In the 1970s Mykonos emerged as a symbol of hope, freedom and self-expression, thus becoming for many a true “Paradise on Earth.” The sweeping transformations of the iconic Greek island take centre stage in Steve Krikris’ new project, titled Super Paradise and produced by Greece’s Dafni Kalafati and Paul Typaldos with Titus Kreyenberg of Germany’s una film. The project was presented in the Docs in Progress event at this year’s Thessaloniki Agora.
A San Francisco Art Institute alumnus, Krikris kicked off his career in New York and later moved back to Greece, where he began working as a filmmaker before launching the Patmos International Film Festival. His debut feature, The Waiter, is on Netflix, available in 23 European countries. He has also won four Irises, Greece’s national film awards.
“Super Paradise is a project about the transformation of an island,” said Krikris. “It’s a very dear project to me because in the late 1970s I had the privilege – and I was very young, back then – to visit Mykonos and really experience that amazing, natural beauty and the freedom of being naked on the beach, with no money. Now it’s one of the most expensive in the world. Also, it was very inclusive, now it’s very exclusive. Everything happens behind closed doors, by invitation only. It was a hidden gem, back then. Now it’s a major destination for mass tourism.”
“It was the place where you could meet the most interesting and fun people. Many years later, I’m reviving this lifetime experience and telling the stories and the feelings of these people who transformed the island. I believe it’s the right time for this project. [I aim] to tell the story of a simpler life and simpler times. Mykonos was a paradise, and for some still is,” he continued.
On the current status of the project, producer Kalafati disclosed: “Now we’re in the editing room, trying to put all this colourful mosaic of stories together with re-enactments, Super 8 [reels], extensive archive footage [ready] to be seen for the first time, music and so on… We’re at a stage in which we’ve completed almost the 70% of the film’s financing. In Greece, we’ve partnered up with our national broadcaster ERT, the Greek Film Centre and EKOME. We’ve got a German co-producer [on board], and we’re quite happy about it.”
Speaking about the team’s presence at the gathering, Typaldos said: “We’re in Thessaloniki to continue the journey we started a few years ago. We’ve participated at the Pitching Forum here [in 2022] and we’re so excited to be back. From here, we’ll be going to Sofia to take part in the Docu Rough Cut Boutique. In May, we’ll be at Cannes Docs. Finally, in August we’ll be in Sarajevo.”
“As Steve [Krikris] said before, this is the story of the transformation of an island. It happened to be Mykonos but it could have been anywhere, any place that’s been affected by mass tourism. It’s a universal story that we feel will connect with international audiences and we believe there’s potential for wide distribution across [different] platforms and demographics. Today, we’re here to meet sales agents, distributors, potential co-producers and [festival] programmers so that we can share our vision of this exciting film.”
