The Chaos She Left Behind competed in the La Cinef section of Cannes alongside 18 of the best student films worldwide.
Nikos Kolioukos
An Award – Winning Chaos
Text: Marni Hatziemmanouil
His truth and the harsh reality of life unfold in the debut film by Nikos Kolioukos (b. 1996), already labeling him as one of the promising young directors of the international scene. Between words and silences, intense scenes and stillness, tenderness and rejection, the viewer follows the relationship of a father and his daughter, who wishes to go away for studies leading him to relive moments of difficult separations from people he once loved. “The film focuses on how you can leave someone you love behind. The idea started from listening to an Elvis song, “Devil in Disguise”. I imagined two people dancing to it. I knew this dance was probably a farewell or an apology, something that could not be said in any other way.”
Nikos Kolioukos, a graduate of the Film School of AUTh’s Faculty of Fine Arts, made his film debut in the competition section of La Cinef at the 77th Cannes Film Festival with the film The Chaos She Left Behind, winning the second prize, as well as the Best Director and Best Actress awards in the National Student Competition at the 46th International Drama International Short Film Festival. The film went on to be screened in all the major domestic festivals, while the Greek Film Centre recently commissioned Kolioukos with the organization’s promotional campaign within the framework of the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
“The Drama International Short Film Festival was the first festival we got to participate in and our first major award. When the Best Director Award and the Best Actress Award for Marina Siotou were announced, we literally cheered. It was a unique moment for us, and a great opportunity for our work to gain recognition within the Greek film industry. The film, in addition to the awards, also received a warm response from the public as well as the Greek cinema community.”
The Chaos She Left Behind competed in the La Cinef section of Cannes alongside 18 of the best student films worldwide. It was selected among 2,263 films funded by their respective universities. Films with strong stories and technical excellence from the best film schools in the world (London, Columbia, etc.). “Our film was self-financed. To participate and compete in such a prestigious institution without substantial support is a great achievement in itself. To be awarded is almost unreal, and really emotional, something I’m still trying to realize. I am very proud of what we have achieved. Imagine that the last Greek participation at La Cinef in Cannes was 23 years ago, in 2001, with Sylla Tzoumerkas’ The Devouring Eyes.”
For Nikos Kolioukos, stepping outside the narrow borders of Greece is beneficial, if nothing else. “I realized that for good in Cannes when, talking to directors, producers, and sales agents among others, I saw how much more flexible and protected some things are in other countries, such as France or Germany. I spoke to people in the film industry, who embraced our effort, approached us and made deals for The Chaos She Left Behind, being more than willing to support our plans.” As he notes, participating in major festivals, Greek or international, serves as a recognition of something you do well. “A lot of films are being produced around the world, and most directors are aiming to be there. They try to stand out and earn distinctions hoping that their next plans will come true a little easier.”
It is important to be honest with the audience, to communicate one’s own truth. “I think honesty is at once contemporary and timeless. There are no specific aesthetic choices that define the contemporary directorial gaze. One trend follows another and every day everything is turned upside down. What remains a solid value is honesty in approaching the stories. The more you expose and lay bare yourself the more what you have to say concerns us.
The film deals with a story of love and reliance and focuses on Anna’s relationship with her alcoholic father, Dimitris. She wants to go to a music school in Paris. When she tells him, a series of conflicts are triggered, pushing unresolved issues from the past to the surface. “Through my script, I wanted to make these people realistic and complex. For a six-month period I went every Wednesday to the open meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and the groups of alcoholics’ relatives in Thessaloniki. I talked to people and we shared stories. In these groups there are people who have made a tremendous journey to recovery, overcoming setbacks and displaying perseverance. They have acquired another view of things and life. I saw sobriety and light whether things were going well or not. I really wanted to realistically capture that light and color within a suffocating condition.”
The rest of the crew greatly contributed to the film with their talent and unique perspective. Alexandra Riba, “with the wonderful lighting and the suffocating close-ups in a square frame.” Pelagia Hadjinikita, the musician and sound designer “who made the silences deafening and gave an eerie touch to the plastic keyboards of the electric piano.” Set designer Elena Koutsou, costume designer Konstantina Mardikis and make-up artist Voula Chourtsidou, “who gave texture and realism to the film”. Also, the editor Yorgos Zafeiris “who, in a wonderful way, gave this captivating
rhythm and the right timing to all the gazes and the pauses that stupefy the viewer.”
Nikos Kolioukos expresses his gratitude for “these wonderful and super-talented people I teamed up with” and for the “touching chemistry between the actors”, i.e. between Marina Siotou and Yannis Tsortekis. “Many times, during rehearsal and the shooting, I got lost in their eyes and just kept staring at them, totally mesmerized. There were moments when I felt like something magical was taking place, way beyond my expectations and plans. Many times I took things as they came. The three of us had an exceptional communication, we shared a lot. Eleni Karagiorgi, Danae Skiadi, Maria Filini and Vassilis Kanakis were equally amazing.”
Laying down his view on the role of the director, Koliukos also notes that it is important to be honest with the audience, to communicate one’s own truth. “I think honesty is at once contemporary and timeless. There are no specific aesthetic choices that define the contemporary directorial gaze. One trend follows another and every day everything is turned upside down. What remains a solid value is
honesty in approaching the stories. The more you expose and lay bare yourself the more what you have to say concerns us.” In the story of Anna and Dimitris “one can find camouflaged autobiographical elements” as he admits, adding that: “It may sound sad having to leave a loved one, but in fact it can turn into something redemptive.”
What is the driving force inside of him? “The countervailing forces, the contradictions, how something pushes you to one direction and something else pulls you away from it.” The issues are featured in his next film titled Amnesia, produced by Homemade Films, with co-producers Maria Drandaki and Kyveli Short. “It is a queer love story set in Western Thessaloniki in the 80s. I am very happy and looking
forward to it. The film’s core is love and sexual attraction. In this particular case, in these characters, when these forces are in the same direction maybe things seem happy and easy. But when these two – equally strong – forces go down in different directions then we have a head-on conflict. I admire people who try to balance between two forces. I get all worked up when this happens, even when it happens to me. It is as if I leave my body for a while and observe it with the admiration of a third party, an outside observer.”
Movies are an integral part of his personality and film-watching is something he engages in with a purpose: “To be moved and to feel things. I don’t watch movies just to kill time. I can’t do that, I get bored too easily. If a movie doesn’t move me even a little bit, I’m pissed off. When I’m at home I quit the film, when I’m at the movie theater I just want to step out. I make movies for the same reason, to move or shake the viewer. But most of all, I do it for me. To share a story that suffocates me.”
Wishing to have a hand in the field of studies, he makes a call: “I ask the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Ministry of Education to financially support the students who make films. There are many students and teachers doing a great job at the Film School using all resources at their disposal. I am leaving with good memories, as I spent some beautiful years with wonderful fellow students, with whom we formed an exquisite team for the creation of this film and we will continue to work together in future projects.”
