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INDUSTRY Greece

Foreign co-producers looking at new Greek talent

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Amidst the country’s financial woes, local talent welcomes unprecedented co-production help from across the borders.

Maria Drandaki, producer of Venice entries Homeland [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Syllas Tzoumerkas and the short film Casus Belli by Giorgos Zois, was met with unexpected interest in the duo’s upcoming projects at the market of the recent Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF).

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“Tzoumerkas is developing a road movie, Zois is working on a conceptual dramedy and although we hadn’t requested any meetings since we’re at a very early stage, I found myself with a full schedule,” Drandaki told Cineuropa. “Interest in co-production opportunities in Greece has heightened”.

Alexis Alexiou, whose Rotterdam-premiered debut feature Tale 52 made him a pioneer of the new generation of border-crossing Greeks, confirms: “After years of being indifferent and suspicious, sales agents and co-producers have started to consistently look into this rebirth of Greek cinema.”

Alexiou is currently working on a modern-day gangster story set to be co-produced by German-based Thanasis KarathanosTwenty Twenty Vision. He notes that “after the success of Dogtooth [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Yorgos Lanthimos
film profile
]
, Greek films became a kind of fad, which can be very useful if we manage to take advantage of it”. He fears, however, “we might not be able to keep the momentum if local funds don’t start flowing again”.

Alexanda Boussiou is currently producing Filippos Tsitos' third Greek film after Plato’s Academy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Constantin Moriatis
interview: Filippos Tsitos
interview: Filippos Tsitos
film profile
]
(LUX Prize of the European Parliament 2010 competition), with support from Wim Wenders’ Neue Road Movies. Entitled Smells Like Blood, the film looks at the widely unknown story of the first serial killers in Greek history. Says Boussiou: “The greatest challenge we face is convincing co-producers that we can keep our end of the deal, which is quite hard given the country’s economic situation”.

Meanwhile, during TIFF, Minister of Culture Pavlos Yeroulanos noted the new film law proposal is to be voted on Monday and Tuesday. He expressed confidence that it will be passed in full and will herald a new era in governmental support of local film production.

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