Program 1: KOTZAMANI program 2: lENTZOU program 3: mix

GREECE AND THE POETIC DRAMA

Over the past decade, Greek cinema - perhaps with the disruptive assistance of the financial crisis - have emerged from the shadow of Angelopoulos and stepped onto the world's art film scene with bold works characterized by stylized worlds and a taste for provocation. The term 'Greek Weird Wave' has attached itself to features by for instance Tsangari (Attenberg, Chevalier) and Lanthimos (Dogtooth, The Lobster), but the fact that they are perceived as weird might say more about the lack of imagination of contemporary mainstream features.

We notice the development of distinctive voices not least in the short format. Not as a single, conform style, but with different individuals each with a wayward approach, and with films that appear as unique fingerprints. Prime examples are Konstantina Kotzamani, Jacqueline Lentzou and Christos Massalas. A common feature of these three is the liberating lack of linearity in the narrative, partly achieved by the use of dreams. Dreams are utilized in conceiving concepts and storylines, but also within the film reality as part of the characters' experiences. Perhaps these works radiate the most through the abstraction achieved when the filmmaker operates in the area where "reality" ceases and we cannot immediately grasp an expected storyline progression with our accustomed drama-oriented film-reading skills. The words poetry (poiesis, create) and myth (mythos, narrative) are indeed from Greek.

In this year's focus on the short film country of Greece, Kotzamani and Lentzou are presented in their own retrospectives, while two films by Massalas are included in the third section, where we also provide room for filmmakers operating within the more traditional social realism.

About Greek Film Centre
The Greek Film Centre is the main institution that applies cinematographic policy in Greece with the main goals of protecting, supporting and developing cinematographic film art in Greece, promoting and distributing Greek film productions, domestically and internationally and promoting Greece as a film friendly country and attracting foreign audiovisual productions to shoot in Greece.
Contact: Stavroula Geronimaki, e: stavroula.geronimaki[at]gfc.gr

Categories: Ani = Animation, Doc = Documentary, Exp = Experimental, Fic = Fiction, Mus = Music



Hellas 1: Konstantina Kotzamani | Greece 1: Konstantina Kotzamani (Total: 86 min.)
Ons | Wed 21:00
[Nova 2]

Meet Konstantina Kotzamani and her cinematic universe in this screening of four of her shorts. In between films, she will converse about her approach to filmmaking. We also recommend the longer conversation Endre Eidsaa Larsen has with her in the framework of the Short Film Convention at Rockheim.

Konstantina Kotzamani (b. Komotini, Greece, 1983) is a screenwriter and director of films containing elements of realism, hightened reality, dreamlike scenes and a poetic and enigmatic visual style of her own. The last two films in the program had their respective festival premieres in Berlin and at La Semaine de La Critique in Cannes. She is now in the process of completing two feature films.

 

GRC 2015 | Fic.Exp. | 15 min.
Director: Konstantina Kotzamani

YELLOW FIEBER

Med ett ble Athen dekket av et merkelig, gult støv. Først trodde alle at det var svovel, men innen noen timer brøt det ut gulfeber. Ingen kunne forutse hva som ville skje videre og ingen kunne ane at byen skulle bli en palmeskog. Yellow Fieber er fortellingen om å miste en by.

Athens was covered by a strange yellow dust. At first everyone thought it was sulfur but a few hours later, Yellow Fieber erupted. No one expected what was about to happen. No one could foresee that the city would turn into a forest of palms. Yellow Fieber is a story about the loss of a city.

Script: Konstantina Kotzamani. Camera: Giorgos Karvelas

Production: Artemis Pattakou - squared square, e: artemispattakou[at]gmail.com

BIH 2014 | Fic. | 17 min.
Directors: Konstantina Kotzamani, Katarina Stanković

MORNING PRAYERS (Jutarnje molitve)

En gutt og en jente møtes på en diskotek-do. Høyt oppe på rusmidler bruker  de natten på å streife langs Sarajevos gater. De ender i en leilighed og blir intime og gjør ubetenksomme ting, inntil fortryllelsen plutselig blir brudt.

A boy and a girl meet in the bathroom of a night club. High on drugs they roam the streets of Sarajevo. They end up in an apartment, do stupid things and make out - until the easygoing atmosphere is suddenly interrupted.

Script: Konstantina Kotzamani, Maša Seničić, Katarina Stanković | Camera: Giorgos Karvelas | Editing: Smaro Papaevangelou, Katarina Stanković | Cast: Ismir Gagula, Hana Pasic

Production: Obala Art Centar - Dragana Jovanovic, Luka Venturin, Dora Nedeczky

FRA, GRE 2016 | Fic. | 30 min.
Director: Konstantina Kotzamani

LIMBO

Ulven skal bo sammen med lammet og leoparden legge seg hos kjeet. Kalv og ungløve beiter sammen, mens en smågutt gjeter dem.

