All posts by litt le mac

Egon Wolff's Paper Flowers, At the Ilisia Theater

Ilisia theater will present in alternating repertoire the play "The inspector is coming", Egon Wolff's work titled "Paper Flowers" each Monday and Tuesday, from 8 October 2012.

Chilean author Egon Wolff's masterpiece "Paper Flowers", will be presented by Katerina Lechou and Aris Servetalis, directed by Kostas Filippoglou, which is in the final stretch of rehearsals with the two protagonists, in order to discover and illuminate the aspects of this very special work.

It is a gritty and poetic exploration of human nature in search, claims, begs and defeats in the struggle for love, acceptance, imposition and dominance. A revealing anatomy of the never-ending battle of the sexes, of classes, of ideologies and diversity, that makes up this beautiful and wild world.

The performance of "Paper Flowers" at "Ilisia", goes up translated by Eva Bitha, scenery- costumes by Yannis Metzikof, lighting by Melina Masha, special constructions of Guy Stefanos, music by Lost Bodies and with the artistic collaboration of Frosos Korrou. The production is by Dimitris and Thodoris Marosoulis. Photographs by Thomas Chrysochoidis. Artistic direction Grigoris Valtinos.

For the project
 The first performance of "Paper Flowers" was given in Santiago 1970 and was considered by many to be Wolff's best work, since it reflects the "keys" of his perspective as a whole: the social gap between the privileged class and the fringe, the struggle between individuals and the isolation of people in their microcosm, the violence perpetrated by society itself, but also people's need for love and tenderness. The poetic discourse of the work enriches the strong structure and contemporary style of Wolff's dramaturgy. Metaphors and symbols are used in each scene progressively until relationships are established between the characters and cause the viewer to become emotionally involved in the relentless conflict between the two heroes. Barracuda is one of “Los rotos”, a poor devil, marginal, homeless, desperate. But he is also cunning, manipulative, completely heartless. He breaks into the house of Eva, who is his opposite: civilized, refined, honest and clear. The conflict between them could happen anywhere, so Eva's apartment eventually becomes a global battleground..


For the author
Εgon Wolff
Egon Wolff was born on 1926 in Santiago, Chile, from German parents, who believed in conservative education and adherence to traditional values ​​and ethics, beliefs that led Father Wolff to the decision to put his son in a military school, from their age 14 years, in order to distance him from his already apparent artistic nature. But his mother's rich library and especially Thomas Mann's books, of Kafka, by James Joyce and William Faulkner, they had already exerted their own influence on young Egon, who wrote his first novel entitled "Twilight" at age 16 years. A severe bout of pneumonia and his fragile health could only thwart his father's plans for a military career, so Egon Wolff studied chemical engineering. He worked for several years in this field, in the field of commerce and industry, which gave him the opportunity to mingle with people from different strata of society and to understand the essence of the issue of "class difference" that he would later depict in his works. At the same time, he began to cultivate playwriting, influenced mainly by Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. His source of inspiration and biggest supporter was Carmen Pena, whom he married 1953. The 1960 won a Fulbright Scholarship and attended the Yale School of Drama. Only after the age of 53 years Wolff devoted himself exclusively to writing, although from the 1979 he taught at the Escuela de Teatro at the University of Santiago. Deeply politicized, he could not but most of his works reflect the tension that existed in Chile between the rich and the poor. When Wolff's first play "The Owl House" was staged 1958, Chile enjoyed a democratic period, but tensions between social classes were intense, as in other Latin American countries: in the countryside between the peasants and the landowners and in the cities between the workers and the middle class, a continuous struggle that manifested itself especially after the elections and the victory of Salvador Allende 1970, year that "Paper Flowers" went up in Santiago. Works by Egon Wolff have been translated into 19 languages ​​and have been presented in 27 Countries. Other works of his: "The Invaders" (1963), "Tell me about Laura" (1985), "Dinner Invitation" (1993), "Behind Closed Doors" (2000), "The Crossroads" (2000), "The recommendation" (2003).

