Greek director Elina Psykou has cast three prominent Hellenic actors in her new feature "Patrimonial Fears and Other Illusions," ahead of its presentation at the Venice Gap-Financing Market running from 4-6 September. The film, a portrait of intergenerational trauma set around a famous magician's visit to Athens, marks a significant follow-up for Psykou, whose documentary "Stray Bodies" premiered at CPH:DOX in 2023 and whose earlier feature "Son of Sofia" won the best international narrative award at Tribeca in 2017.

The cast now includes veteran actress Xenia Kalogeropoulou, whose career spans six decades, Locarno best actor winner Antonis Kafetzopoulos, and Hellenic Film Academy Award winner Makis Papadimitriou. Written and directed by Psykou, the story follows three women from one family confronting buried fears, including an elderly retiree who has killed her abusive husband, a one-eyed performer reviving her "Gorilla Girl" persona, and a Bulgarian immigrant fleeing her marriage. The project is a co-production between companies in Greece, the Netherlands and Cyprus, backed by Eurimages, Creative Europe MEDIA and several national film funds, and Psykou has described it as her most personal film yet, drawing on themes of fear, trauma and truth in a "post-truth" era.