Daria! Issue IX - 2018
DARIA! 2018
FAST FORWARD WITH FLAMINIA GRAZIADEI By Olga Matsyna KATERINI’S NAUTICAL CLUB OF CHAMPIONS By Daria Trifu A PROLIFIC CAREER IN FILM THAT SPANS FIVE DECADES By Olga Matsyna PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST: Rodica Toth Poiata Q&A: Actor Wayne E. Brown
EXCLUSIVE
PLUS REACHING FOR THE STARS: ON THE COVER WITH
Christie Norton
Global Nonviolent Film Festival
THE LINEUP
EDITOR’S LETTER When I launched this magazine, in 2005, I did it because I could. It was the year when I was able to do it, to make it happen. I drew lots of inspiration from magazines such as Vanity Fair, National Geographic and even Time Magazine and The Economist. Elements of which you can still see today throughout Daria!. In 2006, I envisioned an issue dedicated to Africa and to social entrepreneurship in general. It was because I was producing a film in Ghana, and while there, I discovered Africa. I wanted Daria! to become the first publication that looks at some aspects of the world that were never addressed in main stream media. I envisioned the top personalities in the world being interviewed by our magazine and, in conclusion, Warren Buffet, Melinda and Bill Gates being featured on Daria!'s cover. I worked with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the article on fighting malaria and their initiatives in Africa, and they provided the picture for the cover of the maga-
zine. In the process of making the 2007 issue, I communicated with Oprah’s office, Bono’s management (and twenty plus others) and outlined the vision while requesting their participation.
In May, the special issue of Daria on Africa and Social Entrepreneurship was printed but is was not ready for its mass distribution, so it was kept in the printing house in Florida. One day, a month or so later, I came out of my house, and on the newsstands, there was the July 2007 issue of Vanity Fair. Different covers, one of which was Daria!’s - without Annie Leibovitz’s input. The most hurtful was the editor’s page: Bono was co-editing alongside Graydon Carter. In the present issue, we are taking a close look on the life and creative talent of a film Auteur whose career spans fifty years. His name is Bruno Pischiutta and I’ve had the privilege of working with him for the last twenty years. He says “we are always learning and discovering new subjects that were often and for long periods of time in front of our eyes”. Olga Matsyna’s interview with Pischiutta starts on page 37. For the first time, I conducted an interview and wrote an article for Daria!. I had the pleasure to meet Konstadinos Karyotis in Greece, while I was on location-scouting for my next film production. Meeting an Olympic athlete, who is revered by his community and loved all around the country for his sporting achievements, is a humbling experience. I invite you to read my article starting on page 26. Starting on page 50, we present the films selected in the 7th edition of the Global Nonviolent Film Festival. This is, and I am proud to say it, the most important and renown nonviolent film festival in the world. I am it’s Director and a founding member. This particular issue has been a tough one to produce. I hope you will find a subject able to inspire you or to create a debate between you and your friends on a pleasant evening you share together and an artist whose work you will follow for years to come. All this, remember, you discovered in Daria! first.
DARIA TRIFU, Editor 3 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
Daria! 2018
FEATURES 10
FAST FORWARD WITH FLAMINIA GRAZIADEI By Olga Matsyna
Film Director Flaminia Graziadei’s mission is using art and vision to focus on raising awareness on social issues, discrimination, mental health, minorities and civil rights.
26
KATERINI’S NAUTICAL CLUB OF CHAMPIONS By Daria Trifu
On location in Greece, Daria Trifu interviews rowing champion and Katerini’s Nautical Club president, Konstadinos Karyotis, in an exclusive interview for Daria!
37
A PROLIFIC CAREER IN FILM THAT SPANS FIVE DECADES By Olga Matsyna
“My only luxury is the possibility I have to choose the people I work with”, says Film Author Bruno pischiutta in a candid interview with Olga Matsyna for Daria!
FILM GUIDE 50
GLOBAL NONVIOLENT FILM FESTIVAL 2018 The films participating in the 2018 edition of the most important and renown nonviolent film festival in the world are presented beginning at page 50. The guide also features interviews with some of the directors and producers whose films made this year’s lineup.
Konstadinos Karyotis and Daria Trifu raising the Greek flag in front of the Nautical Club in Paralia, Katerini (page 26).
There are thirty-two films that have been selected from nineteen countries. The Festival takes place from September 20 to 30 on the Festival’s online TV channel. www.dariamagazine.com
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D!vine “I’m at the beginning of my film acting career, which is surely one of the most exciting things to happen in my life.
Real beauty doesn't require makeup, it only requires love.”
Taylor
Williams
Photo by Lassiter Photography
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Daria! CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
FINE ARTS 17
PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST Rodica Toth Poiata’s oil paintings can be perceived and deconstructed at different levels, being rich in what they have to offer to the viewer.
RISING STARS 7
Above: Painting by artist Rodica Toth Poiata (page 17); Below: Lighting the Olympic Flame in Katerini, Greece (page 8)
ARTHUR MARTIN
15
BAKHTIAR KHALILI
46
MARIANA ACHIM
47
SERAFINA PERRI
48
DANISH KHATRI
D!VINE
Daria! EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, Daria Trifu CONTRIBUTOR, COPY EDITOR, Olga Matsyna COPY EDITOR, Elio Dell’Unto PUBLISHER, Adhara Properties Inc. www.dariamagazine.com daria@globalfilmstudio.com
5
TAYLOR WILLIAMS
9
LUCY CATES
16
MOON MING
21
LESHA BEY
35
SOPHIA GILBERTO
36
EVA VOQ
49
KRISTNA SAIKIA
EXTRAS EDITOR’S LETTER BEHIND THE SCENES ON THE COVER Q&A: ACTOR WAYNE E. BROWN www.dariamagazine.com
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RISING STAR
Arthur Martin “I have modeled professionally for the past few years in Europe and in South Africa but is my calling.
acting
Meditation and being one with nature are big parts of my life. I envision myself playing roles in movies such as Lord of the Rings and
Game of Thrones.�
Daria! 2018
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WINTER OLYMPICS
The flame for the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea was lit in Keterini, Greece on October 29. First and second from top: Deputy Mayor of Katerini, Pipitsa Makridou, with Daria Trifu; Bruno Pischiutta, Makridou and Rowing Champion Katerina Nikolaidou
D!vine Lucy
CATES
Photo by Edo Dream
"After years of modeling, I am now beginning my acting journey. I want to learn, I want to express and I want to heal both myself and others. I trust the universe to take me wherever it does." www.dariamagazine.com |
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FEATURE
FAST FORWARD WITH
Flaminia Graziadei
D
By Olga Matsyna
irector Flaminia Graziadei comes towards me smiling. She has blonde spiky hair, she is petite athletic build. There’s something sporty and dynamic about her movement, that jumps out immediately. It’s probably her background as a professional dancer, which I discover later.
“I needed more than just being a white canvas for someone else’s work, I was looking to take the next step forward and find my own language as an artist.”
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“O
nce a dancer, always a dancer” she says slightly proud. Dance was her first love and her first step into the entertainment industry, more than 25 years ago. She started in musicals because, she soon understood, the future belonged to those who could dance, sing and act at a professional level. At that time in Italy, where she comes from, there were no comprehensive Musical Academies, so she studied each discipline singularly.
nated dance theatre to making movies, between Italy and Spain, only to end up back in London in 2012. This time for good. In Cinema, she started as an assistant director and gained her skills on the field. “I’m so grateful because, in Italy, I’ve learnt from the best. I’ve worked with Oscar winning or nominated DoP (Nuovo Cinema Paradiso), 1st Ad (The Great Beauty), Sound recorder (La Vita è Bella) and Costume designer (I’m love). Italy has a very classy but tough, old fashioned school. There
“There’s an unspoken code on set where everybody knows their role and sticks to it whilst respecting the role of others. If you cross the line, you are not going to be easily forgiven!” In 1994 she began her life in London, looking to expand her horizons. That’s how she got involved in the British New Dance, “the most daring and inspiring”, and created her first Dance Theatre company. When I ask how much of this influenced her most recent work, she lights up: “Of course it did. That work is totally free from any pressure and is just focused on the creation, on the various levels of expression and metaphors. It’s pushing boundaries and looking for the least predictable way to reach authenticity in your vision”. That was only the beginning, as Flaminia is a bit of a Gypsy and after what she calls “her first life in London”, she went back to Italy where, in 2001, she met her new artistic love: Cinema. She alterDaria! 2017 / 2018
is an unspoken code on set where everybody knows their role and sticks to it whilst respecting the role of others. If you cross the line, you are not going to be easily forgiven! I started on rather big productions, months of work, big crews, “A” list actors. Then, I moved into medium/low budgets, where, despite being the 1st Assistant Director, I had the chance to work from the beginning of the project alongside the producers. In this way I learned how to raise a film from literally an idea to the final product, which lead to creating my own production company, LonRom Film. As a director, I needed to make sure that the production quality of my films was at a good professional level, no matter what the budget was.”
She smiles when she asks me if I have understood where the name comes from and what the logo represents. I didn’t think about it before, but after a moment I got it: London Rome, the two cities she calls home. The logo is a stylized combination of the Colosseum and Big Ben. Since returning to London, Flaminia has been pretty busy with various projects. The first one she defines as her “calling card” and it is Inside Out. The short film focuses on panic attacks, something that Flaminia herself experienced. When I ask how she decided to tackle a subject that was so close to her personal experiences she explains that it was based on a dance theatre piece that she made in Rome a few months before leaving. “The feedback was amazing and the people who suffered with panic attacks were thanking me for having focused on a subject they felt too embarrassed to talk about, whilst, their family members finally got an insight in to what their loved ones were going through.
I decided that I needed to spread the message further and, turning it into a movie was the best way. It worked. It gained me my first two awards and a lot of festival exposure. It also clarified what my mission as a director was: using art and vision to focus on raising awareness on social issues, discrimination, mental health, minorities & civil rights.” www.dariamagazine.com
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1
3 2
4
1. Scene from Arrivederci Rosa; 2, 3 & 5. Scenes from Inside Out; 4. Scene from The Final Haunting 5
Daria! 2017 / 2018
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I
ask her if this wouldn’t make her work a bit intense or too much for a niche audience. She smiles as if she were expecting that question, and specifies that it’s the content that needs to be meaningful in order to interest her, but the format could be even a comedy. For instance, Arrivederci Rosa, one of her latest shorts, is a LGBT comedy with a very funny lesbian speed dating scene and a light and very accessible approach.
Arrivederci Rosa 14 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com Daria! 2017 / 2018
“So far it [Arrivederci Rosa] has been the most successful, with two and half years of festival touring, six awards and various nominations, including a BAFTA qualifying one. I’m very proud of the way people received it, despite being a genre film, it had an incredibly broad audience. That is what I wanted to achieve: to create bridges, being able hat does Flaminia have in the pipeto show the ‘norline for us? “I’m editing a new mality’ of being short, The Power gay.” of One Coin, which I directed and
W
In 2014 she made her feature debut, a very low budget psychological ghost story, The Final Haunting. I’m curious to know how she approached that kind of genre. “Originally, I was proposed only the direction and the film was a proper horror movie. Once in pre-production, we had to jump on board as co-producers, as we were more experienced in the field. I asked the screenwriter/producer to make a lot of changes, to push the story towards a psychological ghost, focusing on the effects of child abuse. That was much more the type of movie I was interested in. It was brilliant, I had a great time, a great crew, wonderful actors, the protagonist won Best Actress at the London Independent Film Festival. We shot half of it in North Wales in this 1700 mansion, owned by Darren Wharton, remember Thin Lizzy? I was sleeping there in the “captain room” and literally walking on set every time I was stepping out of my room. Sometimes I was walking around at night testing new ideas I had for the following day. I’d love to be able to have that for every film!”
co-produced. Again, it tackles mental health and will be ready for distribution in September. Meanwhile, I created a team to develop a Web Series with a TV series flavor called InterPlay, which we will aim at platforms like Amazon Prime or even Netflix. It talks about online dating in young adults. We have shot the pilot and the whole series consists of 10 episodes of 13/15 mins each. I’m also developing two feature films. One, Luton to Leicester is a brit comedy road movie with two septuagenarian sisters as protagonists. We have been working on this since 2014, but now I have a very good producer, James With of Tri-Us Media, and things are moving much faster. The second is One Year in London, an LGBT coming of age story set between London and Italy, a kind of development of Arrivederci Rosa. I’ve also recently created, Food For Movies, with an Italian partner. It's a video service company that offers commercials with a cinematic story telling quality at a contained budget: quite a challenge, but at the end of the day, I’m still looking for “pushing boundaries” in whatever I do. D!
