A documentary on Dimitris Papaioannou by Nefeli Sarri, supported by Onassis Culture

After screening at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, the Athens International Film Festival – Opening Nights, and other festivals around the world, “Behind the Wall” by Nefeli Sarri is now heading to the small screen. Winning three awards at the Master of Art Film Festival and the International Documentary Festival of Ierapetra, this behind-the-scenes documentary about the Onassis Stegi production “Still Life” and the Greek director, choreographer, performer, and visual artist Dimitris Papaioannou is getting its TV premiere on Monday, November 23, 2020 at 23:50 on Greek national television (ERT2).

The film – which traces the preparations for “Still Life”, Dimitris Papaioannou’s most mysterious and pared-back work – is not another portrait of the artist but rather focuses on his philosophy and vision, both his own ways of working on a daily basis, and those of his dedicated collaborators. It is a non-conventional biographical study of this internationally renowned Greek director, choreographer, performer, and visual artist. “Behind the Wall” attempts to draw parallels between the creative process and the myth of Sisyphus, noting over and again that the life and work of a great artist cannot be separated.

And the audience watches on, entranced.

About "Still Life" at Onassis Stegi

“Still Life” premiered on the Onassis Stegi Main Stage in May 2014 and has since toured the world. In a deserted stagescape under an expansive sky, worker-humans grapple with the weight of elemental materials in their attempts to connect with the lightness of the cosmos that envelops them. Bodies are balanced and broken apart, creating optical illusions that seek to gently illuminate humankind’s Sisyphean search for meaning. Seven performers, the director among them, actualize the onstage universe. “Still Life” is a work that lays its building blocks bare.

DIRECTOR: Nefeli Sarri

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Alfonso De Munno Gallardo
EDITOR: Giannis Tsitsopoulos

An Argonauts SA production, in co-production with ERT SA, with the support of Onassis Culture and Flunet Productions.