Director

I think you can tell a lot about people if you observe them as they're observing.

I think I do things that are more common in theatre.

It's hard for me to consider something in cinema or theater as something realistic.

In any case, I would never make a film that was only one thing. Even if it's my warmest, most romantic film, I still want it to have the more cynical view of things, showing the irony and absurdity of things that we consider normal.

I just think it's interesting to start a dialogue.

I've played around with the notion of making a series on the premise of 'Alps' because it's one of the films no one saw.

Provocative... I used to be defensive about it, but in the end, I realised it's exactly right. It's what we're trying to do - to provoke thought and discussion and, you know, shake people up to start thinking about things in a different way. I'm interested in messing with what they think is the norm.

I am not interested in representing reality. Actually, I am interested in representing reality, but that doesn't mean a naturalistic approach, which I think is kind of impossible.

I am calm but on the outside, mostly. When I'm on a film set, the stress is so humongous that I'm dying inside - I'm extremely stressed, but I do try, and... well, I don't try. I think it's my natural reaction to not externalize things.

I want all the mistakes to be mine, and I want to take responsibility for everything even if I fail. Whatever the project is, I need to have the final say.

Yeah, it shouldn't be an issue. Stories about women, about men, about homosexuals, about heterosexuals. We shouldn't point at what it is.

I learned about making films by going into advertising, making commercials.

I wouldn't be making films if I just wanted to express some specific ideas; then I would be writing essays or something.

There are things to love about filmmaking in Greece. People are generous: If you get along well with others, the people around you will give more than they might otherwise be willing to give, more than they're supposed to.

I'm very open to making films anywhere in the world.

For me, filmmaking is not about making statements but about exposing human behavior so people are eager enough to start thinking on their own and make their own assumptions.

It was always hard to make films in Greece, but making them with friends made it possible.

Having rules means that sometimes people break them, and that means punishment.

Most times, women are seen through the male gaze, so they are often shown as housewives, girlfriends, or objects of desire.

Most acting is very melodramatic. It's not what you see in people.