Online festivals

ETERNITY

A singular urban chronicle written and directed by Ilias Madouros

18'

Expired

Description

A singular audio-visual urban chronicle that sheds light on the dialogue that exists between the buildings of the Greek National Opera and the National Library of Greece at the SNFCC on the one hand, and the surrounding area of Kallithea on the other. ETERNITY, written and directed by Ilias Madouros, and with music supervised and performed by Duo Hedi (Anastasia Kotsali, Kostas Zigkeridis), will be available to stream for free GNOTV through until 31 July 2023.

Based on a song cycle by Ralph Vaughan Williams that features poetry by William Blake, and on a piece by Apostolis Koutsogiannis setting poetry by Argyris Chionis to music, ETERNITY casts a sensitive eye over transformations of the urban fabric and shifts in contemporary society, delineating them all most vividly. The work is inspired by life in the neighbourhoods around the SNFCC, revealing refugee traces of yesteryear, present-day local markets and shops, and the daily lives of residents. By means of the unique human geography of Kallithea, the relationship between local residents and their neighbourhood, the area’s sex workers, and the Faliro Delta, the film seeks to open up a discourse on new realities, and on the transition to a new era.

Trailer

Creative team – Cast

Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams, Apostolis Koutsogiannis
Poetry: William Blake, Argyris Chionis
Adaptation, performance: Duo Hedi (Anastasia Kotsali mezzo-soprano / Kostas Zigkeridis bayan)
Written and directed by: Ilias Madouros
With the participation of local shopkeepers, residents, and Kallithea Municipal Market traders.

Director's note

The director, Ilias Madouros, notes: “Six musical miniatures featuring the poetry of William Blake and Argyris Chionis. Poetry that is deeply contemporary and existential, dark and hopeful, enters into dialogue with the work of two disparate composers of different eras, juxtaposing timeless and universal questions with the demands of an area in a state of change. From the construction site redeveloping the Faliro Bay seafront through to the mouth of the River Ilissos, ETERNITY seeks out the very heart of Kallithea: in its stadiums and on Syngrou Avenue, inside its neighbourhoods and markets, in its seas and landmarks, and in the faces of its people.

ETERNITY is a study of an area in flux, but also a meditation on our experiences and perceptions of the world, and how these are shaped – not only by objective reality, but also through our own subjective and imaginary lenses. As William Blake in any case once said: ‘Every thing possible to be believ’d is an image of truth.’”