GREEK CREATORS – 9 April
On Saturday, 9 April 2005 a press conference was given by the directors Stella Theodoraki, (“Like a dream of dawn”), Spiro Taraviras, (“Buzz”), Nikos Theodosiou, (“Villy”), and Loukas Kouhtin, (“Why worry?”), regarding their films that are being screened within the framework of the 7th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – Images of the 21st Century.
Stella Theodoraki: Like a Dream of Dawn
Stella Theodoraki took the floor first, presenting the documentary – portrait of Emmanuel Kriaras with the title of “Like a Dream of Dawn”. “Like a Dream of Dawn begins from the poem of Zacharias Papandoniou, who says that our life passes like a Dream of Dawn and its subject is the biography of Emmanuel Kriaras, who is one of the best known learned man of letters of the 20th century, who devoted himself to the subject of the Greek language – the demotic (language of the common people) and katharevousa (the pure official language). But more than focusing on the subject of demotic and katharevousa, it focuses on his life, wishing to expose a more human side to his character, but also the simplicity of his life”, the director characteristically mentioned, and continued: “I tried to make a documentary which will speak about the simplicity of his life, and for this reason I used both a moving and static image library, which images though, still have a kind of motion. The objective for me was for nothing to be motionless, except for Emmanuel Kriaras when he was speaking.”
Spyros Taraviras: Buzz
Then Spiro Taraviras took the floor and spoke about his film which is dedicated to the life and work of A.I. Bezeridis, or Buzz, one of the least known – of Greek descent – scriptwriter of important Hollywood films. The director Francois Truffaut characterized him as the first film noir scriptwriter. Spiro Taraviras’ film transports us to places where the now 94 year old Buzz lived and was active. The director began his speech by saying that for him, what is most important is that a new cycle is opening for the film with the completion of its production. “Essentially, it began five years ago here at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, at the pitching forum, where I found myself with a film that was only written on paper. And so I found the means to complete the film, which is a Greece – Germany co-production, with shooting that takes place in a transatlantic country, America”, he characteristically stressed.
In answer to a question about the valuable black and white trailers that are in the film, the creator talked about his adventures in trying to get them, since he became entangled in the gears of the legal procedures involved in the copy rights of these classic films. Finally, he obtained them from private collections, stressing their high cost. On being asked about his contact with A.I. Bezerides during the pre production of his film and its shooting, he mentioned that it was not particularly easy. “ Buzz is a very cranky person, he is a man who got ‘burnt’ in Hollywood, they really exploited him, so it is reasonable that he views with suspicion anyone approaching him.”
Nikos Theodosiou: Villy
Continuing the press conference, Nikos Theodosiou took the floor and spoke about his film Villy, which is based on a portrait of the projectionist Willhelm (Villy) Souvenel. “However, it is not just a portrait of Villy”, stressed Mr. Theodosiou. “ It is an abstract sketch of a man’s journey who devoted his life to cinema, a man who lived for cinema. A sketch drawn with a trembling hand. This film is one of those films that you don’t schedule, you don’t plan to make them, but they impose themselves on you. Many times, you would probably prefer not make them.”
Willhelm Souvenel was born in 1932 in Constantinople. He was of Austrian descent. In 1955, when the pogrom against the Greeks of Constantinople broke out, Willhelm’s family’s possessions were confiscated, while he and his parents left Constantinople and came to Athens. Villy, who learned about cinema during his army duty, exclusively practiced the art of projectionist in many cinemas in Athens, for approximately half a century. In spite of pursuing it, Greek citizenship was never granted to him. To the Greek authorities he was and remained a man without a country. “The film is based on six moments – six small narratives – and many silences. The images that accompany them are only what we managed to see between the blinding flashes of the voltaic arc. It’s length could not have been more than 14 minutes. The amount of time it took to travel from the FILIP cinema to Patisia, after the last screening”, the director characteristically noted, who also mentioned that in the “making” of the film what predominated for the most part was emotion.
Loukas Kouhtin: Why worry?
Finally, Loukas Kouhtin took the floor, who presented his 17 minute documentary entitled “Why Worry?”. A major project for a public utility characterized as for public benefit in Thessaloniki’s Panorama, is of doubtful necessity and is having a catastrophic impact on the environment ( 22 healthy trees are being cut down, pine trees and cypress trees that are 40-50 years old, and up to 15 meters high) and on the cultural heritage of the area. A journalist together with a group of citizens begin agitating in order to avert the catastrophe. “ This small film was completed even before the trial on the subject was finished. My aim was to demonstrate how any kind of camera can be used by any kind of person in a creative way, while I also wished to present through the film a miniature of our society.”
