Theofanis Matsopoulos

Theofanis Matsopoulos specializes in Planetarium Film Production, FullDome Cinematography, Giant Screen Documentary Production, Visual Science Communication, 3D animation and Astrophotography.

He collaborates with world-famous organizations as European Southern Observatory (ESO), European Space Agency (ESA) and National Science Foundation (NSF) / AURA - Noirlab.

​He has created and directed documentaries for planetariums which are presented in planetariums all over the world and have been translated into more than 30 languages.

​The documentaries "From Earth To The Universe", the award-winning "The Hot and Energetic Universe", "The Sun: Our Living Star", "Unveiling the invisible Universe" as well as more than 600 video clips, time-lapses, and 3D animations are available on the European Southern Observatory, ESA's Hubble Space Telescope and NSF NOIRLab website. They are distributed for free in order to disseminate astronomy science in general public.

​He photographs nightscapes, astronomical phenomena and celestial deep sky objects using various telescopes in his private astronomical observatory.

​He has presented four photography - astrophotography exhibitions titled: "The Greece of the Stars", "Between Heaven and Earth", "National Observatory of Athens", "Ancient Corinth" in Athens (Eugenides Planetarium, National Observatory of Athens), Ioannina (Historical Archive Museum of Epirus), Corinth (Archaeological Museum of Nemea, Municipal Art Gallery of Corinth)  and other cities and islands in Greece.

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​Furthermore, he also collaborates with the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) producing documentaries for the Visitor Center and taking astronomical images using its scientific instruments.

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Theofanis Matsopoulos is a member of International Planetarium Society since 2018 and Audiovisual Ambassador of NSF NOIRLab

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Awards

• "Golden Star Award (1st)" for the planetarium movie "The Hot and Energetic Universe"​
  (International Planetarium Movie Festival at Gwacheon National Science Museum 2016) 

• "Best FullDome Cinematography Award" for the planetarium movie "Capturing the Starlight: The Magnificent Telescopes" 
  (International Fulldome Festival & Planetarium Conference - Yaroslavl 2017)

• "Best Visual Effects Award" for the virtual reality documentary "Mars: The Red Planet VR"
  (World Visual Reality Innovation Conference 2018) 

• "The Best Science Popularizing Fulldome Show" for the planetarium movie "The Sun. Our living Star"
  (International Fulldome Festival & Planetarium Conference - Yaroslavl 2019)

• "Best Documentary Feature" for the giant screen documentary "The Great Journey"
  (Amsterdam World International Film Festival 2021)

• "Best Cinematography" for the giant screen documentary "The Great Journey"
  (San Francisco Film Festival 2021)

• "Best Documentary" for the giant screen documentary "The Great Journey"
  (Europe Film Festival U.K. Oct 2021)

• "Best Full-Dome Film" for the planetarium movie "Unveiling The Invisible Universe"​
  (20th Baikal International Film Festival 2021)

• "Special Mention for outstanding achievement in Independent filmmaking 2021" for the giant screen documentary
  The Great Journey (Austrian Film festival 2021)

• "Best Visual Effects" for the planetarium movie "Unveiling The Invisible Universe"​
  (8th Siberia Fulldome Festival 2022)

• "Best Cinematography" for the documentary  "The instruments of Light "
  ​(Eastern Europe Film Festival - March 2023)

• "Honorable Mention" for the documentary  "The Great Journey "​
  (Athens International Art Film Festival - May 2023)

• "The Best Documentary Show" for the planetarium movie "Servare Intaminatum - 180 years Athens Observatory"
  (International Fulldome Festival & Planetarium Conference - Yaroslavl 2023)

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Publications

• "The world’s first downloadable, full-length fulldome show"
  Planetarian - Journal of the International Planetarium Society 2015 

• "An innovative way to do 4k fulldome filming"
  IPS 2016 Conference

• "Το Πλανητάριο στην Εκπαίδευση, το πρώτο Ψηφιακό Φορητό Πλανητάριο στην Ελλάδα"
  Πανελλήνιο Επιστημονικό Συνέδριο «Οπτικοακουστικός Γραμματισμός στην Εκπαίδευση» 2016
  Τμήμα Κινηματογράφου Σχολή Καλών Τεχνών Α.Π.Θ  

• "Från Jorden mot Universum"
  Lund University 2016

• "The Planetarium in the 21 st Century"
  Association of Brazilian Planetariums 2017

• "Vårt energirika universum"
  Lund University 2017

• "New Free ESO Show – The Sun: Our living star"
  IPS 2018 Conference

• "Some Thoughts for the Planetariums in the 21st Century"
  XII Gathering of the South American Planetarium Association – APAS ·  2021

• "Audio Universe: A More Accessible Approach to Creating Shows"
  Planetarian - Journal of the International Planetarium Society 2021

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