30/10/2020 - Principal photography on the Greek writer-director’s debut feature continued unabated during the pandemic

Director Christos Massalas on the set of Broadway (© Mariza Papadimitriou)

Greek writer-director Christos Massalas has directed a number of short films, adverts and music videos. His films have been screened and have won awards at various international film festivals. Among them are Woman with the Plastic Flower, and Flowers and Bottoms, and his latest effort was Copa-Loca, which premiered in the Cannes Directors' Fortnight and won multiple awards. Broadway [+see also:
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The film tells the story of a group of four young bandits in modern-day Athens. Nelly is a tomboy, while Barbara is a boy on the run, dressed as a girl, Rudolph is a prankster, and Mohammad is always there to save the day. They all collaborate by combining the art of dance with the art of pickpocketing. When Nelly and Barbara perform their dance routines to distract the passers-by, Rudolph and Mohammad seize the opportunity to dig inside the spectators’ pockets, pilfering wallets and smartphones.

The screenplay was written by Massalas, and in the leading roles are Elsa Lekakou as Nelly, who also worked with the director on Copa-Loca, Foivos Papadopoulos as Barbara/Jonas, Rafael Papad as Rudolph and Salim Talbi as Mohammad, and the rest of the cast includes Stathis Apostolou and Christos Politis. The film is shooting on location in and around Athens, and cinematographer Konstantinos Koukoulios (Pity [+see also:
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Regarding the difficulties of shooting during such a trying period, producer Amanda Livanou stated: “We have been working on Broadway for almost three years now, and it has been an exciting, but very bumpy, ride – one with twists and turns that would make for a great thriller. Having to postpone the shoot one week before its start on 20 March was a traumatic but necessary step which complicated what is already a very complicated, and at times even Quixotic, endeavour: making a film. With no support measures for productions which were suspended due to the pandemic, we have been forced to face the problems on our own and, once again, to invent ways of making the film possible. It is a ride that would have been impossible without the unfailing support of our French co-producer, Bertrand Gore, and our Broadway team of collaborators, associates and friends. We are currently in the second phase of shooting, to be completed soon, but we have a happy director and some fantastic material, which makes us optimistic. We are looking forward to the finished film, and we are striving to make Broadway what we always imagined it could be.”

Broadway is a Greek-French-Romanian co-production by Amanda Livanou for Athens-based Neda Film, in co-production with Bertrand Gore (Blue Monday Productions) and Cristian Nicolescu (Digital Cube) and with the support of the Greek Film Center, ERT SA, France’s CNC, Eurimages and the National Centre of Audiovisual Media and Communication - EKOME SA. The international sales are handled by French sales agent Le Pacte. The project was developed through the Sundance Institute labs and the Atelier of the Cinéfondation (Cannes 2019).