Saudi Arabia – Under the Veil
AGORA II – Chained



BEING PRESENT

Dir: Yorgos Avgeropoulos

Whilst still healing from the wounds caused by the ten year long economic disaster, Greece has to confront the biggest public health crisis of recent history. Against the backdrop of a disintegrated public health sector, the prominent protagonists managing the pandemic are entangled with the stories of its invisible heroes. Political decisions and behind-the-scenes manipulations are closely observed and juxtaposed with the struggles of the people who bear the brunt of this new crisis. Observing for one year the experience of his homeland, Avgeropoulos manages to capture a universal reality and poses critical questions about the post-Covid era the world is entering.

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About This Film
Info
  • FILM TITLE: BEING PRESENT
  • DURATION: 83 minutes
  • WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Yorgos Avgeropoulos
  • PRODUCED BY: SmallPlanet Productions on behalf of iMEdD © 2021
  • YEAR OF RELEASE: 2021
Main Credits
  • WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: YORGOS AVGEROPOULOS
  • PRODUCERS: ANASTASIA SKOUBRI AND YORGOS AVGEROPOULOS
  • MUSIC: YIANNIS PAXEVANIS
  • EDITING: VASILIS TSOUKALAS
  • ADDITIONAL EDITING: KOSTAS CHRISTAKOPOULOS
  • RESEARCH: YORGOS AVGEROPOULOS, FENIA CHALA, ALEXIA TSAGKARI, THODORIS CHONDROGIANNOS, PHOEBE FRONISTA, KOSTAS KOUKOUMAKAS, ELENA APOSTOLIDOU, MARIANNA KAKAOUNAKI, CHRISTINA CHASOU
  • FILMING: YIANNIS AVGEROPOULOS, THEOFILOS DADIS, KOSTIS NIKOLOPOULOS, YORGOS MOUTAFIS, YIANNIS CHLEMPAKOS, YIANNIS KOLESIDIS, YORGOS SANTAMOURIS, DIMITRIS KOTSOU, SOFIA EXARCHOU, YORGOS ILIOPOULOS, ALEXIA TSAGKARI, PHOEBE FRONISTA, FANIS KARAYORGOS, YIANNIS NTRENOYIANNIS, YORGOS AVGEROPOULOS, NIKOS FOSKOLOS, SIMON KEATING
A SMALLPLANET PRODUCTION FOR iMEdD © 2021
Distinctions & Awards

Best Documentary Orpheus Award
Los Angeles Greek Film Festival
USA
2021

Best Documentary
Cannes World Film Festival
France
2021

Official Selection
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
Greece
2021

Finalist
London Greek Film Festival
UK
2021
Downloads

BEING PRESENT Press Kit [29,8MB]: The full Press Kit includes stills, posters, flyers & banners as well as the synopsis and information about the film.
Notes

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

The pandemic’s management in Greece, has a particular characteristic that makes its story unique. Greece, is a country that was called upon to deal with this new, third, crisis following the financial and refugee crisis, without having the time to heal from the wounds caused by the 10-year-long neoliberal policies and harsh austerity.

In this sense, through this “local” story a huge debate arises, one that has already begun internationally, one that is voiced from the left as much as it’s voiced from the right: That the neoliberal school of thought that predominated our societies in the last four decades doesn’t seem to be working. That the “almighty market” is unable to give a solution to such crises. That the inequalities were reinforced by the pandemic. That the Emperor had no clothes, after all.

We must understand the lessons from this pandemic in order to build a better world. We owe it to the millions of people lost.

Yorgos Avgeropoulos
Press
About the Director
Yorgos Avgeropoulos
Yorgos Avgeropoulos is a Greek documentary filmmaker and journalist. He was born in Athens in 1971. He studied journalism and worked as a war correspondent in Sarajevo, Croatia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2000 he created Exandas Documentary Series that was broadcast on Greek television for 13 consecutive years. Documentaries of the series have also been broadcast by dozens of international TV networks and have been screened at film festivals in various countries. Today, Avgeropoulos mainly collaborates with international networks. In total he has created more than 100 socio-political documentaries shot in about 50 countries, and has been honored with many international awards and distinctions at film festivals around the world.