10
•
LMGI COMPASS
|
Fall 2021
IN THE
NEWS
Greek Isles
Lure LMGI
Members
with a
Mission
This past July, LMGI Board
members JJ Levine, 1st VP,
Alison A. Taylor, 2nd VP, and
I represented the LMGI at
a location workshop given
during the 10th Aegean Film
Festival on Spetses Island in
Greece.
We arrived in Athens, and
after a lunch overlooking
the Acropolis, took a Blue
Star Ferries hydrofoil from
Piraeus to the island. We
settled comfortably into the
boutique hotel that would
be our base for the next two
days of workshops for the
fi lm festival events.
Organized by the Hellenic
Film Commission of the
Greek Film Centre and the
10th Aegean Film Festival,
our seminar explored
the creative role of the
location professional in the
fi lmmaking process.
by Dan Connolly/LMGI
The workshops attracted
Greek and foreign location
managers, production
managers and producers
who hoped to expand their
contacts and develop their
skills for the demanding
international productions
and co-productions fi lmed in
Greece.
On the second night, we
were joined at the dais by
Ravi Dube/LMGI, who was
fi lming in Greece and spoke
to attendees 'real time'
about his experiences in
the country. LMGI member
Julie Hannum, also fi lming in
Greece, managed to join in the
festivities as well.
The Hellenic Film Commission
also organized an amazing
FamTour for us after the
conference. We journeyed via
helicopter over the Gulf of
Corinth with our host, Venia
Vergou, heading north to see
the Zagori Villages nestled in
the Epirus Mountains. It was
thrilling to see the ancient
hilltop monasteries that
denote the Meteora region, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site,
from the best vantage point.
We also got a bird's-eye view
of the stunning Vikos Gorge.
The gorge, the deepest in the
world relative to its width, was
recently used as a principal
location for the Netflix thriller
Beckett.
An evening flight via Athens
found us experiencing yet
more Greek hospitality at
Kapari Natural Resort in the
volcanic island Caldera known
as Santorini in the Cyclades
L-R: Babis Tsoutsas, Ifi geneia Vlahogianni, Stavroula Geronymaki, Pandelis
Mitropoulos, JJ Levine/LMGI, Dan Connolly/LMGI, Alison A. Taylor/LMGI, Venia
Vergou, Vangelis Pidiakis and Yorgos Linardakis
L to R: LMGI members Alison A. Taylor, Dan Connolly, JJ Levine.
Photos courtesy of Hellenic Film Commission of the Greek Film Centre.
