Yorgos Tsemberopoulos, the director of \u201cStelios,\u201d a film that has surpassed 760,000 tickets, was unable to fully savor the joy of its success: \u201cAfter the premiere at the Pallas Theater [in Athens] and in Cyprus last December, I tried to get up from an armchair and couldn\u2019t. Something happened between my knee and thigh. As a result, I couldn\u2019t experience the full joy \u2013 packed theaters, people applauding. Last Saturday, I went to the Athinaion Theater for the first time, but there were neither tears nor applause. They liked the film very much, but that was all. And to think, I used to roam the theaters, mingle with the audience, and listen to their reactions \u2013 not just to my own films but also to those of my friends, Giorgos Panousopoulos and Nikos Perakis. I had done this so many times, and now I couldn\u2019t experience it \u2013 at a moment when three generations were watching the film together, crying and clapping\u2026and \u201dand\u00a0<\/p>\n Stelios Kazantzidis is the unifying element of this emotion and euphoria. \u201cThe wings of popular music\u201d provided the momentum. \u201cI always like to describe a finished film as a little boat. You place it in the water on the shoreline and watch what happens. Will the public embrace it? Will the festivals or intellectuals take notice? Or will no one touch it, and it will remain still? By then, it has a life of its own. \u2018Stelios\u2019 [original title: \u2018Yparcho\u2019] is alive now. It\u2019s too early to draw conclusions,\u201d the director comments.<\/p>\n Tsemberopoulos\u2019 narrative is not linear. It includes flashbacks to the past and long digressions. After all, his journey has been defined by success since \u201cMegara\u201d (1974) \u2013 Greece\u2019s first ecological and political documentary, co-directed with Sakis Maniatis, which earned awards in Berlin and Thessaloniki \u2013 and later \u201cSudden Love\u201d (1984), which sold 200,000 tickets (an \u201castonishing number\u201d for the time). Over his 50-year career in cinema, his filmography may not be extensive (just six films), but it is distinctive.<\/p>\n \u201cThe point isn\u2019t whether the films made a splash when they were released. The real question is, do they live on today? That\u2019s the question,\u201d he says. I repeat the question to him. He replies, \u201cYes, they live on.\u201d<\/p>\n Reflecting on his seven years in the United States, where he studied cinema at the American Film Institute, two moments stand out: \u201cI was at the AFI when Jan Kadar [known for \u201cThe Shop on Main Street\u201d] was the director of studies. This older man gave us a list of films we had to analyze, and none of us had heard of them. We were all expecting Federico Fellini. But he said: \u2018Everyone wants to be Fellini. I\u2019ll show you bad films so you can see the mistakes and learn what to avoid from others\u2019 errors.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn America, I truly became a director when I got involved in theater. During a workshop, I was asked to go on stage and act. The director was firm and uncompromising; he didn\u2019t accept refusal. The way he guided me revealed how much potential lies in working with actors. A side of me emerged that I didn\u2019t even know existed \u2013 I became someone entirely different. I realized that our job as directors is like that of an orchestra conductor, with the actors as musical instruments.\u201d<\/p>\n Was the choice of the lead actor for \u2018Stelios\u2019 challenging?<\/strong><\/p>\n I was at a deadlock. One evening, at 11.30, my close collaborator, Makis Gazis, the casting director, called me to suggest Christos Mastoras, whom I admit I wasn\u2019t familiar with. As I read about him, I \u201csaw\u201d a connection: the stories his North Epirus [southern Albania] grandparents told by the fireside were ones of persecution and exile \u2013 similar to the history of Kazantzidis\u2019 family. The fame that Kazantzidis grappled with had already been embraced and mastered by Mastoras. When I met him, I felt the same kind of infatuation I had once experienced with Keti Papanika [the lead actress in \u201cTake Care,\u201d 1991].<\/p>\n Why did you want to make a film about Kazantzidis?<\/strong><\/p>\n Honestly, it wasn\u2019t my choice \u2013 it was proposed to me. And I thought: \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t I take on this challenge? Why step back? To avoid risking failure or exposure?\u201d The budget was significant (2.7 million euros), which created opportunities. The film isn\u2019t a full biographical account of Kazantzidis\u2019 life. It focuses on his journey from childhood to the moment he chose to walk away from it all. One of the most pivotal moments in his life was when he was at the peak of his career. His immense talent not only elevated him but also inspired lyricists, who would say, \u201cWe\u2019ll write for Stelios.