JUST TALKING 19/11
The Just Talking sessions are enjoying a great success at the Old Pump Station. On Wednesday, November 19th the participating directors were: Petros Sevastikoglou (Three moments- International Competition / Greek Program), Szabolcs Tolnai (The Hourglass - International Competition), Costas Karydas (Dreaming to change – Digital Wave) and Panayotis Karamitsos (Tenderness – Greek Program).
‘I come from Serbia but my film was a Hungarian co-production’, mentioned Szabolcs Tolnai. ‘In my film about Yugoslavia I try to detect the roots of the problems we have had in the area. My first film has been very simple. This one, I enjoyed less because it was more demanding. Furthermore, I have also had problems with my funding. I spent more energy organizing the practical issues rather than focusing on the directing of the film. I also spent a lot of time looking up for documentation because my film takes place in the past. However I didn’t want to separate the past from the present because I believe that time repeats itself and people go through the same stories. My script is based on Danilo Kis’ trilogy. I was very young by the time the Yugoslavian war broke out and went to live in Hungary. When I came back to Serbia I started looking for my old community, my roots, the old houses but nobody was there anymore. That’s the reason why I chose these books. They include my story too’.
‘I am currently studying cinema at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and I enjoy making films. This has been my first attempt at a feature film’, said Costas Karydas. ‘That didn’t happen in the end, because it turned out about 30 minutes long. The story of the film helped a lot. We didn’t face any serious problems and I enjoyed the procedure. I’m not sure if that’s the case for the rest of the crew though! Everything went on smoothly and I particularly enjoyed the editing process. One of the dreams presented in my film is a dream I have actually seen in reality. That’s how it all started. This means that elements of my personal life are there in the film’, underlined the director.
‘Everyone says that it’s easier making your second film because you use your experience from the first one. However, the truth is that for your first film you have no idea of what is going to follow, whereas with your second one you are shaking with fear because you know! You are aware of the fact that you are going to face some difficult situations but you cannot guess what they are going to be’, admitted Petros Sevastikoglou. ‘Life runs fast and the artist’s duty is to capture its images’, added the director. ‘We pause time and present to our audience the moments we have chosen. In my film I use time in an effort to look ahead. The 20 year-old couple looks towards the future. It examines how things will turn out in 20 or 40 yeas if they don’t act in the present time’.
‘My film was a bet’, said Panagiotis Karamitsos. ‘We had nothing. We were a group of romantic artists and it seemed that it’d be difficult making this film. The film is the evidence of what we are capable of. My message to Greek directors is: Just do it. Making a film is a good test for yourself and a way to find out if you are a competent director. It has been a hard and a pleasant experience at the same time’, stressed Panagiotis Karamitsos.