RISING STAR
Bakhtiar Khalili Bakhtiar Khalili is an actor and director with a rich background of onstage and behind the scene experience. His numerous roles performed on the stage, TV and in short films combined with his ability to speak 5 languages have gained him the mindset to be able to shift through a wide range of characters from different layers of society. His work has attracted praise, including being nominated and awarded in a number of festivals such as Sorbonne’s FINPRET Festival.
Daria! 2018
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D!vine Eva VOQ
“Acting is my passion
since childhood!”
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Portrait of an
ARTIST FINE ARTs By Daria!
RODICA TOTH POIATA, a talented Romanian painter, is not intimidated by the confined space of the white canvas and believes that there is still much to be created and discovered in fine arts.
Daria! 2017 / 2018
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W
hile contemporary art has broadened its sense by relying on promotion of concepts and social manifestos, and less on visual arts, there are still a few talented artists that found their freedom in the traditional media. Not everything has been said and done, thus, an artistic vision along with the creative passion can bring surprising new twists to the approach of classic subjects. Rodica Toth Poiata’s oil paintings can be perceived and deconstructed at different levels, being rich in what they have to offer to the viewer. Not everyone sees the same thing when looking at her artworks. Some find joy in the gorgeous ripe colors that mesmerize the eye, others feel the contrast between the smoothness and the roughness of the textures she skillfully depicts, some others resonate with the composition that addresses their subconscious need of balance. The theme dearest to her heart remains the human body and the beauty of its form and gestures. Her nude paintings are more than naked bodies in aesthetically pleasing poses, they are an expression of the inner self, of the emotions that surface to the skin. Her works are remarkably unique, and while her themes and style are ever evolving, one can recognize the distinctive characteristics of her compositions. Light is always present as a character in her paintings, sculpting the subject, setting the mood and the feel of the figures. The grace of the female figure 18 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com Daria! 2017 / 2018
on the canvas is not due to a perfect body or a fashion garment, but rather due to the inherent poise of “the woman”, be it a mother, a lover, or a fully complete being, with an entire palette of feelings to be discovered underneath the veil of lustfulness. Sexuality is neither the main subject, nor does it act as a limitative factor, it is just one of the multiple facets of individuals. Rodica’s technique is eyecatching – her brush moves just as easily from painting coarse sackcloth to pearly hips and expressive hands. Her layering of color and shapes is never an act of chance, it is an act of reflection, of pondering, of setting up the narrating path on which the viewer is channeled. This makes an interesting contrast as well. While the subject seems like a captured instant, a fleeting moment, the meticulous strokes seal it for permanence.
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T
he artist’s studio is currently in Bucharest, Romania’s capital city, where she lives and creates, but her artworks can also be seen in collections and art galleries worldwide; some of the more recent works are displayed on her website. In a declining art market, Rodica Toth Poiata’s paintings are highly valued on the Romanian art scene as well as internationally, selling at a few thousand euros a piece according to Top Business Art Gallery, in prestigious auction houses of Romania, such as Goldart, Grimberg, and on the private market. D! www.rodicatothpoiata.com
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“I want to make the viewers feel
touched &
connected.
This is the result I want to achieve through my performances in films.�
Moon
MING
D!vine www.dariamagazine.com
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ON THE COVER
Christie
Norton
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Reaching
for the
Stars
Film Actress Christie Norton is the Image of the 2018 edition of Global Nonviolent Film Festival. She is featured on the event’s poster which makes the current cover of Daria!.
She graduated from the Accademia Nazionale D’arte Dramatica Silvio D’Amico (Rome, Italy). She just completed the International Film Acting Workshops with Director Bruno Pischiutta and she’s been cast to play leading roles in two upcoming international motion pictures. Christie is on her way to stardom. She is an emerging movie Star who will be gracing the big screens for many years to come! Christie Norton is represented by Global Film Actors Agency exclusively.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY
SANDRO ROSSI
www.dariamagazine.com
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Q&A With Character Actor Wayne E. Brown By Olga Matsyna
Where are you originally from? I was born in Detroit, Michigan - way back in the mid 1900s. What was your first experience in acting? I had a speaking role in a stage production of 12 Angry Men as one of the jurors. What I remember most was someone dropped a line, and it seemed like an eternity past before someone got it going again. Did you do much stage acting prior to film? Yes, I was in dozens of stage plays ranging from Ebeneezer to King of Kings.
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What are some major differences you've found between stage acting and screen acting? One benefit of screen acting is you can do retakes of scenes if things go wrong. On the other hand, there is no comparison when you experience audience reactions while performing live on stage. How many screen productions have you been in? About 40, though only 30 of them are currently listed on IMDb. How did you first get involved in film? My middle son, Joshua, told me about an audition for a film entitled Rage of Justice. That was in the late 1990s. It was an action film, and I had a minor supporting role in it. What types of productions have you been part of? Almost half of them have been drama - one type or another. Most of the others were action, crime, thriller, and sci-fi. Is there one you have not been in and hope to be? Yes, a Western! The main reason is my Dad - a huge Western fan who turned 99 this year. I hope he gets to see me in one some day soon, even better if he and I were in a scene together! Which type is your favorite? That's easy - family drama, especially faith-based ones. Though other genres are fun to do, you just can't beat the personal impact of a well done familyoriented film. What ages do you currently fit? My range is from 50 to 70. You can see what I mean by watching Fiskere and Lifestone Velocity, filmed two months apart. What have you done most recently? I was in two productions a couple of months ago. One was in an episode of a TV mini series entitled The King’s Messengers; the other one was a feature film called It’s a Life Worth Living. Have you used different accents? Yes. I've done Iraqi in To Be A Soldier, Norwegian in Fiskere, Russian in Destiny, Western in The Ark Royale, and Yiddish in Duvid. I have also done British, German, and Italian ones quite a while back when I did stage. Have you done any fight scenes? Yes, only a couple though - one in Rage of Justice, the other in CatMan. Though it's been decades ago, I was a black belt in Tang Soo Do when I used to have hair and was able to jump decently. What were some of your favorite roles? One was Boruch, a Hasidim Father in Duvid, and the other was Otto, a Grandfather in A Horse Called Bear. Which film did you get your first lead role in? It was a family drama entitled Unexpected Places. What went through your mind after you accepted it? Ha! That's a good question. A flood of thoughts hit me like, “what was I thinking taking this role, how am I going to get all those lines down in time, am I going to get enough sleep.” Was it anything like you expected? Yes and no.
I had a good sense of the character and figured it would include a lot of time fine-tuning my delivery, but I was shocked at all the time involved on set much, much more than I expected. Describe some unique filming locations you were in. One was a scene from To Be a Soldier shot last summer. I was on set in a very small "hut". The temperature outside was in the 90s but inside felt a lot hotter. We shot in that hut for two days, and I must have lost 5 pounds. Another interesting location was a county morgue during a scene from CatMan. What was one of the funniest things you saw that happened between scenes? Well, it was funny and encouraging. Right before shooting a scene in Up in the Air, I saw George Clooney walk by - glancing at a 3x5 card! That was encouraging to see a big name like that doing something I do to get my lines down. How hard is it for you to focus right before a new scene starts? It’s funny because I find it is rather easy to do. What was some helpful advice someone gave you? That would be to rehearse each line a certain number of times. For example, if there are eight words in a line, I rehearse it eight times and emphasize a different word each time. This way I'm able to find how best to deliver the line as well as have an easier time memorizing it. What are some of the most interesting roles you’ve had? Two easily come to mind. One was Erling Boler in Fiskere where I played a Norwegian Grandfather. There was a lot of prep for that one, to come across as someone having Alzheimer's and learning the accent and some words in that language. The other was Omar Abdulrifi in To Be A Soldier. I played an ISIS leader, which is quite a stretch from who I am. What are some of the struggles you face? One is very common to most performers, and that is dealing with rejection. No doubt, most of us get a very small number of offers compared to how many auditions we do. Another is how much time and effort I put in and how that amount affects family life. Any films coming up? Yes, there are five listed on my IMDb page in preproduction. Any final words for aspiring actors? Definitely! A career as a film actor is a crazy endeavor and yet it is a very amazing journey. Wayne is represented by Global Film Actors Agency. D! www.dariamagazine.com
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Feature
Katerini's Nautical Club of Champions By Daria Trifu
I am visiting Greece to check on some possible filming locations for my next movie. My trip brings me to the beautiful Mount Olympus Coast.
T
oday, I am in Katerini, the capital city of Pieria, a regional unit of Greece located in the southern part of the Region of Central Macedonia. Its proximity to the Aegean Sea is 10km. I am headed there to meet and interview Konstadinos Karyotis, the president of Katerini’s Nautical Club, for Daria!.
A short ride takes me to Paralia (Greek for “beach”) Katerinis. What was started as a fishing village around 1928 by Greek migrants from Kios, today is a fully fledged seaside resort. Close to Paralia there are several archaeological sites of great interest such as the ancient city of Dion (5th Century BC), the Venetian Castle of Platamon (built between 1204 and 1222) and the burial site of the kings of Macedon, including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. Paralia Katerini stands 100km south of Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, and it is considered by many the metropolis' beach. 26 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com Daria! 2017 / 2018
Left: Konstadinos Karyotis with some of the athletes of the Nautical Club of Katerini; This page: View from the terrace of the Club
O
ne of the village’s oldest and most preeminent buildings, in size and architecture, houses the Nautical Club of Katerini and the Omilos Restaurant, Bar & Disco (omilos means "club" in the Greek language). Konstadinos joins me for breakfast at the open bar and restaurant area that sits five meters from the shore. His posture is that
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of an athlete, his demeanor is that of an accomplished champion and his stature is imposing, as he stands two meters tall. Today is an important day because the Olympus Sailing & Rowing Regatta takes place. This explains the dozens of boats ready to set sail from the club's port. What impresses me is the age of the competitors, as young as twelve years old, who are prepping their own boats for the big sail. I ask Konstadinos to tell me how his athletic journey started.
“I am lucky, my father introduced me to sport. When I was twelve years old, in 1983, I started training here and the Club became my life.� www.dariamagazine.com
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Clockwise from top: Karyotis crosses the finish line in 1st place at the Greek Championship of 2006 (his last competition); Karyotis places 1st at the Greek Championship of 1997; He is the 1st torchbearer of the Olympic Flame through the city of Katerini for the 2004 Games
K
onstadinos Karyotis is a twenty-time State Rowing champion and a three-time gold medalist at the Balkan Games. Some other achievements include finishing second in Single Scull at the Mediterranean Games in 1991 and in Single Scull New-Men at the World Championship in 1993. He finished third in Men's 2+ Cox pair at the World Championship in 1997. At twenty-one years of age he participated in the Olympic Games in Barcelona where he finished eleventh in the 1x Men's Single Scull (not his best performance but he still considers his participation in the Olympic Games a milestone). He ended his athletic career in 2007. Between 2009 and 2011 he was a coach at the Nautical Club of Kastoria, one of Greece's most revered nautical establishments and, on May 19, 2015, he was appointed President of the Nautical Club of Katerini, a title that he holds with great pride.
