Greeks in the south-east of England will get a chance to commemorate a major national holiday at the screening of The Road to Sparta at the Satisfied Eye International Film Festival in Epsom, Surrey at the end of October.
The 60-minute documentary has been scheduled to screen on Sunday 28 October which is the 78th anniversary of the day that Greece entered the Second World War. It is officially known as Ochi Day (“No” Day) representing the moment that the Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas rejected Mussolini’s demand to march into Greece.
“Thank you so much to Chris Hastings and the organising committee for putting us on October 28,” said Spender. “It is a day with great significance for all Greeks, marking as it does the moment when they stood up to Mussolini and effectively entered the Second World War. It is a great way for us to remember the Greeks that over two thousand years have stood up to the menace of invasion, occupation and ruin.”
The Road to Sparta, the first film collaboration of directors Barney Spender and Roddy Gibson, tracks four runners, including “UltraMarathon Man” Dean Karnazes as they take on the ultimate footrace: the Spartathlon.
Taking place between Athens and Sparta, a distance of 246 kilometres, teacher Mark Woolley, project manager Rob Pinnington (both British) and Athens nurse Angela Terzi take on this gruelling challenge alongside Dean Karnazes. Finishing the race is no certainty for any of them.
The fifth runner in the story is Pheidippides, the man sent by the Athenians in 490 BC to ask the Spartans for military help against the Persians. It is that run that is celebrated and replicated every year with the Spartathlon.
His story is told through the verse of the acclaimed American poet AE Stallings and the vibrant specially-written score from Greek band Old House Playground.
Two years in the making and set against a current backdrop of fear and crisis in Greece, The Road to Sparta is a love letter to an extraordinary race and an equally remarkable band of human beings.
“It’s a real heart-pumping lesson in near-flawless documentary filmmaking,” said Satisfied Eye’s artistic director Chris Hastings.
“I could feel the pain and pleasure. It’s a truly excellent, uplifting, fascinating and genuinely dramatic story, expertly told, about the perseverance of the human spirit. I was desperate to see the success of the main players. When it finished I immediately wanted to book a trip to Greece and take up running! And I hate running! But now I’m thinking I want to enter the Spartathlon!
“That’s a great film and anybody wanting to know how to make a documentary should watch it!”
The Road to Sparta is selected in competition for Best Documentary and Best British Feature. It screens at 12 noon at Myers Studio, Epsom Playhouse and will feature a Q&A with the producer Barney Spender.
Tickets available via: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/satisfiedeyeinternationalfilmfestival/196142/#