CodeChem Productions Presents: No Story Happens Alone, Team-building 2026
Every movie starts with a cast list, and ours had about 140 names this year. From September 25 to 27, CodeChem took over the Giannoulis Hotel in Olympic Beach, Greece, for our annual team-building. This year's theme was "No story happens alone", and by Sunday we had shot 15 short films to prove it, plus a few stories that never made the final cut.
Working in groups of 5 to 10, we went from filling out bingo grids to filming our own short films. Along the way, colleagues we knew through standups and code reviews turned out to be actors, pilots, musicians, and people with surprisingly strong opinions about camera angles.
Friday: The Journey Before the Movie
Right after work on Friday, we grabbed our bags and headed straight to the meeting point, where Simbiotika's team (the event organizers) was waiting for us. They read out our names and took our bags, and about 100 of us got on board, split between two buses, while the rest of the team drove down by car. It was a long trip, but it didn't feel that way thanks to the great company and the team games we played.
The bus ride had two games in store for us. First came bingo, with a twist: instead of numbers, the grid was filled with our own teammates. About 12 teams, including Bikini Bottom and Fantastic 4, matched names to questions like "Which one of you has met a celebrity, and who was it?" and raced to shout "Bingo!" first.
To close that game, each team picked the teammate with the most interesting story behind one of their answers and had them share it with everyone on the bus. That's how we found out that one colleague, while strolling around Belgrade, had by pure chance met and taken photos with a famous Serbian singer and a well-known name from the city's "underground." That answer alone was worth more than any points on the board.
After a story like that, the next pop quiz felt almost tame, at least until we tried matching directors to their movies and authors to their books. A few teams got so competitive they quietly asked ChatGPT for help, but we cracked down on the foul play, and the scores soon looked a lot more human than a perfect 10/10. After a tense final round, the best team on each bus took home a trophy, plus bragging rights that lasted all the way to the hotel, where we linked up with the rest of the soon-to-be filmmakers.
Back on Set: Olympic Beach, Take Two
Most of the team already knew the Giannoulis Hotel. It's our second year in a row here, so this is officially the sequel.
Once we arrived, we were told to unload our luggage and head straight to the lounge, and nobody needed to hear it twice, since our stomachs had been growling for a while. At one point the line for food reached out the hotel door, and for a minute we were sure the kitchen would run dry before the back of the line got a plate. However, the hotel proved us wrong, and everyone walked away more than full.
Some rooms looked out over the beach. The ones across the hall had a view too, if you count the parking lot, and one team made sure to roast it in their film the next day.
The weather was chilly and a little treacherous, drizzling right up until Sunday morning. The clouds clearly played the antagonist on Friday and Saturday, but that didn't stop a brave few from heading down to the beach for a quick dip.
Bollywood, you have competition
Still tired from the bus ride and a late first night, we dragged ourselves to breakfast, and the coffee did the rest. The hotel staff were attentive and hospitable throughout, keeping the coffee coming. Some of us finished our first cup, grabbed a second from the bar, and took it straight to the beach for some fresh breeze. The rest of us stayed for the food, which was even better than the coffee, and none of us knew yet that the breakfast hall was about to become our first film set.
Once we were fully recharged, it was time for our favorite part of the weekend, the videos. We split into 15 teams of about nine people each, then decided who would take each role: camera operator, director, lead actor, and supporting actors. There were only two rules. Every film had to be about teamwork (duh), and every lead actor had a co-star that followed them everywhere: a yellow duck representing CodeChem's core values. The idea was to see each other outside our usual roles, and apparently nothing does that faster than handing a colleague a camera or a script.
Before the cameras came out, we had one more warm-up. Everyone in the crew answered the same question, "What's something nobody here would guess about you?", and then we had to guess who wrote what. That's how we found out one colleague is a certified small-aircraft pilot and another won the national orchestra championship back in primary school. Then there was the colleague whose CV jumps from drywaller to delivery driver to apple harvester. Nobody guessed that one, which just proves there's more than one road into IT.
CodeChem Cinematic Studios
With the facilitators' guidance, we worked out our scenarios and shot the first scenes of our two-minute "duckumentaries" right there in the buffet. From there, the teams spread out to the beach, the terraces, the yard, even a car. Once the cameras rolled, we stepped into our roles and really lived them out.
We also had visiting actors who joined partway through and decided where each team's story would go next. Their roles were brief, but they could even end up playing the antagonist. We were short on time for both planning and shooting, but every team finished right on time. Turns out deadlines feel exactly the same whether you're shipping code or a duckumentary.
