THEOFILOS THE ODYSSEY OF A GREAT GREEK PAINTER by Andreas Katsimitsoulias
Submitted for the
2010 BRUXELLES FICTION & DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL FESTIVAL DE CINE INTERNACIONAL DE BARCELONA 2010 2010 PUNTA DEL ESTE FICTION & DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL 2011 NEW YORK SHORT FILM FESTIVAL 9e FESTIVAL DU CINEMA DE PARIS FESTIVAL DE CINE DE GRANADA 2011 2011 PHILADELPHIA DOCUMENTARY & FICTION FESTIVAL
Director: ANDREAS KATSIMITSOULIAS Producer: CULTURAL ASSOTIATION OF LESVOS-GREECE "THEOFILOS HOME" AND A:KALIAS MEDIA - GERMANY Writer: GIANNIS TSOUKAL & MARINOS DIOTIS Genre: BIOGRAPHY-DOKUMENDARFILM Country: GREECE - GERMANY Duration: ca 50´ Original Format: HDV MINI BAND Photography: ALEXANDER KATSIMITSOULIAS Editing: ANDREAS KALIAS
Synopsis of the Film: Theophilos the Painter of Lesvos-Greece
Theofilos is a famous painter who was born in Mytilene in Vareia village somewhere between 1867 and 1870. he wasn't a very good student but he was showing a special interest in painting. His father, Gabriil Kefalas, was a shoemaker and his mother Pinelopi Hatzimihail was a daughter of an hagiographer. He was going around wearing the traditional fustanella and that's why people were laughing at him and at the age of 18 he left his home to become a gate-keeper in the Greek consulate of Smyrna. In 1897 he moved to Volos where he was drawing in houses and shops of the area. Many paintings of his wall-drawings exist today. He spent most of his life in Pilio by the side of the landholder Giannis Kontos who protected him and for whom he created many works of art. Today the house of G. Kontos has been reserved as Theophilos' Museum. Along with painting Theophilos was also involved in organizing popular theatrical acts for national ceremonies, and in the carnival period he had a major role, sometimes dressing as Alexander the Great and sometimes as a hero of the Greek Revolution, with gear and costumes that he was making himself. In 1927 he returned to Mytilene and the legend says that he left Volos because someone played a joke on him in front of others and threw him down Theophilos from a ladder where he was drawing. In Mytilene people kept teasing him but he didn't give up, he continued to draw and create incredible murals for a small amount of money or some food and some wine. Many of his works have been lost because of natural aging or from damages caused by the owners. In Mytilene, the renowned art critic and publisher Stratis Eletheriadis, who lived in Paris, brought Thephilos a great deal of recognition and international publicity, unfortunately after the artist's death. Eleftheriades was also the person who funded in 1964 the Museum of Theophilos in Vareia, in Lesvos island. It is said that Theophilos died in March 1934 from food poisoning. One year later, his works were exhibited in the Museum of Louvre as a sample of a genuine folk painter from Greece.
Bio-filmography of the Director: Andreas Katsimitsoulias) After studies in Athens, Austria and the USA I worked as assistant director with the most well known Greek directors. Later I participated in international film - and TV productions, among others: "The Guns OF Navarone ", "For your eyes only "- James Bond, In the cool of the day, "Treasures of the Louvre " The man of Lefkas ", ect.
I also directed feature films among them: " "Angels of Sin" , "Bitter Love" , "Lust for Revenge" , "Conspiracy" , etc. TV serials: "Guest workers in Germany" ( ERT ), "Days of Anger" ( ERT) - after the book of the academy member Petros Haris), "The new Greeks " for AntennaTV etc. Documentary films: " "Cultural journey through Greece" - "Greeks in the Diaspora" USA/Canada. ect. My latest work is: "Theofilos - The Odyssey oft he Great Greek Painter"
Annual Program Without Frontiers - Theofilos The Odyssey of a great Greek painter
