18/03/2013 - Going back to ancient Greece to revamp the myth of Antigone, Stathis Athanasiou hopes to push local filmmaking towards the future

Gathering funds for an independent film project is a feat of its own, given Greece’s current economic situation, but London’s NY Film School graduate Stathis Athanasiou has set an even higher goal for his sophomore project.

Alpha, a modern take on the myth of Antigone, about a woman forced to watch her treacherous brother rot, as punishment for her rebellion against authority, has been marked as Greece’s first fully crowd-sourced movie project to date. Given that it hit its mark two days ahead of schedule, one may easily call the film a success in the making.

“It’s fundamental that we use crowd-funding”, notes Athanasiou, who thus hopes not only to ensure financial support but also to “start building an audience and community that will know about the project, the team, our vision from the very first moment”.

Following an impressive launch campaign on specialized website indiegogo.com, complete with a proof-of-concept teaser, Alpha has managed to surpass its €60,000 goal, as well as find a dozen of avid supporters willing to dish out over €1,000 each, claiming associate producer credits, premiere tickets and other premium gifts.

Athanasiou’s out-of-the-box approach is not limited to the creative process, as he has unconventional plans for distribution as well. Aiming for an A-level festival bow, the director will then “walk away from the traditional way of doing things”, explaining the film “will be projected in an ancient theatre, the place where the myth was meant to be presented, with a live orchestra performing its score”.

“Ancient theatres exist all over the Mediterranean and they are all candidates for screening the film as are open-air theatres worldwide”, he added, setting a path of international releases that are certain to be as challenging as they should be awe-inspiring.