The 12th International Izmir Film Festival honors Greek director Costas Ferris

The themes of exile and revolt and the protagonists of extraordinary stories Greek director Costas Ferris usually treats in his films are like reflections from his own life. In his journey that started in Cairo, he paused in Greece to take a breath, before being exiled, for political reasons, to Paris (1967-1973) to live there working on cinema and in other fields he had been affiliated with, remaining prolific and engaging in collaborations and eventually gearing up making films in 1973, after returning to his country.

These constant relocations, the taste of different cultures and traces imprinted into his mind, this deterritorialization that proved to be long even after his settling down, have broadened the scale of the director's interests. Ferris seems to be engaged in a continuous exploration, not only in the field of film directing but also in the fields of production, directing TV series and programs, playwriting, scriptwriting, music composition, authoring and acting. Renowned in the world and in Turkey mostly for his film Rembetiko (1983), the director, from a closer look, resembles a hidden treasure that conceals pieces of different tones, colours and forms amalgamated with a profound modesty. These deep ties have not only motivated explorative journeys into different disciplines but also resulted in memberships to various international artistic institutions and organizations. Ferris is a member of the Greek Directors Collective, Greek Screenplay Authors Collective as well as of SACEM (Sociéte des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Editeurs de Musique) and FEMA (Federation of Eurepean Film Directors). The traditions of mythology and tragedy that influenced the whole of the Western culture, are felt strongest in the Greek cinema in the 20th century, in the abstractions to be found in the films of Theo Angelopoulos and Costas Ferris. Oedipus, Dionysos, Prometheus, Elektra... All of them emerge as modern versions of a tragic destiny in various different forms. Ferris' film “Prometheus' Second Person, Singular” (Promitheas Se Theftero Prosopo, 1975) is a modern critical version that breaks off with the path of the mythological hero and places him in a contemporary context. In the film, through the means of a political metaphor, a young revolutionary who can be viewed as a modern version of Prometheus, stands against the authoritarian rule on behalf of the people. Oh Babylon (1989) tells the story of a powerful family falling into dispute about religious beliefs, just like Bacchus' standing against his family in the mythological tale. Dionysus, symbolizing inebriation and wine, forces this separation at times. In the modern version, the young author, who has taken an advance payment to write a book, could not find a way to finish his work and has been looked down upon by his family due to his lack of faith. In the film, the ancient tradition of tragedy gains meaning not only in the sense of a mythological narrative but also with the tragic “Chorus” which conveys elements of alienation. Ferris, who has directed several short films, TV series, documentaries, education and research programs as well as engaging in documenting, composing and writing about music, has won international acclaim with “Rembetiko” (1983) “Rembetiko” (1983) starts in İzmir in 1917. Marika, the woman character at the centre of the story, was born in Izmir. Her mother and father are Rembetiko singers. Then comes the Great Fire of Smyrna and migration. An exchange of populations takes place. As the family resume their program in taverns in Greece, Marika delves into the lifestyle as a young member of the collective from an early age. The creators of Rembetikos come from the lower classes of the society, are usually unemployed and outcast. Rebel and lawless, they are arm-carrying poor communities with their own parlance who stand against the establishment with songs instead of militant actions. Rembetiko was born as the music of the Rum living in Istanbul and in Izmir at the end of the 19th century. Its themes are various and include love, separation, protest, the underground world, hashish songs, imprisonment, poverty, sickness, death, migration and longing. The rebets are poor wanderers and nomads. Naturally, the music accommodates the profound sorrow felt by those people who are perceived as “aliens” wherever they go. The film narrates the story of all Rebets, through the personal tale of the lead protagonist Marika which starts in Izmir, continues in Athens, travels across Greece with tours, jumps to Chicago, the USA and ends up eventually in the motherland who failed to receive her children, the Rebets, with open arms. Approaching the stories of these outcast people, whose value has been recognized after a long time, with tremendous sensitivity and cinema aesthetic; Costas Ferris has crafted an epic film. This epic displays a very nuanceful treatment of the common culture that closely concerns both Izmir and Athens, both the Rum and Turks. Continuing after a 12 years pause, the 12th International Izmir Film Festival would like to grant director Costas Ferris the “Lifetime Honorary Award” for his approach that goes beyond the official stance, his sensitivity for the musical and the visual, and his strengthening intercultural ties and demonstrating certain historical facts through cinema. Assistant Professor Dr. Dilek Tunalı http://www.izmirfilmfest.com/en/oduller.php