Dazzling and immensely alluring with the passing of time, Faye Dunaway -accompanied by the Thessaloniki Film Festival's Director, Michel Demopoulos- spoke to Greek and foreign journalists on Saturday, November 10th.

Comfortable, accessible, candid and impromptu, "Bonnie", official guest of the 42nd Festival, spoke ardently about her new film that deals with the life of Maria Callas, as well as her first directing attempt, the documentary "Yellow Bird", which is part of the 42nd Festival's programme. The Festival will be honouring them by screening Jerry Schatzberg's Puzzle of a downfall child (1970), in which she has the leading role, along with the attendance of the director and Mrs. Dunaway herself.

Eclectic in her preferences, something that she admitted herself, Faye Dunaway created an unrivalled female ideal in cinema chronicles, unattached from the stereotypes of sex symbol and femme fatale. She has played the parts of fragile as well as dynamic women. "All of my roles are very representative of me. Besides, you have to be strong to project the fragile elements."

Gifted with the undeniable qualities of a star, something that Joan Crawford and Marlen Dietrich have acknowledged, the American actress said that, "today's star system doesn't require as much glamour as it used to since the 'dream of beauty' doesn't exist anymore. Ideals are more down to earth and closer to ordinary life, which is also fine. I really like Gwineth Paltrow, as well as many of the younger girls."

Mature and prepared to step behind the camera, she had a wonderful experience directing "Yellow Bird", a story by Tennessee Williams, with whom she shared a close friendship. "We used to go around with the limo and Tennessee would play Stan while I played Alma. I loved it. We would laugh so much because it was the first time in Tennessee's work that a woman was depicted in a comical fashion. His heroines were usually Southern tragical, cursed women, struggling for beauty and art, but drowning in their oppressive environment. This time he did something completely different and I loved it. Three years ago they gave me the idea to direct it. We came up with the money and the actors, James Colbourn and Brenda Bleythan, agreed."

She considers herself lucky to have worked with people she admires like, Norman Jewison in The Thomas Crown Affair, Arthur Pen in Bonnie and Clyde, Elia Kazan in The Arrangement, as well as Emir Kusturitsa who directed Arizona Dream and whom she related to Fellini. "Kusturitsa is a remarkable director and quite misunderstood in America. I think that only Miramax actually comprehended his quality, while most major studios had no idea of his work. It was wonderful working with him, even though he often confused us. Norman Jewison once told me, 'you make a film, not a screenplay', which means that you begin with a screenplay, hoping its good, and then the film is born. Kusturitsa knew this so he often made changes."

She regards Elia Kazan, who directed her in her first appearance in the Lincoln Center Repertory Company in The Arrangement, as her mentor. "I only have good things to say about Kazan. He's the one who actually created the American style of acting and completely changed its artistic form. He is a wonderful artist and he taught me how to work. For a moment I had forgotten that he was Greek. Greece is a wonderful country that has offered so much to the world."

Her upcoming film about Maria Callas, deals with experiences in the arts, "with insanity, pain and uncertainties. It's about the doubts and frailties of artists. That's what I love about Callas, not the diva, but all the things that everyone wants to believe about people like her and me."

She mentioned again how lucky she felt to have done so many films and spoke fervently about Puzzle of a downfall child, thanking Festival Director, Michel Demopoulos for showing the film. Puzzle of a downfall child, one of her favourite films, didn't receive the attention it deserved in the States. The same, she said, happened with the film's director, Jerry Schatzberg. "Nearly nobody in the States appreciated his serene, personal vision. It's strange, but Hollywood has the need for efforts such as ours; the need for festivals like Thessaloniki's, that study topics with more involved meanings, beyond advertisement and commercial success. And its wonderful that the Festival provides opportunities for new artists to unveil their first and second films. Its just exciting to watch all this compressed energy", she said and urged young film makers to be careful, observant, imaginative and go by their instincts.

The September 11th terrorist attack was one of the reasons her trip to Thessaloniki was decided at the very last moment. Finally, the decisive factor was her desire to visit Greece, which had been on her mind for the past four years. The actress stood up for the States' foreign policy regarding terrorism. "We have to decide how to defend our beliefs, and to overpower the destructive forces that are free to roam the world. We have to be united and put a stop to the devastation from these terrorist groups that hide behind Religion and God. We all feel sorry for any kind of destruction. We sympathise for victims throughout the world. What's happening in Afghanistan is sad because it's a divided country. I don't want to sound like a preacher nor to speak about politics, but we should view the events of September 11th as a disgusting and evil attack on our lives. None of us feels safe anymore. What applies to a woman living in Afghanistan also applies to me who lives in the States."

Saturday, November 10th, 2001