A few words about the director
Kostas Filippoglou
Kostas Filippoglou began his theater studies in Athens and continued his education abroad with teachers such as Peter Brook, Ariane Mnuskin, and theater organizations such as the Théâtre de Complicité. From the 1985 worked as an actor mainly with the "Theama" group of Yiannis Kakleas and the "Theater of the South" in Amore. From the 1999, he works mainly abroad with the Complicite theater group, taking part in the group's performances and workshops in M. Britain, Europe and the USA. From the 1997 has taught acting and theater both in Greece, as an assistant professor in the theater department of the University of Patras, as well as abroad at the Complicite laboratories, in MATAN, Israel, in the USA at the Lee Strasberg Institute, at the Actor's Studio, at the Actor's Center etc.

The 2011-2012 directed and acted in the play "Civil Disobedience" performed at the "Kakogiannis Foundation" in Athens and at the "Artos" theater in Nicosia. He also wrote and directed the play "Orestes-Electra 0-1", which was played at Bios in Athens and Cyprus. His Autumn 2012 will play in Paris at the theater “Bouf du Nord”, the collective creation "Ekti Epirus", with dramatist Daniel Pennac, directed by Lilo Baur and produced by Peter Brook.

Source : culturenow.gr

Our big circus at the Acropolis theater

The State Theater of Northern Greece, in co-production with the Acropolis Theatre, after the very successful tour in theaters all over Greece, presents to the Athenian public, the production "OUR BIG CIRCUS", of Iakovos Campanellis, in music & conductor on stage by Stavros Xarchakos. Direction: Sotiris Hatzakis.

They star: George Armenis, Tasos Nousias, Marina Aslanoglou. Singer: Zacharias Karounis

"Our Big Circus", this emblematic work of Iakovos Campanellis, is a station not only for the modern Greek theater, but also for modern social and political Greek history.  Through songs and satirical and dramatic episodes, the work runs through all the important moments of Greek history: the ancient world, Byzantium, the Turkish occupation, his revolution 1821, the reign of Otto, the Asia Minor disaster, his war 1940 they are only some of the main stations of the course described in this project-document, which remains unchanged over time and as relevant today as ever.

"Our Big Circus" was staged for the first time this summer 1973 at the Athinaion Theater. Stavros Xarchakos wrote the music for the show and Evgenios Spatharis edited the sets. The protagonists of the show are Jenny Karezis, Kostas Kazakos, Dionysis Papagiannopoulos, Christos Kalavrouzos and Timos Perleggas. Performer of the songs is Nikos Xylouris. The massive turnout and great public response to the first upload of the work upset the dictatorial regime, which forced the show to stop. After the fall of the dictatorship the show was staged again at the Acropolis Theatre.

Thirty-nine years after its first presentation, the work was staged again by the KTHBE, in co-production with the Acropolis Theatre, with Stavros Xarchakos, the leading composer whose music characterized that first performance of ΄73, to be present on stage himself conducting his 9-member orchestra while the audience will watch the current protagonists: Giorgos Armenis, Tasso Nousia, Marina Aslanoglou and Zacharias Karounis in the song.

Thoughts on the Art Director's work & Director of the show
"Our Great Circus" is a testimony to the timelessness of our National adventure. A folk epic in which the virtues but also the pathologies of the race are written in relief, the ups and downs, the struggles and anxieties of a people, which laden with its heavy history, tests his stride towards the oracle of an ambiguous future. An immersion of the Patriarch of post-war dramaturgy in the "divine comedy" of the merciless Greek narrative.

It was described as the "social phenomenon" of the summer.
In 40 stations of a triumphal tour attended it 100.000 spectators.
"Our Great Circus" returns to its "home"., 
at the Acropolis Theatre, after 39 years.

Source : culturenow.gr

ActionAid: Organizes an experiential report on life in Africa

"Be in my place" in the "Technopolis" of the Municipality of Athens

An experiential exhibition is organized by ActionAid in the "Technopolis" of the Municipality of Athens, at 9, 10 and 11 November.

