Hard Goodbyes: My Father

  • a film by Penny Panayotopoulou
  • feature film
  • 108 min
  • 2002
TrailerOnline stream
Info

  • Genre

    • Drama

  • Countries of Production

    • Germany / Greece

  • Language

    • Greek

  • World premiere

    • 6th August 2002 – Locarno FF

  • a production by

    • TWENTY TWENTY VISION, CL PRODUCTIONS

  • in co-production with

    • Hellenic Broadcasting Corp., ERT S.A.,Max Productions, Alpha TV, Anima Films, Mythos Productions Ltd, Greek Film Centre

  • with the support of

    • Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH, Eurimages, Greek Film Center, Helenic Broadcasting Corp, ERT S.A., Bundesverband Kommunale Filmarbeit

  • World Sales

    • Greek Film Center

  • Distribution

    • Bundesverband kommunale Filmarbeit
Synopsis

10-year-old Elias, a boy living in Athens, makes a pact with his father to watch on television man’s first landing on the moon. The two regale each other with stories of Jules Verne and flights of the imagination. They are adventurers and explorers. But chocolate bars left by a father gone on too many business trips are counted, while the countdown to the moonlanding has already begun. The year is 1969. A spaceship takes off, and man soon takes leave of planet earth. And so does Elias’ father. It is the imagination and their shared love of storytelling that allow Elias to transcend the unimaginable. This film is a tribute to the director’s parents.

Cast

  • Elias

    • Giorgos Karayanni

  • Mother

    • Ioanna Tsirigouli

  • Father

    • Stelios Mainas Christos

  • Grandmother

    • Despo Diamantidou

  • Uncle Theodosius / Godfather

    • Christos Stergioglou

  • Ari

    • Christos Bougiotas
Crew

  • Written by

    • Penny Panayotopoulou

  • Directed by

    • Penny Panayotopoulou

  • Producers

    • Thanassis Karathanos, Costas Lambropoulos, Penny Panayotopoulou

  • Director of photography

    • Dimitris Katsaitis

  • Editor

    • Petar Markovic, Angelos Angelopoulos

  • Music

    • Stavros Sofianopoulos

  • Sound Design

    • Kai Tebbel,

  • Mixing Engineer

    • Klaus Hornemann
Awards
  • Leopard for Best Actor, Giorgos Karayannis / IFF Locarno
  • Ecumenical Jury Prize, Special Mention / IFF Locarno
  • FIPRESCI Prize („For its acute symbiosis of daily routine and metaphorical sense of life“ / IFF Thessaloniki
  • Best Actor Award: Christos Stergioglou (uncle) / IFF Thessaloniki
  • Greek Film Critics‘ Prize: Penny Panayotopoulou / IFF Thessaloniki
  • Best Debut Film Director Award Penny Panayotopoulou / Greek State Cinema Awards
  • Second Prize for Fiction Film Producer: Costas Lambropoulos / Greek State Cinema Awards
  • Children’s Jury Award for Best Feature Film / Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People
  • RTBF Prize / Mons IFF of Love
  • Coup de Coeur du Jury / Mons IFF of Love
  • Best Screenplay Prize / IFF of Salé
  • Interfaith Award (for „artistic merit, contribution to understanding the human condition, and recognition of ethical, social and spiritual values“) / St. Louis IFF

Our Productions