If the Czech Republic’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) is anything to go by, despite the many downfalls of Greece’s economic crisis, it has already proven to be a source of inspiration for Greek filmmakers.

However, while ideas may be in abundance, local funding is not. One example is the winner of KVIFF’s Works-in-Progress competition, Greek director Sofia Exarchou’s debut film Park.

The plot follows an untamed group of youths amid the decaying 2004 Olympic Village in Athens, which according to the Works-in-Progress jury was extremely affecting.

“Set in the ruins of past glory, this film takes us to the bottom of society and ignites a fire of raw energy,” the jury said.

While the film shows promise, the team now needs to secure funding to complete the project, which is proving to be a difficult task.

“We did it on a very low budget. We said: ‘Let’s get the movie in the can and find completion money later.’ And that’s what we are trying to do right now,” says the film’s producer Amanda Livanou.

Though the film qualified for funding from the state-subsidised Greek Film Centre, due to the complication of recent political events in Greece, they have been unable to access the frozen funds. The funding technically hasn’t been cut, but due to time constraints the filmmakers have had no choice but to look elsewhere.

This has resulted in the emergence of complicated production structures.

Exarchou’s film is the first Greek project to be chosen for the Sundance Directors Lab, while also receiving development funding from Sarajevo’s CineLink program.

Furthermore, it is being co-produced by Livanou’s Beben Films and Faliro House, along with other Greek outfits and the support of France’s CNC and European Cinema Support Fund Eurimages.

Another example is Elina Psykou’s feature film Son of Sofia. In a bold move, the film commenced production under Greek company Heretic.

The film has a A$1.4 million budget and is a co-production between Greece, France (KinoElektron) and Bulgaria (the Choukov Brothers).

Like Park, Psykou’s feature is also set against the backdrop of the Olympics, as a coming-of-age drama with the theme of returning to one’s roots at its core.

Producer and distributor Konstantinos Kontovrakis agrees that it is a challenging time for filmmakers, but at the same , prefers to be a ‘glass half full’ person.

“We have had to find very creative ways of getting our films made,” he said. “The past few months have been quite critical and dramatic. But at the same time this uncertainty makes us all the more determined, because that’s the only way to get the job done.”

Source: SBS