Syllas Tzoumerkas
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Syllas Tzoumerkas () is a Greek
film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
,
screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
, and
actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
.


Life and early work

Syllas Tzoumerkas was born in
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
. He studied theatre and directing for Film and Television at the L.Stavrakos Film School and the
University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...
. In 2000, he directed the short film ''The Devouring Eyes'' (''Ta Matia Pou Trone'') that was selected by the Cinéfondation of the
2001 Cannes Film Festival The 54th Cannes Film Festival took place from 9 to 20 May 2001. Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullmann was named Jury President for the main competition. Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti won the ''Palme d'Or'' for the drama film '' The Son's ...
and won the Jury Prize at the 2001
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (, KVIFF) is an annual film festival held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Eur ...
.


Film

Tzoumerkas' first feature film ''Homeland'' (''
Hora Proelefsis ''Hora Proelefsis'' (, (''Homeland'') is a 2010 Greek drama film directed by Syllas Tzoumerkas. It narrates the bitter consequences of an adoption on the members of a Greek family, in the frame of the political events of the country's post-junta ...
'') had its world première at the International Critics' Week of the
67th Venice International Film Festival The 67th annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 1 to 11 September 2010, at Venice Lido in Italy. American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino was the jury president for the main competition. The Golden Lion was awarded to ''Somewhere ...
, in 2010. ''Homeland'' participated in several international film festivals and won 5 Awards of the Hellenic Film Academy (Best first film director, supporting role actress for Ioanna Tsirigouli, original music, editing and make-up). The script for his second feature film '' A Blast'' won the Eurimages Co-production Award at the Cinelink co-production market of the 2012
Sarajevo film festival The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe, and is one of the largest film festivals in Europe. It was founded in Sarajevo in 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War, and brings internatio ...
. '' A Blast, a Greek-German-Dutch-Italian co-production had its world premiere at the International Competition of the
Locarno Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...
2014. The film was consequently presented in many international film festivals, most notably Sarajevo international film festival (regional premiere),
BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 fe ...
(Dare),
São Paulo International Film Festival The São Paulo International Film Festival (), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South Ame ...
(Competition New Directors),
Rotterdam International Film Festival International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, ...
2015 (Limelight), among others. It was theatrically released in several countries (Greece, Germany, Italy, Holland, Poland, Denmark, Australia, etc.) and was picked up for VOD and DVD release in the United States by Indiepix Films. In the international press, the critical reception of the film varied from great and mostly favourable reviews in
Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...
, Indiewire,
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
,
Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
to mixed in
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
and negative in We Got this Covered. Syllas Tzoumerkas participated with the essay short film ''A Manifesto for the Un-Communal'', in the omnibus documentary feature ''Out-of-Place'', a German-Israeli production, recipient of the Shimon-Peres Prize 2018. ''A Manifesto for the Un-Communal'' had its world premiere as an individual short film at the Locarno International Film Festival 2017 (Out of Competition). In 2019, Syllas Tzoumerkas presented his third feature at the
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
(Panorama). '' The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea'', a co-production of Greece, Germany, Holland and Sweden, a crime thriller with horror and surrealist undertones, had its premiere at the Zoo Palast. It was nominated for the Panorama Award and the Teddy Award and New Europe Film Sales announced its release in a series of territories within 2019 and its participation in several consequent international film festivals (Beaune International Thriller Festival, Istanbul IFF, BiFan International Fantastic Film Festival, etc.). Critical response was mostly favourable, with
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...
's Peter Bradshaw giving the film 3/5 stars while calling it "a Lynchian psychodrama in the sun" and Savina Petkova of Electric Ghost Magazine giving the film 5/5 stars, writing that "while the film is saturated with Biblical quotes, icons of saints, and church choir songs, its form attends equally to the lowly human, animal, and nature."
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
,
Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...
and
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
praised the film the direction, the bold characters, the imagery and the unflinching performances by Angeliki Papoulia and Youla Boudali, while criticising elements of the script's narrative construction. In 2020, '' The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea'' was nominated for 12
Hellenic Film Academy Awards Hellenic Film Academy Awards or Hellenic Iris Awards are a set of awards given annually by the Hellenic Film Academy for excellence of cinematic achievements in Greek cinema, replacing the abolished Greek State Film Awards. On May 3, 2010, the f ...
, winning two (Best Director for Syllas Tzoumerkas and Best Actress for Angeliki Papoulia). As an actor, Syllas Tzoumerkas participated in feature films '' Wasted Youth'' (2011) by Argyris Papadimitropoulos and Jan Vogel (
Rotterdam International Film Festival International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, ...
) and The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas (2013) by Elina Psykou (
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
). In 2016, Syllas Tzoumerkas co-signed the script and appeared as an actor in Argyris Papadimitropoulos' film '' Suntan'' (Rotterdam International Film Festival 2016, SXSW 2016, Best International Film - Edinburgh International Film Festival). Argyris Papadimitropoulos and Syllas Tzoumerkas won the Best Screenplay Award of the FEST International Film Festival and the 2017 Hellenic Film Academy Award for Best Screenplay. In 2019, he co-signed with Ahmad Ghossein and Abla Khoury, the script of Ahmad Ghossein's feature film ''All This Victory''. ''All This Victory,'' a co-production of Lebanon, France and Qatar, premiered in Venice Critics' Week 2019, where it was awarded with the Audience Award. In 2020, he appeared as an actor in Argyris Papadimitropoulos' feature film ''
Monday Monday is the day of the week that takes place between Sunday and Tuesday. According to the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 8601 standard, it is the first day of the week. Names The names of the day of the week were co ...
,'' in the part of Manos.


