HIGHWAY OF A BROKEN HEART
​​​​by Nikos Kyritsis

11min | Greece | 2023

Somewhere, in the middle of nowhere, on an empty
​and badly lit part of an endless highway, Mary will do everything she can to win back the man who just broke her heart. But the night holds a big surprise.

Year of production 2023
Length 11'
Country Greece
Shooting Format  4K Spherical
Aspect Ratio  1.85​:1
Dialogue Greek
​
Director Nikos Kyritsis
Producer Maria Drandaki
Production Company Homemade Films 
Screenwriter Nikos Kyritsis
Cinematographer Yorgos Karvelas, GSC
Editor Nikos Vavouris
Production Designer Stavros Liokalos
Costume Designer Marli Aliferi
Sound Design Panagiotis Papagiannopoulos
Hair & MakeUp Artist Evi Zafiropoulou
Assistant Director Filippos Papazoglou
Production Manager Katerina Thanopoulou
​Cast Elena Topalidou, Vassilis Zarifopoulos

Festival selections
​​Tirana International Film Festival 2023, Albania - World Premiere, Best Balkan Short Film Award
Athens International Film Festival 2023, Greece
​Spicy Indie International Film Festival 2023, Greece - Best National Actress Award 
​Bosphorus Film Festival 2023, Turkey -  Grand Prize 
​Trieste Film Festival 2024, Italy
​Kustendorf Film and Music Festival 2024, Serbia - Special Mention
​BAFICI - Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente 2024, Argentina - Special Mention for Elena Topalidou
​​SEEfest- South East European Film Festival Los Angeles 2024, USA
​Philosophical Film Festival 2024, Republic of Macedonia
​​Mediterranean Film Festival Split 2024, Croatia
​​​Vaughan International Film Festival 2024, Canada
​​Psarokokalo International Short Film Festival 2024, Greece
​International Documentary & Short Film Festival of Kerala 2024, India
​​Molise Cinema Film Festival 2024, Italy
​PriFest - Prishtina International Film Festival 2024, Kosovo - Best Short Film Award
Tripoli Film Festival 2024, Lebanon
Visioni Corte International Short Film Festival 2024, Italy - Special Mention of the Artistic Director
​AZYL Shorts – International Short Film Festival 2024, Slovakia
Thess International Short Film Festival 2024, Greece
Festival Internacional de Cine Corto de Cali 2024, Colombia
​Ha Noi International Film Festival 2024, Vietnam
​Exground Filmfest 2024, Germany
​Thessaloniki Free Short Festival 2024, Greece - Best Actress Award for Elena Topalidou
​Cairo International Short Film Festival 2024, Egypt
​​Bangladesh International Short and Independent Film Festival 2024
​
Director's Statement
​The short film "Highway of a Broken Heart" is a tragicomedy that presents the portrait of an emotionally broken, middle-aged woman who finds it impossible to deal with an unexpected and unwanted breakup and in her attempt to save the relationship, she exposes her most intimate thoughts to an unknown man, only to have them reflected upon herself. These thoughts that come out of her mouth as desperate, unfiltered words, reveal a universal truth about the inherently egocentric nature of love. The narrative is structured around the five stages of grief and challenges the stereotypical notions of romance while tackling the issue of love and separation in a more sarcastic and poignant way, calling attention to the generally self-centered and naive nature of love: we fall in love to fill a void inside, to feel happy, to get confirmation. We fall in love with ourselves and the object of our feelings is nothing but a reflection of our needs and ideas; a mold that several people could fit in. The highway represents a place that both connects and brings apart, emphasizing the transition and change of conditions; from relationship to separation, from ignorance to awareness.