A unique snapshot of Mytilini in the early 1970s: the camera of Manos Efstratiadis, in constant curious motion, follows the streets of the town, enters shops and houses, records public ceremonies and private gatherings. In just thirteen minutes, the film manages to achieve something impressive: without dialogue, exclusively through its editing and subtle satire, the petty-bourgeois life of the provincial town, the kitschy aesthetics of the Junta, the supposed modernization through tourism, the onslaught of concrete in the commercial alleyways, and the predominance of the Colonels’ “Homeland-Religion-Family” doctrine are thrown into high relief. Thanks to his oblique gaze, In Mytiline is watched with a wry smile, bringing to mind echoes of Dionysis Savvopoulos’s song “Paranga” [The Shack]: “Ladies, philanthropic priests, contractors, psalms, and serenades…”. In 1973 the whole of Greece was an “unending shack,” and Manos Efstratiadis’s documentary confirms this.
Manos Efstratiadis
Manos Efstratiadis was born in Mytilene in December 1954. He trained in cinema from 1972, working as an assistant to Pantelis Voulgaris (1972-1973) and Lakis Papastathis (1973-1976). Meanwhile, from 1974 to 1976, he studied at the Stavrakos School. He made his first short film In Mytilene in 1973. His second short film Tsamikos – A Heroic Revolutionwas awarded at the Thessaloniki Film Festival in 1976. From 1975 to 1993, he worked systematically as a professional director, creating a total of 96 audiovisual works – mainly documentaries – that were broadcast on public television in the series Historical Archive, Paraskinio, ERT in Northern Greece, Theatre Personalities, ET1 Throughout Greece, Ecology and Development, as well as standalone productions. He also occasionally worked on directing musical productions by the Orchestra of Colours at the Athens Concert Hall, writing screenplays for television, and teaching in seminars. From 1984 to 2004, he served successively in executive positions in public organisations: Programme Adviser for ERT2 & ERT1 (1984-1985, 1988), Programme Director of ET2 (1993), Vice President (1993-1998) and subsequently President & Managing Director of the Greek Film Centre – GFC (1998-2001), General Director of Television at ERT (2001-2002), Culture Adviser at the Ministry of the Aegean (2003-2004). He served as General Secretary (1982-1984) of the Greek Directors Guild, as well as a member of the Boards of Directors of the Greek Film Archive (2010-2012) and KETHEA (Centre for Addiction Treatment) (1998-2002). In 2011, he initiated the creation and subsequently oversaw the implementation (until 2022, when he retired) of the educational website Bodossaki Lectures On Demand – Blod.gr of the Bodossaki Foundation.