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“I know every corner of this building and, I know all the ins-andouts.�
T
his Club is one of two hundred and forty nautical clubs in Greece. It is one of only forty that offer training in both rowing and sailing while they all train the athletes in sailing. The Club was originated by a group of local fishermen who organized and founded the Association of Amateur Fishermen of Pieria Region on April 26, 1959. Between 1966 and 1974 the Association changed its name to The Nautical Club of Katerini and it organized itself as an athletic club. During that time, investments were made in infrastructure and purchases of nautical equipment, while efforts were made to build permanent facilities and various other auxiliary areas. On March 9, 1967 the establishment became a member of the Royal Hellenic Sailing Federation and it received its first Optimist type boats. In September 1967, it became a member of The Hellenic Rowing Federation (Ellinikí Kopilatikí Omospondía Filáthlon Naftikón Somatíon). Throughout 1968, its athletes participated in competitions in various cities of Greece (Kastoria, Volos, Corfu, Ioannina) while the Club’s man-
agement organized races at the beach of Katerini, purchased new boats and continued the efforts to complete the construction of the facilities. On March 24, 1969 it was decided to name the building after the General Secretary of Sport, Konstantinos Aslanidis, in recognition of his longlasting support of the establishment and hence came the new name “Konstantinos Aslanidis Nautical Sports Center". Shortly thereafter, in September 1970, the Board of Directors decided to name Army Officer Kolaros Eleftherios as the Honorary President of the Club and, on August 15, 1971 the opening inauguration of the newly built facilities took place.
Today, there are 60 athletes being trained in rowing and about 15 who train in sailing, some of them as young as six years old. There are also 120 children who take swimming classes and the Club is steadily expanding its function and services to also include private sailing classes for the general public.
Clockwise from top: General Secretary of Sport, Konstantinos Aslanidis and Army Officer Kolaros Eleftherios; medal winners on the steps of the Club; local officials and athletes.
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“G
reece is the 'mother' of competitive sport. We have the Olympic flame that passes by our most important cities every four years. There is a culture for sport here, and it is passed-on, generation after generation, to our children. Growing up, coaches can sometimes become more important than parents because they represent an authority, without all the emotional involvement, that the young respect and look up to. Sport can give a structure to life. As a coach, I am often contacted by parents whose children meet some difficulties at school. They ask if I can help their sons and daughters to get better results and I find it that, if they feel that something jeopardizes their sports training, they do everything possible to avoid it, including to remedy their school's performance."
Clockwise from top: Katerina Nikolaidou winning at the European Championship; the young athletes of the Club send a supporting message to Katerina for her run at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio; group photo with the Club’s athletes and two of their coaches.
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The Club has produced a number of international champions to date. Rowing athlete Katerina Nikolaidou holds ten global titles. She represented Greece at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (double sculls) and finished in forth place alongside Sofia Asoumanaki. Katerina also won a silver medal in the lightweight single sculls at the 2013 World Rowing Championship and she was the 2014 European Champion in the event. In 2018 she
just placed second at the World Rowing Cup I in Belgrade, Serbia and her quest for medals continues. She famously said: “My favorite music is the sound at the finish line when I cross it first.” The rowing pair Nikolaos Kakouris and Thomas Karamitros placed seventh, Junior Men's Pair, at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games Regatta in Nanjing, China and they took forth place at the World Junior Championship that same year.” In 1990 and 1991 respectively, Gabriel Tsiropoulos placed third in the Skif Lightweight Youths Championship and fifth in the Lightweight Double World Championship. Daria! 2017 / 2018
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oday, the athletes from here compete nationally and internationally and the Club just opened its doors to offer seasonal sailing classes to tourists. "Our location [in the center of a seaside resort] makes us a very ‘interesting’ place for tourists. It’s normal, you lie on the beach and see our sails go out and you want to partake in the excitement. As a result, we are now providing classes for people who want to learn sailing. This is a natural addition to the function that a nautical club can have or services that it can provide.”
Top: Sailing boats prepare for the Olympus Sailing & Rowing Regatta organised by the Club; Left: Sailing champion Evangelos Varbenis; Right: Coach Aggelos Anasogloy & Evangelos enjoy a break on the water; Bottom left & right: Club’s athletes during competitions
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keep thinking back to his first words, “… the Club became my life.” and I understand that it is his life’s passion. His family agrees. Kostas, as everyone calls him, is a family man. He met his wife, Efi Savvaki, in 1999, when he was a member of the national rowing team at the Nautical Club of Kastoria and she was a rowing athlete. They now have three young children. Hristos, his son and first born, is playing professional basketball, his daughter Androniki is a competitive rower and, his youngest daughter, Stellina, just started to train in swimming.
“The fact that I am a father gives me added responsibility in the choices we make as a sports’ club. We train youngsters and we do it with a very high sense of responsibility, not only for the sake of the sport, their success and the accolades but also for the sake of their education. Sport is discipline.” Top right: Konstadinos with his wife Efi Savvaki and their three children, Stellina, Androniki and Hristos; Other photos: Young athletes and Evangelos Barbenis training together at the Club
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n this note, we rap our interview. It is time for Kostas to join his athletes at the Regatta that is about to start. Before he leaves, he introduces me to Thomas Magionas or "Makis", as he is better known, who is the brother of one of the owners of the business that was born inside the Club's premises, the Omilos Restaurant, Bar & Disco. Makis tells me that, in order to become more self-sufficient from a financial point of view, the Club's management decided to rent out part of its premises back in the 80's and that is how his brother came to open his business there. "So, how do you like our little establishment here?", Makis asks me. I smile because it surely isn't little. The premise includes a very large outside bar and sitting area right on the shore, a ground floor hosting the restaurant with sliding glass windows that open widely to the sea and two additional floors that host both an in-door and a roof-top out-door disco. In total, the whole establishment spreads over 1,500 square meters and it has three separate entrances. On top of that, there are two beach areas where guests can lounge on private beds and be served food and drinks from the rich menu. In my time with Makis, I come to learn more about the establishment that was founded in April 1989 and it remains still under the same ownership. The two owners are Stelios Magionas and Antonios Belis. They have families and children in their twenties with some of them working there mostly in summer. They all take particular pride in their busiDaria! 2017 / 2018
Top: View of the beach and restaurant areas; Above: Odysseas Magionas, the son of Stelios Magionas. Today, Odysseas is University graduated and he serves as the General Manager at the Omilos Restaurant.
The Nautical Club's management decided to rentout part of its premises back in the 80's and that is when the Omilos Restaurant, Bar & Disco was established there. ness since it is the only open-air club in Paralia which gives you the chance to enjoy the sky and sea views for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all night long. Over the course of the years, many celebrities and famous athletes were hosted here such as Pyrros Dimas, the three-time Olympic Gold Medalist in weightlifting, Lazaros Papadopoulos, Greek professional basketball player and Igor Gogic, Serbian National football player, to name just a few. www.dariamagazine.com
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he disco is extremely popular amongst Balkan Nations since it has served two generations of young travelers already. Every year, it hosts the Balkan Fun, a three-day rave party attended by thousands of youngsters from neighboring countries. The restaurant was born a few years after the business was launched and it became popular among the locals very fast. It faces the sea and it is located on the ground floor which is slightly elevated in such a way that dining there makes you feel like being on a ship. The cuisine focuses on Mediterranean flavors and traditional Greek dishes prepared by head-chef Dimitrios Tsianakas. Wherever you look, the views are mesmerizing. The presence of the sea is overpowering. I am sad to leave this place but I will remember it with great pleasure and I will always consider all who work here to be very lucky. D!
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BEY
D!vine
Lesha
“As an actress, I always perform to the best of my abilities and I am open to new experiences. It's an exciting opportunity to work with Global Film Studio; I expect to learn and grow while thriving, doing the things I love the most!� www.dariamagazine.com
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Actress Sophia Gilberto is represented by Global Film Actors Agency.
O T R a i BE ph L o I S G
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Feature
“My only luxury is the possibility I have to choose the people I work with.” By Olga Matsyna
In a candid interview with Film Author Bruno Pischiutta, Olga Matsyna unveils the many facets of a career that spans five decades.
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spent the last six months researching and reading about Bruno Pischiutta to the full extent of what was available online. His body of work is impressive. When he was only 19 years
of age he received the Critics Award for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ at the Venice Film Festival for his performance in Many Wars Ago directed by Francesco Rosi and, soon thereafter, he became a personality in the Political Theatre in Italy with Nobel Prize Winner Dario Fo.
Actors Kevin Conway and Josette Garramone with Bruno Pischiutta on the set of his feature film Life’s Charade in Toronto, Canada 1987 www.dariamagazine.com
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He later wrote and directed his critically acclaimed feature film The Comoedia that went on to receive the ‘Bronze Medal’ at the New York International Film and Television Festival in 1981. These are just a few highlights from his time in Italy, his native country, before he moved to North America in the early 80s.
and Quentin Tarantino, for directing Punctured Hope, in two categories: ‘Best Film Expose’ and ‘Best Film on Human Rights’. Throughout my research, I found that his work is multinational. In the late 90s he spent a lot of time in China where he developed one of his upcoming films. In Africa, he filmed Punctured Hope
“I’m a film author, not just a film director. I normally write a movie, I produce, direct, edit and bring it to the release first, and to the international market later.”
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n North America he opened his own film companies. He wrote and produced commercials, TV series, feature films and documentaries and he trained dozens of film actors, directors, producers and screenplay writers as part of his International Film Workshops program. Much of this I came to learn through research but a lot more was to be discovered. I found that his movies participated and were awarded at world film festivals and, in 2009, Pischiutta’s latest feature film Punctured Hope: A Story about Trokosi and the Young Girls’ Slavery in Today’s West Africa, was screened in theaters in Los Angeles for three months during the Awards’ season and was subsequently qualified for nomination consideration at the Academy Awards®. He was proposed for nomination by The Political Film Society (Hollywood) alongside James Cameron, Clint Eastwood 38 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com Daria! 2017 / 2018
and taught his International Film Workshops to local talents who went on to achieve international careers. In Romania, he produced two documentaries and founded, together with Film Producer Daria Trifu, the Global Nonviolent Film Festival that has grown to become the most important and renown nonviolent film festival in the world. In Cuba, he was the Guest of Honor of Plenipotentiary Romanian Ambassador to Havana Dr. Dumitru Preda and he developed one feature film that he will direct and produce with his company, Global Film Studio. When I started studying Bruno Pischiutta’s life and career, I never thought that I would arrive to meet him. I contacted his office to request an interview and I was invited to conduct one face-to-face with him in Greece. Before I knew it, my trip from Rome was organized, and I arrive in a little seaside resort village close to Thessaloniki and minutes from Mount Olympus.
