The documentary “Democracy Is Coming” by Christos Sarris at the Onassis Channel on YouTube
An Onassis Culture production
“Democracy Is Coming” by Christos Sarris attempts to link the current global state of affairs and political reflection with theater. Based on Simon Critchley’s book “Tragedy, the Greeks, and Us," it arrives at Onassis Channel as a reminder that the pulse of democracy remains intact and its concept is being rewritten from scratch.
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What is the state of democracy today? Can we reinvent it for our era? In May 2018, Onassis Stegi traveled to St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, with the play “Birds,” directed by Nikos Karathanos, initiating a discussion around democracy. A year later, the “Onassis Festival 2019: Democracy Is Coming” deepened those reflections around the concept of democracy and free artistic expression with a diverse program of theater, music, discussions, and other events in a co-production with Public Theater in New York. With the titular festival as its springboard and drawing inspiration from Simon Critchley’s book “Tragedy, the Greeks, and Us," the “Democracy Is Coming” documentary transpires like an oracle, an ancient prophecy, which is interpreted through the triptych “Theater―Politics―Tragedy.”
Like a modern-day Athenian Ecclesia―i.e., Assembly of Citizens―a group of thinkers, artists, and citizens of the world convene to address the concepts of democracy and city-state: actor and writer Michael Imperioli, Dr. Young Richard Kim, philosopher and writer Simon Critchley, curator of “Onassis Festival 2019: Democracy Is Coming” Mark Russell, co-interviewer and curator Paul Holdengräber, and actress, writer, and director Lena Kitsopoulou. Their ruling has yet to be determined.
Still from the film "Democracy Is Coming" by Christos Sarris
“The true protagonist of ancient tragedy is the city-state.”
Meet the director
The script was created based on Simon Critchley's book, Tragedy, the Greeks, and Us.
Simon Critchley is member of the Board of Directors of the Onassis Foundation, and part of the curatorial team, while he lent his voice to the narration.Credits
Featuring (in order of appearance):
Michael Imperioli, Dr. Young Richard Kim, Simon Critchley, Mark Russell, Paul Holdengräber, Lena Kitsopoulou, Euripides Laskaridis
Direction
Christos Sarris
Idea
Dimitris Theodoropoulos
Script
Yannis-Orestis Papadimitriou
Directorial Oversight
Stavros Petropoulos
Editing
Katerina Rekka
Production Coordinator
Smaragda Dogani
Post-Production Producer
Leonidas Konstantarakos
Sound Mix
Stelios Koupetoris
Color Correction
Sakis Bouzanis (2|35)
Translation & Subtitling
Authorwave
Subtitles Editing
Vassilis Douvitsas
Voice-Over Recording
Ζenon Marko
Music
Jacopo Fokas, Marios Samaris
Recorded & Mixed
Jacopo Fokas
Camera
Christos Sarris, Dimitris Zivopoulos
Photographs
Christos Sarris
Post-Production
Alaska Films
Special Thanks to
Zoe Dolan & Sophia Efthimiatou
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