SHORT SYNOPSIS
In Athens, Greece, 2013, a homeless, dejected civil engineer meets a caring and compassionate young woman who befriends him and he soon develops feelings for her; but when his close friend and mentor chooses to end his life because of despair, he must learn to overcome his self-dependence and sense of worthlessness to connect both to the young woman and himself or suffer the same fate.
WHAT IS THIS FILM ABOUT
In one word, this short film is about connection. How well can we connect with our inner self, the people around us and as a society? The answer to this question (or, rather, three questions) defines the possibility for us to live a meaningful life. It determines our inner balance, the balance in our relationships and the sociopolitical balance.
One ordinary woman and a company of three homeless men are the basic heroes in this film. The men have different backgrounds and walk different paths. Menelaos has found a home in homelessness; Thorivos has irrevocably lost every sense of home; and Antonis is seized, when he meets Olga, by a new desire to find home. Olga, on the other hand, faces the challenge of connecting – both with Antonis and her wants, musts, needs, fears and preconceptions. The journey of interactions and self-revelations will give to each of our heroes their own sense of direction.
Our story is set in Athens in 2013. Three years of financial crisis have created more than 15,000 homeless people (official estimation) across the country; most of them live in Athens. These are ordinary people, many of them highly educated and skilled, who sidetracked as the economy sank in deep recession and unemployment skyrocketed. All these people suffered a violent disconnection from a place they called home, a way of life, a world view and a network of friends and relatives. How did these people end up homeless? What future is there for them? How many of them will make it back? What about the rest? These bugging questions form the subplot of the story.
WHY HELP US MAKE THIS FILM
Sure, you can do it just for the perks.
Or you may also ask yourself: Do I connect with the idea of this film? Is this idea important? If your answer to both is “yes”, then supporting this film is a way to have your voice heard across the world. It’s like when you buy a paper or magazine that speaks for your ideas and visions. Or when you go to the movies and see a film you wish you had created. Or when you buy a music CD or a book. In all this cases you connect. You support all these creative people, because they talk to you; and what they tell you makes sense; and you want their voices to be heard, because their voices is your voice; and you have this notion, that, as long as such voices are out there, the world is a better place; and the only way you can help the world be a better place is by supporting.
In the light of the above, this film is, actually, kind of a self-referential bet: A film which explores the capability of people to connect will only stand a chance of being produced if enough people do connect. Interesting, huh?
THE TEAM
At the beginning it was just us, Alessandro Spiliotopoulos (director) and Simos Ikonomidis (writer), and the script. John Stephens (script editor) did an amazing job polishing the script and adding some brilliant ideas. Then we started gathering up a dream team of professionals, to give our vision a chance of perfect realization. The team, so far, includes:
Actors: Panagiotis Mpougiouris
Zaharias Rohas
Christina Gerogianni
Andreas Marianos
Director of Photography: Panos Golfis
1st Assistant Camera: Takis Lykotrafitis
Digital Image Technician: Alexis Tsoupras
Gaffer: Kiriakos Eleftheriadis
Assistant Director: Maria Katsipataki
Art Director: Katerina Zourari
Original Soundtrack: Elena Pavlea
Casting Director: Kostas Kountouris
Sound: Spyros Aravositas
Boom: Aris Prodromos
Hair Styling: Zois Triantafillou
Make Up Artist: Katerina Spiropoulou
Making Off & Still Photography: Dubravka Franz
Production Assistants: Apostolos Bonelis, Leonidas Leontiadis, Ioannis Bakalakos
Music Editor: Panos Chronopoulos
Editor: Manolis Zeakis
THE EXPENSES
The actors and crew have agreed to offer their services pro bono, but there are still quite many inescapable expenses:
- Equipment rental
- Costumes
- Catering (food, soft drinks, mineral, coffee)
- Transportation costs
- Water wagon (for the rain)
- Location fees
- Printing costs
- Post-production costs including editing and sound design
- DVDs of completed film
- Festival submission fees
THANK YOU
Your contribution is greatly appreciated. Even if you cannot chip in a penny, you can still spread the word to your family and friends (try email, facebook, twitter, etc.). You are part of our voice now. You are connected. Thank you so much!
