GREECE
2024 – DCP – colore – 120’

Direction: Penny Panayotopoulou

Screenplay: Kallia Papadaki, Penny Panayotopoulou basata sul racconto based on the short-story 40 days della raccolta of the short-story collection The Backlot Sound di by Kallia Papadaki

Cinematography: Dimitris Katsaitis

Editing: Petar Markovic

Set design: Giorgos Georgiou

Music: Nikolas Anadolis

Costumes: Despina Chimona

Cast: Giannis Karampampas (Kostas), Konstantinos Avarikiotis (Nondas), Elena Mavridou (Chryssa), Alexandra Sakellaropoulou (Despoina), Garoufalina Kontozou (Nike), Efthalia Papakosta (Stella), Myrto Alikaki (Doctor Vassiliou), Nikolas Papagiannis (Tassos)

Producers: Penny Panayotopoulou, Thanassis Karathanos, Martin Hampel, Birgit Kemner, Philippe Gompel, Stellios Kammitsis, Vicky Miha

Produzione Production: P.P. Productions, Manny Films, Pallas Film, Felony Films in associazione con in association with Asterisk*

Synopsis

Kostas has recently become a security guard in a public hospital. After the sudden death of his older brother, he is forced to take care of his little niece Niki, and also to find the money to save their family house. The moment, he’s lost all hope, a hospital porter will offer an aiding hand; but the price to pay is going to be high.

The director: PENNY PANAYOTOPOULOU

She is a Greek film maker, screenwriter, and producer. She holds a LLB in law from University of Athens and a degree in film and photo arts from the Polytechnic of Central London. Some of her more notable works include: Hard Goodbyes: My Father (2002), which premiered in the 55th Locarno FF, was awarded the Bronze Leopard for Best Actor, and later participated in numerous international festivals; September (2013), which premiered in competition of the 48th Karlovy Vary IFF to critical acclaim, was nominated for six Hellenic Film Academy Awards and won the award for best leading actress; and the documentary series, The Magic in People which run for many years on Greek TV.

Director’s statement

“The story of Wishbone is real and based on the practices of some large law firms, which fabricate cases of medical negligence without any ethical concerns when it comes to making a profit. I have personally been close to a story of this kind, but when the time came and the story was to be written we felt the need to retell it from a different angle. That of Costas.
The texture of the film became clear to me from the beginning. It had to be real and simple. The style was determined by realism. But although the story has a strong social orientation, I was more interested in human nature. The way I see things is the way of silence, and sadness. So in this film, as in the previous ones, the focus is always on people, family, fate: fragile things. Nevertheless, the simultaneous portrayal of the fragmented social fabric of Greek society adds a different and special layer.”

Filmography

1988 Eldorado (short)
1996 Like Rain Like Hail (TV movie)
2002 Hard Goodbyes: My Father
2013 September
2017-2021 The Magic in people (documentaries serie)
2020 Broken Greek (doc)
2023 Wishbone

Festival

2024 Galway Film Fleadh – Concorso
2024 Cottbus Film Festival* – Concorso
2024 Arras Film Festival* – Concorso
2024 Thessaloniki Film Festival* – Concorso

*In progress

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