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The movie take a trip continues his award-winning journeys

Christos Karakasis Point Of View Indie Film AwardsInterview with the director Christos Karakasis on the occasion of the official selection of his film take a trip at the Point Of View Indie Film Awards

 

1. What can you tell us about yourself and where are you from?

I was born in Athens. I studied Film-Theatre-TV Direction, Computer Science, Music and Humanities. Then I make a Postgraduate Diploma in training and development, and Post graduatee diploma in film and theatre direction . I have supervised, technically supported and produced various audiovisual events, presentations, adverts, video art projects, festivals. As a Director-Producer iam active since 1992. My films have been screened in Greece and abroad and have been awarded in international film festivals. Iam a member of the “Greek Directors' Guild . and Artistic Director of “Athens International Digital film Festival AIDFF” (www.AIDFF.com), which achieved alignment of the cinema reality in Greece with the major international developments in the Cinema era, which is steadily moving towards the Digital Age. I have write a book titled “Introduction to Cinema” which can be helpful to all aspiring filmmakers, but also to those who want to study in a direct and concise manner the art and technique of filmmaking. I write in magazines
at filmmaker.gr and koyinta art emagazine.

2. What is the inspiration/idea behind your film?
In a time of crisis on multiple levels, it is easy for everyone to criticize. We made this film to meet all the people in the world and give them a warm hand of understanding, competence and awareness. "Take a Trip" is an anti-racist look at mentality and fascism .The film is about the journey, a English-Greek production movie. London is the basic city where the journey takes us. The more free form creates connecting relations with the form, without the narration being a record or description but a catalyst and creative representation. Cleansing comes through a painful process. There are no moments of relaxation. The city leads us. It gives the rhythm. We resist the given relationship of time and the intensity of reality. We are present, without violating the space of the necessary vital distance. Our gaze changed. Our angles have changed. The camera became a guide and barometer.
I try to perceive the meaning. Inside me there is an imaginary room. I reside in it and secretly observe the world, like a writer. I'm on the street while I'm not. I feel that people are the same everywhere. I’ve come here to escape, yet suddenly people seem the same

3. What can you tell us about the cast and crew from your film?
The documentary is a composition of an inspiring poetic, philosophical text by the award novelist and famous artist Vasiliki Kappa, with a reference to her popular and well-known art series "Invisible Cities". All filming took place in England and London is the city presented. I was asked to write a text that would be used in the film. Vasiliki says “As a writer I do not find it easy to write on a given subject, but this was not the case. It was about a city, and cities were always part of my thoughts as they used to be my main subject in another field of my interests; Art .”
This Film settled a new creative framework through which painting, cinema, and writing came together and proceeded to a creative coupling with semantic extensions beyond the traditional way we perceive the limits of the arts The music, by Grigoris Giarelis, gives a dynamic tone to the narration.

3. How did you start your career in films and has filmmaking
always been your main focus? What has been your motivation?
I started my career in the art of cinema with studies and at the same time i made short films and music videos. That's how I became a film teacher without realizing it. My time is make films I organize festivals and teaching. The cinematic work transcends the dependencies of matter, transcends limitations, and is transformed into a spiritual event. It reflects the social or ideological conditions that produced it. It can transmit awe but also terror. It can destroy forms of the past that have ended up inactive. It detaches from its creator and lives in stubbornness of the damage caused by time. He lives independently because everyone can read new things in it

4. What can you tell us about your best experiences and Which moments on the film set have been the most difficult ones for you?
The creative documentary-film "Take a trip" begins his journey in the world by inviting viewers to take a journey to reposition the thoughts, views and positions that, in our time, make human values a test. That thought is not easy because
"After all, the journey can only be internal… The city in which we live, or the houses, can only be internal. But what is a city? Isn't that the way we see it? Violence follows us everywhere. For a while the colors fade, the place loses its power. "Is fascism within us something to be gained or something to be born with?" the most dificult was to make this idea possible movie .I make it and iam very happy for this.

5. What can you tell us about your upcoming projects?

I am currently organizing my first feature film

6. What is your advice for all independent filmmakers on how
they should work on their goals and reach the best audience for
their individual work?
Digital cinema has reduced the cost of both filming and post-production, making film production more accessible to young artists, creating new data and perspectives in the field. This works as an antidote to a non-existent film market as I do not think we are in this European game of buying and selling works of art.
I would say that for many years we have been consumers of cultural products. The crisis is an opportunity to go out as exporters of cultural ideas, films with system and method. The success of projects in international festivals is a help, but it is not enough. We need a general mood of planning and collaboration. Creative films contain pieces of the creator in his work. This is a challenge for the viewer. I'm talking about movies with honest intentions. This always fascinates me regardless of the quality of production and origin. We have to make such films

𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬: We also have here Vasiliki Kappa, the writer who has written the narration, which is included in her published book Take a trip to the invisible cities. Vasiliki tell us what was the inspiration for your text and what is the basic idea Βασιλική Κάππα Βbehind it?

 

 

 

 I started thinking about the idea of cities a long time ago as I also work as an artist and cities are one of my most known subjects. A city is a place but is also an idea. Behind the idea there are people. I believe in a humanitarian approach. In this modern but so difficult times, when despite all the things that people can enjoy there is also so much trouble in the world, we realize that we need to change our perspective. I think we need to become better people. That is the whole idea. We are all the same. We share the same feelings no matter where we are from and what is our color. Progress is not capable to make people happy if they do not change their attitude towards humanity. We just need to understand that people are the same everywhere and this world is the result of what we do to each other.