Yorgos Tsemberopoulos, the director of “Stelios,” a movie that has surpassed 760,000 tickets, was unable to completely savor the enjoyment of its success: “After the premiere on the Pallas Theater [in Athens] and in Cyprus final December, I attempted to stand up from an armchair and couldn’t. One thing occurred between my knee and thigh. Because of this, I couldn’t expertise the total pleasure – packed theaters, individuals applauding. Final Saturday, I went to the Athinaion Theater for the primary time, however there have been neither tears nor applause. They favored the movie very a lot, however that was all. And to suppose, I used to roam the theaters, mingle with the viewers, and hearken to their reactions – not simply to my very own movies but in addition to these of my pals, Giorgos Panousopoulos and Nikos Perakis. I had achieved this so many instances, and now I couldn’t expertise it – at a second when three generations have been watching the movie collectively, crying and clapping…and ”and
Stelios Kazantzidis is the unifying component of this emotion and euphoria. “The wings of in style music” offered the momentum. “I at all times like to explain a completed movie as somewhat boat. You place it within the water on the shoreline and watch what occurs. Will the general public embrace it? Will the festivals or intellectuals take discover? Or will nobody contact it, and it’ll stay nonetheless? By then, it has a lifetime of its personal. ‘Stelios’ [original title: ‘Yparcho’] is alive now. It’s too early to attract conclusions,” the director feedback.
Tsemberopoulos’ narrative isn’t linear. It contains flashbacks to the previous and lengthy digressions. In any case, his journey has been outlined by success since “Megara” (1974) – Greece’s first ecological and political documentary, co-directed with Sakis Maniatis, which earned awards in Berlin and Thessaloniki – and later “Sudden Love” (1984), which offered 200,000 tickets (an “astonishing quantity” for the time). Over his 50-year profession in cinema, his filmography is probably not in depth (simply six movies), however it’s distinctive.
“The purpose isn’t whether or not the movies made a splash after they have been launched. The actual query is, do they stay on right now? That’s the query,” he says. I repeat the query to him. He replies, “Sure, they stay on.”
Reflecting on his seven years in america, the place he studied cinema on the American Movie Institute, two moments stand out: “I used to be on the AFI when Jan Kadar [known for “The Shop on Main Street”] was the director of research. This older man gave us a listing of movies we needed to analyze, and none of us had heard of them. We have been all anticipating Federico Fellini. However he mentioned: ‘Everybody needs to be Fellini. I’ll present you dangerous movies so you may see the errors and study what to keep away from from others’ errors.’”
“In America, I really grew to become a director after I acquired concerned in theater. Throughout a workshop, I used to be requested to go on stage and act. The director was agency and uncompromising; he didn’t settle for refusal. The best way he guided me revealed how a lot potential lies in working with actors. A aspect of me emerged that I didn’t even know existed – I grew to become somebody fully totally different. I noticed that our job as administrators is like that of an orchestra conductor, with the actors as musical devices.”
Was the selection of the lead actor for ‘Stelios’ difficult?
I used to be at a impasse. One night, at 11.30, my shut collaborator, Makis Gazis, the casting director, referred to as me to recommend Christos Mastoras, whom I admit I wasn’t aware of. As I examine him, I “noticed” a connection: the tales his North Epirus [southern Albania] grandparents informed by the hearth have been ones of persecution and exile – much like the historical past of Kazantzidis’ household. The celebrity that Kazantzidis grappled with had already been embraced and mastered by Mastoras. Once I met him, I felt the identical form of infatuation I had as soon as skilled with Keti Papanika [the lead actress in “Take Care,” 1991].
Why did you wish to make a movie about Kazantzidis?
Actually, it wasn’t my selection – it was proposed to me. And I assumed: “Why wouldn’t I tackle this problem? Why step again? To keep away from risking failure or publicity?” The price range was important (2.7 million euros), which created alternatives. The movie isn’t a full biographical account of Kazantzidis’ life. It focuses on his journey from childhood to the second he selected to stroll away from all of it. Some of the pivotal moments in his life was when he was on the peak of his profession. His immense expertise not solely elevated him but in addition impressed lyricists, who would say, “We’ll write for Stelios.” After which, on the age of 35, he reached a breaking level – partly as a result of harsh circumstances within the music venues. “I used to be 35 years previous, and I had no soul left,” he mentioned. On the peak of his success, he was each assertive and unyielding.
