The Man Who Disturbed the Universe

Ο άνθρωπος που ενόχλησε το σύμπαν

We visit the Chania Mental Institution in Crete. A group of mental patients is our host at the “Citizen’s Assembly,” the place they meet and mingle on a daily basis; a place where some are looking for money and others are looking for some small talk. Another group of former chronic patients, currently out of this mental Institution, goes through the painful process of social rehabilitation and dares to embark upon a trip to Denmark. Through a parallel discussion with these two groups, the film attempts to listen to the discourse of madness, in its chaotic delirium. It tries to observe man’s dramatic clash with lunacy, in the deepest despair and total uncertainty regarding every aspect of the being it encompasses.
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Stavros Psillakis
Script: Stavros Psillakis
Cinematography: Kostas Palmas
Editing: Yorgos Triantafyllou
Sound: Epaminondas Chatzinikolis
Music: Nikos Vittis
Producers: Stavros Psillakis
Co-production: Greek Film Center
Narration: Apostolis Asimakis
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Greece
Production Year: 2000
Duration: 52'
Contact: Stavros Psillakis (stavrospsill@gmail.com)
Awards/Distinctions: Best Creative Greek Documentary Award of International Jury & Best Greek Film Award (by half) of Greek Directors Guilt, 2nd International Documentary Film Festival of Kalamata (2000)

Stavros Psillakis

Stavros Psillakis was born in Chania, Crete, in 1954. He is a director and producer of anthropological documentaries that usually focus on borderline situations of human existence. He first studied Electrical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens and then Film Directing at the Hantzikou Film School (Athens). He received a scholarship from the French state to study Anthropological Documentary Filmmaking at the VARAN School in Paris. He was honored with many awards, such as the 1st Documentary Film Award of the Hellenic Film Academy in 2010 for the documentary There Was No Other Way. He is a founding member of the Hellenic Film Academy and the Hellenic Documentary Association, and he has worked on films by Lakis Papastathis, Dimos Theou, and Stavros Tornes. His rich filmography counting more than 40 films, includes the documentaries The Man Who Disturbed the Universe, METAXA listening to Time, Olympia, Short Gypsy Stories, The Light Inside, as well as the trilogy FOR NO REASONS meetings with Yorgos Maniatis, Debt, and FAREWELL The Memory of the Land.

Filmography

2000 The Man Who Disturbed the Universe
2009 There Was No Other Way
2011 120 Milonogianni, Chania (TV) 2012 METAXA Listening to Time
2013 Dilemma (TV)
2014 Short Gypsy Stories
2015 Olympia (short)
2015 The Light Inside
2019 FOR NO REASONS Meetings with Yorgos Maniatis
2020 My Photograph (short)
2021 Debt
2022 FAREWELL The Memory of the Land