Ifigenia in Aulide

  • 90'
  • Italy
  • 2018

Italian director Tonino De Bernardi, a regular guest at IFFR, filmed on the Greek island Evia (or Euboea) during the refugee crisis. Many immigrants arrived on the Greek islands, as well as in Italy. De Bernardi also filmed the border town Ventimiglia, where refugees play football and queue up for aid in a parking lot.

But the focus of this documentary is on the Greek coastal resort Amarynthos, which looks out on Boeotia, where the ancient port of Aulis once lay. This was the setting for Euripides' Iphigenia in Aulis, the tragedy in which King Agamemnon demonstrates his willingness to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. De Bernardi uses locals as the 'dramatis personae' – protagonists such as Iphigenia, Clytemnestra, Agamemnon and Achilles, and has them read excerpts from the play. Fragments which, like a Greek chorus, comment on the status of refugees in Europe. A banner reads 'Solidarity', and a life jacket forms a leitmotif throughout the film.

Director
Tonino De Bernardi
Premiere
World premiere
Country of production
Italy
Year
2018
Festival Edition
IFFR 2018
Length
90'
Medium
DCP
International title
Iphigenia in Aulis
Languages
Greek, Italian, English
Producer
Tonino De Bernardi / Lontane Province Film
Production Company
Lontane Province Film
Sales
Lontane Province Film
Screenplay
Tonino De Bernardi
Cinematography
Tonino De Bernardi
Editor
Maicol Casale
Music
John Downland, Marika Papagika
Cast
Alcmene Kirìkou, Christos Karavas, Mariella Navale, Sandra Bosco, Elene Athanasopoulos, Demos Koletsos, Despina
Director
Tonino De Bernardi
Premiere
World premiere
Country of production
Italy
Year
2018
Festival Edition
IFFR 2018
Length
90'
Medium
DCP
International title
Iphigenia in Aulis
Languages
Greek, Italian, English
Producer
Tonino De Bernardi / Lontane Province Film
Production Company
Lontane Province Film
Sales
Lontane Province Film
Screenplay
Tonino De Bernardi
Cinematography
Tonino De Bernardi
Editor
Maicol Casale
Music
John Downland, Marika Papagika
Cast
Alcmene Kirìkou, Christos Karavas, Mariella Navale, Sandra Bosco, Elene Athanasopoulos, Demos Koletsos, Despina