The Aegean or the Anus of Death

A mysterious man appears at locations in Athens where racist attacks have taken place. Why is he giving life jacket instructions? Who is he trying to save from the anus of death?

Since 2000 more than 23.000 people from Africa, the Middle East and beyond –war refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants– have lost their lives while trying to cross the borders to Europe. Hundreds of them have drowned in the Aegean Sea. More and more often, migrants are pushed back to Turkey by Greek coast and border guards; their inflatable boats are rammed, knifed, and often capsized.

Jazra Khaleed's poetry assault is set at five locations in Athens where racist attacks have been reported during the last three years. A film-poem jabbing at the current spread of ordinary fascism in Greece.

CREDITS
Direction: Eleni Gioti
Script: Eleni Gioti & Jazra Khaleed
Photography: Alexis Iosifidis
Sound / Sound Design: Iasonas Theofanou
Voice: Iasonas Panagiotopoulos
Man with life jacket: Laberouk
Voice recording: Kostas Haikalis
Color grading: Claudio Bolivar

Poem by Jazra Khaleed
Published in Greek by Teflon (Vol. 8, Winter-Spring 2013)
Translated in English by Shon Arieh-Lerer
Translated in French by Jacques Spohr
Translated in German by Kai Pohl
Available subtitles: Greek, English, French, German

  • Eleni Gioti
    Director
  • Eleni
    Writer
    Gioti
  • Jazra
    Writer
    Khaleed
  • Eleni
    Producer
    Gioti
  • Laberouk
    Key Cast
  • Iasonas Panagiotopoulos
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 21 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 10, 2014
  • Country of Origin:
    Greece
  • Country of Filming:
    Greece
  • Language:
    Modern Greek (1453-)
  • Shooting Format:
    HD 1080p
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Zebra Poetry Film Festival
    Berlin, Germany
    October 17, 2014
    European Premiere
    Best Film for Tolerance
  • Paris Festival for Different & Experimental Cinemas
    Paris, France
    October 25, 2014
    French Premiere
    International Competition Award
  • Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival
    Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
    November 30, 2014
    Balkans Premiere
    Special Mention by the Jury
  • Doctorclip Roma Poetry Film Festival
    Rome, Italy
    December 11, 2015
    Italian Premiere
    Doctorclip Award
  • Athens International Film Festival
    Athens, Greece
    September 20, 2014
    World Premiere
  • Cyclop Videopoetry Festival
    Kiev, Ukraine
    October 23, 2014
    Ukrainian Premiere
  • Oslo Poetry Film - Festival For Digital And Visual Art
    Oslo, Sweden
    January 31, 2015
    Scandinavian Premiere
  • Copenhagen Short Film Festival
    Copenhagen, Denmark
    February 22, 2015
    Danish Premiere
  • Traverse Vidéo
    Toulouse, France
    March 20, 2015
  • Flying Broom International Women's Film Festival
    Ankara, Turkey
    May 12, 2015
    Turkish Premiere
  • Cooler Lumpur Festival
    Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    June 13, 2015
    Asian Premiere
  • Dotdotdot Film Festival
    Vienna, Austria
    August 6, 2015
    Austrian Premiere
  • Visible Verse Festival
    Vancouver, Canada
    October 17, 2015
    North American Premiere
  • Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival
    Kassel, Germany
    November 14, 2015
  • Exground FilmFest
    Wiesbaden, Germany
    November 18, 2015
  • Art Visuals & Poetry Film Competition
    Vienna, Austria
    December 5, 2015
  • Hellas Filmbox Berlin
    Berlin, Germany
    January 23, 2016
  • Dortmund | Cologne International Women's Film Festival
    Cologne, Germany
    April 19, 2016
Director Biography - Eleni Gioti

Eleni Gioti was born in 1982 in Thessaloniki, Greece. She studied Media Theory in Athens and Cinema in Paris, France.
In 2012 she co-writed the feature documentary film Like Stone Lions at the Gateway into Night directed by Swiss filmmaker Olivier Zuchuat.
In 2014 she directed the short film The Aegean or the Anus of Death, which has been awarded with the Best Film for Tolerance Prize at the Zebra Poetry Film Festival (Berlin, 2014), the International Competition Award at the Paris Festival for Different and Experimental Cinemas (Paris, 2014), the Doctorclip Award at Doctorclip Roma Poetry Film Festival (Rome, 2015) and a Special Jury Mention at the Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival (Sarajevo, 2014).
She works as a researcher, writer and director for experimental and documentary films.

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