Yorgos Psailas - A portrait of the British Cemetery caretaker

A short documentary, based on the theory of Observational Cinema. It is the portrait of the caretaker of the British Cemetery in the island of Corfu, Greece, Mr. Yorgos Psailas. The documentary deals with his daily life in the cemetery. Mr. Psailas also recounts the most important moments of his life as well as his thoughts about life and death.
Direction / Photography / Sound / Editing: Mixing: Andreas Vouliakis Translation from Italian: Athanasia Liatsi Ionian University Faculty of Music and Audiovisual Arts – Department of Audiovisual Arts Supervisor: Maria Chalkou
Related Works
An experimental workshop was realized at the Corfu Archaeological Museum, on May 2019. The workshop was designed within the frames of interdisciplinary learning and participatory art, based on Maker culture and STEAM education, willing to highlight the importance of arts and technology in learning. The participants, children and adolescents 11 to 15 years old, were initially guided to an important archaic find at the Archaeological museum of Corfu, a pediment depicting ancient Greek goddess Artemis-Gorgo, and got acquainted with the myth surrounding it. In two groups the participants made
1. electronic circuits which produced sounds via photo resistor and conductive paint and
2. conductive drawings inspired by the archaic pediment imagery.
The two groups combined their work to create interactive installations were circuits and sensors were used to “read” the tonal variations and line elements of the pencil drawings. Documentation indicates the childrens’ immersion into the experience.
The audiovisual work "Paralysis by Analysis" presents a combined experience that unfolds in two chapters of two and three dimensions respectively.
This short film is the portrait of a man, emphasizing a specific aspect of himself, that is, his engagement with musical improvisation.
The compositional method is based on the incorporation of sound material of cultural background into an electroacoustic piece. By drawing a linear narration, my aim was to demonstrate a unity, an imaginary community, which characterizes the Romani culture, despite the hybridic, complicated and diverse traditions deriving from the various European and Asian countries its people live in. A central question behind the making of this piece is what kind of role can a civilization have today, when the concept of space is eliminated by time- a key element in the dynamics of capitalism. What are the cultural consequences of the so-called annihilation of time and space, as materialized and tangible dimensions of social life? Are historical tradition and the search for roots promoted and reorganized as simulacra, imitations or/and museum culture, thourgh the demonstration of a partly deceptive past?
Paraphrase, reference of the title to the depression caused by the shocking images of drowned children in the Mediterranean, the watery grave of persecuted refuges.
A professional electrician works in the villa of the rich professional actor. The electrician is also an amateur theater actor. The love of the amateur actor seems to be greater than the famous actor. The famous actor tries to make money but the amateur tries to do what he loves.
A freediver transforms into water while he dives beneath the surface, connects with nature and becomes a part of the underwater environment by hunting like a marine predator.
The mesmerizing underwater world is accessible to those who overcome fear and dare to push their human limits a little further in order to explore it. The passion with the serene world beneath the surface becomes a lifestyle for those who surrender themselves to negative buoyancy.
When the observer is standing in front of a work of art and is trying to comprehend it, they are consciously entering a recognition process. This is achieved because the brain recognizes the relationship between some shapes or colors in the piece of art and, automatically, recalls them from memory. This procedure creates the necessary conditions for the creation of new neural synapses. Using these facts?, the artist suggests an audiovisual performance that includes an interference of audio to the visual aspect? in real time.












