Costa Gavras Reveals Plans for New Movie on Greece’s Political Situation (video)

Talking exclusively to Greek Reporter from Hollywood, director Costa Gavras revealed that he is planning to make a movie on the political situation in Greece and the rise of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party.

Recently, a Golden Dawn sympathizer stabbed to death the young leftist rapper Pavlos Fyssas, which resulted in the arrests of Golden Dawn MP’s and their leader Nikos Mihaloliakos.

Fyssas’ murder has been compared to the Lambrakis murder in 1963 for which Gavras made one of his most famous films, “Z” in 1968. Lambrakis, like Fyssas, was attacked by two far-right extremists who hit him with a club over the head in plain view of a large number of people and (allegedly) some police officers. Five days later he died of brain injuries.

However, during our interview Gavras said that he does not compare the two murders and we should see them as different events.

“Those are two different situations. The important thing is to understand why this murder happened now,” said the award-winning filmmaker.

Talking on the possibility of making a film about the recent political incidents in Greece and Fyssas’ murder he said that “it is important to make a lot of films on the current political situation in Greece, documentaries as well as fiction. I am trying to find the right story to do it.”

Speaking on the recent successes of Greek filmmakers, Gavras said that the government needs to help them more.

“I think there is a kind of rebirth of the Greek cinema. I believe the problem that the Greek cinema has is that it is not helped by the government. I think the young directors fight as strong as they can to make their movies.”

“I am happy when I see that something can change in Greece, but I am much more unhappy  because the problems are so huge like the unemployment for young people, so I think it is a kind of drama – if not tragedy- for the Greek people.”

Watch the interview below:

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(Video Credit: Alex Vacca)

Gavras travelled to Los Angeles to participate in a special screening of his movie THE AX. The screening which was followed by a Q&A was organized by the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, the Consul General of Greece Elizabeth Fotiadou and the French Film and TV Office of Los Angeles.

Watch Gavras discussing Golden Dawn during the Q&A:

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(Video Credit: Gianfilippo De Rossi)

Greek director Costa-Gavras has impacted generations of filmmakers through his 1968 political thriller Z, both for its angry exposé of a corrupt dictatorship in Greece and for its supercharged form. Costa-Gavras went on, in such memorable movies as State of Seige, The Confession, Missing and Music Box, to apply his urgent filmmaking style to some of the key political issues of the century.

Gavras’ latest film, “The Capital,” a mile a minute thriller that takes us behind the stained curtains of international financing is opening in the US on October 25th.