Filmography


Theatre

Syllas Tzoumerkas' theatre work includes stage performances ''Debate'' (Bios theatre, Diaspora theatre group, 2011) and ''High and Low - A Murderer in Tokyo'' (Onassis Cultural Centre, Diaspora theatre group), both co-directed with Youla Boudali. In 2015, he participated at the Onassis Cultural Centre's production of the omnibus performance ''X-Apartments - Athens'' (concept by
Matthias Lilienthal Matthias Lilienthal (born 21 December 1959) is a German dramaturge and theatre director. Life and work Born in Berlin, Lilienthal grew up as the second of three children in Berlin-Neukölln. After graduating from the Berlin Evangelisches Gym ...
, curated by Katia Arfara and Anna Mülter), with the segment ''Α Farewell to the Traitor from a Lower-Middle-Class House in Larissa Station, Athens (based on a letter by
Flavius Philostratus Philostratus or Lucius Flavius Philostratus (; ; 170s – 240s AD), called "the Athenian", was a Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period. His father was a minor sophist of the same name. He flourished during the reign of Septimius Severus ( ...
, 3rd Century A.D.)'' *2010 ''Cinemascope'' by the Blitz, (actor), Bios theatre, Athens and Epidaurus Festival (Athens) *2008 ''War is War'' by the Erasers (actor), No Central (Athens) *2012 ''Debate'' (co-written and co-directed by Youla Boudali, actor), Bios Theatre (Athens) *2015 ''X-Apartments, Athens - Α Farewell to the Traitor from a Lower-Middle-Class House in Larissa Station, Athens (based on a letter by Flavius Philostratus, 3rd Century A.D.)'', Onassis Cultural Centre (Athens)' *2016 ''High and Low, A Murderer in Tokyo'' (co-written and co-directed by Youla Boudali), Onassis Cultural Center (Athens) *2019 ''Tobacco Fields V1'' (co-written and co-directed by Youla Boudali), Prosorinos theatre (Athens)


Curator

Elina Psykou and Syllas Tzoumerkas co-curated with Afroditi Nikolaidou and Dimitris Papanikolaou ''Motherland, I See You - the 20th Century of Greek Cinema'', the restoration program and moving festival of the Hellenic Film Academy. The program had its premiere at the Athens Epidaurus Festival in September 2021.


References


External links


Syllas Tzoumerkas Official SiteHomemade films
*

at the Greek Film Centre's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Tzoumerkas, Syllas 1978 births Living people Greek film directors Greek male film actors Greek screenwriters Greek theatre directors Mass media people from Thessaloniki Greek male stage actors 21st-century Greek male actors Male actors from Thessaloniki