Tasos Giapoutzis

Thesis

The Interplay of Place and Nostalgia in Contemporary Migratory European Cinema

Nostalgia is a quintessential part of a migratory experience. Displaced people, living often in the margins of the host country, feeling as an ‘outsider’ or subordinate, are deterred from developing deep human relationships, and express their emotional state. Due to the increase of relocated populations in Europe, the representation of migrant identities has assumed a prominent position in recent cinematic traditions. This project aims to investigate the complex relationship between place and nostalgia in defining cinematic identities in contemporary European cinema. As part of this practice-based project, a docu-fiction film will be made, aiming to bring attention to nostalgia as a consequence of displacement, underpin its pluralistic nature and impact on identity, and allow migrants to express their otherwise internalised feeling of nostalgia. It also aims to challenge traditional creative strategies that have been used to explore the topic by proposing innovative filmmaking techniques that emulate the authentic human experience.

Biography

Biography

Born and raised in Greece, Tasos Giapoutzis lives and works in UK as freelance filmmaker and lecturer in film theory and practice in Higher Education. In 2017, he was awarded full scholarship from the University of York to carry out his doctoral studies in Film by Creative Practice. Tasos is an alumnus of Go Short Talent Campus in Nijmegen, Talent Development Campus in Cork as well as Reykjavik Talent Lab. In the past he worked on Distribution and Sales at the Feature Films Department of Red Bull Media House in Salzburg. Films he directed have participated at more than 100 film festivals worldwide. The feature documentary Quiet Life (2019) premiered nationally at the 21st Thessaloniki Documentary Festival and internationally at the 18th DokuFest in Kosovo. Due to the film's creative approach, resonating with ethnographic methodologies, Quiet Life got invited for publication at the peer-reviewed online Journal of Anthropological Films (JAF).

Research

Research Interests

Current research interests include Place, Displacement, Nostalgia, Film Aesthetics

External Activity

External Activity

Website | tasosgiapoutzis.com

Memberships

European Network for Cinema and Media Studies (NECS)
The Image Research Network
British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS)
Directors UK


2014

University of Bedfordshire ‘Outstanding Contribution Award’
Award given by the University of Bedfordshire for my overall contribution to the School of Media and Performance during my undergraduate studies

University of Bedfordshire ‘Jubilee Scholarship’
Full scholarship to complete my Master studies at the School of Media and Performance, as a result of my performance on my undergraduate studies


2015

Talent Development Campus
Talent campus organised by the Cork Film Festival, Cork, Ireland

Go Short Campus
Talent campus organised by the Go Short International Short Film Festival, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Summer Media Studio (SMS)
12-day workshop organised by the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Neringa, Lithuania


2016

Pre-selector, BFI Future Film Festival


2017

Reykjavik Talent Lab, 2017
Talent campus organised by the Reykjavik International Film Festival, Reykjavik, Iceland


2018-2020
Film Programmer & Festival Coordinator, International Documentary Festival ‘Beyond
Borders’ in Castellorizo, Greece

Publications

Publications

Peer-reviewed Publications

Giapoutzis, T. & Kleftakis, M., (2019). Quiet Life. Journal of Anthropological Films, 3(02), e2792.
https://doi.org/10.15845/jaf.v3i02.2792


Conference Papers

Giapoutzis, T., (2017, November). Presentation: Quiet Life. Paper presented at the A Sense of Place, Luton, United Kingdom.

Giapoutzis, T., (2017, December). Quiet Life: Personal Nostalgia in the Autobiographical Film. Paper presented at the Memory, Melancholy and Nostalgia, Gdansk, Poland.

Giapoutzis, T., (2018, June). The Interplay of Landscape and Nostalgia in Migratory Europe: Analysing the Documentary Quiet Life. Paper presented at the Nostalgia in Contemporary Culture, Odense, Denmark.

Giapoutzis, T., (2019, September). Film and Nostalgia: Techniques of Representation in Contemporary European Cinema. Paper presented at The Image, Manchester, United Kingdom.


Filmography

It’s a Good Life, Short documentary, 9 mins, UK, 2013
Director | Editor
Awards: New Director Odysseus Award | London Greek Film Festival
Screenings: 3rd Aesthetica Short Film Festival + 12 international film festivals across the world

Metamorphosis, Short experimental, 6 mins, UK/Greece, 2014
Writer | Director | Editor
Nomination: Best Art-video/ Experimental film | Portobello Film Festival
Screenings: London Greek Film Festival + 5 international film festivals across the world

Killing My Girl, Short fiction, 12 mins, UK, 2014
Writer | Director | Co-producer
Awards: Director's Choice Award | Black Maria Film Festival, Best Cinematography Award | Taratsa Film Festival, Best Cinematography Award | London Greek Film Festival, Nomination for Best Student Film | Learning on Screen Awards
Screenings: 12th London Short Film Festival, 10th ÉCU - The European Independent Film Festival + 55 international film festivals across the world
Released on Amazon Prime

When Dahlias Bend Down, Short documentary, 15 mins, Greece/UK, 2016
Director | Producer
Screenings: 18th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, 12th Fest - New Directors/New Films Festival, 10th British Shorts Film Festival + 5 international film festivals across the world

The Sea, Short fiction, 6 mins, Lithuania, 2017
Writer | Dir
Screenings: 13th Reykjavik International Film Festival, Iceland, 20th Mecal Pro Barcelona International Short and Animation Film Festival + 9 international film festivals across the world

Quiet Life, Feature documentary 80 mins, Greece/UK, 2019
Director | Producer | Cinematographer
Screenings: 21st Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, 18th DokuFest + 4 international film festivals
Published at the peer-reviewed online Journal of Anthropological Films (JAF)
Reviewed by Cineuropa