Elena Ioulianou’s shares the most challenging and rewarding endeavor of her career as a Producer working with Reel Edge Studios

Elena Ioulianou is a jack of all trades, morphing together to make her a master of one: Production. The talented artist knows very few limits when it comes to balancing the financial needs that make a film or a commercial possible, without sacrificing the creative integrity of a client’s vision. She carefully crafts each logistical element in such a way that compliments her clients’ ideas for their storyline or product and exceeds all expectations when carrying a film through from conception to post-production. Her skill set is diverse and her reputation is unparalleled, but she knows better than most that no matter how high she rises in her field, there will always be room for growth. This is what makes her grateful to be a part of her profession and keeps her sights set optimistically on the future of the arts, entertainment, and advertising.

“Those of us who work closely with Elena know the full extent of her talents as a producer. She has also produced a well-received action/thriller mini series called The Message. Elena has produced dozens of advertising and commercial productions for international production companies such as Milk & Honey Films and Rolling Thunder Productions. She has an impressive array of credits which very few producers in South Africa can ever hope to achieve,” tells Neal Sundstrom, CEO and Director of MoviWorld.

It is not difficult, then, to imagine why other production companies are determined to work with talented professionals like Ioulianou. Take Reel Edge Studios, for instance. After learning of Ioulianou’s reputation, Reel Edge Studios were eager to work with her. For Ioulianou, working for Real Edge Studios would mean branching into a new area of the field she loves so much and testing her hand at the commercial and advertising world. Looking back now, it was a no brainer to join the company; however, she considers her work as sole Producer for Reel Edge Studios to be both the biggest challenge and highlight of her career thus far. The biggest project she worked on for the talented production company was The Message, an 84-minute long pilot for a 5 part mini series.

The Message is set in 1989 when the Apartheid Government signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and began dismantling the six nuclear weapons it had successfully built. Rumors remain, however, of a seventh bomb, never disclosed, never completed. Present Day: A secret unit of Special Forces operatives is tasked with stopping a brotherhood of Right-Wing extremists that are threatening the nuclear destruction of Soweto. As the clock ticks closer to oblivion, the conspiracy goes deeper than any of the operatives could ever imagine.

To get The Message underway, Reel Edge Studios, alongside Ioulianou, began the project by raising money through a kickstarter campaign. To their dismay, they only managed to raise $10,000, which is a very modest budget for such an intricate, demanding project. Fortunately, Ioulianou was able to put her skill set to the test and find a way to make the film happen without taking any short cuts. She managed to secure acclaimed South African talent, stellar locations, art direction, set designs and more, all without exceeding budget. Some of this talent included, but is not limited to, Brandon Auret, known for Elysium, District 9, and Chappie; as well as Carl Beukes of Dominion, and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. She did so by maximizing the use of her professional and social network, calling in favors and finding ways to make the best use of the resources she had on hand. Though difficult, Ioulianou felt a great, deep sense of reward upon completing the project and feels accomplished knowing that she was challenged to exercises skills she had already established, as well as develop new talents that would only better her for the future of her career. Overall, she knows that her best efforts were put forth for The Message and she left herself no room for regrets.

“It was this project that taught me never to give up and as tough as things get, with focus, determination, and a lot of hustle, you can achieve anything. I still apply lessons learnt during The Message to my everyday life,” she concludes.

Written by Sara Fowler