Book tribute to admired late director’s best film
Director Alexis Damianos, who passed away earlier this month, may have died with a very short filmography, but it is one that has left a mark on Greek cinema. With just three films – «Until The Ship Sails,» «Evdokia» and «Eniochos: The Charioteer» – credited to his name as a director in his 30-year career (he acted in several features), the one that remains most influential is the second of the three, made in 1971. The making of this drama is the subject of a book by Lakis Papastathis, a director himself who had worked as an assistant on «Evdokia.» Due for release within the next few days, «When Damianos Made ‘Evdokia’» portrays the film’s making, step by step. It is loaded with memories, feelings, history, behind-the-scenes details, accounts of meetings that took place, thoughts, interviews, criticism, as well as unpublished photographs. The film’s plot is based on a love story between a soldier and a prostitute, with two amateur actors, Maria Vassiliou and Giorgos Koutouzis, cast for the leading roles, both exceptionally interpreted. Damianos, who made just a handful of films, liked to work with amateur actors. According to the director’s notes, which are included in the book, making «Evdokia» was one of his life’s biggest battles. «Every scene,» Papastathis notes, «is not there just to take the viewer to the next stage in the plot’s development. It’s a statement.»
