Television could be just the right place for some movies
Film critic Babis Aktsoglou, who is also in charge of the Greek Film Center’s Filmcenter theater network that showcases films funded by the center, has the following to say about this year’s film industry output: «There is always a world of difference between the films shown at the Thessaloniki Film Festival and all the rest of them. A colossal difference. Some of the festival films would actually do very well to be shown on television, and I’m not trying to undermine them by saying that. Hoursoglou’s film, for example, ‘Eyes of Night,’ is a fine film with a very respectable directorial approach, but it is not poignant enough to be effective on the big screen. «A very good mini-series, in my view probably the best this year, is Elissavet Hronopoulou’s ‘A Song is not Enough.’ Also we cannot forget that there is not a lot of demand from big international festivals for Greek films, despite the fact that they are very receptive to ‘ethnic’ cinema. The only exception would be the case of of Theo Angelopoulos. «I have observed a growing disparity between the films that succeed at the box office and those that are destined to remain on a small scale of distribution. The very personal style of cinema by this director, as with the case of Thanos Anastasopoulos, is dead and buried. It may still be out there, it may appear on the bill of festivals or at special screenings, but it will never sell over 1,500 tickets. Of course, it should receive funding from the Greek Film Center, but we should also be well aware of what its target audience is.»
