“The Summer With Carmen”, interview with director Zacharias Mavroeidis, and actors Yorgos Tsiantoulas and Andreas Lampropoulos

September 9, 2023

Zacharias Mavroeidis, director and Yorgos Tsiantoulas and Andreas Lampropoulos, actors, of the film "The Summer With Carmen". The realistic and sexy story of friendship and love in the contemporary Athenian gay community.

"The Summer With Carmen", interview with director Zacharias Mavroeidis, and actors Yorgos Tsiantoulas and Andreas Lampropoulos Angelo Acerbi

Podcast | Download

With the narrative tool of a film about a film abpout a film, “The Summer With Carmen” by Zacharias Mavroeidis tackles both queer life and relationships in the gay community of Athens, and the creative turmoil of building a film project. With a light and circular structure of back and forth in time, the film gets the best out of the truthful and relentless performances of the two leads, Yorgos Tsiantoulas and Andreas Lampropoulos.

“The Summer With Carmen” by Zacharias Mavroeidis has been presented in Giornate degli Autori selection 2023.

Portraying queer life for real

There was a will, from the director’s point of view, of creating a true-to-life queer film in an unapologetic way that had never been done before. The narrative trick of the film about creating a film was the perfect tool to explore all aspects of queer relationships, both sexual and sentimental.

Being naked (literally and emotionally)

The film earnest look and image asked the actors a level of confidence that is a winning feature. Yorgos Tsiantoulas, who has the most naked and sex scenes the film, tells about his being comfortable with naked scenes : his character needs to be told in such a way, so his job as an actor was to follow that path.

Plot

While enjoying a day at Athens’ queer beach, 30-something Demosthenes offers to help his bestie and aspiring filmmaker Nikitas in drafting an idea for his feature debut, inspired by the events surrounding a certain dog named Carmen. Two summers ago, Demosthenes was stuck in Athens dealing with health issues of his father. This serves as an excuse to reach out to his ex, Panos. Meanwhile, Panos got the overly cute Carmen, something he soon regretted. Likewise, Demosthenes seems to have regretted breaking up with Panos. Or did he not? Struggling to transform real events into a hero’s journey, the two friends question the no.1 rule of script writing theory – the hero that changes – while turning a page in their long lasting friendship.

Written by: Angelo Acerbi

Guest

Film

The Summer With Carmen

Festival

Giornate degli Autori - Venezia

Rate it

Channel posts

News

Marisa Paredes: The Star of Spanish Cinema Passes Away at 78

December 18, 2024

The Spanish star, Marisa Paredes, muse of Pedro Almodóvar, passed away on December 17, 2024, at the age of 78

Chiara Mastoianni, Rajendra Roy (director of MoMA film), Joshua Siegel.

Interview

Chiara Mastroianni, interview at the opening night of “Marcello and Chiara Mastroianni, A Family Affair” at MoMA NYC

December 17, 2024

Chiara Mastroianni: The Protagonist of a Retrospective Honoring Her Father’s Legacy and Her Own Acclaimed Work. MoMA and Cinecittà Present:"Marcello and Chiara Mastroianni, A Family Affair"

Venezia 80 - Venice Production Bridge - Final Cut in Venice

News

Mostra del Cinema di Venezia

Venice 80: Final Cut in Venice Unveils Seven Promising Work-in-Progress Films from Africa and the Middle East

December 17, 2024

Final Cut in Venice has been a crucial initiative since 2013, facilitating the completion of films from African nations and five Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. This year's program offers filmmakers a unique opportunity to …

NOSFERATU_FP_00606 Willem Dafoe stars as Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz and Lily-Rose Depp stars as Ellen Hutter in director Robert Eggers’ NOSFERATU, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

Interview

“Nosferatu”, interview with actor Willem Dafoe

December 16, 2024

Nosferatu marks the third collaboration between director Robert Eggers and actor Willem Dafoe

LISTEN TO ALL OUR RADIO CHANNELS

“The Summer With Carmen”, interview with director Zacharias Mavroeidis, and actors Yorgos Tsiantoulas and Andreas Lampropoulos