Film derscription

‘Burning from the Inside’ is a socio-political documentary film, which takes place in Greece and Germany. The film  focuses on the rise of the Greek Nazis ‘Chrisi Avgi’ as the ‘monstrous’ child of the crisis, the changes they brought into Greek society after their entry in parliament in 2012, and their demolition two years later after  the murder of the anti-fascist Pavlos Fissas. Through the ‘trajectory’ of the party, we question the political and social structures of Greek leadership which ‘allowed’ space to fascism and corruption, as well as the functionality of Democracy in the country that gave birth to it. We also focus on the antifascist movement which grew at the same time not only in Greece but also in Germany. In the country that gave birth to Nazism, the Greek immigrants give their own fight against the developments in Greece, and try to be a part of the events.  Adopting the point of view of the Greek immigrants in Germany, the film tries to depict the situation, impose questions and unfold the reasons which made Greece a country burning from the inside.

Who are we?

We are a group of  antifascist activists from Greece who migrated to Germany during the last three years. We decided to use the film medium as our weapon in order to protest against the fascist outburst that has taken over Greece, and let the world know how democratic, the mother of Democracy is. Soon after the decision to make this film, German, Italian and Australian colleagues joined our team, and made the realization of the film possible. We all share a professional background in film and video production, as well as video activism. Most of us are members of the collective AK-KRAAK, which is based in Berlin and has a twenty-year experience in video activism.

Who am i?

I am Marsia the writer, director and producer of the film. I have been working professionally in the film and television industry since 2000 (mostly as director, first as. director and casting director), and i have participated in numerous films and television series, as well as  video productions for TV and the Web. The last four years, i have found a particular interest in documentary films, and this is currently the basic field for my activities. Related  projects are 'Children of the Riots', a film about the riots of 2008 in Greece and how this era influenced the political consciousness of  the student's generation and 'Recycling Media', an experimental documentary film about the Greek  crises and the country that suffers. Children of the riots was screened on Al Jazeera and  on numerous festivals, and Recycling Media is currently screened around Germany. At the same time, i am a member of the German video-collective AK-KRAAK, and we produce numerous projects every year, based on social and political issues around the world. Burning from the inside is my first feature length film as director and producer.

Why is this film important?

This film is important because it provides documentation on the most decaying years of recent Greek history and politics. It raises awareness on the revival of Nazism in the country that gave birth to Democracy and it unfolds the agony of the Greeks of Diaspora in order to assume a voice, and protest against the catastrophic developments in their country. The film addresses to a global audience. The aim is, not only to inform the people and raise awareness on the thorns of Nazism which are still alive, but also to inspire the people  to unite and fight against it.

Where does your money go and how can you help?

The film up to this point, has been exclusively funded by myself (in terms of production means) and the team has been working without compensation. We have completed more that half of our shootings, and we are one step beyond the completion of the film. In order  to do so, we need to organize our last shootings in Athens (Greece) and around Bavaria (Germany). According to plan, the film will be edited immediately after, and will be ready by May. You can support us with donations which start from 1 euro, and you can benefit from our perks which are awarded to people who donate 10 euros or more. With your financial support we will:

-Pay for the travel expenses, accommodation and transportation of the crew

- Book the necessary equipment (camera, lights, microphones etc)

- Pay for music copyrights as well as copyrights for the use of archive material

- compensate the crew

More on the film and the Greek situation

The economic crisis that hit Greece in 2010 and the austerity measures that followed led  half of the Greek population  under the limits of poverty, and the people were found to be possessed by a massive wave of depression.  At the same time, there is a collapse of the social and political system, an inadequacy of efficient leadership, as well as a big mistrust and disapproval of the ‘state’ and what it stands for. In practical terms, the country seems ready to collapse. General strikes and massive demonstrations on the one hand, promises and lies on the other. And in the middle, the death of hope. Within this situation, another migration wave is being reinforced. Greeks are massively leaving the country, trying to build their lives abroad.  The most common destination is Germany. Within the last year, more than 15.000 Greeks have moved to Berlin.