The leopard shall lie down with the goat. The wolves shall live with the lambs. And the young boy will lead them.

Script: Konstantina Kotzamani | Camera: Yorgos Karvelas | Editing: Yannis Chalkiadakis | Sound: Nikos Exarhos, Alexandros Sidiropoulos, Lionel Guenoun | Music: Lawrence English | Cast: Felix Margenfeld, Aggelos Ntanos, Lucjano Cani

Production: Ron Dyens, Maria Drandaki
Contact: Sacrebleu Productions France - Ron Dyens, t: +33142253027, e: distribution[at]sacrebleuprod.com

GRC 2014 | Fic. | 24 min.
Director: Konstantina Kotzamani

WASHINGTONIA

Washingtonia starter når sjiraffens hjerte ikke lenger kan høres. Washingtonia er et annet navn på Athen, et sted hvor folk, som dyr, om sommeren blir deprimerte på grunn av varmen.

Washingtonia starts when the giraffe’s heart can no longer be heard. Washingtonia is an alternative name for Athens, a place where people, like animals, fall into summertime sadness because of the heat.

Script: Konstantina Kotzamani | Camera: Giorgos Karvelas, Giannis Kanakis | Editing: Leonidas Papafotiou | Cast: Mamadou Diallo, Eutychia Stefanidou

Production: Artemis Pattakou - squared square, e: artemispattakou[at]gmail.com

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Hellas 2: Jacqueline Lentzou| Greece 2: Jacqueline Lentzou (Total: 82 min.)
Tor | Thur 17:00
[Nova 2]

Discover the poetic and dreamlike vision of the banal in the films of Jacqueline Lentzou. The programme will be interspersed with discussions with the filmmaker on her works.

Jacqueline Lentzou (b. Athens, Greece, 1989) is a writer and director whose filmic language involves finding poetry in seemingly ordinary premises. She examines unconventional family constructs, coming of age and the dream. She has won, among others, the Uppsala Ingmar Bergman Award for Fox, the Raskin Spirit Award at Minimalen 2018 for Hiwa, the CNC funding of Torino Film Lab for her debut feature Selene 66 and most recently, the Leica Discovery Award in Semaine De la Critique for Hector Malot.

This programme is curated by Émilie Poirier - Festival du nouveau cinéma

 

GRC 2013 | Fic. | 18 min.
Director: Jacqueline Lentzou

THIRTEEN BLUE

Noen døsige sommerdager med det ensomme enebarnet Elliev og hennes ukonvensjonelle familie.

Some lazy summer days of Ellie, a lonely only child, and her unconventional family.

Script: Jacqueline Lentzou | Camera: Owen Laird | Editing: Ioanna Spiliopoulou | Cast: Emmanuela Lia, Emmanuela Sfyridi

Production: Isavella Alopoudi

GRC 2016 | Fic. | 29 min.
Director: Jacqueline Lentzou

FOX (Alepou)

Athen er rammet av en hetebølge. Stephanos lytter til rap og trener mens moren gjør seg klar til en bytur. Etter enda en krangel blir han satt til å passe på sine to yngre søsken og familiehunden Lucy mens mor er borte.

Athens is experiencing a heatwave. Stephanos is working out and listening to rap, while his mother is getting ready for a day out. After another fight between them, he is left alone to take care of his two younger siblings and Lucy, the family dog.

Script: Jacqueline Lentzou | Camera: Konstantinos Koukoulios | Editing: Smaro Papaevangelou Cast: Nikos Zegkinoglou, Nota Tserniafski, Katerina Zisoudi, Mihaela Holeza, Lyssandros Kouroubalis

Production: Fenia Cossovitsa

GRC 2017 | Fic.Exp. | 11 min.
Director: Jacqueline Lentzou

HIWA

I Jays drøm er Athens sol så svak at du kan se rett på den uten å bli blind.

In Jay’s dream, Athens’ sun is so weak you can look straight at it without getting blind.

Script: Jacqueline Lentzou | Cast: Melchor Lopez

Production: Jacqueline Lentzou, Vicky Miha

GRC 2018 | Fic. | 23 min.
Director: Jacqueline Lentzou

HECTOR MALOT: THE LAST DAY OF THE YEAR (Ektoras Malo: I Teleftea Mera Tis Chronias)

Nyttårsaften gryr for en bil i måneskinnet, og Sofia har en drøm hun ikke deler med noen: Under en vandring gjennom ørkenen får hun rede på at hun er syk. Hun later som hun ikke bryr seg. Har hun mistet hjertet?

New Year’s eve dawns in a moon-kissed car, and Sofia has a dream that she tells no-one: while walking in a desert, she gets to know that she is sick. She pretends not to care. Has she lost her heart?