In the exhibition "Step into my place", visitors will have the opportunity to experience the living conditions of the people of a poor village in Kongelai, Kenya.

What is an African community like?; How do its inhabitants feed themselves?; How big is a hut; What does looking for water mean?;

Within approx 20 minutes, audiovisual material, experiential activities and artifacts from Kenya will transport visitors to the reality of the people of Africa.

The living conditions will also be conveyed by the ActionAid volunteers who lived for a week in Kongelai, Kenya together with pastoralist families in one of the most arid and remote areas of the country.

They will be there to give information and share their experience.

The exhibition is organized on the occasion of 40 years of ActionAid.

Alongside, a photo exhibition titled: 'Africa through the eyes of volunteers' drawn by ActionAid volunteers from solidarity trips.

also, five African-themed documentaries will be screened.

Find more information about screenings at: www.actionaid.gr/events

"Technopolis" of the Municipality of Athens, Hall "Nikos Gatsos" (Building "D12") and in the courtyard D12, Piraeus 100, Gas pedal.

Hours of operation :

Friday 9 November, 15.00 with 22.00
Saturday 10 November, 11.00 with 19.30
Sunday 11 November, 11.00 with 20.00

Admission to the experiential exhibition costs 2 euro (free for children).

On Saturday 10 November on 20.30, there will be a celebration for ActionAid's Child Sponsors. Volunteers and Contractors will transport visitors to Africa. Entrance to the celebration is free and the event is open to everyone.

Source : tovima.gr

CRETE ONE "ACCORDING" IN CHANIA

After battles in Tolkien's work, order are the… rides and skewers for Vigo Mortensen, In shooting for "Two Faces of January" alongside Kirsten Dunst

In the beautiful old port of Chania these days the cast of the film "The Two Faces of January" are, As shooting has begun in Crete since last week, From the archaeological site of Knossos and the small village of Kallikratis in the area of ​​Chora of Sfakia.

The first official photo of the film, which is a cinematic transfer of Patricia Haysmith's homonymous novel that was published in '64, With the Trinity of the protagonists Vigo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and Oscar Aizak made her appearance on October 1st, making us already look forward to the film that will come out in theaters no earlier than December 2013.
The movie, American, English and French co -production, is Josen Amini's directorial debut (nominee 1997 For an Oscar for the "Wings of Love" and responsible for the "Drive" scenario for the "wings of love"), who also signs the cover of the story – a thriller in which a pair of Americans is involved, A young student and a policeman who accidentally kills one of three.

For the needs of filming in Crete, Production has rented rooms in 4 different hotels in Chania, While in the fortress of the firk they are used up to 15 Cells as a base where all preparation is made before the clack hit (hair, the make -up of the actors, The costumes etc.).
Like any movie that plays in another era and must be faithful to its style and culture, "Two Faces of January" host in the plate cars of the early 1960s: old coach, BMW and Aston Martin of that time, while in… supplies have contributed Heraklion, Athens and Livadia.
The protagonists, however, are circulating with modern cars, As three saab have been made available for their transfer 9-5 Aero and at their disposal they have 3 self -caravan as dressing rooms.
The volume of production completes 10 trucks who have switched to Crete from Athens – each with different equipment (lighting, makeup, stage elements), while van of 9 positions are available to the workshop for his movements (overall, At the workshop they work 143 Greeks and 33 foreigners of different ethnicities).

Light up the port

In the week we are going through, in Chania, Cameras work for shooting in the halepa district, In the monastery of Agia Kyriaki and in the Old Town. The big spin, Nevertheless, will take place on Saturday, So the whole Haniotian port will be illuminated.
With eyes on Crete, Well, We expect the arrival of production in Athens, within about two weeks, In order to turn scenes in the Acropolis and Plaka.
In between, Vigo Mortensen is riding his undisturbed, as we learn, In the alleys of Chania, Enjoys his skewers and beers, that he likes very much, With no one realizing that the charming Dan was a protagonist in the epic trilogy of "Lady of the Rings".

Book
The book "The Two Faces of January", on which the movie is based, Released in Greek by AGRA Publications.

