Filmmaker Lou Panteli doesn’t believe in waiting for things to happen. The 42-year-old British Greek- Cypriot writer, who lives in Nascot Wood, decided to make a career change five years ago and since then she hasn’t looked back.

In 2003 Lou quit her job as a corporate writer to pursue a screenwriting career. Her hard work has already paid off as the young director recently won the Odysseus Audience Award at The London Greek Film Festival for her debut short film, An Unsuitable Boy. The film has already been accepted in five festivals and has received two nominations for Best Short Film. At The London Greek Film Festival, held over four days at the Hellenic Centre, more than 60 films were shown, including features, documentaries and shorts.

Raised in Hackney, Lou moved to Watford in 1999. At school she excelled in English and won local writing and poetry competitions. Despite her talent, Lou says she ended up pursuing a “normal career” working for a bank.

“At school I was always told I’d never get into journalism so I got a decent job at Nat West. Then I became a writer through a hobby. By writing for a local Greek newspaper Parikia Ki, I developed this Cypriot character of a young woman rebelling against her culture and it was quite popular. I did that for about a year and then one of my managers at Nat West mentioned I write and they were looking for a writer, so I moved into training and communications.”

Having made enough money to leave her job, Lou set about following her passion.

“When I came up with the idea of a short film I didn’t think, oh god I haven’t got any training. I’d managed to save a lot of money and I worked as a supporting artist and extra in the film industry for a couple of years. I worked once or twice or week on film sets, so I got to know what lights, filters and cameras to use and where to get them. I listened to the technicians and then advertised for people to help out through the Shooting People filmmakers’ network. There was no elaborate cinematography as the film concentrates more on the story – that’s how it came about.”

A satire about the traditions of Greek marriage, An Unsuitable Boy features a 17-strong cast made up of mostly Greek Cypriot actors including Anna Savva, Nina Millns and Lucy Christy. Filmed over two days in April in a borrowed house, the film received more than £8,000 in support by a network of other filmmakers and donations from Lou’s friends and relatives within the Greek Cypriot community.

In this comic drama, set in London’s Greek-Cypriot community, 22-year-old Georgia is forced to meet prospective husbands arranged courtesy of her matchmaking relatives. Her widowed mother Angela, an incorrigible flirt, skillfully handles the Mr Rights from the Mr Wrongs whilst Georgia hides a secret that will put her in conflict with her cultural identity and Orthodox faith. Relief arrives when she meets headstrong Eleni and realises that she is not the only girl who will never find a suitable boy.

So how has the film been received among the community and her friends and family?

“They’ve found it funny reminiscing about this Greek tradition, which is not arranged marriage as such but an arranged meeting. My parents moved from Cyprus in the ‘40s and the tradition then was that your uncles and aunts would suggest someone for a son and daughter to meet and they’d bring gifts. A lot of people have found the situation hilarious, especially as those uncles and aunts don’t know you that well. The logic might go along the lines of your daughter is going to university, so someone who owns a dress factory would be best suited to her as they’ve got money.”

Lou herself is applying for university courses and has several script ideas in development. You can be sure she won’t let the dust settle for long.