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e met on a sunny day at an open-air cafe on the beach and I was a bit nervous, to say the least, but he put me at ease asking about my trip and if my accommodation was in order. “Everything’s perfect” I say. Before I can continue, he calls out “Monica, Nerotto… venite qua!”, and here come two dogs he introduces to me as “my dogs”. He explains that they are stray and part of about 10/20 very educated pets that live in the village and that everybody in the community is equally in charge of feeding and caring for them. I sit there and listen to him talk with them in Italian, I feel the warmth and kindness of his voice and the cafe, full of patrons, becomes a familial living room where I feel comfortable to commence my interview. I offer that we speak in the Italian language but he denies saying that “English is the language of film”. So, we begin. You shot your last feature film several years ago. Why is there such a long period of time without shootings? I’m a film author, not just a film director. I normally write a movie, I produce, direct, edit and bring it to the release first, and to the international market later. To do all this for one movie, it requires a lot of time. I also have other responsibilities in my Group of companies and I’m involved in their activities, besides making movies. In these last years, I took care of the European office of our company, I shot two documentaries and I wrote several screenplays that now constitute the actual production slate of Global Film Studio. What projects are you currently working on? The production slate is composed of ten feature films and ten related docu-
mentaries. I’m working on the first two feature films that we will shoot next. They are entitled The Bad Joke and Sins and Sinners. What are these films about? The Bad Joke is a dramatic feature film that illustrates the unhappy circumstances in which many European teenagers find themselves. Parents, in many cases, go to work in other countries and leave their young children without any parental guidance at home. The family crisis that is generated contributes to the uncertainty and negative well being in the lives of the teenagers. This new situation exposes them to temptations such as alcohol, drugs, prostitution and similar non-solutions, to solve the problems they face, which they didn’t create. The Bad Joke is a fruit of fiction, it is a non graphic feature film that portrays some situations in which many adolescents and teenagers live in as a result of the creation of the European Union. Sins and Sinners is about prescription drugs used to beat depression. Americans, too often, try to solve all the problems with pills. In the USA and worldwide, a big number of people are using and abusing antidepressant prescription drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft and others, in order to cope with the pressures of life. Sometimes, such drugs become an essential element of everyday existence, but at a too high cost. What is different about being in the director’s chair with this first project, The Bad Joke? Most of the film characters are teenagers and they can only be played by teenage actors. From a director’s point of view, this film can be a great success or a suicidal mission. The proverb says: “If you don’t risk, you don’t drink champagne…”.
The challenge here is to find the right teenage actors and to be able to elevate their acting to an international standard. It is similar to what Dennis Hopper went through when, with small funds, he produced Easy Ryder. His financial situation forced him to hire a lot of actors who never did anything relevant in film before. He was great; this movie is what started the film careers of Jack Nicholson, Nicholas Cage and many others. I hope that I will be able to do the same with The Bad Joke. Basically, it is about being able to transform teenage actors into teenage Stars. Which actors stand out and why are they perfect for the roles? The cast of my next films is not decided yet and I don’t like to comment or to give names at this point in time. I will, of course, try to give the major roles to the few actors that I am mentoring right now. Your company runs Global Film Actors Agency and you are the Executive in Charge of this Division. Do you mentor every actor in your Agency? No. I would like every actor to have a proper guide but, at my age, my time and my energy are limited. So, I mentor only very few young actors, the ones I really believe that have the possibility to reach stardom. A similar situation is with possible film investors. Many years ago, I would have discussed with, and educated anybody who had approached me with the possibility of investing in my films. I cannot do this today. Now, I only talk with investors who qualify themselves. My conversation with them starts with this question: “How much can you put right now?”. If the answer is clear and satisfactory, the conversation can proceed, if not, it is the end of it.
Money is very important in film production. Are you sure that your attitude is the right one? Clint Eastwood once said to investors, “if you want a guarantee, buy a toaster” or something like that. Michael Douglas once said that “money is the most stupid and easy commodity in the film business”. They were both right. Go to every city and look out of the window and you will see a lot of buildings. These buildings are worth millions and they are all owned by somebody. This gives you an idea of how many millionaires are out there. So, if I look out of the window in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Milan and see a lot of buildings I also see a lot of multimillion-dollar owners behind them. But, am I sure that in any of these cities exists, right now, the best screenplay of this year? Am I sure that in these cities exists the next Steven Spielberg or Marlon Brando? No, I am not. Exceptional talent is much more rare than money.
Actress Moon Ming who is mentored by Bruno and who will star in Sins and Sinners www.dariamagazine.com
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hat do you want from fellow actors? Honesty in their acting. Honesty is an essential component of acting in film. You cannot cheat the viewers. The viewers are not film critics, maybe they don’t know why, but they immediately feel if there is honesty in the acting or not. I also want loyalty toward the production and toward the people who give the actor the possibility to act in a movie and become influential in the history of the world. You produced and directed films and documentaries. What makes a film and a documentary great for you? Are there certain qualities that make a film or a documentary better for you? Great and complicated question: I’ll try to give you the simplest answer possible, but we have to divide the question in two: films and documentaries. Let's start with the documentaries. Clockwise from top: (1 & 2) Bruno Pischiutta in the rain forest and in the village directing the actors from Punctured Hope that was shot in Africa; Pischiutta directing Christina Macris in a screen from Maybe that was shot in his Studio in Toronto
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The origin of a documentary is clearly the ‘document’ word. It should be a document that, instead of being written, is filmed. If a filmmaker chooses a very limited subject like, for example, if I do a documentary about my living room, I have the possibility and the time to fully examine what is in my living room and it is not difficult to make a film document telling people about what that room contains. Problems start when a filmmaker wants to film a document about something much bigger like, for example, if I want to make a documentary film about the hospitals’ situation in New York. In this case, I have to base my work on real statistics and interviews. I have to know the data regarding millions of people. If I want to say bad things about the hospitals’ situation in New York it is very easy because I can interview 20/30 unhappy people, who had bad stories happening to them or to their family members while at New York hospitals. At the same time, if I want to speak very well about the hospitals, all I have to do is to interview 20/30 people with happy experiences who will tell me how the doctors saved their lives or the lives of their relatives. Finding these people, positive or negative, is very easy but, at this point, I will not have filmed a document but I would have just filmed a phony document, a propaganda film. I hope I am clear. About motion pictures, everything is totally different. In the movies I make, I want to underline reality and credibility of characters and situations. The film should be an emotional story that will inevitably influence the viewers, and will give them elements to improve their understanding of similar situations and of their own lifestyle.
For you as a screenRain Forest and I brought it to writer, what is the most imSunset Boulevard, in front of a portant aspect of building a very privileged Beverly Hills character? Credibility. audience. The film was also What is guiding you? screened at The Friars Club in Philosophy. New York and later in Santa Philosophy… interesting. Monica where I was pleasantly What are your choices? I surprised that, by word-ofguess, Arthur Schopenhauer and mouth alone, the audience was Soren Kierkegaard. I was studycomposed by leaders of the ing philosophy at the time when American Veterans’ OrganizaI became a film actor and filmtion, who later joined me at maker. home for a private conversation My first movies in Italy and debate. On that occasion I were purely existentially-based. felt, first hand, the satisfaction In the promos, they were anof being able to report an nounced as “another bloody film African story about genital muof Bruno Pischiutta”. tilation to Hollywood and Later, my objective to watch these viewers evolved into strictly social shed real tears because Top: The poster of the feature film The Comoedia; Botfilms with medical backtom: Bruno Pischiutta interviewed by Paolo Fraiese of they knew nothing about it. RAI in New York City, 1981 grounds. This is how the This is a great aspect of films The Comoedia about filmmaking. Going to a drugs, Life’s Charade about place, risking sometimes teenage suicide and Maybe about bulimia were born. your own life, for the only reason of bringing home After that, I basically left the medical background. the picture. This is culture, this is information. There From some years, I am writing nonviolent films that is nothing funny about it. are 100% based on socially conscious themes. There are only few of your movies available What are the top favorite projects that you for public viewing and this surprises me. Is there a have been involved in? I never regret any project I reason? Yes, Olga. There is a reason and it may take was involved in because, as an author, when you a while to explain. Would you like another tea? make one, a lot of good things consequently happen. This is a very welcoming pause since I now reYou come in contact with a lot alize that we’ve been recording of talented people and you alfor close to two hours. I accept ways learn something. You his offer and we make a few cannot do a film about bulimia minutes break to watch Monica without learning a lot about eatand Nerotto play on the beach. ing disorders. Learning about Oscar Wilde said: “The truth is different subjects is one of the rarely pure and never simple”. best things that happens to a How right he is! filmmaker and it constitutes his This is something that or her very unique culture. many young filmmakers should Projects always brought learn. Let’s take an example: me to different countries or the University of Toronto has continents. I learned a lot about 90,000 students, no mystery different situations in China, Cuba, Africa and more. right? It is a great center of learning but it is not exSatisfaction, however, always comes when you actly this only. As a matter of fact 90,000 students show a film. For me, it was great to screen The Cohave not only to study, but they also have to eat, dress moedia, originated by the greatest poem of Italian and to live somewhere. There is, of course, a big literature, at the Galleria Rizzoli on Fifth Avenue in number of businesses directly connected to the UniNew York City before a very select audience of top versity and, due to the fact that these students are on American intellectuals and film executives of that holidays for a big part of the summer, these businesstime. es become seasonal businesses. Furthermore all these Another moment that I always remember with young students require a security system, they are not pleasure is when my film Punctured Hope was all so good and some of them can make mistakes and screened in Hollywood. I shot the film in the African commit crimes… www.dariamagazine.com | Daria! | 41 Daria! 2017 / 2018
“A film can be a work of art, can be an important moment of social communication and many other things but, if it is a proper professional feature film, it always has a business side attached.” This is just a way to show you how something that looks simple, such as a University, is not so simple when you dissect its different components. The same happens in the film business. A film can be a work of art, can be an important moment of social communication and many other things but, if it is a proper professional feature film, it always has a business side attached. Young filmmakers want to show their film as soon as possible, they want to see what people think but there are ways that are right and ways that are wrong to release a movie. You can, for example, put every film on YouTube, everybody will see it, but the investors and the production company will not make a penny.
When you talk about professional filmmaking, you are also talking about a very important business. If you put a film on the internet, it will be stolen in one hour. If you release a film without the proper marketing operation, you will have a Box Office of 70 dollars and the film, businesswise, will be finished forever. A professional filmmaker has the obligation, toward his investors and the production company, to make out of a film a viable business vehicle, or this may be the last film he will ever shoot. So, in the same way in which it is a right or wrong time to make a certain movie, there is always a right or a wrong time to commercially release a certain movie. A good movie is a financial treasure and you definitely don’t
Bruno Pischiutta is interviewed by Bill Diehl for ABC Radio in New York City (broadcast to over 3,000 radio stations across the USA)
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want to waste its release. If the moment is not right or if the marketing capital is not available, it is better to wait and maybe release the movie one year later and make a financial success out of it. Now, it is clear that, to release a movie, the relevant factors are many: the producer is not always in control of all of them so, he will do the right thing at the right time only. In conclusion, you can say that many of my films are available right now. Some are simply not available to the viewers yet. Everything will be released at the right time. In film production you deal with big amounts of money. Are you intimidated by this factor? How do you approach this subject? The question is always “what are we doing?”. We can build a little shack or we can build something that will be there for centuries like the Milan Dome that is, by the way, not finished yet. Of course, the little shack will have a very little cost but it will give to the investors a very little revenue and for a very short span of time. If, on the contrary, you build something majestic that will stay there for centuries, the investors will realize a great profit and that profit will extend and be on-going for a very long time. Film is a misleading word; it can mean very many things. You can make a very small film or a great motion picture that all the world will watch for generations, as it happened for Gone With The Wind, Star Wars and many others. If you are aware of this, the amount of money necessary will not intimidate you. Don’t get me wrong. I am still in favor of very contained budgets, but I also want budgets that don’t limit my artistic ability in a major way. The slate of
films that my company intends to produce in the next few years requires about $200 million. This year alone, we are looking to invest $30 million. Are these amounts very big? It always depends on what you are doing and what your targets are. It is better to look for $200 million and create a value of $800 million, than to look for $120 million and create a value of only $200 million. This is because investors and production companies profit in percentage. Every one of our films has a very precise budget and projections and if it requires too much money for certain investors it may be that those investors are not the right ones. As an entrepreneur, how do you see the people who work for you? First of all, it is always my wish that my colleagues and my people are OK. I don’t believe that anybody is working for me, I believe that my colleagues and everybody involved in my business are just working with me. I can give you two examples: Toronto-based Producer Elio Dell’Unto who is with me from 27 years, and Producer Daria Trifu, President of my company, who is with me from 18 years. These two people have been with me all this time because they like what we do and they like how we do it. This is one of the first things that is in my mind when I do business. Do you express yourself creatively in any other ways? Sometimes, I like to take important pictures. I took the pictures of most of the posters for the Global Nonviolent Film Festival in the last seven years, and I love to photograph, when possible, my actors. When I take pictures of actors, I like to showcase not only the shape of their bodies, but principally their souls.
