the invincible summer
Documentary film about the rising tensions of far right extremism in Athens and the work of refugee-centric NGO Free Movement Skateboarding.
CLIENT
The Skateroom
ROLE
Director, Writer
DATE
January 2021
“With the financial crisis and refugee crisis, you couldn’t create a more fertile ground for the rise of the far-right”
Project Description
Alongside filmmaker and long-term creative collaborator, Evan Maragkoudakis, I co-wrote and -directed a 20-minute documentary film for The Skateroom
I lived in Athens for three years and have worked for Free Movement Skateboarding on and off over the past five years as a consultant, so this documentary project was a deeply impassioned project which exposed the tense realities at play in Greece’s capital.
Through a series of talking-head interviews, combined with 8mm and 16mm film, Evan and I structured a narrative which laid bare the conflicts in Athens today, and the crucial integration work that Free Movement do through their skateboarding programs which tackles the life hurdles their young, at-risk participants encounter daily.
The film was created for THE SKATEROOM, to be released in tandem with an artistic collaboration between TSR, Cindy Sherman, Fondation Beyeler and Hauser & Wirth. It was acquired by streaming platform WaterBear, as well as Onassis STEGI, for global distribution in 2021.
