25/08/2023 - The new film by Greek director Zacharias Mavroeidis is a comedy that explores friendships between gay men, family issues and love in all its forms

Yorgos Tsiantoulas and Andreas Lampropoulos in The Summer with Carmen

While enjoying a day at Athens’ queer beach, 30-something Demosthenes offers to help his bestie and aspiring filmmaker Nikitas in drafting an idea for his feature debut, inspired by the events surrounding a certain dog named Carmen. Two summers ago, Demosthenes was stuck in Athens dealing with health issues of his father. This serves as an excuse to reach out to his ex, Panos. Meanwhile, Panos got the overly cute Carmen, something he soon regretted. Likewise, Demosthenes seems to have regretted breaking up with Panos. Or did he not? Struggling to transform real events into a hero’s journey, the two friends question the no.1 rule of script writing theory – the hero that changes – while turning a page in their long lasting friendship.

This is the synopsis of The Summer with Carmen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Zacharias Mavroeidis
film profile], the new film by Greek director Zacharias Mavroeidis, which has been selected for the Giornate degli Autori of the 80th Venice Film Festival, which will unspool from 30 August to 9 September.

Mavroeidis' debut feature The Guide screened in Thessaloniki and in LGBTQ film festivals around the world, and his sophomore feature Defunct [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] won the Young Jury and the Audience Award in Thessaloniki's International Competition. He is currently participating in Cinekid Script Lab, developing his first novel, Nine Lives Left, as a feature animation film for young audiences. The Summer with Carmen won the first prize in Thessaloniki's 2022 Agora-Works In Progress.

According to Mavroeidis, "the idea for the film was inspired by real events that occurred in the life of my best friend and co-writer Xenofondas Chalatsis. Any resemblances with the story are far from coincidental. Just like Nikitas and Demosthenes, we also struggled to turn real life into fiction. Many of our creative conflicts turned into scenes in the screenplay but, most important, just like Nikitas and Demosthenes, through the writing of the script we turned a page in our long lasting friendship."

The Summer with Carmen is produced by Atalante and co-produced by Argonauts Productions, Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation - ERT and Athens Films Productions. Be For Films is handling international sales.

Check out our exclusive poster below:

(Translated from Spanish)