“What I love about Christmas are the colorful lights at night; neon stars and angels hanging above city streets; children singing carols; glimpses of people through the bright windows of their houses; sweets of cinnamon and sugar by a fireplace; hugs ex-pressing gratitude and love. But I have also embraced the inherent melancholy and loneliness that Christmas holds. It is meant to be celebrated among loved ones, among family, but for some this is unbearable or unachievable. Absence, loss and contempla-tion mingle with the hope that Christmas brings.“I am also always attracted by contradictions and the unexpected. An honest, warm smile on a hard face. Evil lurking through acts of kindness. Harshness co-existing with tenderness. Wild beasts protecting one of their own. A light flickering through the darkest night. Stories that catch us by surprise challenge our certainties, open our minds and our senses, drive us to a place beyond our comfort zone.“I wanted to create a dark Christmas tale with a twist. A Christmas story based on my land, Greece, where children fill the streets under the bright winter sun to sing carols, in shops and houses. Most of these children follow this custom with carefree inno-cence. Some children, however, are not that fortunate. In this story, a mature man and a young boy meet in the streets of Athens. While other people are preparing to celebrate the night among their loved ones, Angelos and Agim, two strangers, as if in a silent conspiracy, decide to join their paths to an unknown destination. Their true motives are untold. What drives Angelos away from Christmas celebrations to persuade this boy to get into his car? What reasons does Agim have to follow the smiling, tall man? Sliding away from the city, to the darkness of the woods, perhaps the two are looking for a place where they belong.