Olivia Hadjiioannou with her award in Cannes. (Photo courtesy of Oh.)

CANNES – Greek multi-instrumentalist and composer Olivia Hadjiioannou won the Best Music Video award for Red Lion in the inaugural French Riviera Film Festival (FRFF) in Cannes, France. The two-day festival held during the time period of the annual Festival de Cannes included screenings, VIP receptions, an awards ceremony, and closing gala party. The award was presented on May 19 by Gotham Chandna, founder of Cloud 21 International and Nicole Muj, founder of Kultura PR International.

In accepting the award, Hadjiioannou said, “I am truly honored to receive this award and to have represented Greece at the French Riviera Film festival in Cannes. Today’s commercial music and film industries present difficult challenges to indie composers, musicians and directors if they are to succeed and be profitable. I am grateful to film festivals like FRFF, which welcome new works, celebrate originality and promote creative freedom.”

The prestigious advisory board and jury panel of the festival included Michael Benoraya, Founder, International Film Trust; Larry Namer, president/CEO, Metan Global Entertainment Group; Ana B. Remos, founder, Azure Azure; Daphna Edwards Ziman, president, Cinemoi USA; Monica Baca, CEO at B Team Media Group Corp.; Lena Basse, journalist, Hollywood Foreign Press; Claude Brickell filmmaker, Bruno Chatelin, founder of FilmFestivals.com; Paul Cruz director, Palm Springs Int. Comedy Festival; Anna Marie de la Fuente, journalist, Variety; Mick Garris, filmmake; Laura Powers producer, Healing Powers; Ana Remos co-founder, Azure Azure; Eileen Tasca founder, Alien Pictures; Sue Vicory Award Winning Filmmaker, Heartland Films; and Dr. Laura Wilhelm, journalist, The Hollywood Times.

Director Olivia Hadjiioannou as the artist Oh. has been honored for her ingenuity, innovation and creativity in music and video with multiple international awards. She made her debut as Oh. on the international music scene with the award-winning music video, Trials in 2013 – cited as one of the 50 top events to mark Greece during the economic crisis. With the advances of immersive video, she released her single Love of Avalanches, mentioned in Huffington Post as one of first 360-degree immersive VR videos released by a Greek artist on YouTube in 2016.

Besides winning Best Music Video in the French Riviera Film Festival in Cannes, Red Lion is presently a winner and official selection in 10 film festivals worldwide including the Psychedelic and Transpersonal Film Festival in New York, the Paleochora Lost World Film Festival in Greece and winner of the Independent Talents International Film Festival in the U.S. and also winner of best music video in Cosmocinema Film Festival in the UK. The EP Metallia has received over 32 reviews from 13 countries worldwide, is in top 10 progressive rock and metal charts and listed as one of the best albums of the year for 2018 on Metal Nation Radio.

More information is available online: https://olitunes.com/filmfestival-cannes.