The Boy with the Light-Blue Eyes
Blending horror and fantasy, this queer film follows a teenage boy in a small Greek village who hides his eyes behind protective glasses because light blue eyes are believed to be a curse.
Petros, a teenager living in a remote mountainous area, is forced by his grandmother and mother to cover his eyes. They claim that Petros is suffering from a threatening eye disease and photosensitivity, but in reality it is something else entirely. The purpose of the straps covering his eyes is to protect him from a threat posed by his surroundings, since the superstitious villagers regard light-blue eyes as the embodiment of evil. One day, however, all the lies become clear to Petros, which inevitably leads to a confrontation with the rest of the community.
In his debut feature, Thanasis Neofotistos addresses narrow-mindedness, fear of difference and ecstatic group phenomena. For the director who became aware of his homosexuality at a young age, the film is deeply personal. Neofotistos, who grew up in a conservative family on the Greek-Albanian border, has said that he escaped reality into the world of films and literature, through which he grew into a storyteller. Although the film itself is not about turning hardship into triumph, the director has been able to draw on his own experiences to shoot powerful and magical scenes.
Omar Fasolah (translated by Kati Ilomäki)
Screenings
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Cinema OrionSat 19.9. at 18.00–19.40100 min, 1/4Guests present: Thanasis Neofotistos, Grigoris Skarakis
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Maxim 1Sun 20.9. at 16.00–17.40100 min, 2/4Guests present: Thanasis Neofotistos, Grigoris Skarakis
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Cinema OrionWed 23.9. at 16.50–18.30100 min, 3/4Guests present: Thanasis Neofotistos, Grigoris Skarakis
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Kinopalatsi 1Fri 25.9. at 14.10–15.50100 min, 4/4