Every team took a different approach, too. Some told their story without a single word and still got a strong message across, while others leaned on camera angles and let the visuals do the talking. A few focused on dialogue and had real depth, while the rest went all in on action.
Afternoon workshops & discussions
Once filming wrapped, the schedule stayed tight, with workshops and discussions running simultaneously. The tote bag workshop drew the biggest crowd, with everyone painting their own design. Clay & Chill came in second, and honestly, the name says it all. The one that stuck with people most was Bushcraft Survival Skills, where Simbiotika's facilitators put their army experience to good use and walked us through the main types of knots and when to use each, including situations where the right knot can mean the difference between life and death. Safe to say nobody will look at their shoelaces the same way again.
The discussions focused on three topics:
Overthinking & Perfectionism: Why "good enough" can be hard to accept.
Focus Mode: How to get our focus back.
Caretaker Conversation: How to listen actively and support each other.
The sessions gave people a chance to share their experiences and work through questions they'd been carrying for a while.
The Oscars, CodeChem Edition
The second night was all about glamour, with everyone dressed to shine and walk the red carpet. After shooting our films that day, we posed for photos as if we were up for an Oscar or a Golden Globe.
Some went full '80s glam, while a few wrapped themselves in togas and turned bedsheets into a dress code fit for Roman nobility. At their request, we're keeping their identities under wraps, along with most of the hotel's bedsheets.
Elsewhere on the red carpet, some kept it classy and modern, while others mixed things up. With no strict dress code, everyone's personality had room to come through, especially after the second or third drink. 😆
The bar had a huge line, and whatever conversation started early in the night didn't stand a chance once the dancing kicked in. The dance floor was full of stars and dance-offs, and people came running from the hotel the moment "their" song played, ready to bust out signature moves that looked suspiciously rehearsed. At one point, even the dajre made an appearance, a traditional hand percussion instrument that added its own rhythm to the chaos and gave everyone one more reason to keep dancing.
Once the party wound down, the afterparty took over. When it started drizzling again, we moved the tables to the bar area. We wanted another round, just not of rain, but with the bar already closed, the weather was the only thing still serving. We brought out the speakers and remaining drinks and kept the night young until four in the morning. Some of us even stayed up to watch the sunrise by the beach.
And the Golden Duck Goes To…
After breakfast on Sunday, we gathered in the yard to watch all 15 films together. Nobody had seen the other teams' films yet, so we went in with no idea what to expect, but every single one got its share of laughs. Some scenes were awkward on purpose, some weren't, and we're still not sure which was which.
When the last video ended, there was no vote and no winning team, which is either very inclusive or a clever way to avoid 15 teams demanding a recount. Really, though, the point was working as a team, getting better at it and getting to know each other along the way. So instead of crowning one team, Simbiotika awarded CodeChem the golden duck as a whole, and it will soon have a spot at reception in our new office spaces in Aerodrom.
With the premiere wrapped, we headed to the backyard for a group photo. Every good movie has a surprise cameo, though, and ours was already waiting there with a big snake chilling in the middle of the yard, flicking her tongue at us. She clearly wasn't a fan of crowds, so we made room, and she slid off to the side without signing a single autograph. With the yard back to ourselves, we lined up for the drone shot, and somewhere between shuffling into place and waving at the camera, we realized we were standing in the shape of the CodeChem logo!
By afternoon, the clouds had finally lost the fight, and the sun was shining over the beach. The water was just as nice as the day before, and those who hadn't been ready for a dip earlier quickly regretted it. Anyone who planned only to lie down on the beach beds found out the hard way that the beds were still soaked from last night's rain, and ended up with wet backsides, so they had to head back to change. Since they were changing anyway, most of them gave in and joined the rest of us for a swim or some proper sunbathing.
We'd finished shooting our films, but apparently the stunt department hadn't wrapped yet. The camera caught everything except an explanation.
It was the kind of afternoon nobody wanted to end, but at 14:30 the sequel reached its final scene.
That's a wrap
Team-building 2026 had reached its closing credits. We got back on the buses short on sleep and much closer than when we left, with a whole weekend's worth of stories to tell back at the office. That was the point all along: a team isn't built only in meetings and projects, but in the stories we keep telling about each other afterward.
None of it would have run this smoothly without our crew. A big shoutout to Simbiotika and their team. The organization was on point and ran on schedule, as promised, and they did a great job with the workshops and the weekend's flow. Another shoutout to Deni, our photographer and drone operator, who captured all these lovely memories from this year's team-building.
Till our next one,
<3, CodeChem
