MDFF 2021 - My Rembetika Blues
A film about love, life and Greek music
Interview with Director M.Zournazi
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I became interested in Rembetika music whilst I was filming my first film, Dogs of Democracy in Greece. I was struck by a story I heard about Syrians and Greek dancing to Rembetika together. It made me think how music can connect people together in times of difficulty and hardship. At the time, the Greeks were living through an economic and humanitarian crisis and the Syrian refugees were fleeing the civil war in Syria.
Rembetika music or the Greek blues is a music born of exile and the streets. It also developed out of mass migration of people in the early twentieth century and into an urban style blues.
In this way, my film is a response to mass migration and displacement across history and countries, and how music is a means of expression and testimony to these experiences.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
For the love of music and for an insight into our common humanity.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Totally. The film is a personal journey exploring the universal themes of love, loss and belonging.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Yes, indeed. I started with a different story in mind & it evolved through the countries and wonderful interviewees/characters I spoke to. Including wonderful performers such Jim Sclavunos from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the master of Rembetika music, Stelios Vamvakaris.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been very positive. I've watched the film with non-Greeks, who really appreciated the introduction to a genre of music they'd never heard of before and with Greeks - who were dancing in the isles. For Greeks and Greeks in the diaspora, the music and story touches them deeply. I've also been struck by younger people who really identify with the journey of the film itself.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I've been pleased and heartened that people have responded to the film in such a positive way. The movie was made with no real budget but with a lot of heart and soul. I feel that I have succeeded in telling a very important story about our common humanity and that people can relate to it.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
To help people be interested in these stories of migration and the intergenerational experiences that we all face as we try to live and navigate the world in which we live in! I hope, too, they will watch the film!
Journalists and other film festival directors, as well as buyers/broadcasters would be very helpful to get the film out into the world. Also, I'm keen for local screenings and Q& As. I love watching the film with audiences.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Journalists and other film festival directors, as well as buyers/broadcasters would be very helpful to get the film out into the world. Also, I'm keen for local screenings and Q& As. I love watching the film with audiences.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would like the film to reach as many people as possible - to share the legacies of our histories and to provide a means to enable different kinds of generosity and social healing.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
One of the key lines in the film is that 'Music has no borders' - that's the starting point to think about our common humanity.
Would you like to add anything else?
Thank you for your time - I hope people can share the film and the love for the Rembetika music!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I have a couple of projects in the pipeline - my next immediate project is a documentary film - relating to Greece and animals, and to the experience we are living through right now in these COVID times. I also have a fiction film in mind with my collaborator and friend the Australian author Christos Tsiolkas.
Interview: July 2021
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
My Rembetika Blues
Length:
1:23:00
Writer/Director
M. ZOURNAZI is an Australian film maker, author and philosopher. Her multi-awarding winning documentary Dogs of Democracy (2017) was screened worldwide. Her most recent documentary film, My Rembetika Blues is a story about love, life and music. She is the author of several books including Hope - New Philosophies for Change, Inventing Peace with the German filmmaker Wim Wenders and most recently Justice and Love with the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.. She is Associate Professor in the School of Sciences at the University of New South Wales, Australia.
Producer
TOM ZUBRYCKI is an Australian filmmaker whose award-winning documentaries have for the past 40 years mapped this nation’s changing social and political landscape.
Looking for:
Journalists, Buyers, Film Festival Directors
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/rembetikablues/
Hashtags used:
#rembetika, #rembetiko, #greek music, #greece, #documentary film, #the blues
More info:
https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/rembetika-blues/
Where can I watch it now?