Flix at the foot of the volcano : Set visit video from the «Window to the Sea» shoot in Nisyros

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The Spanish-Greek co-production, formerly know as «Sumendia», featuring Emma Suárez and Akyllas Karazisis in a powerful life and love story, is currently filmed in Nisyros. Flix’s camera recorded behind the scenes footage and interviewed the film’s cast and crew.

Nisyros is an off-the-rack film set: its post-apocalyptic volcanic landscape fuses with the picture-perfect houses while its austerity is showered with blinding light, imbibed with an originally eclectic style, which is why the island became the inspiration for the Spanish director’s Miguel Ángel Jiménez new film. While visiting the island for an MFI workshop he conceived his new project, with the appropriately very Nisyrian title «Window to the Sea», which is currently being filmed there.

The film’s main protagonist is Maria, a 50-year-old woman from Bilbao –portrayed by Emma Suárez, who stole our hearts in Pedro Almodovar’s «Julieta». Faced with life changing news, Maria chooses to take a trip to Greece with her closest girlfriends, against the advice of her son (Gaizka Ugarte) and doctors. A spontaneous decision leads her to the island of Nisyros, a tiny haven of peace and calm that immediately feels like home. While exploring the beautiful island and soaking in its hidden treasures, she meets Stefanos (Akilas Karazisis) and finds herself falling in love against all odds. What seemed like a brief escape from reality soon turns into an unexpected chance at happiness, in a luminous story of a woman, who takes a leap of faith and dares to live for the moment on her own terms. Set on the mesmerising Greek island of Nisyros, where the sun shines on a majestic volcano, “Window to the Sea” is a powerful and hopeful story about love, loss and fearlessly confronting life, simply by leaning on someone else.

Miguel Ángel Jiménez («Chaika», «The Night Watchman») co-wrote «Window to the Sea» with Luis Moya, while the photography highlighting the stark contrast between rainy Bilbao and the resplendently sunny Aegean island is directed by Gorka Gómez Andreu. «Window to the Sea» is an international co-production of the Greek Heretic and Spanish Kinoskopik, Gariza Films, Sumendia Filma AIE production companies,
with the support of EITB, Gobierno Vasco, Greek Film Centre, Eurimages, Euskaltel, Ekome S.A and Cosmote TV, and it’s one of the first productions making use of the cash rebate program announced only a few months ago by the Greek National Centre of Audiovisual Media and Communication (ΕΚΟΜΕ).

Flix had the pleasure – exclusively – to put on its bathing suit and travel to Nisyros only to be amazed by the beauty of the place and the passion of Volcano’s cast and crew. We talked with the director and director of photography, as well as Emma Suárez, Akilas Karazisis, Gaizka Ugarte, Yorgos Karnavas and Konstantinos Kontovrakis from Heretic and brought back their words and images infused with enthusiasm and cultural fusion. In a backdrop of breathtaking landscapes we interviewed amazingly interesting people and recorded our impressions of this extraordinary project in the following video.

«Window to the Sea» (« Una Ventana Al Mar» | formerly know as
«Sumendia») info:

Directed by: Miguel Ángel Jiménez | Written by: Luis Moya Redrado, Miguel Ángel Jiménez | Main Cast: Emma Suárez, Akilas Karazisis, Gaizka Ugarte, Katerina Zafeiropoulou, Kostas Petrou, Antonis Kafetzopoulos | Produced by: Kinoskopik Film Produktion, Gariza Films, Sumendia Filma AIE | Co-produced by Heretic (Greece) | Producers: Luis de Oza, Javier Arsuaga, Lara Izagirre | Co-producers: Giorgos Karnavas, Konstantinos Kontovrakis | Cinematography by: Gorka Gómez Andreu, AEC | Editing by: Ivan Aledo | Production coordinator: Leda Bouzoukou | Production design by: Stavros Liokalos, Azegiñe Urigoitia | Casting Directors: Makis Gazis, Txabe Atxa | Costumes by: Despoina Chimona, Nerea Torrijos | Make-up by: Ainhoa Esquisabel | Music by: Pascal Gaigne | Assistant director: George Todria | Sound by: Nikos Konstantinou, Asier González | Sound mix by: Iosu Gonzalez | VFX by: Javier Prieto | With the support of: EITB, Gobierno Vasco, Greek Film Centre, Eurimages, Euskaltel, Ekome S.A | in co-production with Cosmote TV | World sales: Heretic Outreach

Women of Greek Cinema

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Being a woman professional in Greek cinema. What does it mean nowadays? Does sexism exist? Is the field, also in Greece, male dominated? What kinds of problems are women faced with? Are female characters real enough, complicated enough, smart enough? What kind of stories do women want to share with the world? How do they hope to see heroines on the big screen?

36 women answer these questions.

Flix.gr, the prominent film portal in Greece, contributes to the international conversation on the place of women in film and the workplace in general, observing that, contrary to many other countries and while having a small market, Greek cinema is filled with female professionals. Is this accurate and why? So we decided to call them out and honor them, by giving them the floor.

Of course, we couldn’t assemble them all. That would have been impossible, there are many more out there, numbers growing stronger by the year. We invited nearly 40 women, representing, at least, two generations, working in key positions in Greek filmmaking, in front of the camera and behind the camera (from directors, producers and DOPs to editors, composers, designers and, of course, actresses) and asked them to talk about their experience in the cinematic workplace.

Flix.gr is looking forward to feeding the conversation with the video below, directed and edited by Nikos Pastras.

 

Participating: Marli Aleiferi, Eleni Alexandraki, Antouanetta Angelidi, Rea Apostolides, Themis Bazaka, Iro Bezou, Helena Charbila, Fenia Cossovitsa, Maria Drandaki, Sofia Exarchou, Markella Giannatou, Maria Hatzakou, Maria Kallimani, Kora Karvouni, Sofia Kokkali, Valerie Kontakos, Eleni Kossyfidou, Konstantina Kotzamani, Jacqueline Lentzou, Amanda Livanou, Margarita Manda, Dora Masklavanou, Christina Moumouri, Olympia Mytilinaiou, Eva Nathena, Penny Panayotopoulou, Kallia Papadaki, Elina Psykou, Marilena Orfanou, Vasileia Rozana, Eva Stefani, Stella Theodoraki, Elli Tringou, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Pinelopi Tsilika, Phaedra Vokali

 

 

Sala Web 2015: 15 world premieres for the 72nd Venice Film Festival’s online event

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The fourth edition of Sala Web will run from September 3rd to 16th. The screening room of the Venice Film Festival will serve as a unique opportunity for worldwide audiences to screen selected titles from the 72nd edition of the Mostra. 12 feature films in the Orizzonti Competition and 3 feature films from the Biennale College, Venice’s own laboratory dedicated to support micro-budget films, are now confirmed for the 2015 edition of the Venice Sala Web.

Read on…