klisti dromi

Greece

Synopsis

An undisciplined army parades daily through the gates of our borders. Flight gives them hope and sustains their quest ... the dream appears real as they hurriedly cross the brightly-lit avenues of Athens.

A people who recognize no borders in their desire to obtain such ... without the powerful and heroic wreath of the true rebel these Kurds, filled with despair for their long-held desires, pave the way towards a new world, one which shines its bright lights toward the west ...

The road is freedom, measured in empty cans of beer drunk on lonely benches in Koumoundourou Square during the bright holiday season, with our compassion displayed in celebrations held beside glittering store windows, in a dangerous ticket to the other side, in the search for the lost brother who first took this journey.

The film attempts to portray, in documentary fashion the non-commercially exploitable and thus invisible aspect of a people who struggle and receive credit from our world only when they decide to die heroically, thus becoming fodder for the pompous ") lyricism of vacuous broadcast news. A people whose fate is tested by the «roadblocks» surrounding them and who, guided by their despair, light their own way towards hope.

The film does not "feature" actors who portray the truth of others' lives but rather follows these unknown faces in their real adventures. The stars of this film live the adventure and do not hesitate to tell us about it...

Director's Statement

The reality of illegal immigrants in Greece and the conditions in which they live were what stimulated me to begin this film.
am one of those who believe that it is the cinema's duty to focus on social problems and an man as part of a social sphere. When I met these foreigners, these "different" people, I wanted to talk about their feelings, their strength and dignity. The social level always exists. The director simply shows it at times and at others keeps it in the Back¬ground of the story.
I began to record the eyewitness accounts and stories of these peo-ple in 1998 and the script of the film emerged from this record.
I wanted them to be the protagonists themselves because only their faces and their clear gaze could impress themelves on their story.
The film was completed in October 2000 and in the meantime the five protagonists had changed more than once and some scenes had to be reshot.
But this fluidity was part of the nature of the film. This fluidity corre-sponded to the reality of the illegal immigrant. What is special about the Kurds is that since they have no country they are the only ones who have no papers, no proof as to who is who.
Today, of the film's protagonists only 2-3 remain in Greece. Zirek Misuri (the narrator of the story) now lives in Dusseldorf, two live in Holland, another two in enclaves in Italy.
The entire film was shot at night since this is the reality of these peo-ple. They move about chiefly at night and this condition forced us to use video.
We worked with few lights and the lights of the city.

Director's Biography

Born in 1954 on the island of Evia, Stavros Ioannou studied Civil Engineering and Film Directing in Athens. To date he has made more than 100 films, mostly documentaries and television programs, and has won ten quality awards in Greek and international festivals.

Filmography:
1979 ANTIA, first documentary
1987 THE OLD MAN AND KORELA (YEROS KE KORELA)
1989 OMEN (IONOS)
1990 THE PARTHENON MARBLES (TA GLYPTA TOU PARTHENONA)
1994 THE ORIGINS OF TRAGEDY (ESTIN OUN TRAGODIA), doc.
2000 ROADBLOCKS (KLISTI DROMI)
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Stavros loannou

Written by: Stavros Ioannou, Afrodite Pavlaki

Cinematography: Diamantis Papadopoulos

Editing: Vangelis Christoulakis

Production Design: Thanos Begnis

Original Score: Vangelis Katsoulis, Tania Nikoludi

Cast: Hussein Abdulah (Ayat), Ahmet Guli (Ahmet), Falaha Hassan (Zirek)

Nominations and Awards

  • European Discovery of the Year - Fassbinder Award  2001