Private Project

ZAKROS

Zakros is a documentary about an archeological excavation of a prehistorical site near a small village of east Crete; a documentary full of myths and even more people. It is a documentary of mixed genre, both observational and poetic, that was shot during a period of 35 years. The narration focuses on the archaeological excavation of the Minoan palace of Zakros and Nikolaos Platon, the great archaeologist who brought it to light; a public figure, scholar and researcher who had a great passion for music, philosophy and psychology. Through the antiquities we are going to follow the men and women of the Minoan age, whose works reached us as archaeological findings, as works of art, as traces of life, as gestures. The timeline uninterruptedly unfolds across the ensuing centuries, all the way to the modern residents of the region who quietly and modestly follow the same lifecycles and routes, while facing the same land, the same mountains and open sea, as Minoans did centuries ago. At Zakros one lies in wait of the events, in what seems to have no history – feelings, love, conscience, instinct. Here the events are not captured in order to retrace the trajectory of their evolution, but in order to discern the different stages of history on which the events performed their distinct roles.

  • Filippos Koutsaftis
    Director
    Mourning Rock, Hail Arcadia
  • Filippos Koutsaftis
    Writer
    Mourning Rock, Hail Arcadia
  • Konstantinos Moriatis
    Producer
    Fantasia, Interruption, Plato's Academy
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Observational, Film Essay, Poetic
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 39 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 25, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Greece
  • Country of Filming:
    Greece
  • Language:
    Modern Greek (1453-)
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, 16mm, 35mm, HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • International Days of Films on Art (JIFA)
    Paris
    France
    January 25, 2023
    French Premiere
    Official Selection
  • 25th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival
    Thessaloniki
    Greece
    March 6, 2023
    Greek Premiere
    International Competition
Director - Filippos Koutsaftis