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Clockwise from top: Bruno Pischiutta on the set of Maybe in his Studio in Toronto, Canada; Bruno signing co-production contract with John Zhong (Shanghai Film Studio) in China for his film The Sepia Portrait; Bruno (first from right) alongside Alain Cuny (center) in a scene in Many Wars Ago, directed by Francesco Rosi
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Another very important thing I do is to mentor certain young actors because I like to teach them every important thing they need to know before they enter the professional film business. I do a lot of other things: I am the Artistic Consultant of Global Nonviolent Film Festival where I watch and evaluate over 100 films every year. I also take care of the administration of the four companies I am heading.
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s there anything you would like to do that you have not done yet? Yes, I would like to write a book about what I think of today’s world. I am always ahead of my time. I think that in 1,000 years, people will look at our historical status and they will be very surprised: they will say “in 2018 they were still using money?” or “they still had several governments?”
Clockwise from top: Bruno at the Beverly Hilton Hotel attending a charity event as a guest of honor alongside Marla Maple and Daria Trifu; The international students who graduated from Bruno Pischiutta’s Film Workshops held in Brasov, Romania in 2013; American Actress Taylor Williams who will star in The Bad Joke; Bruno and Daria on the set in Romania; Bruno directing a scene that was shot at the Dracula Castle in Romania for his documentary Brasov: Probably the Best City in the World
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I told you, Olga, before starting the interview, not to ask me questions about politics or religion because I will simply not reveal what I am thinking. This is the reason why I am not writing this book; it would be very controversial and, some parts of it, would probably be illegal. Did your life change in the course of the years? Certainly, same as I believe it changes for everybody else. Some time ago, I said to a young girl that I was old and she, very kindly, told me “you are not old, you are antique”. Antique is precious. I feel very good because now I have nothing to prove, and my experience and culture gives me a lot of freedom. I am not comparing myself to younger people. This is the formula: I compare myself only to people of my age and I don’t feel that I am the worst around. This is because, probably, during my life, I did something right. Do you live in luxury? My only luxury is the possibility I have to choose the people I work with. Any special good or bad memories? Sure. In all these years, I was a victim of crime a few times. Ninety percent of the Box Office (180 million Italian
Lire at that time) of my first movie was stolen in Rome by a friend of mine who was my employee. Later, in Los Angeles, 100% of the Box Office of my movie Maybe was stolen. I had 35mm rolls of the most important scene of one of my films stolen only to be delivered years later (by ‘no name’) to my lab in Toronto. Attempted blackmail by people I trusted… and more. Many examples of bad memories. These were bad things that, unfortunately, happen in our business frequently. I am, however, rich of good memories: every movie, every actor I worked with, many situations and learning experiences. They were all good and all worth it. Anybody in particular you love or you hate? I love most of the people I worked with. My best films are always a product of love. Hatred, on the contrary, is a concept very far from me. I don’t hate anybody, I never did, because I never wanted to fill myself with negative energy. Some people are better and some people are worse. When I look at bad people, the first things that come to my mind are all the reasons to excuse and forgive them for their wrongdoing. How is your life today? I am here, in Greece, for the moment. I go on the balcony of my
office-residence very early in the morning, I look East and I have the pleasure to see the sunrise on the Aegean Sea. In the afternoon, I look West, and I have the pleasure to see the sunset on Mount Olympus. When I walk, my dogs accompany me and I am happy. I have my work and I feel very privileged with everything else. Where can everyone keepup with you to learn more? My company has decided to launch a personal website for me. It’ll be my first website. The condition is that I will have full control over it and, therefore, will publish what I choose. Maybe I’ll write my own blogs, and definitely I’ll be able to receive and reply to direct messages. I think this will be the right place to ‘keep-up’ with me, as you put it. As we shake hands and leave, I look West and witness the sunset beginning to form on the edge of Mount Olympus. He calls me, “Olga, you see?… that’s what I mean, a true privilege”. I look at him, walking home followed by Monica and Nerotto, as I make my way to my hotel. What I am left with, from this beautiful experience of coming in direct contact with one great personality of our world today, is that more I know, more I want to know. Above all, I feel that, the best is still to come. D!
Bruno ready to set sail, Greece 2018
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RISING STAR
Actress Mariana Achim
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he was born and raised in Romania in a small town in Transylvania. She is the second born in a family of four children. When she was growing-up she loved staging performances for family and friends. Her parents believed that she would make a great teacher but she had other ideas. In her adolescent years, Mariana's love for acting persevered and she decided to follow it in life. She went on to study dramatic arts in Madrid, Spain where she decided to remain and follow her calling. Today, she is a successful film and TV actress, but performing in theater “fills her life”. "I love doing TV or film but I really wouldn't like to give-up on theater completely. The stage is my home, I like the challenges it offers because they are a pleasant suffering for me", says Mariana. “I love my work, all creative aspects of it. This year I just worked at the International Book Fair in Madrid where I directed several dramatized readings and also directed plays for children. Working with children and for children is the best thing that can happen to you, communicating with them is very easy, they even inspired me many times. After each play, I stayed there longer to talk with the kids and my audience. So fulfilling!” 46 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
Romanian Ambassador to Spain Mrs. Gabriela Dancau (center) and Mariana (right)
Mariana's work at the Book Fair was the result of a project that the Romanian Cultural Institute and the Romanian Embassy in Madrid put up. Her Excellency Romanian Ambassador to Spain, Mrs. Gabriela Dancau, was one of the guests who attended one of the plays directed by Mariana. "I am very ambitious and my profession gives me the satisfaction that I need in life. I like getting to know the characters that I am interpreting and I spend a lot of time studying them. I look for characters that make me grow as a performer.” Mariana just received The People’s Choice Award for Best Actress at the Elche International Independent Film Festival for her role in Mine, a film where she plays the lead. Mariana is represented by Global Film Actors Agency. D!
RISING STAR
Serafina Perri “Acting is a very personal process for me. It has to do with discovering the character you’re playing through your own experiences and then being able to express your own personality in playing it. In any part you play, there is a certain amount of you. For me, there has to be, otherwise, I would be lying.”
Daria! 2017 / 2018
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RISING STAR
Danish Khatri “When you are performing in a role in a movie, it's not you, but it's that character who addresses the audience, and the audience should remember that character and not you!� 48 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
D!vine Kristna
SAIKIA
What is the most important film project that you are working on right now?
“I play the leading roles (I portray the same character in two different lifetimes) in the upcoming feature film entitled Tantrica (The Dark Shades of Kamasutra). We’ve been shooting in many exotic locations throughout Australia and Indonesia. The trailer of the film has already been viewed millions of times across the globe and the film will be released worldwide.” www.dariamagazine.com
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Feature Film / 94 min. / Iran
“Golnesa” A Feature Film by Sattar Chamani Gol
“I
present this film to all oppressed women and I hope for the day that the oppression of women will end all over the world.” Director Sattar Chamani Gol
Golmammad and Golnesa, a young Afghan couple, are illegal immigrants who are working in a traditional brick making kiln in Iran. Following the events happening to them, their lives undergo changes.
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Short Documentary / 26 min. / USA
In the early morning hours of September 18, 1998, fire broke out on the campus of Murray State University in Kentucky. Nineteen-year-old music and journalism student Michael Minger, who suffered from spatial disorientation and was mildly autistic, died in the fire. His mother, Gail Minger, received the news a few hours later and has not stopped searching for answers since that phone call. She worked to uncover the web of lies and negligence that led to Michael’s death; the factors that contributed to the tragedy are as important as the arsonist who set the dorm ablaze. These events steel her resolve to fight for change that can save the lives of other students like Michael. She is one of the leading activists for campus safety and a force for legislation around the country.
“The topics I choose for my films are usually centered on stories or people who had an emotional impact on me. I choose my topics based on my curiosity or emotional connection to the people I meet. I was drawn to Gail’s story for two important reasons: as a mother, I send my child to school like everyone else with confidence that he’ll be well educated and safe there and secondly, as a Romanian, I grew up in a country where there is not much respect for the law, and where lies and indifference kill people everyday, without a glimpse of hope that anything can be changed. To me, beyond any issue, the most catastrophic impact a society like that can have on its people is the dissolution of hope, especially the hope we have that individuals can cause change. These were my personal reasons to get attached to Gail and her story and wanting to bring it to a larger audience. Her story, even though so tragic, gave me hope to believe that change can come from individuals and the civil society, because without that belief life becomes meaningless. In addition, during the production of this film, the Collectiv nightclub fire in Bucharest killed 64 young people due to negligence, indifference, and corruption. This reinforced my conviction to tell this story.” - Director Diana Nicolae www.dariamagazine.com
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Short Film / 13 min. / UK
Loves Lost is a short film about an idyllic summer that ends up going horribly wrong. Tom is a young actor in a small traveling theatre troupe. He has the world at his feet. Tom plays the lead in a modern adaptation of Othello in the sunny rural outposts of southern England and he is romantically involved with the beautiful leading lady Imogen. The harmonious love affair is shattered when replacement actor Charlie is drafted into the troupe after an injury. Competition for stage and the affections of Imogen soon turn the situation noxious with nightmarish consequences. 52 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
A Short Film by Leo De Haan
Short Film / 14 min. / Iran
A Short Film by Mohammad Bakhshi A group of Arabian speaking asylum seekers arrive at an English speaking country border and are unable to move on. They encounter a conflict everyday with border soldiers till a deaf-mute young boy becomes a catalyst for a better communication between two groups. www.dariamagazine.com
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Short Film / 5 min. / France
“Fuck the Bitch!?�
A Short Film by Daniel Jenny
A light and unfaithful woman who is interested in money that is easily earned in a somewhat doubtful manner, suddenly sees her hopes flying away.
54 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
Music Video / 7 min. / Germany
“01 Gravity”
A Music Video by Julian Silverscreen & Katharina Potratz
S
ergam is a little boy. A refugee. His boat's stranded on the coast. His mother didn't survive. Instead, a young woman takes care of him and they both set off on their way through a nightmare.
