I met Lefteris Voyatzis in 1994, while Pantelis Voulgaris was shooting his film Akropol. I was one of the assistants throughout the entire preparation, while Lefteris Voyatzis was the film's leading actor.
That was where our relationship began, and it remained alive throughout the years.
I filmed him on several occasions over the years, on the occasion of various documentaries I made, as well as at the final performance of each season at the Theatre of Odos Kykladon, approximately every May.
I had proposed that we make a documentary centered on the island of Andros as his Paradise, his absolute Utopia—which, however, had taken physical form, becoming a place of retreat and a source of inspiration for him. We did not have the time, as he fell ill. Eventually, however, Apostolia Papaioannou and I went to Andros, to Lefteris's house, in 2021, eight years after his death, and made the film with his longtime partner, Eirini Levidi, as the sole speaker.
We drew on the atmosphere of the house and the island, as well as rich archival material.
The aim of the film was the person of Lefteris Voyatzis to emerge alongside his artistic personality. This is because, in my view, his case cannot be analyzed in depth solely from an artistic perspective—that would be sterile—without considering the distinctive child he carried within him. Without the elements that decisively shaped him from early childhood. Without the family influences and his partner, who knew him better than anyone.
Producer:
International Festival of Andros
Executive Producer:
Ordet - Apostolia Papaioannou
Direction - Screenplay - Camera:
Elias Giannakakis
Editing:
Apostolia Papaioannou
