HISTORY
Born in Melbourne Australia.

Growing up in a very traditional Greek/Pontian environment, Peter was exposed to his distinctive Pontian heritage from a very young age. At the age of 6 he began Pontian dancing. He attended a local elementary school during the day while once a week would also attend Greek school.

From a very young age he had shown interest in science and astronomy as well as creative writing. When he was 11 years old, he presented his teacher with a 5000 word story where he had merged his love of astronomy with his passion for creative writing to compile his first science fiction story.

When he turned 12 he attended the prestigious Australian Greek Secondary School St Johns Greek Orthodox College. With 50% of all subjects taught in Greek, he was able to gain an appreciation for the Greek language and further investigate his Pontian heritage.

Peter attained his VCE and went on to complete his undergraduate degree Bachelor of Engineering (Software Systems) at RMIT University. After establishing a successful career as an IT professional Peter revisited the organisation he was taught Pontian dancing in only to find that it was in disarray with no youth group. He committed and achieved restablishing the dancing group and brought in new blood that would one day continue the club’s tradition.

FILM MAKING
In 2004 Peter was asked to give a speech at the Pontian Genocide Workshop. He was told his audience would be predominately Greeks of the 2nd and 3rd generation. Peter determined to make an impact on his fellow Greeks went about teaching himself how to create movies on his computer. With only 36 hours left before he was due to give a speech, Peter compiled a 4.5 min video designed to shock the audience. This would be Peter’s first taste of the intoxicating feeling of capturing the audience. Peter’s speech was titled Peter’s speech was the last one to be given. Peter first presented the film to an awed and shocked audience. It worked. The youth were captivated by what he had to say about the future of the Pontian civilization and how the youth of today were essential to maintain and carry on the traditions of their forefathers. George Donikian, a well respected Australian TV news presenter called the 4.5 minute clip one of the most powerful films he had ever seen. He then challenged Peter to come back a year later and deliver a 20 minute documentary on the Pontian Genocide.

Enthused by such commendation by such a well known personality, Peter went about planning his next film. He very quickly realised that he would need professional training in the art of film making before proceeding with such an overwhelming task. The next year, he enrolled in a year long film course at Australia’s most prestigious Film institutions “The Victorian College of the Arts.” There he was educated in the art of script writing, producing, directing, cinematography, and editing. Peter decided that he would shoot a 10 minute short film based on an evolving narrative he had been planning for over 2 years. He then buit a team of inexperienced but determined crew members and enlisted some very talented cast members to shoot his first narrative shoot entitled “Pontos.” The co-producer of the film, his wife Nektaria, also took on the role of production design and supported the project in its entirerity.

Shooting began in December 2005. It took 3 days to shoot the film and over 12 months to edit it. Peter was determined for the film to give his ancestors the justice they deserved. In June 2007 the film was screened to a public audience for the very first time. It was without a doubt a resounding success with news of its impact on the youth reaching as far as Greece and the US.

Peter has recently established his production company “Mithridates Productions” and is currently working on a 4 part documentary on the Pontian people. It is currently in the planning stage.

Peter is happily married to his wife and still lives in Melbourne.