‘Immediately, poverty typically comes with violence and anger. Again then, everybody was poor, and just a few have been wealthy, however poverty didn’t breed despair’
Did you develop to like him by way of the movie?
He had solely reached third grade in school, but his diction was unparalleled for a singer. His speech was flawless, his phrases exceptional, and the letters he despatched from America – [bouzouki virtuoso and composer] Christos Nikolopoulos confirmed me 13 of them, preserved in a folder – have been visually gorgeous. It was as if a calligraphy instructor had guided his hand from above. Are you aware what Kazantzidis learn all through his life? The Helios single-volume encyclopedia. He learn it continually, studying new phrases till the tip. To actually interact with this movie, I needed to each love and perceive him.
Is Kazantzidis’ Greece a “Greece of lament”?
It’s deeply unfair to outline the Greece of ache, division – the place brothers fought and killed one another – poverty, toil and progress as a “Greece of lament.” No, I can not settle for that. I wasn’t among the many persecuted; I grew up listening to the Rolling Stones, [Dionysis] Savvopoulos and Bob Dylan, and I might dismiss him as “the whiner.” However I wasn’t being truthful. Within the movie, in fact, we included an anthology of his songs. A part of the script attracts instantly from his lyrics. As an example, when he experiences a breakup, and also you hear, “My share of pleasure has been taken from me by others” – that’s pure poetry, not lament.
Which phrase or lyric do you suppose greatest captures the spirit of that period?
“My complete life is a accountability / It takes all the things from me, offers me nothing in return.” That’s the order by which the music conveys its which means. You recognize, we’ve been engaged on translating the lyrics as a result of the movie shall be proven internationally, and we’ve been caught on the phrase “efthyni” [responsibility] for 3 weeks. All of the younger translators interpret the phrase as “burden,” as one thing heavy. However I informed them – I even turned to AI for assist – it can’t be “burden.” For individuals of that period, being entrusted with accountability made them soar. It introduced them to life. How will you obtain progress with out taking over accountability? For those who see it as a burden, you strip it of its which means. Again then, accountability symbolized development.
In your opinion, what’s the key distinction between then and now that made rehearsals difficult?
Rehearsals in cinema aren’t nearly studying traces. They’re about every actor immersing themselves within the spirit of the time – how they behave, how they work together, whether or not they’re acquainted or distant with each other. Immediately, we have now to know that poverty again then wasn’t synonymous with distress. Individuals have been poor, sure, however they made it a degree to take pleasure in life, to have enjoyable with no matter little that they had. They valued household and maintained order of their lives. The girl was in cost – she ensured the family’s survival, typically in refined methods. She managed the household’s sources: guaranteeing the husband left sufficient cash to ship their youngster to high school or purchase meals for the day. The person, then again, was the breadwinner. Immediately, poverty typically comes with violence and anger. Again then, everybody was poor, and just a few have been wealthy, however poverty didn’t breed despair.
Cinema begins with the producer
“Wholesome cinema exists when it’s made for the nation itself,” emphasizes Tsemberopoulos. “Through the years, at numerous conferences held in Greece, influential individuals would inform us: ‘Give attention to methods to succeed overseas, individually, one after the other. For those who don’t enchantment to your personal nation, how will you enchantment elsewhere?’ And for a few years, we’ve struggled to enchantment to our personal nation. For many years, Greek cinema lacked producers and was as a substitute dominated by artists. What’s actually wanted is a producer who selects a screenwriter, who then develops a script, after which presents it to the director. It takes three to tango. I say this typically – it’s my concept. The gives I’m receiving now, after the success of ‘Stelios,’ are quite a few, however my response is at all times the identical: ‘Can I see the script?’”
