KALIMERA
PLOT
Petros and Eleni are catching up when Sifis storms into the kitchen for a quick bite before rushing out to play with his friends.
It’s early afternoon and Sifis is playing alone with his harmonica in the yard of their house. Petros surprises him and offers him to fly a drone he has brought from Athens. It’s after dark and Eleni with Giorgos are finishing up their supper in silence. Sifis arrives late and as a result he gets beaten by his father who blames Eleni for his bad behaviour. Eleni tries to comfort Sifis when she accidentally discovers a pubic hair in his mouth. After questioning Sifis at the table she discovers to her shock that he was with Petros all day.
Contrite from discovering the truth she quickly realises that she has no choice but to keep this a secret in order to protect her family.
SHORT SYNOPSIS
It's a casual summer day in a remote village in Greece where Eleni and her abusive husband live with their son Sifis. The arrival of Petros, the son of Eleni's neighbour from Athens has led to an unexpected tragedy that forced Eleni to keep a secret in order to protect the reputation of her family.
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
"KALIMERA" is my second screenplay after "POISED", a feature film that went on to win several awards in film festivals around the world amongst which "Best LGBT Film" at the London Independent Film Festival 2019. It's based on personal experiences from growing up in a remote village on a Greek island. “KALIMERA” was selected in the first 100 amongst 3800 short films at the Cannes Film Festival 2020.
Based on a true story, my aim with “KALIMERA” is to reflect reality. To highlight how women and children especially in small, traditional societies around the world can be physically and mentally abused silently. But most importantly to show the tragic impact that fear of social judgment has on their lives.