Many people consider their pets as members of their family. “Lucy” by writer Alex Giannoulis will be at the Festival de Cannes 2016 in the Short Film Corner.
MBN/TTS: What is "Lucy" about? An elderly childless couple who have just lost their beloved dog Lucy, one of many, out of natural causes. We follow them during the morning they take her to the vet for the final time and after when, as they try to calm down by taking a walk they come across a pet shop and toy with the idea of buying a new pet. However, with Myrto grieving and Kimona trying to make sense of things, things are said, things taken of the chest and they suddenly realise that the time has come to reconsider their relationship and love without any substitute. At the end of the film they ultimately admit and realise that children or no children they have each other, reaffirm their love and that this is pretty much enough for them... MBN/TTS: Have you been to Cannes before? No. This is my debut film as a writer, coming from a political research and analytical background though with akin to writing from my teenage years, mainly short stories in my native tongue (Greek). Although the film was 15 minutes plus and it wouldn't had made a premier at Cannes, we did want a presence so we were happy that it was accepted within the framework of the Short Film Corner as well as a presence within the pavilion of New World Cinemas at the Marche Du Film. MBN/TTS: If you've been to Cannes, do you have any tips for first timers Although I haven't been what I know for sure, from people who have been several times and during different time periods is that one should be prepared enough before even landing there and must utilise the most of his time there otherwise the ration of money spent and results will not be a favourable one and I am obviously talking about new/young filmmakers mainly with a short film. I do know people who have saved for a long time just to be there for these two intense weeks or have calculated this in a way as part of the overall budget of their film. If one cannot go there to accompany and represent his/her film a better and definitely more productive choice is to choose to be professionally represented by a PR or another promotional firm. MBN/TTS: Tell me something about yourself I've been in a transitional period of my life during the past couple of years as various developments and situations gave me the opportunity to try myself at something I always loved which is creative writing and scriptwriting in particular. Although tight on budget I want to make the most out off this opportunity and do, what I think (or hope) is the best way to/shot at making my way and my mark in this craft. Lucy was the first script (in Greek) of mine that eventually came to be a film amidst one of the most difficult period of out country since it was designed and filmed last summer literally during the euro-referendum weekend and significant politico-economic upheaval. People did not vote in the referendum because we were shooting and I am ever so grateful for that, as I am for the total dedication everyone showed for this film with minimum and sometimes no compensation. One day off the schedule it would mean funds difficult to be found at the time (literally as banks were closed down during those days and ATMs would give out like only a handful of euros per week). I come from a political and analytical background with several years in research and some professional work in risk analysis with an academic background at UCL, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, King's College London, London School of Journalism among others. As far as film (or cinematic as I like to call it) education this has only been a workshop and a series of shorter and longer seminars mainly at Raindance London. As I am also interested in documentary research and writing (something familiar to me due to my research background) I have taken a summer course at the University of the Aegean, Lesbos campus in documentary design while we had also submitted a few years ago a professional-orientation doc series to the Greek ERT network for consideration however that was then followed by the closure of ERT of the then-government and we had withdrawn. It is in my general plans to re-write this in English at some point as it touches on an issue I consider vital-that of professional orientation in today's society and given the crisis currently experienced in a few countries in Europe and beyond. The focus would be on up-and-coming or fast-changing professions with the person behind it and his or her personal journey to be where they are. Having said that, my main focus at the moment is screenwriting-education is an ongoing notion for me that maybe never stops. Being honest I am aware of the parts I need to better myself and apart from certain seminars by working professionals I mainly plan to do this with writing. Having finished an english-language short, I am currently working on a feature script. Having already written a couple of treatments and outlines for another project I have been working on, this is my first serious attempt at a feature script with an aim to ultimately promote it when all is set and ready. MBN/TTS: Tell us something else about the movie that no one else knows but you. Apart from the tricky conditions described above, I guess what could be said about this film is that it was 'born out of choice' meaning that the funds I decided to devote to it (as I had neither the time or the mindset to wait for some kind of financing-let alone the dramatic state of any public organisation here devoted to filmmaking at the time) were initially saved for an MA degree I was looking to do within the framework/programme of which I would then shoot a student-class short. Although as stated before I was offered a position at CSSD in London to read MA in Writing for the Stage and Broadcast Media (with a focus on film) I ultimately chose to shoot the short as my financed would demand that I take the course in PT mode over two years-a period I considered too much at this stage of my life. I can only hope I made the right choice, it certainly feels this way after completing Lucy, and I guess an additional bonus was that I was involved in this pretty much from the first word till the wrap on the last shooting day, something that worked as a first-hand and hands-on training for me. Of particular importance to as a writer, was the fact that I had the chance to talk a lot with the actors involved and since they were people of much experience, the Q and As and the analysis that took place was a much useful and educating experience for me. Actresses and actors are the 'tools' of the writer and then the director and the people who give life to whatever written on the page hence it is indeed extremely useful, I think, for the writer to know the psychology of the performer, understand him or her and above all listen to what people, especially those with experience have to say. I am aware that this is a luxury that in large productions writers usually do not have, however if one has such a chance during his early years as a writer (or filmmaker in general, then this can only be beneficial in the long-run when writing happily becomes a profession as it will enable the writer to have a very good knowledge of the people who will embody his characters and ultimately create more vivid, colourful and full of life heroes ready to work as our alter ego for a couple of hours on the silver screen. MBN/TTS: Where can people find out more info? I do not have a personal website per se as yet, however information about me, full resumes and information about Lucy can be found in the following: IMDB: Alex Giannoulis, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm7609369/?ref_=tt_ov_wr IMDB Pro: Alex Giannoulis, https://pro-labs.imdb.com/name/nm7609369?ref_=hm_nv_mp_profile IMDB (LUCY): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5057392/ VIMEO (Personal, also Lucy trailer): https://vimeo.com/user46038245 SHORTFILMSHORTAGE (LUCY trailer): http://filmshortage.com/trailers/lucy/ F/B (LUCYSHORTFILM2015): https://www.facebook.com/lucyshortfilm2015/