T H E O ' S   G A Z E

Original title: THEO'NUN BAKISI
Directed by: Necati Sönmez
Script & editing: Emel Çelebi, Necati Sönmez, Uğur Kutay
Camera: Necati Sönmez, Anastasia Christoforidou, Ilana Navaro
Particihants: Theo Angelopoulos, Petros Markaris, Tonino Guerra, Yorgos Arvanitis
Consultant: Uğur Kutay
Narration: Şerif Erol
Format: Mini DV
Duration: 59 dk.
Year of production: 2003

As the first film ever made by a Turkish citizen about a Greek artist, Theo'nun Bakışı (Theo's Gaze), is an attempt to compose a preface to the complete works of Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos, while building a bridge of cinematic friendship between two countries which have so often been in conflict. The film portrays Angelopoulos as a contemporary Homer who has told about the Agamemnons, Oresteses, and Ulysseses of our time with each of his films and who constantly reminds us that history is not dead, only taking a nap.

Taking enthusiasts on eleven "short" trips through the "long" films of Angelopoulos, whose camera not only roams the frontiers of countries, but of cultures, history, mythology and poetry, the documentary also tries to catch the divine outlook of the artist's camera. It lends an ear along the way to extras, crew members, actors and people from Angelopoulos's close circle, like Petros Markaris, Tonino Guerra, Giorgos Arvanitis, and finally, the man himself. Visits to the set of his latest and greatest project (the new trilogy which begins with The Weeping Meadow) take the spectator on a new voyage that oscillates between cinematic and historic reality.

“The reason I come over and over again to the wounds of history, that is to the human adventures, is because I believe that the people are not taught history; history gets forgotten, traumas get forgotten and the people are forced to repeat fatally the same mistakes as though that was destiny. By trying to talk about the past, about the present by using elements of the past, is to say that nothing was of any use, that we return back to the same traces, to the same bloody traces, that the previous history left. And this is, in it’s meaning, a tragedy.”

--Theo Angelopoulos, from the film

 

FESTIVALS

Napoli Int'l Film Festival, Italy (2005)

Bodrum Film Festival, Turkey (2004)

Bergen Int'l Film Festival, Norway(2004)

Singapoore Int'l Film Festival (2004)

New York Turkish Film Festival (2004)

Independent Panorama, Greece (2004)

Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Greece (2004)

Int'l 1001 Documentary Film Festival, İstanbul (2004)

London Turkish Film Festival (2003)

Ankara Int'l Film Festival (2003)

Istanbul Int'l Film Festival (2003)

REVIEW

“THEO'S GAZE is both a preface to Angelopoulos' latest film and a nice introduction to his filmography. Through eleven short stories we meet the extras of THE WEEPING MEADOW, his closest companions and co-workers and of course himself, a filmmaker who has always crossed boundaries, whether it comes to geography, culture, history, mythology or poetry. Through outtakes from many of his films we get to know Theo both as a person and as a filmmaker.”

--Bergen Film Festival catalogue