The company

Bark Like A Cat Films is the production label of Cyprus-based director and producer Tonia Mishiali. Founded in 2020, the company produces bold, character-driven films with a focus on female-led narratives, bringing together Tonia’s directing work and that of like-minded filmmakers. Its films have been selected for prestigious international film festivals and markets, where they have received numerous awards.

Tonia has been independently producing films since 2012. She is a member of the Hellenic Film Academy and the European Film Academy, and Berlinale Talents alumna. Her work as both director and producer has received multiple awards, including the FIPRESCI Prize, and has been praised by the trades and other established media. Her debut feature, “Pause” (2018), which she also wrote, directed and produced, was listed among the “20 Most Daring Films of 2019” by Rotten Tomatoes, while its screenplay is part of the core collection of the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her films have been selected at major international festivals including Locarno, Karlovy Vary, Cairo, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, Stockholm, Transylvania, Sofia and Sydney, where she was featured in European Film Promotion’s “Europe! Voices of Women in Film 2019”, as one of ten Europe’s most outstanding women directors. Her projects have also participated in leading international markets and workshops, have been released theatrically across Europe, the USA, Canada and Asia, and have streamed on platforms such as HBO Europe and Amazon Prime.

Bark like a cat Films’ productions include: “I Don’t Like the Wind, I Like the Sun”, written/directed by Tonia Mishiali (2020 – festivals: Tirana, Drama, Atlanta, Raindance, ISFFC – Winner of the Best Director award); “Daphne”, written/directed by Tonia Mishiali (2022 - festivals: PÖFF Shorts, Clermont-Ferrand, Cinémed Montpellier, Stockholm, Drama, ISFFC – winner of 9 awards, including Best Director, Best Film and Best Actress); “Smaragda – I Got Thick Skin and I Can’t Jump”, written/directed by Emilios Avraam (2024 – festivals: PÖFF, Mastercard OFF Camera, Cyprus Film Days - Best Film and Best Actress, forums: cocoPITCH, Eastern Promises Works in Progress, dot.on.the.map, First Films First, TFL Extended, Creative Europe MEDIA funding); “The Lion at My Back”, written/directed by Tonia Mishiali (2026 – Creative Europe MEDIA funding, forums: EFM Spotlight On:Greece, Agora Crossroads, Agora WIP, cocoWIP - Sound post-production award); and “Sea of Glass”, written/directed by Alexis Alexiou (2026 – Creative Europe MEDIA and Eurimages funding, forums: MIA Market C EU Soon, European WIP Cologne - Best Pitch Award), the last two films are both set to premiere at prestigious international festivals in the summer of 2026.

Its projects have been developed and presented at leading international platforms including First Films First, Midpoint Shorts, Oxbelly, MFI, TFL, Meetings on the Bridge, Sofia Meetings, Cinémed Meetings, Torino Short Film Market, Eastern Promises WIP and Euroconnection, where they have received multiple awards, including Best Script, Best Pitch and the Cannes Marché du Film Producers Network Award 2022 for Tonia Mishiali as producer. Tonia was also selected for European Film Promotion’s “Producers on the Move”, presenting her slate at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024.

Bark Like A Cat Films is currently developing and producing a slate of projects, both as main producer and minority co-producer, with the support of the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture, the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Centre, Film Fund Luxembourg, the Bulgarian National Film Center, Netherlands Film Fund, Creative Europe MEDIA and Eurimages.

FILMOGRAPHY

(PRODUCED BY BARK LIKE A CAT FILMS AND TONIA MISHIALI)

Completed

In post-production

In pre-production

In development

“MAYA” | feature | Cyprus/Italy/Ireland/Germany | drama/fantasy | dir. Tonia Mishiali | prod. Bark like a cat films, Hive Division, Cowtown Pictures, Fiction Park | (markets: Sources2, MFI, TFL Next, Meetings on the bridge, Oxbelly, Screenwriters Guild of Greece competition, Sofia meetings | winner of Best pitch award and Special mention for Best script)

FILMOGRAPHY

(PRODUCED BY TONIA MISHIALI INDEPENDENTLY)

Completed

FILMOGRAPHY

(PRODUCED BY TONIA MISHIALI INDEPENDENTLY - DEVELOPMENT ONLY)

Completed