The distance between the staircase and the sky
2022 7’ stereo
The film’s imagery is created through a process combining walking, performance, and photogrammetry, made on-foot and by-hand. The spoken poem that runs through the film derived from an AR exchange between an animator and a poet: a postcard sent from a tropical holiday, as imagined during a walk to work. ‘The distance between the staircase and the sky’ is a way to evoke a sense of place from walking, so that a short film may become a space of meaningful connections for those who attend it.
Synopsis:
Ascending a staircase in the centre of Athens makes room for reflection on everyday life, as both otherworldly and mundane. On a planet lit by neon and on a beach powered by cicadas, we twirl into a void measured by walking - one step at a time.
Credits:
A film by Katerina Athanasopoulou
Poem: Sotiris Koutsoukos
Voice: Emma Swinn
Score: Savvas Metaxas
One-minute trailer
Awards:
Honourable mention, Midwest Video Poetry Fest, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. October 2023.
Screenings:
Window Display / Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin. January-February 2023.
Tampere Film Festival, Finland. March 2023.
Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, USA. June 2023.
Video Miden, Kalamata, Greece. July 2023.
Bolton Film Festival, Bolton, UK. September 2023.
Animasyros Festival, Syros, Greece. September 2023.
‘The distance between the staircase and the sky’ (2022) and ‘Polykatoikia:Peripatos’ (2022) were screened at the 3D3 Legacy Exhibition Digital Flow/s: interdisciplinary digital arts and humanities practice-based research, at Sparks, Bristol. September 2023.
Zebra Poetry Film Festival, Berlin. October 2023.
Aotearoa Poetry Film Festival, Wellington, New Zealand. November 2023.
London Short Film Festival, London. January 2024.
Internationl Poetry Film Festival, Los Angeles, April 2024.
[upcoming] FIG Festival, Sofia, Bulgaria, part of Girls in Film special screening, June 2024.
The film was created as part of my doctoral research, and you can find more information here