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Feature Documentary / 101 min. / UK
The Making of A Century of Coal By Film Director Peter Williams
T
he Kent coalfield is unique. I dreamed about making a film about it for half a century. I came to Kent 50 years ago on a sixmonth contract. It was to be ITV's first newsreader in the South East when they opened their studios in a former bus garage in Dover. It was my first job in television after 10 years as a newspaper journalist, and I had a lot to learn. But I vividly recall one of the most startling revelations. As a Welshman, and coming directly from a job in the West Country, I had no idea that there was a coal mine in Kent - let alone four of them, Betteshanger, Snowdown, Tilmanstone and Chislet. Someone, I remember saying, should make a documentary about this remarkable phenomenon. Over the years, at various times, I tried to interest the BBC, ITV and Channel Four in funding such a film. Without success. It puzzled me. And I'll tell you why… The story of the Kent coalfield is unique, literally. Nowhere else in the world has a set of circumstances come together to produce a situation that is as fascinating as what has happened in this county between 1899 and today. 56 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com Daria! 2017 / 2018
It involves a man soon to be Britain's Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, and one of the nation's greatest planners, Sir Patrick Abercrombie. It involves selfishness and far-sightedness, violence and courage, poverty and determination. Its fascination is two-fold. Industrially because the coal was discovered by accident in a wholly-agricultural county during an attempt to dig a tunnel to link Britain to France. Sociologically, because Kent had no mining traditions of any kind and therefore had to import thousands of miners and their families from Wales and Scotland, Yorkshire, Nottingham and Somerset, and many other parts of industrialized Britain. The coalfield stretched from Dover and Deal to Sandwich and the outskirts of Canterbury at Hersden and at one time in the 1920’s there were plans for 18 pits to be sunk in Kent.
A Century of Coal is an inspirational story, told by the people who lived it. They speak of dangers and death, conflicts and pride, despair and determination to survive and of the rivalry between the Betteshanger Pie and the Snowdown Pasty.
F
or the incoming miners, it was like coming to a foreign country, far from the cramped and coal-black communities in which they lived, just as their fathers and grandfathers before them. They gathered together amid the hopgardens and gentle green fields of Kent - and they were not always welcome. Newspaper advertisements of the time often stipulated "no miners" if there was a Room to Let. But eventually, under Abercrombie's influence, new houses were built with bathrooms and electric light, and Britain's first "new town" was created. It was called Aylesham. And the miners settled down to build new lives for themselves and their families. A Century of Coal charts the 100 years of the Kent coalfield in about 100 minutes. It has been a privilege to be trusted to tell this story and we thank the miners, the mine-owners and their families for their co-operation. The miners talk of the early years in "the Riviera of Kent" and the contrast with the Black Country they had left behind; of the relationship with the agricultural community in which they now lived and moved; of surviving the war when the Betteshanger pit was bombed; of the post-war strikes and the closure of the Kent pits; of the difficult years that followed as East Kent became one of the most deprived regions of the UK; and of the hope that now springs from the Hadlow-inspired creation of the multi-million-pound Betteshanger Sustainable Park Project, which is inspired by Hadlow College and the Hadlow Group. This is a multi-million pound project. The long, low single-storey building - I call it skyscraper on its side - is in place and, already, 120,000 East Kent folks and their families are visiting Betteshanger Park to cycle on its traffic-free roads and enjoy the events on the 200 acre site that was once a mining slag-heap.
This is a unique community. It has an accent of its own, drawn from the regions assembled here in Kent in order to hew its coal. It is secure in its own traditions and beliefs. It is a community proud to declare, today, that they are miners, miners' families, from mining stock. The museum being built is important to them because, today, many people don't even know that a Kent coalfield existed. This will be a permanent record of who they are, what they did and why they are here at all. Their story is a unique strand in the fabric of Kent history. D! www.dariamagazine.com | Daria! Daria! 2017 / 2018
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Feature Film / 88 min. / Azerbaijan
“Sholler's Archive” A Feature Film by Jalaladdin Gasimov At the beginning of the 19th century, Germans from Europe and Germany moved to Azerbaijan. Their role in the history of Azerbaijan was outstanding. For example, while people were lighting a candle in Tsardom of Russia, Azerbaijanis were using electric lamps owing it to the Germans. Furthermore, they brought the first railway, asphalt, and telegraph to Azerbaijan as well. But during World War II, 22,841 Germans were exiled to Kazakhstan and Siberia. This is what happened to the Sholler family. The Shollers gave their granddaughter, who was six months old at that time, to an Azerbaijani family due to the harshness of conditions of exile. This is a feature movie about this girl’s life and the German culture. This movie is distinctive because it includes stories that have never been told before and it showcases landscapes that have never been shot before.
“I would love to share a part of my life with you. I have three diplomas and I have worked in three diverse fields and succeeded. Nevertheless, my biggest passion in life has always been to write scripts and shoot movies. I have shot my first movie at the age of 50. I have obtained all the information for making “Sholler’s Archive” from my father - Gasimov Gazanfar, Therefore, this film is based on true stories. I have a request, please help me to find somebody who is still alive from the Sholler Family!” - Director Jalaladdin Gasimov 58 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
Music Video / 5 min. / USA
“Come On Let’s Go” A Music Video by Jabari Clarke-Pennegan 1
At the beginning of Summer 2017, music producer Darren Sains and film director Jabari Clarke-Pennegan met to discuss a video concept for a new song. The story that Darren had in mind was that of a young girl going to a record store to buy a physical record, while expressing all the joy and excitement that goes along with it, a throwback to Darren’s days as a young producer in the era of vinyl. Jabari, who had previously filmed with dancers Meliza Fernandez, Jesse Diaz Herrera and Julie Farber, enlisted their help to choreograph and star in the video, while Darren sought the talent of Natasha Markwick, Molly Electro and Janine "j9" Micheletti. Knowing that a great video needs a great location, Darren set his sights on Rock and Soul Records: one of New York City’s oldest record and DJ equipment stores serving artists like Grandmaster Caz, Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc and DJ Red Alert.
2
Photo 1 & 2 by Kevin Christian
“As I first listened to Come On Let’s Go, I was excited for two reasons. First because it was the kind of music that I actually enjoy listening to, and second because it wasn’t a rap song. I feel that music today is saturated with too many rappers and too many violent, aggressive, self-aggrandizing rap songs. A video for a positive song like this is something that the world needs to see right now.” - Director Jabari ClarkePennegan www.dariamagazine.com
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Feature Documentary / 73 min. / Japan
An Interview With Film Director Rick Grehan
Z
an is a documentary about the last of the Okinawan Dugong and the people who strive to protect them, located in the outstandingly beautiful and bio-diverse Henoko and Oura bay. The Dugong is facing its last stand and its feeding grounds are threatened by the construction of a new US Marine base. This film follows imageMILL’s Yu Kisami as he brings us on a journey of discovery, aided by the Nature Conservation Society of Japan. We meet the people who are working tirelessly to protect this beautiful part of the world, a natural heritage for Japan. In 1996, the Japanese government has approved a plan for the relocation of the aging Futenma base to Henoko. A combination of natural conditions, forest, river, mangrove, tidal land, seegrass, coral reefs in Henoko Oura bay has created a rich bio-diversity. The new US base construction would involve the landfilling of a large area of the Henoko coast, which happens to be a critically important feeding ground for the last of the Okinawan dugong. For more than 20 years, local people, researchers, and NGOs who oppose the plan have tirelessly and passionately protested to preserve this ocean and nature. 60 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com Daria! 2017 / 2018
In recent years, the Japanese government has aggressively proceeded with the plan, conducting inspections and preparing for construction. “We introduce the rich biodiversity and natural environment of Henoko and Oura bay, with various discoveries of dugong living in this ocean. What is dugong like? Why do Henoko and Oura bay have such bio-diverse environment? What are thoughts of NGO, researchers, protesters, and local people? With both a historical and biological viewpoints, our stories revolve around the dugong which lives in this ocean. We hope to inform people about dugong and the importance to live with the ocean where it lives.
I found out about the situation with the Dugong in Okinawa, by joining the 1% for the planet organization, through that we choose The Nature Conservation Society of Japan as our NGO partner. At that time I hadn’t even heard of a Dugong and was only slightly aware of the US Marine presence in Okinawa. This film is dedicated to the activists who daily protest against the construction of the Marine base, because of the lack of proper media coverage in the mainstream media, people on mainland Japan have no idea what is happening.
I wanted to try to avoid politics as much as possible and focus on the Dugong themselves, and the beautiful nature of Oura Bay, we are all united in our appreciation of nature and the protection of the environment, these principals should transcend all political beliefs. I wanted to show the tireless work of the NGOs who record and test the environment scientifically monitoring the health of the ocean and the coral. The Dugong has become a symbol of peace, its deeply connected with the history of Okinawa, rooted in legends and mystery, it has been rumored to have control over the waves and even tsunamis, it is connected with the legends of mermaids. What little news there is, serves to polarize and stigmatize the protesters labeling them as some sort of extremist group who don’t represent the majority of Okinawans, there is an attempt to divide the people into people who are pro base and those against, but I found things aren’t that simple, in fact nearly everyone I spoke to was united in the wish to end all foreign bases in Okinawa, just some think they have no choice. A false sense of economic dependency on the bases seems to have been created, when in actual fact Okinawa has much more economic potential in other fields including tourism. This film serves to simply the political and historical situation and shed some light on this mystical creature and the importance of preserving its habitat.� D!
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Short Film / 18 min. / USA
A Short Film by Luciana Caplan & Sophano Van Jenny is a seven-year-old girl who is suffering from bullying at school. Her life changes after she starts to dream of little girls - her fanciful version of famous, powerful women that she is reading about - who are visiting and talking to her.
62 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
“Bullying is a strong issue among kids nowadays. Sexism is a key component of it and must be fought by all who wish a better world: a world of peace and nonviolence. Our girls must be empowered and must learn that it’s possible to live relationships guided by respect.” - Directors Luciana Caplan & Sophano Van
Short Documentary / 20 min. / Egypt
“Dangerous Crossings - The Making of a Campaign” A Short Documentary by Ismail Elmokadem Dangerous Crossings is part of a major campaign by UNHCR, the
UN Refugee Agency, to spread awareness about the dangers of crossing to war-stricken Yemen through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea from Africa, highlighting the horrendous conditions and rising risks in Yemen. The music is arranged by acclaimed Hollywood producer George Acogny and the video is directed by Egyptian film director Amr Salama. Aaarmaanta’s song Tahriib sowed the seed for the creation of Dangerous Crossings, with the Somali lyrics forming the basis of the chorus. The song marks the launch of the UNHCR Dangerous Crossings campaign and intends to send a key message – to make people think very carefully before deciding to cross Yemen. Prominent artists featured include Maryam Mursal and Aarmaanta from Somalia, Yeshie Demalash, Dawit Nega and Tadele Roba from Ethiopia, and Hany Adel from Egypt. www.dariamagazine.com
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Dangerous Crossings - The Making of a Campaign is a compilation of five behind-thescenes videos which reveal the writing, rehearsing, recording and filming process of creating an international humanitarian campaign.
