Wine Dark
‘Wine Dark’ is the way Homer describes the colour of the Mediterranean sea in The Iliad and The Odyssey. We chose it to represent our Creative Collective to honour our directors’ shared Mediterranean heritage and passion for classic texts and literature.
Wine Dark is an independent creative Collective, formed in London in 2024 by Tessa Battaiotto, Kat Sigalas and Andreane Rellou, with a focus on international projects and collaborations.
Our aim is to encourage diversity and inclusivity in our industry by championing up-and-coming talent and developing works that align with our values. We are particularly interested in depictions of mental health, disability, neurodivergence and linguistic diversity.
We are organisers of the Wine Dark Film Festival (WDFF) which had its debut at The Space Theatre in October 2024, and will be returning in late 2025. It is London’s first short film festival exclusively dedicated to mental health, disability and neurodivergence.
Our story
The team
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Tessa Battaiotto
Tessa is a British-Italian actress, VO artist, producer and filmmaker based between London and Milan. A graduate of the International College of Musical Theatre in London and New York and of Voice Art Live, one of Italy’s most renowned dubbing schools, she works professionally in the UK and Italy. She has a passion for fantasy period dramas, and is an active member of the Non-UK-Born Artists (NUKBA) Equity working party.
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Andreane Rellou
Andreane is a Greek-British neurodivergent actress, screenwriter and activist, based in London. She initially trained at the Performing Arts High School of Athens and worked as a child actor. She then moved to the UK and read Music at the University of York, then gained an MA in Acting from East 15 Acting School. In 2023, she wrote and acted in the award-winning short film Sorry I’m Late directed by Kat Sigalas, which was presented through the ADHD Hellas Foundation.