Ethical Dilemmas in the making of Documentaries

Thursday, March 9, 11.00 @Pavlos Zannas

 

* All masterclasses, talks and discussions will have simultaneous translation with headphones (from Greek to English and from English to Greek, as needed).
* Access is open to all, on a first come, first served basis.

 

Ethical Dilemmas in the making of Documentaries
A discussion with Marianna Economou, Marco Gastine, Katerina Patroni, Stavros Psillakis and Kimon Tsakiris
Moderator: Apostolos Karakasis

Five established Greek documentary directors share experiences and thoughts on the ethical dilemmas they have faced while making their films, showcasing specific, characteristic clips from their own works.

 

Marianna Economou, director / producer, studied Social Anthropology, Photojournalism and Production in London. Since 2000 she has been directing documentaries (Greek and foreign co-productions) as well as documentary series for Greek television. Her films have been lauded in festivals in Greece and abroad and have attained international distribution. “When Tomatoes Met Wagner” premiered at the Berlinale, was selected by over 100 festivals, won 12 awards (FIPRESCI at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Hellenic Film Academy, Jean Rouch et.al. It was the Greek submission for the Best International Film Oscar, participated at the Prix Europa et.al.). The documentary “The Longest Run” won awards at Doc Leipzig and was nominated for the Hellenic Film Academy awards. Her most recent documentary, “The Greek Bar Jacket”, was a commission by Dior Paris. Other awarded documentaries include “Food for Love”, “Twelve Neighbours”, “The School”, “My Place in the Dance” et. al. She is a member of the European Film Academy, the Hellenic Film Academy and a founding member of the Greek Documentary Association (President 2017-2022).

 

Marco Gastine, director and producer. Born in Paris, he has been living and working in Greece since 1979. He studied Architecture in Paris and Film in Athens. In 2003, he founded the production company Minimal Films, which undertook the production of his documentary films and the ones of talented Greek filmmakers. Minimal Films has also undertaken international co-productions with ARTE, France Télévisions, CNC et.al. He is teaching Documentary in Greek and international workshops (MFI, StoryDoc, French Institute et.al.). He also teaches film direction at the Lykourgos Stavrakos Film and Television School. Founding member of Greek Documentary Association, he is former President and member of its Board of Directors.

Selected Filmography
2019 As Far as the Sea
2018 24h Europe (short)
2016 Unsung Heroes – Nikos Beloyannis (short)
2012 Demokratia, the Way of the Cross
2008 Themis
2006 Little Odysseys (TV)
2004 Marseilles, A Greek Profile

 

Katerina Patroni studied Filmmaking at Eugenia Hatzikou Film School, Athens, The London International Film School, London and the National Film and Television School, Beaconsfield. Undergraduate studies on Hellenic Culture and Civilization at Hellenic Open Univeristy, MA in Οrthodox Theology. Has written and directed feature and short length films and taught filmmaking at Aristoteleion University of Thessaloniki, the State School of Drama of Nothern Greece et.al.

Selected Filmography
2019 The Fourth Character
2014 The Art of Crisis
2011 Laskareos 99 (short)
2009 Meetings with Kiki Dimoula
2008 The Third Takis
2005 The Painting (short)
2003 Men at Sea

 

Stavros Psillakis was born in Chania, Crete, in 1954. He is a director and producer of anthropological documentaries that usually focus on borderline situations of human existence. He first studied Electrical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens and then Film Directing at the Eugenia Hatzikou Film School (Athens). He received a scholarship from the French state to study Anthropological Documentary Filmmaking at the VARAN School in Paris. He was honored with many awards, such as the 1st Documentary Film Award of the Hellenic Film Academy in 2010 for the documentary “There Was No Other Way”. He is a founding member of the Hellenic Film Academy and the Greek Documentary Association, and he has worked on films by Lakis Papastathis, Dimos Theou and Stavros Tornes. His rich filmography, counting more than 40 films, includes the documentaries “The Man Who Disturbed the Universe”, “Metaxa, Listening to Time”, “Olympia”, “Short Gypsy Stories”, “The Light Inside”, as well as the trilogy “For no Reasons, Meetings with Yorgos Maniatis”, “Debt” and “Farewell, The Memory of the Land”.

 

Kimon Tsakiris was born in Nea Ionia, Athens, in 1974. He has a degree in International Economics from the University of Maastricht and in International Studies Law from the University of East London. At the University of Barcelona he participated in the group study of “Audiovisual Techniques applied to Social Science”, collectively creating a series of short documentaries and experimental fiction films. Since 2001 he has been living and working in Athens, having created, together with Tatiana Panigyri, Team BI-OPTIC. Their films have screened and won awards in important festivals around the world, while their productions include collaborations with ARTE, ZDF, BBC, YLE, DR, ERT, TV Cataluña, TSR, SBS, AL JAZEERA, TELE-QUEBEC, FOX, SVT, YES DBS Israel, ETV, CYBC, VPRO, Eurochannel USA et.al. The films of Kimon Tsakiris have won awards in the festivals of Thessaloniki, Cyprus, AsterFest (Northern Macedonia), Montenegro, Dialektus (Hungary), Urti (Monte Carlo) Bakaforum (Switzerland).

Selected Filmography
2019 Sugartown – For a Fistful of Votes
2015 The Archaeologist
2013 Mitsigan – Hardships & Beauties
2009 Sugartown – The Day After
2006 Sugartown – The Bridegrooms

 

Apostolos Karakasis was born in 1970 in Thessaloniki, Greece. Studied film and video in the UK at West Surrey College of Art & Design (1990-1993). Since then he has been involved in documentary filmmaking both as director and editor. His extensive work for television mainly focuses on cultural and historical issues, with a personal point of view. As a director he has collaborated with many of Greece’s public television (ERT) documentary series. His independent cinematic work focuses on a creative portrayal of “common people’s” stories in an observational mode and has received festival awards and international distribution. His work also includes largescale audiovisual projects incorporating a documentary approach (audiovisual installation for the Greek pavilion in Shanghai Expo 2010). He is the main author of the open access e-book, “Handbook for young documentary filmmakers”.