\u201d And then, at the age of 35, he reached a breaking point \u2013 partly due to the harsh conditions in the music venues. \u201cI was 35 years old, and I had no soul left,\u201d he said. At the height of his success, he was both assertive and unyielding.<\/p>\n \u2018Today, poverty often comes with violence and anger. Back then, everyone was poor, and only a few were rich, but poverty didn\u2019t breed despair\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Did you grow to love him through the film?<\/strong><\/p>\n He had only reached third grade at school, yet his diction was unparalleled for a singer. His speech was flawless, his words remarkable, and the letters he sent from America \u2013 [bouzouki virtuoso and composer] Christos Nikolopoulos showed me 13 of them, preserved in a folder \u2013 were visually stunning. It was as if a calligraphy teacher had guided his hand from above. Do you know what Kazantzidis read throughout his life? The Helios single-volume encyclopedia. He read it constantly, learning new words until the end. To truly engage with this film, I had to both love and understand him.<\/p>\n Is Kazantzidis\u2019 Greece a \u201cGreece of lament\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s deeply unfair to define the Greece of pain, division \u2013 where brothers fought and killed each other \u2013 poverty, toil and progress as a \u201cGreece of lament.\u201d No, I cannot accept that. I wasn\u2019t among the persecuted; I grew up listening to the Rolling Stones, [Dionysis] Savvopoulos and Bob Dylan, and I would dismiss him as \u201cthe whiner.\u201d But I wasn\u2019t being fair. In the film, of course, we included an anthology of his songs. Part of the script draws directly from his lyrics. For instance, when he experiences a breakup, and you hear, \u201cMy share of joy has been taken from me by others\u201d \u2013 that\u2019s pure poetry, not lament.<\/p>\n Which phrase or lyric do you think best captures the spirit of that era?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMy whole life is a responsibility \/ It takes everything from me, gives me nothing in return.\u201d That\u2019s the order in which the song conveys its meaning. You know, we\u2019ve been working on translating the lyrics because the film will be shown internationally, and we\u2019ve been stuck on the word \u201cefthyni\u201d [responsibility] for three weeks. All the young translators interpret the word as \u201cburden,\u201d as something heavy. But I told them \u2013 I even turned to AI for help \u2013 it cannot be \u201cburden.\u201d For people of that era, being entrusted with responsibility made them soar. It brought them to life. How can you achieve progress without taking on responsibility? If you see it as a burden, you strip it of its meaning. Back then, responsibility symbolized advancement.<\/p>\n In your opinion, what is the key difference between then and now that made rehearsals challenging?<\/strong><\/p>\n Rehearsals in cinema aren\u2019t just about learning lines. They\u2019re about each actor immersing themselves in the spirit of the time \u2013 how they behave, how they interact, whether they\u2019re familiar or distant with one another. Today, we have to understand that poverty back then wasn\u2019t synonymous with misery. People were poor, yes, but they made it a point to enjoy life, to have fun with whatever little they had. They valued family and maintained order in their lives. The woman was in charge \u2013 she ensured the household\u2019s survival, often in subtle ways. She managed the family\u2019s resources: ensuring the husband left enough money to send their child to school or buy food for the day. The man, on the other hand, was the breadwinner. Today, poverty often comes with violence and anger. Back then, everyone was poor, and only a few were rich, but poverty didn\u2019t breed despair.<\/p>\n Cinema starts with the producer<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cHealthy cinema exists when it is made for the country itself,\u201d emphasizes Tsemberopoulos. \u201cOver the years, at various conferences held in Greece, influential people would tell us: \u2018Focus on how to succeed abroad, individually, one by one. If you don\u2019t appeal to your own country, how will you appeal elsewhere?\u2019 And for many years, we\u2019ve struggled to appeal to our own country. For decades, Greek cinema lacked producers and was instead dominated by artists. What\u2019s truly needed is a producer who selects a screenwriter, who then develops a script, and then presents it to the director. It takes three to tango. I say this often \u2013 it\u2019s my theory. The offers I\u2019m receiving now, after the success of \u2018Stelios,\u2019 are numerous, but my response is always the same: \u2018Can I see the script?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"i-would-too-dismiss-him-as-the-whiner-but-i-wasnt-being-fair0\"](\"https:\/\/www.ekathimerini.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Stelios_Kazantzidis_film_movie__Marilena_Anastasiadou.jpg?1738057184909\")
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