It’s not the first time he’s taken up writing. In 2010, a collection of short stories “Appearances are deceptive” (Kastaniotis) was published. He recently returned with the novel Keeping Order (Metaihmio), an exploration of the thorny issue of euthanasia. His character, an anesthetist, is serving a prison sentence for actively euthanizing three patients. However, Stelios Maina’s “immersion” in literature did not monopolize our conversation. We had a lot to discuss: Lars von Trier’s Dogville, in which he will star in the new theatrical season directed by Lillis Meleme; his meeting with Sotiris Gorica in the film “Where we live”; as well as the pandemic, which increased his insecurities and increased his insecurities…

– The reason for choosing the topic of euthanasia was a real event, the case of my friend, in a country where euthanasia is allowed under medical supervision. Only four European countries allowed it, and last year Spain was added to this list with a strictly defined legal framework for implementation. Social, religious and legal barriers are so great that the indecision of society is understandable and normal for such a serious issue. Of course, literature, a novel should raise questions for discussion, cause problems. I believe in the power of its parabolic influence.

The pandemic has increased my insecurities, reinforced my insecurities, forced me to focus on the essentials.

– When you write, you should try to express your personal point of view, your view of the world, honestly and authentically. The time that passes while you “go ahead” has a dissolving effect on your concentration, but at the same time is a factor in the maturation of ideas. Otherwise, you will start, that is, you will end up somewhere else. Repetitions, repetitions, platitudes are part of the program, and many times I stopped being disappointed by my writing, each time giving myself a little leeway until I got back. Besides, to be completely honest, I have never been sure that my writings are of any literary interest. That’s why I consider myself a reader, not a writer.

“Of course, but the adventure is charming enough. Starting with Gaia, the original deity, and ending with the Virgin Mary (Eleusa, Yatrissa, Odegitra), the woman is the highest symbol of life-giving power. So I chose a doctor who offers a comforting way out of “mercy.” I do not claim to have penetrated the female psyche, but I hope that I have captured to a satisfactory extent the personality of my heroine, who is the denominator of the fraction with the numerator of all the women I admire and love.

I’m not blessed and happy

– Imagination, cultivation, empathy. Such are the presuppositions of the performer-character, and likewise of the writer who adds a particular “schizophrenic” characteristic of writing: identification and distancing at the same time and to the same degree.

– Sloppiness and passion for one’s temper. These are the same enemies of both professions. Any other profession I would add…

– Lightness means less mental stress, less effort, shorter journey. I, too, believe in the words of Cavafy of Ithaca, “Take your time on your journey.” For almost fifteen years I have been writing, erasing, correcting, rewriting, so that the final product is just a fragment of my texts. The material of this book is multiplying in my drawers. Then no ease. As for acting, it also has rules that are more flexible, I would say, and more options, but I think that even here there are not enough natural inclinations and talent, brains are needed and, as the old masters said, the choice of the longest route. A very desirable and expensive thing in times of speed.

– Of course, if I reach the point that I have lost human dignity and inexorably move towards the irreversible, I would like to be freed from martyrdom, in the words of Sophocles “die well” or a Christian “will end in peace.”

– Where to start… I was influenced by my school readings, my youthful delusions, my evenings in loan libraries, my surprise when I first read Dostoyevsky, mature Tolstoy, Chekhov and humanism from Solomon, Brecht, Camus, Ritsos, Elitis, Murakami, as well as Spinoza and Hyalom.

As Nietzsche provocatively writes, “for those who choose thought and knowledge, there is no happy life.”

“My story is made up of images. I hope this inspires the director. I… delivered her.

– I compose, draw, conjure, record, tell.

– I play the father of Prometheus Aliferopoulos, the main character. He is in some way the imprint of a character left over from another era – the era of “Valkanizator” for those who saw this particular film.

“It increased my insecurities, increased my insecurities, reduced the number of hours of sleep, made me concentrate on the main thing, on the most important thing, and led me to a distant look at events, an awareness of the meaning of the word “timeliness.”

– Growing up, I see how little I know, question marks dominate, certainty lags behind. Then I cannot claim blessing and happiness. Moreover, as Nietzsche provocatively writes, “for those who choose thought and knowledge, there are no happy lives.”

– Has a Brechtian economics and an oracle structure. His fable is a cry against hypocrisy. Lars von Trier himself described it very accurately: “Provoking is not the easiest thing in the world. But this is not the basis for creating serious art and is not about my own work. If I challenge anyone, it’s myself. I am constantly declaring war on myself, my upbringing, my personal values, and violently attacking the philosophy on which I was raised.”