OUT OF COMPETITION

Craftswomen – by Gabriella Gerolemou

Maria, Stavroula and Magda do woodworking jobs in a shared woodshop in Athens city centre. Coming from different backgrounds but with common points of view and a friendship binding them, they decide to open their own carpentry shop. Everything indicates that the girls are ready to become craftswomen. Going from taking woodworking jobs occasionally to making carpentry their main profession and moving to a new neighbourhood with a long history in this male-dominated job brings challenges. The observational documentary Craftswomen follows them discreetly during this transition, recording their personal interaction and partnership in both workshops. Through their in-between relationships, their daily lives in the woodshop and their interaction with passers-by, the documentary challenges gender stereotypes and questions the dominant narratives about competitiveness in workplaces.

Gabriella Gerolemou

Gabriella Gerolemou was born in Lemesos, Cyprus and was raised between Cyprus and Greece. At the moment, she lives and works in Athens as a film director, cinematographer and editor. She is a graduate of the University of West Attica’s Department of Photography and Audiovisual Arts, and holds a Master’s degree in Digital Arts from the Athens School of Fine Arts. In 2022, she was selected to participate in the Editing Studio of the Talents’ program, of the Sarajevo Film Festival. Except for her personal projects, she has worked as a film editor in critically-acclaimed short and feature films that have been selected in national and international film festivals. Craftswomen (Mastorisses) is her first feature documentary film and it was an official selection in Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival in 2025.