Essence

In 1967, Austrian pianist and music scholar Paul Badura-Skoda wrote an essay addressed to his students. He then passed that on to his friend, my piano teacher, Eva Anastasiadou-Stange.
Shortly before she died in 1997, Eva gave me a copy of the essay.
This is my personal, lived version of that text.
Essence is a visual essay on creativity and inspiration, a meditation on the challenges facing each and every one of us - a tribute to our shared humanity and need for hope, faith and love.

Filmed at the National Conservatoire of Greece in Athens, at Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg, and at El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires, with additional footage shot in Havana, Montevideo, London, New York, Paris and Rome, Essence moves across space and time in search of the forces that drive us. Essence is an experimental short movie with autobiographical elements. It challenges conventional genre boundaries, pays homage to the 'music video' genre and features a narration by British actor Sam Booth, as well as three original recordings of works by Bach, Schubert and Brahms, and a full soundtrack.

Essence stars legendary Greek actress Olga Damani, as well as a group of first-time actors from three continents. The five women of Essence capture the narrator's lived experience across different life cycles.