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Searching for Andreas: Political Leadership in Times of Crisis

The documentary Searching for Andreas is an independent production about the pitfalls of charismatic leadership and the limits of democratic politics under the pressures of economic globalization. Charismatic leaders build personalistic parties and undermine political institutions, while their succession is fraught with difficulties. Searching for Andreas explores peoples’ reliance on such leaders. In particular, we examine the life and legacy of one of Europe’s most controversial leaders, Andreas G. Papandreou. Was he a socialist reformer or a populist manipulator?

  • Harris Mylonas
    Director
  • Theo Prodromidis
    Co-Director
  • Harris Mylonas
    Writer
  • Harris Mylonas
    Producer
  • Magnus Briem
    Producer
  • Nicolina Angelou
    Producer
  • Fanis Karagiorgos
    Director of Photography
  • Vanias Apergis
    Music
  • Andreas Loukakos
    Editor
  • Dimitris Tzikas
    Editor
  • Filenia Kartsonaki
    motion graphic designer
  • Theodora Frangakis
    Associate Producer
  • Nassos Tsialtas
    Sound Editor
  • Konstantinos Linoxilakis
    Sound Editor
  • Stefanos Douvitsas
    Sound Editor
  • Jim Karteris
    Colorist
  • Harris Mylonas
    Interviews
  • Stan Draenos
    Interviews
  • Melenia Giannousi
    Subtitles
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Αναζητώντας τον Ανδρέα: Πολιτική Ηγεσία σε Περίοδο Κρίσης
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 34 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    50,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Greece
  • Country of Filming:
    Greece
  • Language:
    English, Modern Greek (1453-)
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • 20th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
    Thessaloniki
    Greece
    March 7, 2018
    Greek Premiere
  • 6th International Documentary Festival of Ierapetra
    Crete
    Greece
    August 8, 2019
    "2nd Feature Greek Award" and "Best Original Music"
Distribution Information
  • Hellenic Heritage Documentary Association
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Harris Mylonas

Harris Mylonas is an Associate Professor of political science at the George Washington University, filmmaker, and managing director of the Hellenic Heritage Documentary Association, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to document, preserve, and teach others about the historical heritage of Hellenism. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Yale University. His work on nation-building took him all over the Balkans and led to the publication of his book The Politics of Nation-Building (Cambridge University Press, 2013). Since 2010, he has been working on diaspora politics, for which he has conducted fieldwork in Ethiopia, Israel, South Korea, China, Greece, and Serbia. Harris has commented on the European financial crisis for the Los Angeles Times, CNN.com, Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post and writes the annual report on Greece for the European Journal of Political Research. Most recently, he authored a chapter for an edited volume published by Berghahn Books entitled, "The Political Consequences of the Crisis in Greece: Charismatic Leadership and its Discontents," which builds on his research for Searching for Andreas.

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Director Statement

The story of Andreas Papandreou is an important tale that begs to be told. His legacy is still felt in Greece 22 years after his death. We have worked with a small but dedicated team to bring this documentary to your screens. We believe it is important to share this larger-than-life story to an international audience.

We initially set out to make a biographical documentary. However, with the financial crisis in Europe not abating and the political crisis in Greece deepening, a merely biographical documentary about Andreas was difficult to justify. The film is not just about Andreas' life and legacy, but rather a cautionary tale about overreliance on charismatic leaders and the challenges that democracies face in our times.

The tensions between austerity, dictated by economic globalization, and democratic politics are manifesting themselves across the world, from Italy to Argentina. Searching for Andreas explores the reasons behind the radical transformation of Greece’s party system during the crisis, while shedding light to the interminable succession crises that ensued within the two dominant parties, New Democracy and the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, following the departure of the two charismatic leaders, Constantine Karamanlis and Andreas Papandreou. A political representation crisis turned into a legitimation crisis, which is partly responsible for the rise of populist and anti-establishment movements. Greek developments are no doubt connected to broader trajectories in the European and global commons.

We hope that the film will find its place in libraries across the world and will be screened in classrooms and auditoria for students to engage with the nature of charismatic leadership and the role of institutions in contemporary politics.