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>>> 26-11-2006
Happy to be visiting Thessaloniki and impressed by the 47th Thessaloniki International Film Festival’s atmosphere, Greek-Italian actress, Valeria Golino, gave a press conference on Saturday, November 25th, with the attendance of the Festival’s President, Georges Corraface and Director, Despina Mouzaki. Welcoming Valeria Golino, Mrs. Mouzaki said: “It isn’t just her Greek heritage or the years she lived in Greece. It’s that among the many actors she has worked with, is also our own Mr. Corraface and that makes us feel even closer to her. It isn’t even the fact that she will be appearing in Theo Angelopoulos’ upcoming film, The dust of time or that she is so familiar to us from her outstanding career in American and European cinema… More than anything else, it’s the fact that in her roles, Valeria Golina manages to defy the distance between the audience and the characters on screen. When you watch her you forget that you’re watching an actress playing her role. You only see a sincere woman breathing life into every character she’s played”. Georges Corraface, the Festival’s Director also had a warm welcome in store for Valeria Golino: “I’d like to thank you for coming, not as the President, but as Georges. We are mesmerized by your presence”. Golino spoke about living and working in so many places abroad. “I don’t like the phrase ‘citizen of the world’. I’d say that I feel Greek when I’m in Italy and Italian when I’m in Greece. Is you really want to know, I dream in both Greek and Italian”. Regarding her priorities in cinema, Golino said: “At some point my priority was to live in the States where I worked in 16-17 films. I liked working there but it wasn’t the only thing I wanted to do. During my peak in the States, I decided to work for the first time in a Greek film. So, I took the plane and went to Cyprus for Andrea Patzis’ film without knowing the least bit about what was in store for me. You see, when things are easy for me, I get bored and I start to leave. The things that Europe offers you are more important for me”. Golino also noted that she had been waiting for years for a chance to work with Theo Angelopoulos. “That almost happened in Eternity and a day. It didn’t, though, but I knew he had me in mind. He is one of the last 3-4 great teachers left in the world. When you work in a film with Mr. Angelopoulos, even if many people don’t see it, you know that you’ve been part of a work of art. That’s what interests me most. I’m ready to become a small, little thing on his film’s canvas. Because you never expect Angelopoulos to do a close-up on you…I’ve already done plenty of films that are based on me”. Regarding her future, Golino said that she expects a similar course to the one she’s followed so far. “In the past two years, I’ve worked in more films than I would have liked to. My goal is to continue to work as much as I can in films that I like. Unfortunately, even in Italy, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to work with filmmakers who aren’t part of the system”. |
The Thessaloniki International Film Festival is a part of INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FILM PRODUCERS ASSCOCIATIONS / www.fiapf.org
