|
Your film Soul Looting
- in a few words, what is it about?
It's about the dark side of people. We all have secrets, but in this case the
secret is lethal. It's also about how reality and hallucination can merge.
With Soul Looting
being essentially a ghost story - a genre you are at all fond of, and some
ghost stories that influenced your movie? Absolutely none.
It's just my love for the supernatural. My mother has told to me that
when I was a little boy, the kindergarden teacher called her
in order to inform her that while all other children were drawing flowers,
cats and birds, her son was drawing graves and flying ghosts. (Other)
sources of inspiration while writing Soul
Looting? My former job. I had been working at a
funeral home for almost 10 years. Plus some jealous ex-girlfriends! By the way, I need to confide to you that I never WROTE anything.
Soul
Looting was inside my brain cells, not even the guys who were playing had
the slightest idea about the story. I remember some of them asking me
"will I have to take a shower after that scene?"
What got the project off the ground,
actually, and in that context, what can you tell us about the Greek indie
horror scene as such? My strong will and the friends who
believed in that project gave me a kick to start filming Soul
Looting. There are a few good indie horror movies from Greece,
but most Greek cinematographers would never try to make such a movie,
mostly because nobody would pay for it. Those few who
dared to do it had to pay for the production too. How would you describe your
directorial approach to your subject at hand?
I don't think
I can describe it, simply because I'm not a director. Filmmaking is just
a hobby, I have never studied it. After
relying on atmosphere for the most part, Soul
Looting's finale is quite graphic and gory - so what can you tell
us about your gore effects, and as how important would you rate gore in
today's horror? My friend Nikos Dresios did most of the
gore effects. He is a professional and I don't know how I would have finished the
movie without him. Gore is essential for any horror movie, because horror
movies are supposed to be disturbing. It feels good to know that some
people will close their eyes while watching a gore scene.
What can you tell us about your two
leads, Nefeli Papaioannou and Iraklis Savvopoulos, how did you find them,
and in your eyes, what made them perfect for their roles? They
are both friends of mine, just like all the other guys who play. Nobody is
an actor, except from Rahel Kapsaski who has studied the subject. So,
anybody would have been perfect in my eyes as long as they would say "yes, I will
play." A
few words about the actual shoot and the on-set atmosphere? I
started shooting Soul
Looting in June 2008 and finished in April 2009. I
remember we had some great times and funny moments, plenty of food and
booze,
but sometimes I had to shoot while experiencing severe panic attacks. I
guess I was a bit sick and stressed those days. I must add that some of
the guys who played were
sometimes tired because they had been working hard all day. I really thank
them for tolerating me.
What
can you tell us about audience and critical reception of your film? Most
people forgave some camera focus and sound mistakes because they really
liked the story, and some of them got scared too - which means I achieved
my goal.
Let's
go back to the beginnings of your career: What got you into filmmaking in
the first place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject? No
career. Just a hobby. I think I had always been carrying filmmaking
inside me, and simply had to give birth to it. As I mentioned before, I
have not studied it, and I really wonder how I did it. I'm a hero, I
guess!
What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Soul
Looting?
I made a short comedy before Soul
Looting,
but it's not worth talking about. Any future projects you'd like to
share? I had started shooting two other horror films
(including Soul Looting II), but never finished them. The first for
technical issues, and the second for financial. Now I have a few ideas in
mind, but the economic crisis in Greece is an obstacle I can't overcome. Directors who inspire you? Lars
Von Trier and early Peter Jackson. Your
favourite movies?
 |
Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
any of my partnershops yourself
for more, better results?
(commissions earned) |
The links below
will take you
just there!!!
|
|
 |
Mostly horror ones, such as The Guinea
Pig II: Flowers of Flesh and Blood, BrainDead, Evil
Dead, Saw, The
Exorcist... But many others too, like Being John Malkovich and
Spider-Man,
too numerous to mention.
... and of course, films you really
deplore? Softcore porn! Your website, Facebook, whatever else? There
is a Facebook page for Soul Looting:
http://www.facebook.com/Soul.Looting
Anything
else you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I
keep on sending the DVD for free to anybody who asks for it. Just let me
know an address at choleragv@hotmail.com.
Plus, I want to dare all those who think they could do a horror film to do
it. Go for it guys! It just takes some extra love for the subject (and
some money ...)! Thanks
for the interview!
Thank you too!
|
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
