 A Cretan village is turning into a mini Hollywood
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 The village of Fres, nestled between the town of Hania and Rethymnon on Crete, has become Greece’s little Hollywood. Last summer Costas Kapakas was there shooting his social comedy drama “Uranya,” while this year he is replaced by Olga Malea and the crew of “First-Time Godfather.”
The locals at the main square of Fres have become veterans in all things filmmaking. When the assistants to the director or producer shout “Quiet! Rolling!” they all know that the chit-chat needs to stop, as they have become intimately acquainted with the jargon of a film set.
There is one thing different about this experience, because they feel more closely connected to the movie, which is set on Crete and related to its recent history. The story is set in 1963 and in one scene being rehearsed and filmed, a young boy, Alex is preparing to make a speech to the mighty Manedaki and Foundedaki families, under the watchful eye of the party’s village top dog, Panagakis.
The boy mumbles something incomprehensible, making the families wonder at the speech prepared by the son of the “chief”, who poses in a poster behind his son.
“First-Time Godfather” is a movie that marks a change of course for Malea as a filmmaker. After several romantic comedies, the director has now turned to a screenplay she wrote together with Nikos Papandreou, based on one of his own autobiographical short stories.
Date: 27/6/2007
Author: Aspasia Polymerou |
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Greek 
English
