Gonella Productions

LANGUAGE: Greek | SUBTITLES: English

Genre: DRAMA - LGBTQ
Running Time: 16:15
Year of production: 2021

SYNOPSIS

A transgender woman receives a call from her brother letting her know that their mother had passed. She is given the details of the funeral and is asked to come back to Cyprus for the funeral, but as her old self and not her new and true self. The difficulty of the conversation and the request is too much.

AWARDS - DISTINCTIONS

"Special Mention" at the 43rd Drama International Short Film Festival (2020)
“Best European Short” at the 2nd Crete Fiction Film Festival (2021)
“Short Film Market Picks” at Festival du court métrage de Clermont-Ferrand 2021

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

43rd Drama International Short Film Festival (Greece)
14th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (CA, USA)
OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival (FL, USA)
ARTENS Festival 2020 (Greece)
18th San Francisco Greek Film Festival 2021 (CA, USA)
36th Lovers Film Festival (Italy)
2nd Crete Fiction Film Festival (Greece)
43rd Douarnenez Festival de Cinema (France)
2nd Queer Wave Film Festival (Cyprus)
5th Zsigmond Vilmos International Film Festival 2021 (Hungary)
19th Tirana International Film Festival (Albania)
17th FEST – NDNFF Espinho Film Festival (Portugal)
22nd Mezipatra Queer Film Festival, Prague (Czechia)
29th Mix Brasil Festival of Diversity, Sao Paolo (Brazil)
23rd Thessaloniki International G.L.A.D. Film Festival (Greece)
2021 Queer Film Festival Weimar (Germany)
2022 Ningbo Short Film Festival (China)

OTHER SCREENINGS

61st Thessaloniki Film Festival (Greece)
Big Short Films - Onassis Foundation YouTube Channel (Greece)
Audiovisual Arts Festival, Corfu 2022 (Greece)
Dance Platform (Cyprus)

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

THE CALL is a groundbreaking film in the context of Cypriot cinema. It is the first independent fiction short film, shot in Cyprus, centring on a transgender character. The film is partly inspired by Jean Cocteau’s monodrama The Human Voice (La Voix humaine), but here the drama is transposed to a whole different setting, reframing the discussion about gender and human relationships, and focusing on the vexed issue of the patriarchal foundations of the Greek/Cypriot family. Trans visibility in Cyprus is inexistent, so the delicate yet powerful character of the protagonist reflects an entire community that refuses to stay marginalised, demanding freedom of self-expression, gender and sexual diversity, and the possibility of an inclusive and mutually respectful world.

DIRECTOR’S BIO

Filmmaker and film scholar Marios Psaras was born in Cyprus. He holds a PhD in Film Studies from Queen Mary University of London. Psaras has taught film theory at King’s College London, Queen Mary and Greenwich University and lectured across Europe. He has published on contemporary Greek, European and world queer cinema, including the monograph The Queer Greek Weird Wave (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016). Psaras is artistic director of Cyprus Short Film Day (London), a member of the Hellenic Film Academy, and a member of the pre-selection committee for the National Section of the International Short Film Festival of Cyprus (ISFFC). He has worked professionally in radio and TV production, and in the theatre. Psaras has produced and directed five short films, including award-winning The Call (2020). He was Cultural Counsellor at the Cyprus High Commission in London (2018-2022), curating and producing various interdisciplinary art and cultural projects in collaboration with major British and international academic and cultural institutions. As of September 2022, he moved back to Cyprus and works as Cultural Officer at the Cinema Section of the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture.

FILMOGRAPHY

The Call (2020)
Thin Green Line (2018)
An-Other Love (2011)
On the Rooftop (2010)
Close to You (2009)

CAST AND CREW

Cast Nektarios Theodorou
Directed by Marios Psaras
Written by Marios Psaras & Avgi Lilli
Director of Photography Stephan Metzner
Production Designer Αnna Fotiadou
Sound Designer Stavros Makris
Associate Producer Antony Petrou
Line Producer Μelpo Georgiadou
Sound Recording Stavros Terlikkas
1st Assistant Camera George Athanasiou
Wardrobe Irene Avraam (Nina’s Fashion)
Hair Marios Neophytou
Makeup Εleni Vavanou
Nails Irene Christofidou (Shine Beauty Boutique)
Gaffer and Dolly Grip Donald Gomez
Technical Equipment Ab Seahorse
Colour Grading Oliver Collins
Sound Mixing Olga Bulygo

TECHNICAL INFO

Production Year: 2021
Production Country: Cyprus
Runtime: 10 minutes 20 seconds
Country of Filming: Cyprus
Language: Greek
Shooting Format: Digital
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Subtitles: English
Film Color: Color