Mystery 84 Panigíri (Feast Day of Saint George) Live Cinema - The Working Class - Sirens
project
Description
Mystery 84 Panigíri Live Cinema - The Working Class - Sirens was a three-day cinematic marathon with real-time films, screenings, public speeches, interactive performances, sirens, music, dance, and the Feast Day of Saint George in Elefsina, that was held from 21 to 23 April 2023 on Pagalou street, close to the church of Saint George, as well as at the West Attica Labour Union Building (EKEDA). It was a project developed by director Syllas Tzoumerkas, co-curated by academic and cultural practitioner Maria Chatzichristodoulou aka Maria X, and film critic and programmer Lorenzo Esposito, in collaboration with the Thessaloniki Film Festival and LADA – The Live Art Development Agency (London).
This innovative festival “interacted” with a religious, historical and cultural institution such as the Feast Day of Saint George (patron saint of the city), incorporating new features into the collective consciousness with all-day and all-night film screenings, six hours of public talks, VR performances and live filming in public space with the aim of creating two films, in real time, that were finalised with the participation of the audience, edited on site and screened at the end of the festival.
For three days and two nights, in a pop-up cinema in the city which was specially designed, even for sleeping, 3,480 minutes of true real-time cinematic and new-media adrenaline awaited viewers who could fall asleep during one movie and wake up during another! Movies by Helena Wittman, Matt Adams and Blast Theory, Fred Halsted, Eduardo Williams and Lav Diaz were screened for the first time in Greece, as well as films incorporating real-time techniques by Wim Wenders, Michael Glawogger, Monika Willi, Ulrich Seidl, Alexis Damianos, Hanna Polack, JP Sniadecki, Stefan Jarl, Avo Kapraelian and many more artists from around the world.
At the same time, on Friday evening a 6-hour marathon of Public Speech at the historic West Attica Labour Union Building began with a series of speeches and roundtables related to the festival’s themes (working class and live cinema) with the participation of distinguished speakers such as the artistic director of the Karlovy Vary Festival, Karel Och, the curator and creative director of Future Everything, Irini Papadimitriou, the artist, academic, and performer Niya B, the director and visual artist and founding member of Blast Theory, Matt Adams, the Italian media and Arabic studies scholar and co-founder of UntoldSyria, Donatella Della Ratta, the visual artist, academic and designer Chris Salter, and many more special guests.
In addition, two legendary interactive VR performances by the interdisciplinary team ZU-UK – pioneers in participatory theatre and performance – turned the tables at the West Attica Labour Union Building. The interactive performances Binaural Dinner Date – ZU-UK and Goodnight, Sleep Tight – ZU-UK, that have sold out all over the world, were presented for the first time in Greece, in Elefsina.
At the same time, the festival was incorporated into the Feast Day of Saint George on Pagalou Street. Market stalls, games, music, dances mixed with the Sirens live installation and other surprises curated by stage designer Penelope Valti. In this festival setting, the cameras were set up and filming started for the two live-cinema films directed by the German documentary filmmaker Elke Lehrenkrauss and Syllas Tzoumerkas, with the participation of distinguished actors and artists as well as the audience of the festival itself.
After the end of filming, the West Attica Labour Union Building was transformed into a post-production hub, open to the public who could watch the editing and technical processing of the films. The two original cinematographic works were the conclusion of the three-day festival and were screened at the pop-up cinema on Sunday evening.
The Panigíri explored both the concept and image of the working class in Europe today, and the very aesthetics of live cinema, namely cinema that is produced or reacts in real time. The mini-documentary created for the three-day event was presented as part of the IN SITU REALITIES: Eleusis Documentary Festival.
Archival Research
Stages of Implementation
Three-day festival: 21-04-2023 to 23-04-2023
Partners
Delta Pi, Διεθνές Φεστιβάλ Κινηματογράφου Θεσσαλονίκης (Thessaloniki International Film Festival), LADA - The Live Art Development Agency, Ινστιτούτο Goethe Αθήνας (Goethe Institute of Athens), Πρεσβεία Ιταλίας (Embassy of Italy), Ιταλικό Μορφωτικό Ινστιτούτο (Italian Institute of Education), Kingston School of Art
Tickets Policy
Free admission
Category
Keywords
Διεύθυνση Πολιτιστικής Ανάπτυξης/Department of Cultural Development, Σύνθετη δράση τέχνης/Interdisciplinary art project, Κινηματογράφος/Cinema, Τέχνη στο Δημόσιο Χώρο/Art in Public Space, Φεστιβάλ/Festival, Masterclass/Masterclass, Ομιλίες/Speeches, Παραδοσιακές κουλτούρες/Traditional cultures, Δημόσιος χώρος/Public space
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