The film A Woman’s Past, rarely appearing on Greek TV, was screened in memory of the iconic Greek actress, Mary Chronopoulou, at the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, in collaboration with Finos Film. The screening took place on Thursday, November 9th at Pavlos Zannas theater.
Orestis Andreadakis, the artistic director of the Festival, Stathis Kamvasinos, communication manager of Finos Film, Iason Triantaphyllides, film critic, Syllas Tzoumerkas, director spoke before the screening of the film.
Mr. Andreadakis welcomed the audience by saying: "Mary Chronopoulou was one of the most important, most charming and most seductive presences in Greek cinema and a woman who had left her mark in this Festival, through her many participations in different periods of Greek cinema. As you all know, she is no longer with us, but as cinema offers immortality, we are going to have her with us forever. That is why we decided to host this screening and dedicate it to her memory, in collaboration with Finos Film, which is actively supporting not only our Festival but Greek cinema too, with a series of awards as part of the Festival", he said and gave the floor to Stathis Kamvasinos.
Mr. Kamvasinos said: "Mary Chronopoulou was a lady, a seductive woman, as Orestis said, extremely talented, of irresistible beauty and femininity, unparalleled style, with finesse and above all with a straightforward character". "She went through so much in her life and faced it with great will and determination. He crossed the threshold of Finos Film in 1954 with a role in the film The Happy Beginning by Dinos Dimopoulos. From 1963 to 1970 she starred in numerous dramas, mainly in the role of a dame and a femme fatale. She was eager to star in a musical by Giannis Dalianidis, who had been initially very sceptical, but auditioned her once and after that he changed his mind. She starred in three well-known musicals (A lady in sirtaki dance, The blue beads from Greece and Mermaids and Rascals). Moreover, in A lady in sirtaki dance she performed with unexpectedly great success two songs by Mimis Plessas, which are a hit to this day", he added.
He then referred to the film A Woman’ Past of 1968 directed by Giannis Dalianidis, which was chosen to be screened in her memory. "It is a drama where she is the only protagonist. This is about a film with film noir references, unexpected elements and twists, a very strong plot, excellent performances, excellent music by Kostas Kapnisis, cinematography by Nikos Dimopoulos, as well as a documentation of Athens", Mr. Kamvasinos pointed out. Asked about the reason for Giannis Dalianidis' hesitations concerning Mary Chronopoulou’s starring in musicals, Mr. Kamvasinos replied that he had the feeling that "Dalianidis had objections because she used to play in drama roles of a dame and a femme fatale and he believed that she would not live up to the most special roles of musicals". Iason Trantafyllides added that "Dalianidis said that it is not possible for a woman whose face is as if it came out of a Modigliani painting to play in a musical".
At this point, Orestis Andreadakis noted that "she was adored by many different generations of Greek filmmakers, that was not the case for every actor: the generation of Giannis Dalianidis, the generation of Theo Angelopoulos, she played in a lot of his films, but also the more modern generation of Syllas Tzoumerkas, who is here with us", and gave the floor to the director.
"Mary Chronopoulou is for me one of the most important, if not the most important Greek actress for one reason: she understands the differences between different kinds of genre. She managed to play in dramas in comedies, in musicals, in noir movies, in the arthouse cinema of the 70s and 80s, with unparalleled romance, grace and warmth", Mr. Tzoumerkas stated. "These are three qualities, she managed to communicate through completely different genres and completely different directors, maintaining a cinematic persona so flexible that she could play in Georgiadis' films (Blood on the Land and The Red Lanterns) two completely different roles in just a period of 2-3 years," he added. "For me, her best acting performance was in Fear by Kostas Manousakis in 1966 (the best Greek film couple of the 60s with Alexis Damianos), a film that defined my generation of filmmakers. Then, she moved on to the well-known wonderful musicals of this era, where she had a completely different task. In Tears for Electra (probably Foskolos' best screenplay and one of Dalianidis' best films) she had a touch of Hollywood melodrama acting and I mean that in the best sense of the term. In the late 70s, early 80s in Angelopoulos' The Hunters and in her second top acting for me in Voyage to Cythera, one of the most important films in Greek cinema. There, she manages to incorporate into her cinematic persona all the lessons of the 70s and convey the style and charm of Faye Danaway or Gena Rowlands, adapted to the needs of the Greek arthouse cinema, a truly impossible feat. In her last films such as the Children of the Swallow, a film that she loved a lot, she incorporates all the historical-political melodrama (in a Costa Gavras quality) into Greek cinema, all the way to the last film directed by Haris Papadopoulos". Syllas Tzoumerkas also noted that "not only did she incorporate in a cinematic persona many cinematic genres from various directors, but she managed, through her different roles, to define the next generation that is, in fact, ours".
A video edited by Syllas Tzoumerkas and Elizabeth Pirounia followed as part of her award by the Greek Film Academy two years ago.
Then the film A Woman's Past was screened. The actress plays the role of a nightclub singer who is forced to shoot her ex-boyfriend, who has escaped from prison, and blackmails her for money. Believing him to be dead, the girl decides to leave and start her life anew. She marries a wealthy gentleman, who is unaware of her past, and together they have a baby girl. One day, however, an old friend – who by devilish coincidence is also her husband's brother – will return, threatening to reveal everything about her past. Starring: Mary Chronopoulou, Phedon Georgitsis, Kostas Kazakos, Eleni Zafiriou, Zoras Tsapelis, Alekos Oudinotis, Theodoros Dovas, Dimitris Bislanis, Angelos Mavropoulos, Golfo Bini.
