Experiencing Interruptions?

729

Mike is the only survivor of a deadly virus that spread across the world in 2018. The virus was spreading rapidly and brought along with death many hostilities between people. His lonely way of life and social distancing helped him stay alive. After three long years
in abundance and long periods of self doubt, he finds true joy and his passion in a game.

  • Vassilis Mitsiopoulos
    Director
  • Vassilis Mitsiopoulos
    Writer
  • Frankie Notas
    Key Cast
    "Mike"
  • Thanasis Dzingovic
    Narration
  • Ashish Ranjan
    Colorist
  • Giannis Gountanos
    Sound Mastering
  • Anna Germanou
    Graphic design
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Sci-fi, dystopian, comedy
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 20, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    200 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Greece
  • Country of Filming:
    Greece
  • Language:
    Modern Greek (1453-)
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Blackmagic 4k, Raw
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Vassilis Mitsiopoulos

Based in Greece, Vassilis graduated in 2006 from London College of Communication with a Masters in graphic design. He has been working under the name Replica for the last 10 years as an art director and graphic designer across all creative disciplines. In 2017 he decided to pursue his passion for filmaking and since then he is directing mainly music videos and short films for various projects.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

During this past year the main -if not the only- topic on the daily agenda was the coronavirus pandemic. Covid 19 has defined our era and changed everyone’s lives. It also had a huge impact on our way of living and of course it affected myself. I got really attached to learning about everything related to the current COVID related events and I spent countless hours listening to biologists, doctors and other scientists in the news.

All these had a profound psychological effect on me. I believe the same thing happened to many other people. When I made this realisation, I decided to pull back for a while and reconsider. We all experienced loneliness -and still do, during the ongoing quarantines. Many found their way out on bad habits like over consumption of food, or use of alcohol and drugs. Others choose to discover new paths. I decided to search for those who find inspiration and true passion even on small things despite the difficulties they might face in life.

I am trying to explore the story through the eyes of a character that has experienced total destruction, the most dystopian scenario in his life and managed to overcome it all.

The main character is an average person without any special qualities or powers.
He finds himself being the only survivor after the spread of a deadly virus because of his lonesome character. He is a solitary man that never enjoyed social interaction. Yet, after three years of living alone on earth, doubts start to torment him and loses his strength to move on. However, everything changes the day he finds a small toy. The discovery of a frisbee disc, no matter how childish or meaningless -for many people might seem, was the trigger for this man to go out and play once again. Remembering how it felt to be alive and happy.

The inspiration of using the frisbee wasn’t an arbitrary choice. While I was strolling around my city I came across a man playing alone with a frisbee, practicing what I later learned is called “freestyle frisbee”. I found out that he started playing during the pandemic lockdown as a way of going out the house and overcoming his own depression. My initial intention was to create a portrait documentary about this man, but after a few interview sessions, I decided to move into a fictional narrative story in order to have more freedom to express my own thoughts and feelings. The character that I end up creating is loosely based on this actual man and I decided to use a mockumentary style for the film to give the illusion of a realistic setting. This decision is based on my initiation to express my own feelings about these strange times we are living in a more universal language and hopefully to inspire others to find their own voice and motivation.