''Chairman George'' is a 73-minute 2005 Canadian documentary film about the

Greek Canadian Greek Canadians () are Canadian citizens who have full or partial Greek heritage or people who emigrated from Greece and reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census, there were 262,140 Canadians who claimed Greek ancestry. Demographics Pro ...

musician /

troubadour A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tr ...

and statistician George Sapounidis. The documentary is directed by Daniel Cross and

Mila Aung-Thwin Mila Aung-Thwin is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, producer and activist whose films deal with social justice. He had a multi-disciplinary education in arts, journalism, and photography. In 1998, he met his fellow director/producer Daniel Cros ...

and produced by

EyeSteelFilm EyeSteelFilm is a Montreal-based Canadian cinema production company co-founded by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin, dedicated to socially engaged cinema, bringing social and political change through cinematic expression. Today the studio is run by ...

in association with CTV,

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's " Storyville" series and TV2.

Synopsis

In Canada, George is a statistician. But in China, George is Elvis ... ''Chairman George'' is a documentary feature about a Greek-Canadian troubadour who refuses to live anything but an extraordinary life. ln Ottawa, Ontario, George is a statistician who lives with his mother. But every few months, he takes an extended leave from his job and heads to China where he metamorphoses into an international man of culture. Armed only with his

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...

, guitar and cellular phone, he becomes a star in China (with both the critics and the ladies) singing Greek songs in Chinese. He concludes that since he is "the only Greek in the world who can sing in Chinese," it is his duty to perform at the closing ceremonies of the Athens

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, as the torch is passed from Athens to Beijing organizer of the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Festivals and awards

''Chairman George'' won awards at the AFI/Silverdocs and at Guangzhou Documentary Festival.

Music of George Sapounidis

Accompanying the documentary in 2005, George Sapounidis released his CD George: From Athens to BeijingCD Baby page on the album ''George: From Athens to Beijing''
Sapounidis is a Chinese folk-singing sensation who has appeared at international festivals across China; on stage at Beijing's Forbidden City Concert Hall, and for China Central Television. In addition to Greek, he sings in more than five other languages including Mandarin.

References

External links

*
''Chairman George'' official websiteChairman George MySpace siteEyeSteelFilm official website
{{EyeSteelFilm 2005 films EyeSteelFilm films Canadian documentary films Documentary films about singers 2005 documentary films Documentary films about China Films directed by Daniel Cross 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films English-language documentary films