When the director Antonis Kokkinos about two years ago, he was reorganizing his archive on the occasion of a pandemic that also closed him at home, stumbled upon several forgotten but valuable cassettes. When he pressed “play”, what he heard took him 35 years ago, to the dacha yard in Mati, which later burned down. These were his voices Theodore Angelopoulos and his Nikos Panagiotopoulos.

“WITH Giannis Soldatos we were then planning to publish a new magazine, and the conversation between the two great directors was supposed to be included in the first issue. Ultimately, the plan never came to fruition and the tape was forgotten. When I rediscovered it I thought it would be nice to make it documentarywhich we have finally included in the program of the Ministry of Culture on COVID-19,” the Greek filmmaker tells us. Documentary “Theodoros Angelopoulos – Nikos Panagiotopoulos: All and Their Music”which has been in theaters since last Thursday, is the result of a collaboration with Soldato, who managed to surround a bare document and turn it into a regular film.

“Obviously the biggest challenge was making the sound a cinematic storytelling. The conversation itself between the two was completely free, without any “scaffolds”, interference, even questions from our side. Nevertheless, they spontaneously and spontaneously form sections (History, politics, criticism, symbols, filming, etc.), which we then organized and grouped. With this logic, an elementary script was created. And to the speakers who express their opinion in the film, we gave them only those fragments that they were asked to comment on, so that the narrative would become even clearer.”

Indeed, the dialectical exchange between them, often pleasant in itself, is enriched by the words of contemporary speakers (filmmakers, critics, scientists, family members) as well as carefully selected excerpts from their films. And if the commentators basically agree with each other, the same does not apply to the two “protagonists” who often challenge each other, starting with the (primordial) question of form and subject. “These are definitely two completely different directors, both great in their own way, who have different interests in what they want to show in their films. What they agree on, I think, is that they are most interested in cinematic language and concern about how it can evolve and transform. In recent years, many Greek directors have tried to revisit this particular subject, but I think these two succeeded.”

All generations

Our goal is that those who know little or nothing about their work, after what they see, are motivated to look for it further.

During the conversation, at some point we hear Theodoros Angelopoulos say, “I’m not interested in showing Greece as it is, I’m building my own Greece.” More generally, the confrontation between subjective and objective narrative is repeated by two interlocutors. “If you notice, the same questions concern many of today’s commentators, whom we have tried to represent all generations, from Kavoukidis and Vatheas to Tzoumerkas and Economides. When the recording was made, I was still taking the first steps and I had more admiration than criticism of what was being said. I considered myself lucky just to be there. After so many years, I understand how relevant their words remain, even those that relate to the practical dimension of the crew and filming.

Indeed, what would Angelopoulos and Panagiotopoulos say about today’s convergence of small and large screens? “I would really like to hear their opinion on the fact that most people now watch films on the small screen. Especially Angelopoulos, I think, would be categorically against watching such a film as, for example. “Thiasos” on the small screen, not to mention the laptop. And Panagiotopoulos’ Variety, however, which I recently watched again in this form, is no longer the same film.”

Throughout the documentary, there are constant references and footage from the work of both that today’s audiences aren’t necessarily familiar with. “I think that our film is mainly aimed at this category of viewers. Our goal is that those who know little or nothing about their work, after what they see, are motivated to look for it further. Having taught for many years in film schools, I realized that many of the children who want to work in cinema have never seen not only Angelopoulos or Panagiotopoulos, but also Koundouros, Damianos and so on,” concludes Antonis Kokkinos.

The documentary “Theodoros Angelopoulos – Nikos Panagiotopoulos: Everything and His Music” is shown at the Cinema and at the New Art Cinema studio.