by Nancy Snipper
Encardia, the Dancing Soul, (directed by Angelos Kovotsos) brings the ‘griko’ language back to life as a
group of Greek musicians travel to Southern Italy to connect with other
musicians, researchers and folk who once spoke this poetic dialect with Italian
words. Griko is rooted in ancient Greek.
The Antikythera Mechanism
(directed by Mike Beckham) - another interesting documentary reveals to the world a computer designed to
calculate astronomical positions 2000 years ago. By chance, fishermen had
pulled it up from a wreck over 100 years ago, but it wasn’t until 1978 that its
true significance was understood, thanks to the initial efforts of Jacques-Yves
Cousteau who visited the wreck at that time. Kythera, the birth place of
Aphrodite, and now populated by an inordinate number of Australians is a tiny
little island that I once visited while living in Crete .
It is enchanting and seems to hold a thousand secrets – one of which is
revealed in this film (Antikythera is right near Kythera).
Engaging for all
filmmakers was the film Cineastes (directed by Menelaos Karamaghiolis). This documentary gives the great filmmaker and champion for the undiscovered ones – Pierre
Rissient his due. This man was responsible for not only making great films but
for bringing to light the works of a young Quentin Tartantino, Abas Kiarastami,
and many icons, including for Clint Eastwood. A young obsessive film student
holds the camera up to these major veteran players, revealing their invaluable
input, wisdom about filmmaking and the risks they all took to follow their love
of film.
As a musician and
lover of Crete , the film that grabbed my
attention was Wandering Soul (directed by Angeliki Aristomenopaulo). Yiannis
Angelakas, a Cretan rock musician who follows no drum but his own, works with
other maverick musicians to create a new kind of sound and voice for all freedom
fighters. He rejects notion of marketing, fame and selling out in favour of his
gypsy-like tendencies to create spontaneously and perform where the spirit
takes him. His lyrics and thoughts seem to conjure up the great philosophers of
old. He is a true Cretan. One of the best scenes takes place in an old ruin
where the musicians and some friends gather and huddle inside. It’s big enough
to make a fire in. Until the wee hours of the night, they all sing old Cretan
songs together and drink raki. Is this not how life should be?
The sounds of
rembetiko, and the polyphonic haunting music of 
One real-life hero - a
legend within this country’s historical context was Eleftherios Venizelos (1864-1936).
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