Script: Jacqueline Lentzou | Camera: Konstantinos Koukoulios | Editing: Dora Masklavanou | Cast: Sofia Kokkali

Production: Fenia Cossovitsa

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Hellas 3: Mix | Greece 3: Mixed (Total: 82 min.)
Fre | Fri 17:00
[Nova 2]

GRC 2013 | Fic. | 11 min.
Director: George Grigorakis

45 DEGREES

Athen, august 2012. 45 grader. Kjøleskapet er tomt. Situasjonen er veldig spent. En far endres under byrden av den økonomiske krisen. Det blir mørkt og fortsatt kokende varmt. En hovedstad på grensen til å eksplodere.

Athens, August 2012. 45 degrees. The fridge is empty. The situation is very tense. A father changes under the burden of the economic crisis. It’s getting dark and still boiling hot. A capital at the border of exploding.

Script: Georgis Grigorakis | Camera: Claudio Bolivar | Editing: Theodoros Armaos | Cast: Stelios Xanthoudakis, Yiannis Tsortekis, Eleftheria Komi

Production: George Grigorakis

GRC 2017 | Fic. | 14 min.
Director: Christos Massalas

COPA-LOCA

Dette er fortellingen om Copa-Loca, en forlatt gresk feriested. Paulina er jenta i sentrum av Copa-Loca. Alle ivaretar henne og hun bryr seg om alle, på alle mulige vis.

This is the story of Copa-Loca, an abandoned Greek summer resort. Paulina is the girl at the heart of Copa-Loca. Everyone cares for her and she cares about everyone – in every possible way.

Script: Christos Massalas | Cast: Elsa Lekakou, Jenny Hiloudaki, Pavlos Iordanopoulos

Production: Christos Massalas
Contact: Christina Liapi, e: outreach[at]heretic.gr

GRC 2017 | Fic. | 15 min.
Director: Thelyia Petraki

HELGA ÄR I LUND

En kvinne, hennes lege, en pianoelev, en mann, hans kone og en katt. Hva knytter disse menneskene sammen? Hva skiller dem? Hvor er Helga? Hvor er Lund?

A woman, her doctor, a piano student, a man, his wife and a cat. What connects these people? What separates them? Who is Helga? Where is Lund?

Script: Thelyia Petraki, Alex EsslinCamera | Camera: Theodoris Mihopoulos | Editing: Christos Giannakopoulos | Cast: Aneza Papadopoulou, Helena Topalidou, Yiannis Zorapas, Nikos Flessas, Michele Valley

Production: TopSpot - Kostas Tagalakis

GRC 2017 | Fic. | 15 min.
Director: Efthimis Kosemund Sanidis

ASTROMETAL

To gutter og en jente lader opp til festing i hjertet av Athen. Når de ankommer nattklubben finner den øde men med høylydt musikk, uten noen til å høre. Der sovner de en etter en inn og overgir seg til en kollektiv drøm.

Two boys and a girl prepare for nightclubbing in the heart of Athens. Arriving, they face a deserted club, where music plays blaring but there is no one to listen. There, one by one falls asleep as they surrender themselves in a collective dream.

Script: Elizampetta Ilia Georgiadou, Efthimis Kosemund Sanidis | Camera: Christos Voudouris | Editing: Efthimis Kosemund Sanidis, Lambis Charalambidis | Cast: Mihalis Sarantis, Thalia Papacosta, Yiannis Niarros

Production: Boo Productions - Despoina Sifniadou

GRC 2016 | Exp.Fic. | 6 min.
Director: Christos Massalas

FLOWERS AND BOTTOMS

En kjærlighetshistorie uten ansikter, en kjønnsuavhengig romanse som utspiller i cyberspace - et sted hvor vi kan forbli anonyme.

A love story without faces, a gender-independent romance that plays in cyberspace - a place where we can remain anonymous.

Script, camera, editing: Christos Massalas

Production, contact: Christos Massalas

GRC 2013 | Fic. | 20 min.
Director: Asimina Proedrou

RED HULK

Giorgos bor alene i Athen. Han mangler retning i livet, og fyller tomrommet ved å bli den "Røde Hulken", slik de andre tilhengerne av det lokale fotballaget kjenner ham. Inntil den dagen han blir involvert i rasevold, som leder til nye problemer og dilemmaer.

Giorgos lives on his own in Athens. He lacks direction in life, and fills the void by becoming the 'Red Hulk', as he is known at his football team’s fan club. Until the day he gets involved in racial violence, entailing new problems and dilemmas.

Script: Asimina Proedrou | Camera: Christina Moumouri | Editing: Saifentin Salim | Cast: Frixos Proedrou, Nestoras Fanaras, Christos Kontogeorgis, Dimitris Tzoumakis, Elissaios Vlachos, Domenica Regou, Simeon Tsakiris

Production: Asimina Proedrou

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