64 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com Daria! 2017 / 2018
Music Video / 5 min. / Egypt
“Dangerous Crossings” A Music Video by Amr Salama
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Feature Film / 85 min. / Switzerland
In His Own Words, Director Kamal Musale Explains the Genesis of Bumbai Bird
A
soul is visiting unconscious bodies in the city and looking back in time to understand what happened to them. A compassionate, poetic and realistic look at common lives in Mumbai, where each of the five stories takes place, each reflecting a cause typical of India's contemporary society. I chose five people whose lives reflect the typical problems of today’s Indian society. To link their stories, I imagined a “floating spirit” that would be able to hear the people intimately and understand the suffering of their souls. This spirit could also show us the cause of the character’s problems thanks to its ability to travel back in time. The poetic quality of the device allows us to gather all these fragments of the mirror together, resulting in an impression of the urban reality of the people in Mumbai that is far from the stereotyped Bollywood impressions or from the superficial middle-class pretense. 66 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com Daria! 2017 / 2018
The film was shot after a treatment and the screenplay was improvised as the film developed, and the dialogues were improvised with the actors, professional and non-professionals alike. The production team for the shooting was minimal as to allow us to shoot undisturbed in real locations with real people. The fact that I’m also a DOP with a documentary background helped tremendously in shooting with speed and discretion. This resulted in adding improvised material and many workin-progress screenings we needed to help us get the complex narrative to unfold seamlessly. Finally, the music was also composed in reaction to the live image, thus completing the spirit of improvisation Bumbai Bird is born out of the to the end. We desire to document, in a fictional are looking formanner, some of the fragments of the ward to screenings of the film Indian reality that I have been witwhere the music nessing for the last seven years in Inwill be performed live by the com- dia - where I am now sharing some of poser Malcolm my time - and that are very rarely seen Braff, another onscreen.” step in improvisation. D!
“
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Short Film / 10 min. / Turkey
“A Ferry Tale” A Short Film by Mehmet Tığlı This short film is about a father and his two autistic children. They get on a ferry boat on a wintry day. They experience some disappointing incidents on their short trip. Due to some impatient passengers' reactions to his children's unintentional actions, the father feels sad and loses his hope.
“This film is based on a true story I witnessed on a ferry in 2016. During this trip, I was so sad and later, I decided to shoot this film on behalf of humanity. Unfortunately, in our society, the people who are different are prejudiced. My film focuses on this problem. Despite everything, not giving up hope will be the most important response to negative behaviors such as prejudice, otherization and belittling. We must share this world with love and indulgence.” - Director Mehmet Tığlı 68 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
Short Film / 13 min. / Spain
“Mine”
A Short Film by Juan Munoz de Blanco
Camelia is a victim of domestic violence. After her daughter is born, Camelia decides to take the girl away from the violent environment in which she is being raised even if she knows that, to achieve it, she must risk the lives of both.
“M
ine was a challenge in my career, not only because it is the first pure drama I do, but also the nuances of the story. Filming this story was difficult for each member of the team, but we knew that the harshness of the images we were creating was going to affect the viewer, turning the film into a witness of the suffering of millions of women around the world." - Director Juan Munoz de Blanco www.dariamagazine.com
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Feature Documentary / 85 min. / Australia
“Make Me A Leader” A Feature Documentary by Silvia Damiano Expecting people in leadership positions to solve all the challenges we face in the world today is largely futile. That is why we firmly believe that expanding our leadership abilities is critical in this new era - no matter who you are. Make Me A Leader sheds a new light on how to develop the leaders of the future. It suggests a new mindset based on science that integrates our entire biological system from the brain down. Leadership expert Silvia Damiano and her team traveled the globe to discover how to adapt our brains in a changing world - where ‘creativity’ replaces ‘knowledge’ as our most valuable leadership quality. Silvia proposes the idea of everyone embracing their own leadership to successfully navigate the challenges and opportunities that the Imagination Age presents.
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“W
e live in a world of continuous change, which brings us new technologies, incredible art and literature and scientific advances. However, this constant change also means that we are required to adapt faster than ever. The demands on both our personal and professional lives can be stressful and overwhelming at times, impacting how we conduct ourselves with others and even the choices we make. This kind of stress affects the leadership we display, which in turn has an impact on those we work with. Six in Ten workers in major global economies report rising levels of workplace stress, which costs the UK economy approximately £28 billion and Australia around $14 billion annually. 80% of Americans report stress at work, and nearly half admit needing help to manage it. Chronic stress can cause cognitive impairment by suppressing the normal function in the thinking parts of our brain, limiting our ability to make rational decisions and solve complex problems. We lead most effectively when our brain is healthy. Elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol and decreased levels of serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the brain are associated with depression. Chronic stress affects virtually every system in the body, from chronic painful
Daria! 2017 / 2018
muscle disorders to inflammation of the circulatory system to gastrointestinal issues. No matter our role at work or at home, we all feel the pressure to succeed, to do better, or to spend more time here or there. Eventually, even the best may succumb to these stressors if they do not make changes. Stress can affect our brain, heart and gut impacting our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. Synchronizing these systems is possible and if we are able to adjust our outlook on life, we can become the most authentic and joyous version of ourselves. I invite you to take a peek at the inner workings of the mind and discover what practices such as meditation and good sleep can do for performance. You may want to improve your nutrition as well for a healthier body. We must learn to link all the intricate parts of our bodies for a happier and more fulfilling life. Would you like to join me in this exciting journey? I encourage you to open your mind and take a leap into a better life and style of leadership. It doesn’t matter if you are a powerful executive, a new parent, or someone looking for joy and contentment. Leadership should be fluid, and it also needs to evolve to meet the demands of this new era. Leadership development that focuses on the brain and body of leaders as they are, 24-hours a day and 365 days a year isn’t a fantasy or dream of the future – it is available now. The life you want is waiting – are you ready to make it happen?” - Director Silvia Damiano
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Feature Film / 80 min. / USA
Consequences of Bullying: A Film Inspired by True Life Events
T
his story takes place in 1958/59. Based on true events, it is a story of a young farm girl, Kelly Johnson, who lives in a small town in Vermont. As a water girl for the boy’s running team she desperately wants to compete on the team. She finally gets the courage to join. Ridicule and bullying face her. School lets out for the summer. While working in her farm field she finds an injured dog. Knowing her parents won’t let her get a dog, she hides it in the barn. Her aunt, a nurse, treats the dog’s wounds and keeps the secret. Through the summer the dog, now named Shadow, and Kelly bond and become very close. Shadow runs and trains with Kelly, still being hid in the barn. In a chance meeting on the school athletic field, Kelly tells her friend Riley the secret of Shadow. A couple of close calls and her parents almost find out about Shadow. Finally summer is over and it’s back to school time. Again, being bullied by the team’s star Josh and his friends, Kelly loses confidence in herself. Riley and her are becoming very close and a fight between Josh and Riley ends badly for Riley and upsets Kelly even more. She clings to her love for Shadow as her only salvation. She then faces an event where Shadow may be gone forever. Finally it’s the last race of the season. Emotionally drained and discouraged Kelly prepares for the race. Now comes an inspirational, and heartwarming event that changes Kelly’s life forever. Don’t ever, ever give up. 72 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com Daria! 2017 / 2018
“I
am Don Miller, 75 years old, and have never been involved in the movie business before. I wrote this story about my actual experience of being bullied in 1958/59. Shawn Welling loved it and we got together and produced the film. It is filmed in my town of Windsor, Vermont where the actual experience took place 60 years ago. I still live on the same farm. We had a chance to obtain Preslee Tucker, a young and upcoming actress, to play the lead, so I changed the story from a boy to a girl. This opened up a second storyline which is girls at that time were not on boys teams. Where she runs in the film are the same trails I ran on at 15 years old. The house, barn, diner, and school are all part of my actual childhood.
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I am hoping to get the message out that bullying is so terrible, but you can get through it. Its effects, however, can be life-long, such as they were in my case, hence I decided to speak out 60 years later.�
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Short Film / 13 min. / UK
“Us� A Short Film by Will Darbyshire
"The idea for Us came from a number of stories submitted to the This Modern Love project that was a book I put together in 2016 which featured real love letters from people all around the world. The idea of a long distance relationship is ever more prevalent in this day and age because of technology, and having been in one myself, it seemed a fitting topic to explore as my first short. Saying goodby during long distance is extremely difficult. It is great sadness. When will I see this person again? Will it ever be the same as it is now? Is it worth all of this? We are in suspended animation, forever waiting and hoping that everything will be OK. There is so much uncertainty about the path ahead and this manifests itself in a way that can be hard to talk about. I wanted Us to explore these emotions in a very real way. I wanted the viewers to feel like they were in the car with them, peering in almost voyeuristically at a personal conversation we shouldn't be listening to. It is a journey with almost no beginning and end, but rather just a moment that I hope shines a light on the way we cope with distance.� - Director Will Darbyshire 74 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
Music Video / 6 min. / UK
“A Moment of Collapse” A Music Video by Robert Bell
“A Moment of Collapse is a film made for the musical composition of the same name by Sean Khan. It is a film about the collapse of society and how that dwells in our consciousness. The concept of slavery is abolished but still counts in our everyday lives and way of thinking. We continually dance around our consciousness trying to find a truth which we already know. We, as humans, strive for success, wealth and health, but it seems that we fail to change the system we live in. The composer looks out from a rooftop at The Holy Trinity Church, the church of the Clapham Sect and the great emancipator of the slaves William Wilberforce. Here we are reminded history does repeat itself, but for a few who have stopped to ponder and change it. So history in itself proves we all have the opportunity to change things in the world we live in through a collective consciousness. Music is the binding element in the video. All the musicians have their own role and create from one man’s vision the vibration of life from which all our consciousness derives its energy. We are free if we want to be.” - Director Robert Bell www.dariamagazine.com
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Short Film / 24 min. / India
“You and Me” A Short Film by Mrigank Dubey Two college-time friends embark on a long drive on a Sunday morning, leaving their bustling city lives behind. As they amble through the hilly roads they reveal to each other their old longings and hidden pasts. Their rosetinted nostalgia is broken and they come face to face with their imperfect lives.
“The changing times of today has brought the world very close. Why is it then that there are so many heartbreaks in relationships and the number of divorces has increased? These questions have always haunted me since my college days, I have known many people who have been into multiple relationships and yet they were not happy, they have walked in and out of relationships and yet they were not happy. This thought inspired me to come up with a short film on relationships.” - Director Mrigank Dubey 76 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
Documentary / 23 min. / France, Benin
A Short Film by Simon Panay "Nobody Dies Here was a very complicated shooting. We had to shoot in secret at night, and we had to make our way to the mine without anyone seeing us. Also, the gold mine was a dangerous place, especially in the underground galleries. After only eight days of shooting, we were arrested by the police.� Simon Panay
Perma gold mine, Benin. Some dream to find something, others realize there is nothing to be found. Some dig relentlessly hoping to become rich, others die in the process. And a few of them say that here, nobody dies.
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Short Documentary / 30 min. / USA
“6th Floor: Expanding Possibility” A Short Documentary by Tommee May
6
th Floor: Expanding Possibility is a half hour documentary that explores what is possible in the realm of healing. American human behavioral specialist, Candace Silvers, journeys her clients through Bali, Indonesia, where the group gets to experience the island’s native healers. Silvers has been traveling to Bali for several years and on this particular trip she challenges herself to learn a specific Balinese healing modality, Siwa Murti, from a healer she refers to as Teacher Man. Throughout the 30 minutes film, the audience gets a glimpse into what some of these clients get to receive from working on high blood pressure, to eye sight, to body image and how Candace Silvers and the healers work together to create outer physical changes as well as internal ones. 78 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
All the while she is learning a new healing technique and going through the physical, emotional, and mental challenges that entail. Candace Silvers gets to practice her newly learned technique at a special gathering of hundreds of Balinese referred to as a “Social”. Teacher Man shortly after gives Candace permission to be the leader of Siwa Murti in America, encouraging her to heal through this technique in Los Angeles where she is based, making her the first person to successfully bring this new modality to the United States.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to have spent the past several years traveling to Bali and getting to sit with and experience the healers native to the land. Not only to witness the remarkable healings that have occurred over the years but to watch these people truly dedicate themselves to a life of service. These healers will sit for hours without a break seeing patient after patient as patients will line up and sit along walls inside of these healers’ homes waiting for their turn. Getting to watch this culture of service, of patience, and of gratitude is something I get to carry with me wherever I go. Most of my trips to Bali were in groups under the guidance of American human behavioral specialist, Candace Silvers. Although not a speaker of Balinese, she has a way of translating and deepening these healings. I was so struck by what I have been able to observe and experience that I had to film it. I wanted to honor these people who have so touched my life, and offer a taste of what's possible to anyone who feels called to watch. I was raised in Los Angeles and have had the benefit of great western doctors and health care and I am a believer in those practices. Seeing what's possible in Bali, for example an American doctor in her 60s who suddenly no longer needed to wear glasses after oil was put on her by a healer, is truly miraculous to me. When you get to witness experiences like that, one right after another, your mind gets to believe and know there is something more.� - Director Tommee May www.dariamagazine.com
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Short Film / 10 min. / USA
“Awakening” A Short Film by Serge Riedener
Dean, a hapless musician who recently moved to New York City, spends a night on what seems like an ordinary outing with his friends… until he bumps into Bo, a feisty Chinese woman who works at an art gallery. That’s when things take an unusual turn. He wakes up the next morning and finds himself unable to speak anything other than Cantonese. He treks through the streets of the city, struggling to get by in such an overwhelmingly diverse environment, but his journey might take another turn when he seems destined to bump into Bo once more.
