Apolithomata
Fossils
Panos Arvanitakis / Greece / 2019 / 50 min / Colour
Millions of years ago, the land of the Eordea hosted a constellation of lakes, crowned by dense vegetation. Today, prehistoric life has turned into coal, mined by the massive excavators of the Greek Public Power Corporation. A large area, once inhabited by Neolithic peoples, has turned into a grey desert, veiled by a dark fog. Panos Arvanitakis suspends the narration to listen to the voice of the machinery, power stations and mines that never cease to crush the rock, drawing new morphologies, alien to the terrestrial ones: matter and energy mix, in a whirling cycle. In the frequent long shots that frame the extraction processes, man is a minor creature, a disoriented player in the dust of his work. Only with the engines turned off does his song spread across the esplanade and over the hills, to stop and resound between the walls of an abandoned church.
Panos Arvanitakis
Panos Arvanitakis is a freelance photographer and filmmaker originally from Salonicco. He wrote and directed shorts and documentaries and founded his own production company, with which he realised experimental films and photo projects. In 2014 he directed The Caravan, screened at numerous international festivals.
Credits
Screenplay Panos ArvanitakisCinematography Panos ArvanitakisSound Karolos GakidisEditing Panos ArvanitakisMusic Kanaris KeramarisProducer Panos Arvanitakis