APOSTOLOS KRYONAS
In the press conference held on Thursday, March 6th at the Olympion RENAULT theatre, director Apostolos Kryonas spoke about his films in the framework of the special tribute for his work by the 5th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. Mr. Kryonas thanked Dimitri Eipides and Dimitri Kerkinos for their intention to assemble a tribute to his work. He pointed out that the selected films are from his first endeavors which have been shown only outside of Greece.
The director said: “Winds, in 1966, was my first film and based on sailors’ songs about missing their country. With the junta I decided to retire. After 1973, when things were tranquil again and even books by Marx started to appear on bookstore shelves, I decided to put forward a new testament”. “It was a day of celebration. The film deals with the deserted landscape along with the dramatic historical events that were occurring in Greece at the time”.
“It was a strange experience shooting Within the Walls. I began filming a documentary on a theatrical play that was touring the country when the actors suddenly decided that they wanted to get paid. I had to give up my plan and I wandered aimlessly for a while. Then suddenly I ran into a group of people who were putting together something like a stage. They were preparing a circumcision ritual. Of course I wanted to film it and it wasn’t that hard after paying them only a small amount of money!”.
“I filmed many documentaries but most were series of 8-10 episodes and therefore couldn’t qualify in a festival. From a series of six episodes, though, titled Cintemporary Greeks Naif chose In Mythology and Fantasy, which deals with three Greek painters”.
“I filmed “Hail Neighbour” in 1997 for the Cultural Capital - Thessaloniki. I was in search of Hellenic presence in the Balkans. After the bombing of Kosovo, many of the places seen in the film don’t exist anymore. Unfortunately, I was the last one to film them”. A. Kryonas believes that the most difficult part of making a documentary is securing the funds. “I have to admit, though, that I’m one of the lucky ones because television has usually provided me with the money for my films”.
Finally, Mr. Kryonas revealed his next plan which deals with traditions and customs centered on death beginning from Egypt, traveling through Asia Minor and ending with elegies and poems by Balkan poets. The documentary is being filmed in segments due to a limited budget. “I hope to finish it soon”, he said.
