ATHENS – Greece has nominated Eva Nathena’s historical drama ‘Fonisa’ – ‘Murderess’ for the international feature film category of the Oscars after a turbulent process.
Writing in Variety, the ‘bible’ of the American entertainment industry, Christopher Vourlias reported that, “after a scandal-plagued month that called the legitimacy of the Greek Oscar selection process into question and threatened to torpedo the country’s chances at the 97th Academy Awards, Greece has selected Eva Nathena’s historical drama ‘Murderess’ for the international feature film race. Out of the 26 eligible films, Murderess is the only one left standing, after the remaining competitors withdrew from the selection process in protest.”
Deputy Minister of Culture Iasonas Fotilas announced the selection of Murderess, saying the decision was reached by a “quorum” of industry professionals on the evening of Sept. 10, and that the six-person committee determined that the film “meets the requirements for a dynamic presence” in the upcoming Oscar race Variety the article reported, but Vourlias noted that “the Greek filmmaking community was quick to voice its outrage, with commenters describing the selection process as a ‘disgrace,’ a ‘theater of the absurd’ and an ‘absolute debacle,’ and one social media user wryly posting: ‘Murderess competed against itself and came out victorious.’”
The ordeal “began when the four members of Greece’s Oscar selection committee were abruptly canned just two days after their appointment. Government officials insisted the four industry professionals – film critic Leda Galanou, actress Kora Karvounis, screenwriter Kallia Papadakis and director Vassilis Kekatos – had been notified of their selection ‘by mistake’ before their participation had been ‘finalized.’ A replacement committee was quickly announced, with Greek industry reps crying foul over the ministry’s ‘unacceptable and distressing’ handling of the situation. Several members of that replacement committee subsequently stepped down… the Greek culture ministry this week appointed two new members, but they too stepped down.
Variety provided background on the movie: “Based on the celebrated novel by Alexandros Papadiamantis, Murderess takes place on a remote Greek island at the turn of the 20th century, where a young woman struggles to survive according to the dictates of her patriarchal society.
The film premiered at the 64th Thessaloniki Intl. Film Festival, where it won six awards… The film received largely positive reviews in Greece, where Christos Mitsis of arts and culture website Athinorama praised its “evocative atmosphere, composed direction and an exuberant performance by Karyofyllia Karabeti,” while Thodoris Koutsogiannopoulos of culture weekly Lifo singled out the “dramaturgical consistency and visual dedication” of the “tight-knit character thriller,” describing it as “tight in duration and airtight in style.”
In August, the Greek academy wrote an “open letter asking for this year’s selection process to be scrapped and for Greece not to submit a film for the international feature film race at next year’s Academy Awards, which will take place on March 3. This process needs to change.” The letter was signed by Hellenic Film Academy president Lefteris Charitos.
