MATAROA. THE JOURNET GOES ON...
The documentary narrates the adventurous journey of 150 Greek students from Piraeus to Italy and from there to Paris. On the 22th of December 1945, they departed for Paris on the ship «Mataroa» as scholarship recipients of the French state, initiated by the director of the French Institute in Athens, Octave Merlier. The aim was to escape from Greece, which was gradually entering the turmoil of the civil war. Among the passengers on the Mataroa several later became prominent Greek intellectuals and artists of post-war Europe, such as Cornelius Castoriadis, Kostas Axelos, Emmanuel Kriaras, Nikos Svoronos, and Memos Makris. Based on rare archives, personal collections, testimonies from protagonists like Manos Zacharias, Nelli Andrikopoulou, Emmanuel Kriaras, interviews with representatives of the «second generation» and contemporary creators attempting to mythologize the «Mataroa generation» today, the film aspires to critically explore the decisive historical and collective significance of this journey. The documentary was screened at the 21st Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, the 2nd GRECDOC Festival Paris 2020 - Bronze Award, the 4th CineDoc 2019, the 13th Documentary Festival Chalkida, and the 17th International Festival Signes de Nuit in Paris.
CREDITS
Director - Screenplay: Andreas Siadimas
Year of production: 2019, Duration: 84′
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Panagiotis Vouzas, Andreas Siadimas / EDITING: Kostas Christoforidis / SOUND: Kleanthis Manolaras / MUSIC: Eleni Kallimopoulou / PRODUCTION: Dangerous Productions / PRODUCER: Andreas Siadimas / CO-PRODUCER: ERT S.A., 2|35
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Special thanks to Dangerous Productions for the generous donation of the film's copyright and IP
