Images of the 21stCentury
March 14-23, 2014
PRESS CONFERENCE
THE GODMOTHER / KALAVRYTA-PEOPLE AND SHADOWS/ ΑRΙΚΑ.Α
/ LIFE IN THE BORDERLANDS
On Wednesday, March 19, 2014, a Press Conference was held as part of the 16th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. Present were directors Stelios Kouloglou (The Godmother), Elias Yannakakis (Kalavryta-People And Shadows), Menios Karayannis (Αrικα.Α.) and Babis Tsoutsas (Life In The Borderlands).
Menios Karayannis spoke first, whose documentary ARIKA.A portrays a unique painter, Dimitri Andrianopoulos, now 80 years old, who refuses to sell his paintings, does not have exhibitions, won’t do public relations and signs with the name of his wife, Angela Arica, as a token of gratitude to her who has supported him in every way in order to paint all these years. The director met the artist by chance and it took five years to win his confidence. "When I learned that he does not exhibit these wonderful paintings, I became furious, because I thought that every artist tries to talk to the public through his work. We had intense discussions and eventually I suggested that if he does not exhibit his work, we could at least shoot a documentary about him," explained Mr. Karayannis. The reason his hero agreed to be filmed as the director noted, was that "there wasn’t the hypocrisy of public relations and the commercialization of his work in the documentary, which he told me himself." The protagonist of the film ARIKA.A resembles the protagonist of the director’s previous documentary entitled Skapeta, which focuses on a man just as lonely and dedicated to what he does. "I am fascinated by people who do not deviate from their course; they have love and devotion and are fully committed to what they do. At one point in the film, Andrianopoulos says "I would even paint in hell." I find this fascinating. "
Elias Yannakakis spoke about his film Kalavryta-People And Shadows, an historical documentary to mark 70 years since the Holocaust in Kalavryta. The Kalavryta Union suggested to the director that he make the film, presenting him with an issue right that has always preoccupied and divided the city: Guerillas had captured a group of Germans, who they executed when the negotiations for prisoner exchange failed. After that, the Germans began the terrible reprisals which have left their mark in history. "This issue is still ''hot'' for the people of the city. Some say that if the execution hadn’t happened, the retaliation would not have happened. Others argue that this would have happened anyway, because there was a national resistance. The purpose of the film is not to provide answers to historical questions, but to focus on what connects them, the human drama that has left its mark on the world" explained Mr. Yannakakis, who also noted that the context of the current crisis "seems like a stroll in the park for these people who have gone through hell." The director said the biggest problem for him in making the film was his own emotional involvement. "Although it was not my idea originally, I felt like it was my personal desire to make this film for many years. I do not know if it was good or bad that I did not have the opportunity or the time to distance myself," said the director.
The documentary Life In The Borderlands is directed by five artists, Agatha Darlasi, Eleni Lambropoulou, Yannis Nikolaou, Mihail Arman Pogosian and Babis Tsoutsas, who was present at the press conference. The island of Patmos is the star of the film, "a place with a remarkable aura, which I had wanted to understand for years," noted Mr. Tsoutsas. As he explained, the documentary came about as a result of a workshop where each director observed one of the different characters featured in the film. They are either people who have lived all their lives in Patmos or artists who travel around the world and have the island as their base, but also monks of Patmos or people who left Athens and decided to live permanently in this special place. Mr. Tsoutsas noted that in order to have the end result run smoothly, "we used the same equipment, discussed a great deal about the characters and decided that we would focus on their decision to live in Patmos - a choice made either because of freedom or of fear." stressed the director.
Stelios Kouloglou’s documentary The Godmother is a portrait of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "I wondered how an obscure chemist who was not interested in politics, especially given that when the Berlin Wall fell she chose to go to the sauna, became the ''queen'' of Europe and the most powerful woman in the world, and how she makes and breaks governments. To find something similar, I think we should go back to the time of Catherine the Great," said the director. His research coincided with the publication of the book "Godmother" by Gertrude Heller, a writer who belongs to the Christian Democratic party and knows Merkel. "I didn’t have a very clear picture, I did not know why she moves the way she does or how her personality was shaped. The author explained to me why she believes that Merkel uses Mafia methods," said Mr. Kouloglou. The film also features people who have known the Chancellor since her childhood. Kouloglou came to the conclusion that Merkel imitates methods from eastern Germany regularly, noting that, "Merkel treats the Germans like children. This is the logic of eastern Germany, something between a jail and a nursery which provides food and security. It was in Eastern Germany that Merkel learned the techniques of manufacturing consent, giving in to certain things and stimulating national sentiment".
