When getting an interview of Greek filmmaker Maria Douza seemed impossible after doing multiple rounds of the press centre and committee room at Nandan, the venue of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), a call at her hotel room lifted my spirit. Within seconds she agreed to have a chat over breakfast. As we talked cinema, what impressed me was her warmth and unassuming nature.
Her critically acclaimed directorial debut “A Place Called Home” was an entry at the International Competition section. Though Douza’s film was part of the Greek Vignettes’ at the IFFI in Goa last year, she still accepted the KIFF invite because she didn’t want to miss the chance of visiting the city of Satyajit Ray, whose work she values. “I got introduced to Ray’s works when studying at London’s National Film and Television School. His aesthetics, style and ability to capture the essence of a subject are inspirations to many,” she said.
For Douza, if human relationships are interesting, human predicament is intriguing and she tried to capture the essence of both in her first feature film. Inspired by the real life story of a Polish woman, she weaved it with her own experience of returning to Athens after living in England for 12 years and crafted a film that explores migration, separation and estrangement.
Set against the backdrop of a post-World War II divided Europe and its reunification in the late 90s after Communism collapsed, it revolves around Eleni, a successful Greek doctor living in the UK for last 15 years. When she visits her estranged father, Kyriakos, in Greece, she is surprised to find a Serbian woman, Nina, and her daughter living in her family home. Douza deftly creates drama exploring tensions and emotions in human relationships as she unravels secrets.
“I chose the theme of migration because of the growing racism and intolerance in Greece today. I wanted to show how for some it’s a compulsion, for some it’s a conscious decision, while for others a financial necessity. Further, odyssey is ingrained in Greek culture. In the past we were traders and in the 20{+t}{+h}Century we became immigrants. Even in Kolkata there was a thriving Greek community in the 17{+t}{+h}and 18{+t}{+h}centuries, but they left,” she explained.
Douza credited her father for instilling in her the passion for cinema. It was he who introduced her to films by Bergman, Antonioni, Fellini, Mizoguchi at a very tender age. “So you see studying filmmaking was a natural progression,” she laughed. Though she has written and directed a number of short length fiction films, documentaries, ad commercials and social awareness spots, she took her time to direct a full-length feature film because raising her two kids was her priority.
Today, her film may have been acclaimed in festival circuits, but uncertainty looms large over making her next movie though the script based on a novel by Pantelis Kaliotsos is ready. “Arranging fund in a country that is witnessing its worst economic crisis since WWII isn’t easy. For my first film, I had to wait for five years after finishing the script and getting all approvals,” she rued.
What impressed Douza at KIFF is the standard of movies screened. “The movies were original, treatments were modern, but cinematic quality wasn’t compromised. Films like “Delight”, “Eyes of a Thief” and “Self Made” were multi-layered, high on aesthetics and distinct in style.” However, she is not really familiar with the works of contemporary Indian filmmakers and could only name Buddhadeb Dasgupta.
Ask her what is she taking back from KIFF and pat she replies, “Great experience. People here are so warm. Audience so well informed. They would interact and ask questions.”
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