Source : ethnos.gr

Rug: From the "Port of Havris", in the… Port of Thessaloniki

He directed one of the greatest films of recent years, the "Port of Le Havre" which achieved not only artistic but also commercial success. No introduction needed. For many years now, Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki is rightfully so, one of Europe's leading filmmakers. Along with the award-winning, of Kurdish origin Bahman Gobadi and the German Andreas Dresen, Karourismaki composes a very good triplet of guests for the upcoming 53rd Thessaloniki Film Festival, as announced on Tuesday at noon, has planned tributes to their work.
 
The humanistic, Kaurismaki's minimalist cinema began to be heard in his decade 1980 through the "proletariat trilogy" – "Shadows in Paradise" (1986), "Ariel" (1988) and "The Woman with the Matches" (1990)- where he spoke in a comic-tragic mood about the working class of his homeland. The trilogy of losers followed – "Clouds fly away" (1996), "The Man Without a Past" (2002), "Lights at Dusk" (2006)- where Kaurismaki found reserves of courage and solidarity through stories of misfortune and pain. And of course, at the "Port of Le Havre", his masterpiece, touched with his, abstract but so direct way the problem of illegal immigration.

Subtly combining realism and myth, the layered cinema of Bahman Ghobadi(former assistant to Abbas Kiarostami) it is a cry for justice and freedom. Gobadi made his feature debut with Drunken Horses (2000), the first Kurdish film in the history of Iranian cinema, which won the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Four years later with "And turtles fly" he penetrated the daily life of a group of children living in a Kurdish refugee camp, on the border with Iraq and collect mines, playing a perpetual Russian roulette of death or dismemberment, while the music belonging to Gobadi's great loves, stars both in the movie 'Half Moon' (2006), as in "Who's Afraid of Persian Cats" (2009), which comments on the fact that even today Western music is banned in Iran.

End, the least known in our country but one of the most distinguished representatives of the new generation of German filmmakers, the East German Andreas Dresen always focuses on people through small everyday stories of interpersonal relationships that surprise with their strength and sensitivity. Characteristic films of the: «Cloud 9» (2008, "A Certain Look" category award at the Cannes Film Festival), "Whiskey with Vodka" (2009, directing award at the Karlovy Vary festival), «Grill Point» (2002) and his latest 'Stopped on Track' which won last year's award in the 'A Certain Look' category.

Source : tovima.gr

David Cronenberg: The collapse of Greece is frightening

The Canadian director talks to "Vima" about his new film, the film adaptation of Don DeLillo's novel Cosmopolis, for the money, technology and the financial crisis

"The movie trailer is very interesting", is the first thing I say to David Cronenberg after introductions on the roof of the Noga Hilton hotel in Cannes. The Canadian director, dressed in black, with sneakers and a white T-shirt, he looks at me puzzled. He tries to understand. "The first film for the new millennium" I repeat the motto and ask him to develop the advertising philosophy for me. And I fall from the clouds: "It's better not to always believe the ads. Not even in the trailers".

But how is it possible?, I wonder out loud. After all, it's not his film; "I don't disagree, we all watched the trailer, we voiced our opinions. But advertisers work very strangely. They have a raw material in their hands and the result of the processing they do to sell the product often puts the creator himself to sleep. Other times it doesn't represent the film, other times it represents her". But for Cronenberg, the goal of this particular message is true today, it wasn't so real when he first saw it.

“It's an aspect of the film – maybe because’ I had no objection to that," he explains. “You would say that the film, against a stranger, very special way, is a documentary about the era in which the story takes place, at the beginning of the new millennium. But nothing was done on purpose from the beginning".

So what exactly is going on in "Cosmopolis", which turns out to be very similar to Don DeLillo's classic novel, where the script was based; We are in New York at the beginning of the new millennium. Eric Parker is a 28-year-old economist, undisputed ruler of Wall Street, who, while dreaming of living in a different civilization of the future, he sees an indeterminate shadow over the galaxy of his empire.

