Onassis Culture at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, May 17-26, 2022
Three films (co)produced by the Onassis Foundation premiere at the 75th International Cannes Festival, which takes place between May 17 and 26, 2022. Evi Kalogeropoulou’s short film “On Xerxes’ Throne” was selected at the International Critics’ Week; Panos Koutras’ latest feature, “Dodo,” is shown at the Cannes Premiére, while “The Dam” by Ali Cherri premieres at the Directors’ Fortnight.
On Xerxes’ Throne by Evi Kalogiropoulou
“On Xerxes’ Throne” by Evi Kalogiropoulou. Commissioned and produced by Onassis Culture. Official selection at the International Critics’ Week (Semaine de la Critique)
In the dystopian workplace that is the Perama shipyards, a longstanding ban on physical contact has turned human interactions into otherworldly simulations of a repressed sensuality that goes beyond stereotypical heteronormative desires. Hinting at the existence of an omnipresent but invisible monitoring mechanism, the film follows the story of Yorgos – the worker there the longest, and manager of the yard – to profile human relationships and exchanges as shaped by an Orwellian everyday existence in which the visual subordinates the emotional. Once a month, Yorgos leaves Perama, crossing over to the island of Salamis that lies opposite. Both he and the yard’s young workers gaze at the mountain that rises behind Perama, then across the strait, then back again, unsure of what to expect, or what to do.
Kalogiropoulou’s first version of the film, titled “I Belong to Me,” was commissioned for the “You and AI: Through the Algorithmic Lens” exhibition, presented by Onassis Stegi at Pedion tou Areos park in Athens (24.06–25.07.2021), exploring the themes of algorithms and artificial intelligence, creativity and ethics, and curated by Afroditi Panagiotakou, Director of Culture at the Onassis Foundation. The film was shot at Hellenic Shipyards S.A. in Perama in June 2021.
On Xerxes’ Throne by Evi Kalogiropoulou
“Dodo” by Panos H. Koutras. Official selection at Cannes Premiére. Co-produced by Onassis Foundation.
A dodo, a bird species that disappeared 300 years ago, makes all of a sudden its appearance at the outskirts of Athens, in the residence of a family for which the countdown has begun, as a few crucial and saving hours separate them from the marriage of their daughter with a rich heir. The boundaries between reason and madness will be tested and the situation will soon be out of control.
Following films such as “The Attack of the Giant Mousaka,” “Real Life”, “Strella,” and “Xenia,” Panos H. Koutras is back with yet another ‘fairytale for adults’ which is a Greek, French, and Belgian co-production and makes its world premiere at the official competition of the 75th Cannes Festival.
Dodo by Panos Koutras
“The Dam” by Ali Cherri. Official selection at the Directors’ Fortnight. Supported by the Onassis Foundation.
Sudan, near the Merowe Dam. Maher works in a traditional brickyard fed by the waters of the Nile. Every evening, he secretly wanders off into the desert to build a mysterious construction made of mud. While the Sudanese people rise to claim their freedom, his creation starts to take a life of its own.
Ali Cherri is a Lebanese visual artist and filmmaker. Combining films, videos, sculptures, and installation, his work examines the construction of historical narratives. Ali is currently the Artist in Residence at the National Gallery in London and participates in the 59th International Art Exhibition of Venice Biennale. His short films, “The Disquiet” and “The Digger,” have been shown in prominent film festivals. “The Dam,” a fiction shot in Sudan during the revolution, is his debut feature film.
The Dam by Ali Cherri
