Choreographer’s passion for film revealed at Thessaloniki doc fest

There may be nothing connecting Dimitiris Papaionnou to cinema at first glance – it is not, after all, the art his name is associated with – yet the 26th edition of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival will be paying tribute to the celebrated Greek choreographer and has invited him to participate in the event, which begins on March 7.

The multifaceted oeuvre of the choreographer best known internationally for designing the splendid opening ceremony of the 2004 Athens Olympics will be showcased in a series of carefully designed initiatives, while he will also be present at screenings, taking questions from the audience.

The first screening will be a documentary by Eva Stefani, a work in progress on the ongoing European tour of Papaionnou’s “Transverse Orientation.”

‘I see [montage] as a choreography on the existing choreography of the performance’ 

“The tribute was indeed prompted by Eva Stefanis’ documentary, but it also coincides with my own interest in cinema. Basically, it reveals my obsession with film for the first time,” he tells Kathimerini.

“Filming and editing ‘Nowhere’ myself made me realize that a stage event can be transformed into something new, something equally interesting and artistically complete, thanks to montage. I see it as a choreography on the existing choreography of the performance,” Papaioannou adds.

The spotlight on Papaioannou also includes screenings of “Nowhere” and another short film based on another one of his choreographies, “Primal Matter,” where he, again, re-choreographs the two pieces. It additionally comprises a video installation titled “Inside,” together with a parallel screening of its backstage action.

“I know that our art is transitory, so I have always sought a way so that videoed footage of live performances, which is usually of poor quality and tiring, could become exciting and could convey this creative element,” he says.

“I am also a manic editor; I spend hours on the editing. I have actually recorded all of my performances and am now at the beginning of a long road to finding the funding and the institutional framework so that they can all be made into documentaries and be bequeathed after my death,” he adds.

This year’s TDF is also putting together a big tribute to LGBTQ+ cinema. Titled “Citizen Queer,” its message of self-definition comes at an apt time, as the issue of same-sex marriage and parenthood still rages in the public debate following the passing of the bill on marriage equality. The tribute traces the start of the movement for LGBTQ+ rights and charts its progress to the present day, highlighting important milestones achieved along the way.

This part of the program features more than 25 films, while many artists, activists, and important figures from the cultural, academic and scientific fields will conduct discussions with the audience.

Among the most notable screenings is that of Panagiotis Evangelidis’ 2022 “Tilos Weddings,” about the first gay civil union conducted in Greece, on the tiny southeastern Aegean island, in June 2008.