Writer by day and cinema projectionist by night, Criss Gidas is a Greek-Australian award-winning screenwriter and novelist. An avid gamer, Hero of Hyrule, and Pokemaster, she writes speculative fiction that focuses on complex characters and innovative settings inspired by history.
Criss is a graduate of Faber Writing Academy’s Writing a Speculative Fiction Novel 2025/2026 programme at Allen & Unwin under the guidance of award-winning author J. S. Breukelaar, and completed the 2026 Write Your Novel Masterclass at Varuna, The National Writers’ House, under the mentorship of Miles Franklin Award-winning novelist Sofie Laguna. She was also highly commended for the 2025 Varuna Writers’ Space Online Fellowship and is currently undertaking a mentorship with Aurealis and Ditmar Award-winning speculative fiction writer Kaaron Warren.
A Stowe Story Labs Alumnus, Criss attended the CineStory Feature Contest & Retreat, the AFTRS/Screen Queensland Talent Camp, selected by Maeva Gatineau (Hopscotch Features) as a part of Screen Queensland’s Creative Consultations.
The television pilot “Dark Veil” is the TV Pilot Winner of the ScreenCraft Action & Adventure Screenplay Competition, and Finalist in the Outstanding Screenplays TV Pilot Competition.
Criss’ debut feature self-funded film “Canvas” premiered at the Gold Coast Film Festival 2022. She was selected as one of the top three finalists for the Gold Coast Screen Professional of the Year award at the 2022 Industry Awards.
