Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival looks back at its first edition in 1999, seeking the filmmakers and heroes of two documentaries screened at the 1st TDF, to find out what they did in the two decades that followed. In the context of this anniversary initiative, Nikos Grammatikos’ Nightflowers (1998) was screened on Friday March 9 2018 at Pavlos Zannas theatre, as part of the 20th TDF, in the presence of the film director and protagonist, Manolis Diamantidis.
Before the beginning of the screening, the director of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival Orestis Andreadakis warmly welcomed the two guests, noting: "Twenty years ago, when the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival began, a very sweet film by Nikos Grammatikos titled Nightflowers was presented. The protagonist was a 12-year-old boy, Manolis Diamantidis. It is a great pleasure to welcome them both today, after such a long time”.
Immediately after, Nikos Grammatikos, who was moved by the opportunity to meet some of his dear friends on the occasion of the screening, made special mention to Menelaos Tsaousis, mobility trainer and director of the Center for Education & Rehabilitation for the Blind (CERB), without the help of whom the documentary wouldn’t have been shot. Subsequently, the film’s protagonist Manolis Diamantidis thanked the audience for attending the event.
After the film’s screening, a discussion with the audience took place. Nikos Grammatikos spoke about how the original idea behind the documentary was born, underlining: "We have to go a long way back in November 1996, when I left Thessaloniki happy and satisfied as my film Truants/ Apontes had been awarded in the Thessaloniki IFF event that year. A few days later, I watched a news report on Seven-X television channel –which is no longer broadcasting- about the education of children who are born blind. It touched me deeply, I was literally shuddered by this; I must tell you that I'm terrified of the dark, it's probably something like the fear of a blind filmmaker like the one in Woody Allen's film Hollywood Ending, said the director.
The filmmaker went on to add that he contacted Menelaos Tsaousis and began filming the daily routine of the children of the CERB, resulting in having a total of 70 hours of material. "I then spoke with the actor Vangelis Mourikis, with whom we often work together, and we decided to turn this material into a film. Honestly, I do not know if we have recorded the best moments in the documentary, but what we had decided from the beginning was to focus on a particular person, and that was Manolis Diamantidis. I don’t think that Nightflowers is a film about blind children, but a film about how we overcome the difficulties and obstacles in life, obtaining strength from both our own resources as well as the help we get from the people around us. This is also the meaning behind the film’s last scene, in which Manolis climbs on the door fence of the CERB premises”, said the director.
On his part, the documentary’s protagonist Manolis Diamantidis, after saying that filming was a wonderful experience, despite having endured enough, was asked whether it is preferable for a blind child to join a school environment with children who don’t have vision problems or prefer a specialized school for children with vision problems. "I think that when you are part of an environment with people without such problems, you have to meet new people, face new situations, find ways to solve some new issues, which altogether will prove useful for you in the future. On the other hand, this is a very painful process, so it also depends on how each person handles the obstacles and difficulties they encounter, "he explained.
Nikos Grammatikos took the floor right after, stating that he refuses to deal with the children who are born blind as handicapped people. "Honestly, I think there is nothing these children can not cope with; one can even become the country’s Prime Minister. The difficulties faced by these children arise to a great extent from the obstacles posed by a society that has been made by people who see for people who see as well. As I have already said, this is essentially the subject of the film; the overcoming of difficulties and obstacles in life”, said the director.
Closing the conversation, Menelaos Tsaousis warmly thanked Nikos Grammatikos not only for making this documentary, but also for all the painstaking work he had done before finishing the film. "People need to know that Nikos Grammatikos first made sure he spent approximately two whole years with the children of CERB, in order to gain their trust and immerse into their world. This documentary travelled to many international festivals, was screened on the Greek television and enabled many people, especially children without visual impairments, to familiarize with the world of blind children and get to know better their potential and needs. Right now, we are trying to open up to the society, because I think we have to move from the stage of awareness to the stage of taking action. Our big goal at the moment is to increase the number of guide dogs and I hope you will soon see many of them in the streets of Thessaloniki”, he concluded.
