MENELAOS KARAMAGHIOLIS SPOTLIGHT
”MEETING WITH REMARKABLE PEOPLE”
As part of the 14th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, a Press Conference was held on Sunday, March 11, 2012 with director Menelaos Karamaghiolis on the occasion of the Spotlight to the series “Meeting With Remarkable People”.
Screening at the 14th TDF are the documentaries Cineastes, Dear Αncestor, The Size of the Islet and Transmedia, by Menelaos Karamaghiolis. Asked about the freedom that the documentary offers a filmmaker, the director commented: "I began with documentaries, then went to fiction and then I returned back to where I had started. It is very important to start shooting a documentary for television and finally see it on the big screen. In my opinion, they are all films, they all tell stories and what many say about more freedom existing in documentaries is not valid. The central characters direct themselves, the most you can do is keep them company. You can only say that there is freedom technically, especially with whatever has to do with cost and requirements, sound, lighting. But in the end, it is just as difficult since in each case you are called upon to tell an interesting story.”
Starting with the documentary Transmedia, which deals with a more interactive and imaginative approach towards cinema, Mr. Karamaghiolis noted: "In the documentary series '' Meeting With Remarkable People'' the film Cineastes deals with the history of cinema from its birth in Paris to today and what it means for someone to make an independent film. In this vein, the word Transmedia sprang up, a difficult, strange word.” Ultimately its definition in the documentary is given by Michel Reilhac, as noted by Mr. Karamaghiolis: "It's a new way to support independent film from the outset. Transmedia, together with new media will help cinema. It is a new method that not only contributes to the creation, but also to the distribution of independent films, that is to say, which is the greater problem."
Then Mr. Karamaghiolis went on to stress the importance of history and not the medium, in determining the cinematic result: "As much as the ease of new media can be distracting, we can not get carried away by the possibilities of technology." Asked whether there is a need to return to film basics, the director commented: "We need to remember where we started from. In Transmedia, Reilhac begins by speaking about the Lumiere train that frightened the audience. And this is transmedia in one sense. However, what is most needed is for someone to tell stories, standing up to all those who keep prophesying the death of cinema every so often. In the documentary, Marie-Pierre Macia stresses how technology frees directors from the tyranny of the past, creating the possibility of an auteur cinema, beyond the commercial, ensuring that cinemas and the essence of cinema itself will not be lost”.
The discussion soon shifted to the documentary Dear Ancestor, which deals with contemporary Greek identity through the stories of our ancestors from the 1800s. When asked what constitutes modern Greek identity, Mr. Karamaghiolis said: "In this film, we were faced with a problem that has been plaguing us for some time. None of us really knows what it means to be Greek, purebred or of Greek ancestry. The central character of the film is called Ted Larris, i.e. Theodoros Pistolaridis-Kolokotronis. He lives in Astoria and has been constantly hearing about his descent since childhood. When he comes to Greece, he discovers an association of people who claim to be the descendants of the heroes of '21, who have gained various privileges because of their descent, while gradually he sees other versions of what it finally means to be Greek." Then the director commented on the inertia that characterizes many of his countrymen: "I am tired of the belief that we are lesser than, and the passivity that comes from the idea that others define our fortunes. I see people around me who are resisting and have ideas about living. These are the memorable people of this documentary series, as well as the weapon that one can use to deal with things."
Referring to the diverse ways with which a director can treat his work, depending on whether it is aimed at festivals, television or other media, Karamaghiolis explained: "My producer, Fenia Kossovitsa, says it is a mistake to make distinctions on what one does. As painful as it can be for a producer or a filmmaker, the must both do their work the same from the moment that it is destined for screening. Personally, returning to the documentary, I treat it the same way I do fiction, I still have the same passion. When I saw these documentaries on the big screen I realized that there is no- and there should be no- difference in the way you deal with what you do. Only then can you articulate something that has meaning."
Menelaos Karamaghiolis did not fail to mention Greek television, saying: "The private channels have been making television with specific rules, and we gripe that it is unwatchable. On the other hand we have ERT (Greek State TV), a difficult institution we sometimes complain about, but which still allows you to make television that is up to cinematic standards. I think the issue of quality is not a matter of the medium but rather the requirements of the producers. "
The “Meeting With Remarkable People” spotlight is part of the Greek film program of the 14th TDF, which is financed, along with other activities of this year’s edition by the European Union - European Regional Development Fund under the Central Macedonia ROP 2007-2013.
