-connected arthouse titles. Heretic's sales track record shows that boutique arthouse titles with festival credentials can secure distribution across major territories when positioned correctly.
Example Titles They've Released
Heretic's catalog includes films that have achieved critical recognition and international distribution:
- Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (2021, dir. Radu Jude) - Berlinale Golden Bear winner. Sold to Magnolia Pictures for North America. The film grossed approximately $400,000 in US theatrical release.
- Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (2023, dir. Radu Jude) - Locarno Competition. Sold to MUBI for North America, UK, and multiple territories.
- Feathers (2021, dir. Omar El Zohairy) - Cannes Critics' Week Grand Prize winner. Sold to Strand Releasing (North America).
- Little Trouble Girls (2025, dir. Urska Djukic) - Berlinale Perspectives opener, FIPRESCI Prize. Sold to Kino Lorber (North America). Selected as Slovenia's Oscar entry for Best International Feature Film.
- Trial of Hein (2026, dir. Kai Stanicke) - Berlinale Perspectives opener, Teddy Jury Award. Sold to Strand Releasing (North America), Paradis Films (France), DCM (German-speaking territories).
- Blaga's Lessons (2023, dir. Stephan Komandarev) - Karlovy Vary Crystal Globe winner. Bulgaria/Germany co-production.
- Three Days of Fish (2024, dir. Peter Hoogendoorn) - Karlovy Vary main competition. Netherlands/Belgium co-production.
Deal Structure Reputation
Heretic operates on a commission-based sales agent model, typically taking 15-25% of international sales revenue. The company does not offer minimum guarantees (MGs) in most cases, as boutique arthouse titles rarely command upfront advances from territorial buyers. Instead, Heretic works on a revenue-share basis: the company sells territorial rights to distributors worldwide, collects the revenue, deducts its commission and recoupable expenses (marketing materials, market attendance, subtitling), and remits the remainder to the filmmaker or production company.
For higher-profile titles with festival awards or strong cast attachments, Heretic can negotiate modest MGs from territorial buyers. The Trial of Hein sales at Berlinale 2026, with deals across North America, France, Germany, and Israel, demonstrate that Heretic can secure multi-territory deals for debut features when festival credentials are strong. However, filmmakers should expect revenue to flow primarily from rev-share rather than upfront advances.
Heretic also participates in co-production financing, which changes the deal structure. When Heretic comes on board as a co-producer (as with The Birthday Party, Novak, and Kyuka: Before Summer's End), the company takes an equity position in the film rather than a pure sales commission. This gives Heretic a stake in all revenue streams, not just international sales.
Watch: Trailers and Interviews
See Also
For how boutique European sales agents serve adventurous arthouse cinema in the international market, see Distribution Deals Explained. For how Greek cinema and the Greek Weird Wave achieved international distribution, see Film Festival Strategy for Distributors. To model revenue from a festival-driven arthouse release with limited theatrical, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For how international pre-sales work for arthouse titles, see Streaming vs Theatrical Revenue.
