Wedding Date on May 29, 2026

It's a bit hard to describe this one, since it's not a wedding video but a prewedding one, made to play at the reception, but I’ll start with the origin story. Dimitra had been familiar with my work since she was a teenager, thanks to her father (also a photographer, like her) working with us. Back then, she said: “When the time comes for me to get married, I want a video like these.” To be honest, I just thought of it as a cute statement. But time passes, the moment comes, and suddenly it becomes real. :) So, what is "Elemental" about? I really don’t like explaining my concept videos, because that may suggest a lack of ability (either on the video's part or my own) to let them speak for themselves. It is a journey of two people (those two people, or if you want to expand it further, any two people) toward discovering each other. It can also be seen as an exploration of the classic question: fate versus free will, told through universally recognizable symbols. Is it cryptic, mystical, and not entirely straightforward? It is. Is there a story being told underneath all this? Definitely. Manos and Dimitra gave me total creative freedom on this one. “Do your thing,” they said. And that’s exactly what I did. :) It wasn’t an easy project, though. The filming was demanding, involving wildly different terrains and conditions (the “mountain ascending” drone shots near the end are real), and things became even more complicated during post-production — for reasons I’ll let you guess after watching the short film. So, was the result worth all of the above? The couple and I have already answered that question. And now that the film premiered at their wedding reception, it’s time for anyone who wants to watch it to form their own opinion. Written, filmed, edited and directed by Dimitris Mantalias