Seven years after her skillful debut Park, which performed Toronto and San Sebastian, the place it gained the New Directors Award, Greek filmmaker Sofia Exarchou has returned together with her sophomore outing.
Animal, which Exarchou directed from a screenplay she additionally penned, follows a bunch of younger seasonal performers who present leisure at one in all Greece’s many all-inclusive island resorts. Kalia (Dimitra Vlagopoulou), returning for her ninth 12 months on the resort, is the chief of the pack, however she’s beginning to crack. As the summer time intensifies and the work stress builds up, their nights turn into violent, and Kalia’s wrestle is revealed. But when the spotlights activate once more, the present should go on.
The pic debuted in competitors at Locarno, the place Vlagopoulou took the Pardo Award for Best Performance. Since then, Animal has been one of many 12 months’s buzziest arthouse titles, screening throughout the pageant circuit and choosing up awards. Next week, Exarchou returns house, with the movie making its Greek debut on the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. Below, the filmmaker speaks to Deadline about why she determined to make a function in regards to the darkish facet behind the Greek tourism trade, how a win in Locarno has modified the notion of her work again house, and the way a fruitful filmmaking group was created out of Greece’s monetary troubles.
DEADLINE: Sofia, you’ve been on the street with ‘Animal’ all 12 months. How are you feeling?
SOFIA EXARCHOU: We went to Locarno, Sarajevo, Montreal, and Vancouver, the place we gained Best Film. Then Haifa, and now it’s truly beginning to turn into an excessive amount of. I’m going Spain, Viennale, Thessaloniki, Mannheim, Brussels. It’ll maintain going till the summer time, and it’s good. It’s a superb feeling to see your movie is touring and persons are having fun with it.
DEADLINE: Have you observed a change in attitudes towards you and your work following the win at Locarno?
EXARCHOU: I did additionally choose up awards with Park, my first function. It gained Best New Director at San Sebastian. But sure, I don’t know why, however with this movie, I’ve felt a change in perspective. Perhaps it’s due to Locarno. We’ve additionally had excellent critiques. It’s already been coated properly in Greece, despite the fact that we haven’t screened it right here but. Maybe it’s additionally the movie’s theme as a result of it’s about tourism, and all Greek individuals have some relationship with that. People from the trade are completely satisfied for me, and it has modified how they understand my work. But let’s wait till after Thessaloniki and the distribution in Greece.
DEADLINE: How are you feeling about bringing the movie house?
EXARCHOU: I’m excited. Firstly, many of the solid and crew are coming from Athens to observe the movie collectively. We’re going to be a giant gang of greater than 40 individuals. Many of them haven’t seen the movie but as a result of we didn’t have the time to arrange a non-public screening. I’m excited to be in my nation, though it’s generally worrying. It’s a very completely different feeling. You’re not amongst foreigners. You’re amongst individuals who you may have labored with and household mates, and also you need them to love it. It additionally looks like the tip of the movie’s journey, . I’ve achieved this movie. I shot it. And now it’s screened in my nation.
DEADLINE: What could be a hit in Greece for you with ‘Animal’?
EXARCHOU: Well, we fear in regards to the movie’s distribution. It’s powerful right here for Greek movies to do nicely within the cinemas. But that might be one thing that I wish to occur. I’d take pleasure in individuals in my nation going to the cinemas to observe the movie. Of course, I take pleasure in going to festivals, nevertheless it’s completely different. Communicating with audiences in Greece could be a hit for me.
DEADLINE: Can you inform me somewhat in regards to the genesis behind the movie’s story?
EXARCHOU: I began writing the script as a result of I wished to make a film about work and dealing techniques. From there, it was apparent to me that if I wished to speak about work in Greece, the tourism trade could be the core of it. This led me to the thought of performers working in a resort in the course of the summer time. Suddenly, all of it made sense with the notion of leisure, which, for me, is intriguing in capitalism: The thought of how we have to maintain individuals entertained all day to maintain the system rolling.
DEADLINE: Despite the monetary hardships and risky political atmosphere, it looks like there was a fruitful new filmmaking wave in Greece. What has it been like working in these situations?
EXARCHOU: It has been troublesome. We had an financial disaster, and plenty of issues modified within the trade. I began working earlier than the disaster. It was a lot simpler to make movies and to work in movies with good salaries. With the disaster, it was virtually not possible to have a job. On the opposite hand, we constructed a small group due to all of the wrestle. Everybody was serving to one another. Plus, generally, when all the pieces is collapsing, an power is created the place you wish to current your universe to the world. You have this anger and stress, which is a giant motivation for an artist.
DEADLINE: What’s subsequent for you?
EXARCHOU: I nonetheless have some work on Animal. We took it to Locarno in a short time, so lots of promotion hasn’t been achieved. We’re now engaged on a trailer and a poster. I’ve an thought for a brand new mission, however I have to chill out first. I really feel fairly drained in any case these years of labor, particularly the final two. It’s actually vital to recharge the batteries in your mind earlier than starting a screenplay, which is probably the most troublesome step within the creation.