It will all happen over the course of a day as he drives across Manhattan to get a haircut at his father's old barber shop.. His eyes remain glued to the gen rate: rises dangerously high, despite everyone's expectations, destroying his investments. With each passing minute Eric sees his empire slipping from his grasp. Meanwhile, wild fights break out in the streets of the city. The real world threatens the cloud Eric has been living in and his odyssey escalates.


The cinema of consumption
It was the dialogue in Don DeLillo's novel that inspired David Cronenberg to create his Cosmopolis. "As a director you are a dramatist, you can't help but think of actors talking and acting. The most famous film image is of the human face while speaking. Reading DeLillo's novel I was constantly looking ahead, ecstatic, actors to speak his words. That was my key, that's what I want from the viewers as well: to allow the dialogues to carry them away".

That doesn't necessarily mean the audience will "absorb everything the first time," says the director, even referring to his immediately previous work, "A Dangerous Method", also a film “with dialogue from room to room. Not of course, and I want people to see my films twice. But I guarantee you that after the second viewing many things become clear".

For Cronenberg, a gentle man who speaks slowly and softly, it is rather disappointing that in large part modern cinema is merely consumerist. “Like eating a lollipop. When the lollipop runs out, you have enjoyed it, but also forget. My goal is to make a cinema that will not grow old over the years, on the contrary, will become richer and richer, deeper and deeper. For’ that's what I like to put a lot into my films".

"Money shows us who we are"
"Money is technology and as you know technology interests me" says Cronenberg. "Contrary to what many people think, technology is ultimately a human condition, it is the expression of the human body. The voice, the ear, the eye, all tools of the human body. As is money. It is not an invention of animals, but of man. In a sense money is the expression of man to man. Money shows us who we are. The financial crisis we are experiencing is not something like the tsunami in Japan. It's not a natural disaster, made by humans".

For him, the economic crisis can lead "to something optimistic, if it forces the whole world to work collectively. They say that if Greece collapses, everyone will be torn down. That to me is good, because it means that everyone should try to find a solution so that Greece does not collapse. The collapse of Greece is frightening," he says, conveying the concern of the Greeks of Toronto, where he resides. "I believe in optimism, as long as it's not an optimistic fantasy".

And the victims; Collateral losses; It's hard to tell if the director's response is cynicism or emotion: "There is no war without casualties and we are currently living in a state of war. I certainly don't think it's the end of the world, but pain and suffering, these are real".

"I'd be bored if I knew in advance what film I was making"
Shortly before my meeting with director Robert Pattinson, starring as Eric Packer, it was confessed to me that, just read the script and the novel, told Cronenberg that he was hesitant to accept the role because he did not understand what the novel was trying to say. Cronenberg replied, “no problem, I don't understand either". I mention it to the director.

“What I actually said is that we don't have to understand everything right away, because there are dozens of different readings of the same thing anyway. Even when I write my own original scripts, I would have to shoot the film first to fully understand why I made it or what I wanted to say by writing the script. Because I don't know everything and I'd be incredibly bored if I did. It would be boring to make the movie.". All he wants to know is if he found the book interesting and if the idea of ​​turning it into a movie intrigues him, so that he also learns something more while filming her.

When & where:
The movie "Cosmopolis"  is shown in theaters by Thursday 27 September in Village distribution

Source : tovima.gr

Early Christian cisterns were discovered in Bulgaria

Bulgarian archaeologists made an important discovery, who brought to light swimming pools dating back to the first centuries of Christianity, in an ancient fortress at Cape Agios Athanasios, in Varna of the Black Sea.

Archaeologists also discovered the foundations of a basilica and a house, which is thought to have been the residence of a local bishop.

In particular, three swimming pools were identified, one of which is inside the basilica and the other two a few meters further and are in the shape of a cross. A source was also revealed, believed to have been used for purification, also a winery, a bathhouse and a pottery kiln.

These are findings that show the style that prevailed in the Byzantine years and early Christian architecture. In fact, the archaeologists argue that the specific findings change the view of the constructions of that era.

Source : protothema.gr