“It is the unexpected that changes lives. That was the entire idea of the film and that was what happened both during and after the making of this film. The challenge was not only to find a lead actor who could speak perfect Cantonese - or who could at least pretend to. The challenge was also in nailing down how they were saying it. Therefore this film would not have been possible without Wei Xia Cheung, who helped me tremendously not only with the Cantonese translations and with coaching the actors, but also with production issues. My entire crew was great during the two-day shoot, especially Stephan Schacher, my Director of Photography, who provided great footage and significant input to my story. As a result, I feel like I’ve made a film about the difficulty people often have in communicating with one another, especially in an increasingly globalized world. I think the film speaks to a number of audiences, both in the U.S. and abroad, and hope that it can promote some understanding towards people from other cultural backgrounds. I was nervous when I tackled this story, having created it during the eight Week Filmmaking Program at the New York Film Academy after having worked 23 years in the world of advertising. But I’m glad I did. It changed my life, and it has encouraged me to carry on with my new life of filmmaking and I’m very grateful for that.” - Director Serge Riedener 80 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
Docudrama / 18 min. / France
“DNA of Wild Beasts” A Docudrama Film by Delphine Montaigne
Along her team, the '36', Lea, commander of operation, faces news that is filled with blood crimes on a daily bases. She is one of the top on the French pol i c e f o rc e . T h e t e a m members protect each other as they are connected by their invisible bonds and weaknesses; solidarity is in their DNA. This docudrama showcases 24 hours in the life of Lea, member of the elite forces, but also a daughter and a woman.
“Taking
a whole different approach to cop movies was my first intention. Forget about clichés, show a somewhat different portrayal from what we are used to. I had the honor to be allowed to shoot my movie entirely within the walls of the famous 36, Quai des Orfèvres in Paris. It was a stunning experience for our performers and team to shoot in the very place were the actual work of the police happens. Léa is the commanding officer for the criminal police department at the 36. Her daily life, ordinary or not, was the side I wanted to show. Some vocational occupations lead us to live extreme emotions and sometimes leave marks and wounds. Are they indelible? Where do we find the resilience to start all over again on the next day?” - Director Delphine Montaigne www.dariamagazine.com | Daria! | 81
Short Film - Animation / 10 min. / Iran
“Genesis” A Short Film - Animation by Abtin Mozafari
"Genesis is a fantasy movie about the horrible situation and dictatorship in Syria. It's about how the world and media treat this horrible issue. I wanted to synchronize the meaning of the ancient story, Old Testament with Genesis and the concept of Anima and Animus. In fact, the ancient Bible story in Genesis, about the forbidden fruit and Adam and Eve, is one of the first dictatorships in human culture. I tried to make a combination of these concepts.” - Director Abtin Mozafari
82 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
Feature Film / 95 min. / Ghana
“Salvation” A Feature Film by Jones Agyemang
There was a queen in a village who was seen as the eye of the gods. Anyone who lived in the village was in fear of disrespecting her. A team of Christian missionaries visits the village to spread the gospel. They were seen as a threat to the queen. She and the elders of the land did everything possible to scare them out of the village but to no avail. One of the missionaries was killed but they still stayed to push the gospel. Their works were full of wonders and this brought doubt in the minds of the people as to who is more powerful, the Gods or the Christian God. In the end, the missionaries were able to conquer the village with the message of Christ.
“I Daria! 2017 / 2018
t was my goal to bring out the idea of good and evil and to show how evil will always lose.” - Director Jones Agyemang www.dariamagazine.com
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Short Documentary / 18 min. / Brazil
“The Other Side” A Short Documentary by Erica Tucherman
A new day rises in a small Brazilian town. Men and women go about their daily business. While the day unfolds, different voices tell a common story of struggle and recovery, of lives gone wrong and new beginnings. Though the voices are different, they share a single path, for these people are all convicts living in a kind of prison based on solid pillars such as trust, discipline, family and spirituality. Through the testimonies of convicts and volunteers, The Other Side builds a portrait of these people, their dreams and their search for redemption, rehabilitation, and freedom.
“T
his film means a lot to me because it talks about us, human beings. In the creation process, I realized that a person isn't greater than another. Our nature allowed us to commit mistakes, learn with them and change for the better. The process of making the documentary was very intense, as I spent 24 hours a day, for 13 days on the APAC of Itaúna, leaving with the convicts without any guard to take care of the prison itself. When I started to make the research of characters, I decided not to ask any questions about the reasons why they've been condemned - unless they wanted to tell me. In this way, they felt that my main focus was to know the person behind the criminal. Without prejudice or fear, I opened my heart to them as they did for me.” - Director Erica Tucherman 84 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
Feature Documentary / 66 min. / Ireland
“Outcaste, The House that Carol Built� A Feature Documentary by Colin and Laura Graham Carol Fraser is an unusual figure at the age of 76. She is concerned with her future and how she will manage in her old age. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she embarks on a mission to build a house in the foothills of the Himalayas. There is only one problem, she has neither the money nor the land. She befriends Chetan, a local rickshaw Walla, and his family, and together they hatch a scheme to start construction. Most people undertaking such a stressful venture usually employ the skills of professionals, but Carol adopts a very different route. Aided by her taxi driving monk, she embarks on a journey to get guidance from the cosmos and help deliver the house.
www.dariamagazine.com
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An Interview With Film Director Colin Graham
H
ow did the idea for the documentary come about? The idea for the film, like many ideas, was a combination of events. Laura Graham had recently returned from her yearly trip to Shivaland in India where she attended meditation workshops. Over the years she formed a friendship with Carol and heard about her dream of having her own home. In 2014, Laura returned to say Carol had actually managed to start the building work, but what was really curious was the fact that Carol was willing to take on this project despite having no regular income, and living an itinerant lifestyle, teaching and painting, so it was no ordinary house. The story was astonishing and engaging and was too good an opportunity to pass up. Initially, we aimed to produce a short film that Carol could use for some type of crowd funding. However, as we researched the situation we realized the backstory was of a more complex nature. It was clear from the beginning that Carol had a particular way of moving through life. She had befriended Chetan some 10 years before, the rickshaw driver. He and his family had gradually become integral parts of Carol’s life, with him describing her as Aunty Carol, but the possibility of the house became a probability when Chetan offered Carol his tiny bit of land, his only wealth, to build on. That in it self, 86 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com Daria! 2017 / 2018
was a remarkable gesture from one so poor, and would have been enough to interest us, but there was another important piece to the jig saw, and it was Carol’s other friend, Raju, the taxi driver. His story was equally astonishing. The unfolding took place as we filmed with each person’s character and life became an integral part of the story, with the house itself taking on a character.
“We wanted to show that age does not need to hinder you, nor lack of money, but that self-belief and determination, can bring change and transform lives.”
This is a unique story of faith, courage and magical thinking. A story of how the dream of an elderly English teacher finally comes true with the help of a rickshaw driver, a lapsed Buddhist monk and a journey in to the high Himalayas. It’s ‘The Marigold Hotel’ meets ‘Lost Horizon’.
W
hat makes Outcaste, The House that Carol Built special, in your opinion? It has all the elements of a great story, mysticism, strong characters, intriguing situations, great scenery and an epic road trip all mixed up in a cauldron that is India with all the traffic, noise and the great enthu-
siasm that that part of the world generates. I like to think that it offers hope and encouragement to people, as we all struggle through life. It also sends out a subtle message in the form of the old adage ‘be careful what you wish for’, as good or bad events can be materialized intentionally or unintentionally. Initially the goal was to help Carol build her house. However it quickly changed in order to be able to tell the story. The story was just too complex to tell it in a short format. We had two filming trips to India. The bulk of the filming took seven weeks and it involved two trips into the high Mountains. The second trip was to help fill-in the blanks in the story; this took four weeks.
What did you learn about collaboration in the making of this film? We had an incredibly small team. It was a great learning process concerning the difficulties and limitations of solo filming overseas in extreme conditions. We have developed a close relationship with our animator who managed to interpret our descriptions of the house to perfection and with the composer of the music. D! Daria! 2017 / 2018
www.dariamagazine.com
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Docudrama / 20 min. / Iran
“Song of Hands”
A Short Film by Hamze Zarei Song of Hands is narrated by a kid (Hiwa) who is fascinated by music and who is accompanied by other children who follow the same passion. Under the pressure of the traditional and religious environment his father breaks his musical instrument.
“D
espite all the limitations that exist for a Kurdish citizen in Iran, I have done my best to try to show the history of Kurdistan and the rich culture of the Kurds. My interest was to give a voice to the oppressed children and women of my generation in Iran. Thank you, Global Nonviolent Film Festival, for providing the ground for showing my movie to the people of the world. Hoping for beautiful days for all humans of the world.” - Director Hamze Zarei 88 | Daria! | www.dariamagazine.com
Short Film / 24 min. / Afghanistan
“The Luck Bird� A Short Film by Sadam Wahidi Adam is a naive young man who fights with everyone. After losing his job, he seeks a solution from a wise man. The sage sends him to the desert and gives him forty days to hunt down the bird that brings good luck.
www.dariamagazine.com
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Short Film / 12 min. / China
“A Dangerous Journey” A Short Film by Yinfang Ping “It is a story about a mother finding self-salvation in the direst sorrow a mum could ever imagine. What kind of pain does it take for a family to get over the pain of losing the only child, and what kind of courage does it take to make peace with such an unbearable truth? When I was writing this script, one question I kept asking myself was: should I put her into such an extreme condition, where she practically has lost everything? But I was convinced that it is not an uncommon experience of pain, terror and self-denial for everyone. In this story, it takes the form of the destruction of a family and self-healing of two individuals. As I wrote it, I also felt I grew with my protagonist, and came to realize that only when you are on the verge of the abyss of despair, where you wouldn’t know if you could come back at all, that you could summon the courage to face the truth of life.” - Director Yinfang Ping
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Global Film Studio Inc. is a Canadian media company focused on ventures that are socially conscious and nonviolent. Global Film Studio’s activities revolve around film production and distribution, talent management, film festival organization, publishing and more. The Company operates under seven Divisions; each of them is primarily in charge of one activity.
The Divisions of Global Film Studio are: Global Film Production; Global Film Distribution; Global Film Actors Agency; Global Nonviolent Film Festival; Global Film Academies & Film Workshops; Global Real Estate Properties; Global Publishing.
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