SYNOPSIS

Sofia is a marine archeologist in her mid forties who embarks a groundbreaking scientific experimentation.

She intends to test a theory stating that the physical creation of vinyl records is similar to pottery and hence certain classical amphoras are suspected to have accidentally recorded simple 2500 year old sounds that can be played back today.

To create and test models before experimenting on ancient amphoras, she visits her ex-brother in law, Potter, who is a heartless eccentric sculptor.

 The  experiment's resolution is a surprise beyond human absurdity.


CHARACTERS

SOFIA

Marine archeologist

Read character's Back Story

POTTER

Sculptor

Read character's Back Story

LOCATIONS

ANIMALS & PROPS

 
Dogs get stuck after copulation

Dogs get stuck after copulation

 

MAIN CAST

SOFIA

Angeliki Papoulia

Greek actress and theatre director. In film, she is most notable for her roles in DOGTOOTH, ALPS and THE LOBSTER by Yorgos Lanthimos and A BLAST and THE MIRACLE OF THE SARGASSO SEA by Syllas Tzoumerkas. Widely praised by the international press, with Der Spiegel calling her "one of the most fearless European actresses working today'”.

IMDB
POTTER

In Casting

 
 

WRITER & DIRECTOR

Spiros STATHOULOPOULOS

Greek-Colombian screenwriter and director recognized as one of Colombia's most prominent and original auteurs. 

His debut, the uncut cult film PVC-1 (2007), was selected by the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs and won numerous awards in festivals including the FIPRESCI Prize and an award in Cannes. “Stathoulopoulos, whose single-shot 85-minute thriller PVC-1 caused a stir on the Croisette, signed with the agency after being chased by a phalanx of agents.” HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.  

 His second film, METEORA (2012), was set in the UNESCO World Heritage eponymous medieval monasteries and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. “Animated areas cleverly illustrate the characters’ inner states in dreamlike images. What they convey – guilt, hesitant desire, inner struggle – pairs extremely well with the otherworldly aspects of the landscape and the unspoken, uncontrollable erotic forces at work.” VARIETY. 

His segment KILLING KLAUS KINSKI (2016), of the Colombian omnibus film AMAZONAS, competed in Clermont-Ferrand



SCREENPLAY REACTIONS

 

I find the topic, the motives and the rather essayistic approach very interesting and fascinating. I like especially the parts where the themes materialize and the narration comes to the moment. (like the helmet scene, the money burning scene…etc)... I think its very interesting concerning history of cinema and interpretations of the past.

Kathrin Resetarits
Creative Assistant to Michael Haneke and Dramaturgical Consultant (Amour, White Ribbon)
 

Mainly I think it is really good... I think there are many good scenes with a lot of cinematic potential, great imagery tension etc... The use of archeology to frame everything within the context of Greece’s glorious history is very effective. I think the central idea that audio recording are hidden in the grooves of the ancient amphora is really brilliant and beautiful. The idea that this woman who is in the middle of a personal crisis, in the middle of a national crisis could hear the laughter of Socrates is just great. Somehow this idea is very poetic and original and makes us think about the course humanity has taken.

George Cragg
Editor (I am not a Witch, Women without Men)
 

Usually when I read screenplays to offer insights, I focus on questions of marketability, salability, tension, suspense, character. In short, I focus on mercantile or commercial concerns. Because that’s what the business is. But reading your work I felt myself face to face with some other beast, some other entity. In short, I felt I had read a very personal and very chthonic or numinous piece of art... It felt like being exposed to the unconscious fantasy of say a Kieslowski or Jodorowsky. Or like the book of Fellini’s dream sketches that sits (sadly, largely unopened) on my coffee table.

Mike Seid
Professional screenwriter and reader
 
 

PRESS

Another potential highlight is Spiros Stathoulopoulos’s “Godard Knows The Truth” 

The selection includes 20 projects by the likes of Spiros Stathoulopoulos

Les Arcs unveil 2018 co-pro projects selection

Οσα συνδέουν τον Σπύρο Σταθουλόπουλο με τον Ζαν-Λικ Γκοντάρ

Les Arcs Industry Village is proud to announce the selection for the Coproduction Village

CONTACT

Konstantinos Vassilaros

Producer | Greece | StudioBauhaus

StudioBauhaus was established in 2014 by producer Konstantinos Vassilaros and filmmaker Orfeas Peretzis. Its main activity is to produce auteur-driven fiction films with a taste for magical realism & the supernatural, aimed for the international art-house film market. We work with both debut and established directors.

David Corredor

Producer | Colombia | Candelaria

Candelaria Fims is a Colombian production and distribution company created in 2007. Originally distributing theatrical, home entertainment and TV for all audiences as well as marketing and launching feature films. In 2009, thanks to the participation of its founding partner, the operation extended to film production.