The above, was the perfect excuse for the rise of extreme nationalism in the country. Greece was of course familiar with fascist regimes in the past, but after the abolition of dictatorship in 1974 such ideologies were a ‘taboo’, therefore fascist groups only operated  underground and in very small circles. However, after the last elections in 2012 the Greek Nazi Party Chrisi Avgi (Golden Dawn) managed to enter parliament for the first time in Greek history. What follows, sounds like a fictional story. The Nazis decide to take the law in their hands, in order –as they say- to ‘save’ Greece from the ‘traitors’ and the foreign invaders, as well as to regain the country’s national status. In practical terms, Chrisi Avgi legalized violence ‘in the name of the country’, pointed out immigrants as the identified enemy, and turned its voters into military divisions which spread terror and hatred in the neighborhoods of Greece. Chrisi Avgi manages to attract the poorest and less educated members of society on the one hand, as well as the young people who craved for a radical change on the other. They managed to convince its voters that it is an anti-systemic force, that will clean parliament from corruption, will punish all the governments of the last decade that brought the country into this state, will denounce the memorandum and protect the national borders against foreign threat. In other words, they gave the people something to believe in. And at the same time, they were uprising the national pride by getting close to the people. They approached neighborhoods, schools and universities, they offered free food to Greek citizens, they created the first blood bank only for Greeks and they were performing patrols against the ‘foreign criminals’ which were ‘invading and occupying’ the streets of Athens. 

Thanks to the government’s policy which created the entire basis for the actions of Chrisi Avgi, within a year after the elections, Greek authorities had adopted the role of the tyrant and those with different ideology (especially Anarchists and anti-fascists) or those who were non-Greeks were not only pushed away, but also physically and psychologically abused. . Violence soon got out of control, and the streets of Athens were transformed into battlefields. During this time, a number of racist attacks or political crimes against lefts were committed which were never brought to justice. Chrisi Avgi got so much power, that they jumped to the next level. They attempted to expand to Germany and attract the Greek immigrants by creating a cell in Nuremberg. This action was prohibited, thanks to the immediate response of the Greeks in Germany and the anti-fascist movement, which was also growing in Greece.

We started shooting  ‘Burning from the Inside’ immediately after the announcement of the Berlin Greek society that the Nazis of Golden Dawn tried to expand in Germany. This happened in January 2013. We then felt, that it was essential for us to do something about it and show that the Greeks of diaspora are not unattached to the Greek problems. Our aim was to raise global awareness on the situation in Greece, expose the true nature of the Nazis and call for help. We had no script, no concept no story, no money. We only had the lust to protest.  We formed a small team and with our own means started to shoot. At the time, we were facing the obscured situation that all the authorities and the government of Greece were under a kind of agreement with the Nazis, allowing them to spread their seed of hatred.  As a result, the focus of the research was on collecting information and proof that would bring the gung of Chrisi Avgi against the law. However, during the shootings of the film and while we were very close to an end, everything changed. The vicious murder of Pavlos Fissas by members of the party changed the political scenery. Within a week, the Nazis were confronted, and their crimes were exposed. At first I thought that our ‘mission’ was completed, although we didn’t actually do something about it. In other words, for me there was no film anymore. However, looking at the footage, I realized that there was also another story here which was not yet told. The story of us, the Greek immigrants of Germany, as we experienced the situation. And this is how the film started to getting a ‘new’ shape.  Filming ‘Burning from the Inside’ is not easy. Many times we had to come across dangerous situations, such as the rage of the Nazis or police violence. As we all know, whereas there is corruption, a camera is always unwelcome.  However, we are still here, still strong, and the film is developing. The completion of this film means a lot to me. It reflects my agony and my feelings about my country as well as my disgust for all those who try to destroy it.