Above Photo: Actors Harry Mok, Gina Su & Hannah Jannsen accept the award. Amazon Prime link below.

How did a movie written, produced, directed & financed by men, with a story about ‘sexually transmitted power’, win Best Feature Film at the Hollywood City of Angels Women’s Film Festival last Sunday?

The science fiction thriller Forbidden Power, produced in Seattle, was released to Amazon Prime in 2018. Since then, it won 38 International, first-place awards in the categories of Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Science Fiction, Best Thriller, and acting awards for the three leads.

The movie was written, directed & financed by San Francisco State University Film Department graduate Paul Kyriazi. It’s his ‘lucky 7^th’ feature film.

His action movies of the 1980’s include Omega Cop, starring Adam ‘Batman’ West, Ninja Busters, Death Machines & Weapons of Death which broke house records in San Francisco and New York.

Listed on the Film Freeway website for Film Festival submissions, Forbidden Power was discovered by City of Angels Artistic Director Lisa K. Crosato.

A fan of science fiction movies and seeing that the story was ‘driven by women’ (eight beauties), she invited director Kyriazi to enter the festival.

It became an Official Selection and then at the gala awards night held in Hollywood last Sunday, it won Best Feature Film. Accepting the award were actors Harry Mok, Hannah Janssen & Gina Su.

Unlike many independent movies, Forbidden Power has a large cast and many locations including Seattle, Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Jose, Winslow, Arizona & Las Vegas.

When writer/director Kyriazi is asked if got his money back on the movie, he quotes Moby Dick’s Captain Ahab:

“Money’s not the measure, man. It fetches me a great premium here.” (He taps his heart).