FILMS by SPIROS STATHOULOPOULOS

PVC-1 (2007)

FESTIVAL DE CANNES Quinzaine des Réalisateurs

“With only four days left in the Cannes Film Festival, Endeavor appeared to be the big winner, signing two in-demand helmers. First-time director Spiros Stathoulopoulos, whose single-shot 85-minute thriller caused a stir on the Croisette following its Directors' Fortnight bow Tuesday, inked with the agency after being chased by a phalanx of lit rep” HOLLYWOD REPORTER “Directors employing a signature style like Spiros Stathoulopoulos, emerged this year at Cannes as the most sought after” HOLLYWOD REPORTER “A brilliant directorial debut.” “PVC-1 reaches the level of high profile filmmaking.” FIPRESCI “An innovative, vibrant example of indie filmmaking that reminds me of Robert Rodriguez selling himself to medical research to fund EL MARIACHI.” OBSESSED WITH FILM “Capturing a scene with a seamless extended shot has, over the years, become a mark of cinematic prowess and an impressive feat of organization and co-ordination within a movie set.” “From Citizen Kane to Goodfellas to Children of Men, the single shot has become the stuff of movie legends. But what if you could do an entire 90 minute film in one shot? Would it automatically earn you a place alongside the greatest directors of all time? This, in a way, is what Greek filmmaker Spiros Stathoulopoulos has set out to discover with his movie PVC-1.” FILM JUNK “A complete Miracle” “PVC-1 is an amazing achievement in filmmaking, one that film school students and filmmakers will ponder over for years to come.” LATINO REVIEW "One of the most brilliant cinematographic tour de force of all time. It is much more than an exercise in style. It is a film of an amazing virtuosity. A classic of instantaneous cult. A masterpiece of Contemporary Cinema." CULTURAMAS PASSWORD: sta2008pvc

 

METEORA (2012)

BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL Competition

"A unique experience in the wake of the most demanding works of Bresson and Antonioni" AVOIR ALIRE "Its découpage and its detached tone have something Bressonian" IN ROCKUPTIBLES “The Charterhouse of Parma meets Buñuel's Viridiana except that even those sanctity-versus- profanity narratives do not have METEORA’s beauty of scenery or bewitching interludes of Greek-icon-style animation” FINANCIAL TIMES "It has images and sounds that will always remain in my memory" WERNER HERZOG “Stathoulopoulos proves that he is a great artist with extreme sensibility and with a universal visual talent.” VICTOR GAVIRIA “Animated areas cleverly illustrate the characters’ inner states in dreamlike images beholden to traditional iconography... What they convey - guilt, hesitant desire, inner struggle - pairs extremely well with the otherworldly aspects of the landscape and the unspoken, uncontrollable erotic forces at work.” VARIETY “Sumptuous imagery... an extraordinary feat” SCREEN INTERNATIONAL "A film of breathtaking beauty animation, live action and a pair of lovers and Byzantine chants to complete the enchantment" ESTADAO “Magically photographed ... exploration of the sacred and the profane on a number of levels... something special” SLANT MAGAZINE “Unbelievably beautiful... invites to a dialogue between different church traditions -about what we mean by love toward God and love towards each other” BERLINALE’S ECUMENICAL JURY “Magnificent to look at... abundant visual and musical details... to contemplate religious love and love of God, desire and celibacy, infidelity in vows, God’s fidelity and an abundance of forgiveness for those who do not despair” SIGNIS (World Catholic Association for Cinema and Audiovisual) "Beautiful through its iconography and narrative, a great surprise…a miracle of equally pleasing believers and non-believers" EXPRESSO "Incredible visual force enabling the viewer to live through religious rhythms and routines" CLARIN "Unique, bold embraces the aesthetics of its own and stays true to it a remarkable visual experience" ASSOCIATION OF FILM CRITICS OF RIO DE JANEIRO "A very sensory film, merging real image with excellent animation a tender essay on the power of love" VISAO “Not just good... great... poetic and humane” LITTLE WHITE LIES "Stathoulopoulos is the creator of one of the most extraordinary art-house productions we've seen in the past few months. A cinematic orgasm. " PEEKABOO PASSWORD: EFPsta2013met

 

KILLING KLAUS KINSKI (2016)

CLERMONT-FERRAND

“Stathoulopoulos raises fascinating questions on artistic responsibility.“ GOOD SHORT FILMS “It may seem like a stretch to label this stunning single-take short film a video essay. But if the substance of the video essay is to ponder the impact of films in an audiovisual format; if the bottom line of this practice is to find artistic ways to reflect on visual art; if the essence of the videographic method is to reorder existing visuals to create new insights… then this short film certainly fits that bill.“ FILM SCALPEL “This film takes you deep into it to the point where you almost believe you're watching the real thing. Still it is a worthwhile piece in the great pantheon of faux documentaries” “An absolute must-watch. A satisfying lampoon of Herzog and Kinski's relationship as two sides of the same coin. Cinema's own mythology used as a treatise against the imposition of grandiose colonial ideas in a hilariously morbid short.” LETTERBOXD “The director demonstrates an exceptional talent for conducting the narrative with a sequence shot...The use of Herzog's own narration is a brilliant detail to illustrate the flourishes and mysteries of the force of nature on the human being... With a great production design that accurately portrays the time of the action, Spiros still demonstrates a moment that borders on the sublime of living up to “Fitzcarraldo” himself, by creating a beautiful sequence that involves the music “Vesti la giubba”, from the opera “Pagliacci”, not to mention a very peculiar sense of humor (whoever stays after the credits will understand what I mean).” KINOFORUM