Tuesday 10 February 2015

Le garçon qui mange la nourriture de l'oiseau | Το αγόρι τρώει το φαγητό του πουλιού (2014) de Ektoras Lygizos

On Tuesday 24 February at 19:00 and on Wednesday 25 February at 21:00 we will screen in cinema Utopia the film Boy Eating the Bird's Food (Greece, 2012, colour, 80 min) directed by Ektoras Lygizos. The film is in the original Greek version with French subtitles. It is not suitable for children. The film contains a scene which could offend some viewers.

Synopsis


The multi-awarded debut of Ektoras Lygizos tells the story of a young boy who tries to survive in the Athens of financial crisis. He is without a job, money or anything to eat. Unable to get his preferred job as a singer (or work at a call centre) he lives alone in his flat, with bills mounting up and no means of support or sustenance. After being thrown out on to the streets, he resorts to increasingly desperate measures to stay alive. The only thing that he seems to care for in life is his canary, with which he resolutely shares the little food and water that he has. 

The film is a shot in a powerful minimalist style, bravely stripping the plot down to almost observational documentary. At the centre of it all is Yannis Papadopoulos as the titular character, with an almost wordless performance that is full of despair and barely concealed madness. In every single scene, the intimacy of his portrayal is almost uncomfortable but resolutely astonishing.

The film premiered at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – Official Competition, winning a special mention for the main actor, Yannis Papadopoulos and since then has traveled to more than 30 international film festivals around the world, collecting rave reviews and awards.