28/04/2006

A huge task is facing Yorgos Papalios, the man who is preparing to take over as the new head of the Greek Film Centre (GFC), the main arm of the country’s state film funding structure.

Papalios, 60, a former merchant ship owner with a reputation for supporting Greek cinema, made a name for himself as a producer during the difficult mid-1970s, when the country was reeling from the results of military junta rule and filmmakers had very few or no means of producing their work. He was the man behind Theo Angelopoulos’s highly acclaimed 1974 film The Travelling Players (O Thiasos) and a number of other films that left their mark on Greek cinema.

He was, and still is, considered a “neutral figure” within the highly politically charged world of Greek cinema. Yet he had stepped out of the limelight and had not worked in the film industry for the last 15 years, so his appointment earlier this month came as a surprise, especially as it also arrives at a critical time for Greek cinema. Papalios will take over from Thanasis Valtinos, who quit, citing “impossible working conditions” at the GFC.

Valtinos was less than two years in the job and ever since he started had been at odds with Greek filmmakers who have been complaining about “stagnation on the part of the GFC” with regards to processing applications and awarding funds. Valtinos, for his part, was blaming the lack of sufficient government finances for the Centre. Ironically, a new Culture Minister, Yorgos Voulgarakis, has promised “complete and unconditional support” for the new head of the GFC, something that Papalios said was “a condition” for him in agreeing to taking over at the helm of the Centre.