ADDED Sep - Dec 2010:   Europe Sep - Dec 2010

Budapest, Dec 2010

Where I visit this glorious city for 3 short days ... in sub-zero degrees ... consequentially I see little of the glory ... but I get plenty of the story, from and of Facebook fiend Andras Nagy ... I share his being, his presence, in the present of 12 hours, from Burger King to spooky back streets, ending at my hotel at 2 am ... and my friend (and boss!) Kriszta Doczy feeds me traditional Hungarian fish soup ... 3 short, too short, days ...

Thessaloniki Film Festival, Dec 2010

10 days of great activity!

Barcelona, Nov 2010

I went to Barcelona for a few days, to attend L'Alternativa, the Barcelona Independent Film Festival - unfortunately, most of the films didn't have English subtitles, so that purpose was defeated. But I still had the city (especially the old one), and the people, and my friend Peter ... a great city to hang out in, that's for sure!

Athens Belongs to Us

Animal, mineral, vegetable, and, oh, human - Athens belongs to all of them !

Athens Film Festival Opening Night 2010

Once again, before all good cinephiles knuckle down and watch some films, we have Opening Night shenanigans ... ladies and gentlemen, the 16th Athens International Film Festival welcomes you ...

Les vacances de Max Le Cain

Irishman Max Le Cain visits Athens for a week, and indeed today we were living a Jacques Tati film, starting from the deserted Hotel La Mirage on Omonoia Square, to the Acropolis, with the tourists, the guards blowing their whistles, and a strange butterfly hovering near us ... and it all ended of course with "The Greek Dream", sipping a beer with others at a cafe.

Sarajevo Film Festival

I had this festival pencilled in my diary several months back, once I realised Bruno Dumont would be attending with all his films. Unfortunately (several reasons) I didn't get to interview him, or even meet him. Nevertheless, there were plenty of other people to meet, and films to see of course, and I also discovered the city (mainly the Old Town), as I'd never been to it before. A smallish city, maybe 500k population, but with great textures, a mix of cultures, and people with vibrancy.

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

One of the largest festivals in Europe, and my first visit to it. Mainly a combination of Czech tourists (from different parts of the country), with other tourists, and film people (producers, directors, distributors, critics). A bizarre "outdoor summer carnival" mode to it, which didn't quite feel right to me, but, c'est la vie. It was still a chance to see some of the best European art cinema on offer at the moment, so I lapped it up. The work of Czech doco-essay filmmaker Karel Vachek was a highlight.

Anger in Athens

This year there have been a number of mass strikes and demonstrations in Athens, protesting against the government's austerity measures regarding the huge deficit in its economy. On May 5, riots ensued, with three people losing their lives. This is a photo portrait of the march that occurred on June 29, where over 10,000 people marched through the streets, towards the main Parliament building, just off Syntagma Square. It was a moving, stirring event, with only a few small skrimishes with police.

Volos - Misc.

Various pics taken in Volos, Greece, and surrounding areas. The time is now over, but for several months I had a great view of Mount Pelion from my rooftop, so I recorded the changing landscape with my camera. I then went up the mountain, and recorded some of the sights there. Then, a religious ceremony, involoving much hoopla, and, finally, the main Volos cemetery, the most unusual and beautiful cemetery I've ever seen. This is the conclusion of my time in Europe in 2009.

Athens - Béla Balázs Studio screenings

Another short little trip to Athens, five days, especially for the experimental films of the Béla Balázs Studio in Hungary. The program played in last year's Thessaloniki Film Festival, and the programmer Vassilis Bourikas brought it to Athens, this year. Opening night was quite something, the Hungarian Embassy and dignitaries commemorating Hungarian National Day and launching the screening - of avant-garde films! It was a conjuncture I've never seen in Australia - viva Europe!

Barcelona

Living in Greece, one of the great advantages is that you can fly off to whichever European city you want for next to no money. I hadn't planned to go to Barcelona this year, but my friend Natalie invited me along, and it was quite a nice experience - we found especially that the side streets housed some great little bars and tapas bars, with prices very cheap! Patrice joined us and we had a grand ole time - luckily Patrice knows a little Spanish, which helped with some of the places we visited.

Thessaloniki International Film Festival

This was great - the biggest festival I've attended. 10 days of cinema mayhem, and with friends Adrian and Michelle from Australia in attendance, as well as others from Athens that I know. The Experimental Forum section organised by Vassilis Bourikas was something special, some extraordinary avant-garde films from Yugoslavia from years back. The rest of the festival had some glitz, but in a Euro kind of fashion, rather than Hollywood style. Overall, a very enjoyable experience.

Greece - Misc.

A few different locations and events, Sep-Oct 2009. Firstly, a religious festival (mainly a church service) on the hills of Volos in early Sep. Then, the Athens International Film Festival, Sep 16 - 27 it was on, and I took just a few photos here and there. Next, back in Volos for the national elections (on Oct 4) - things are very low-key in Volos (i.e. away from raucous Athens), but PASOK had a nice little celebration gathering. Lastly, Oct 11, the day I have access to the apartment I've rented in Volos.

Prague

Prague - of course, what a great city. Even overrun with tourists, it is still a marvel to behold. The Czech people are equally as fascinating, very low-key (understandably, historically), but blossoming. I shared the 2-week experience with my Melbourne friends Anna and Nino, and met artists/intellectuals Marek, Ondrej, Emile, Shahab, Natalia, Louis, Vadim, David and others. The photos have no captions - I will let them speak for themselves. (some photos by Anna Kannava)

Berlin

Berlin - of course, another great city, especially the East side. The West, with its modern buildings and Sony Centres, etc. is not to my taste. There is a vibrancy in the Mitte and East that is hard to beat, if somewhat cliched (bohemian arts capital of the world ... ). I spent just 3 days here this time (3 days also last year), and met up with old friends Kathy and Marc. An amazing city, that I will hopefully live in next year, after my current stint in Greece - though I've heard unemployment is rife!

Volos - Purity

Volos is in central Greece, on the east coast, the 6th or so largest city in the land, population around 120,000. This is where I have spent a number of weeks this Summer. It is a truly beautiful city, the shining light, the colours, its promenade and sea, the outdoor lifestyle. People are relaxed here (certainly compared to Athens). It is the first European city I experienced last year, on my first trip (as an adult) overseas, so I will always equate it with a kind of purity.

Volos - City

The city in Volos always bustles - except between the hours of 2:30 pm and 5:30 pm, when it resembles a ghost town. Siesta time you see. Which I didn't photograph, as I love people too much! Summer - people wear certain colours, light ones obviously, with a certain funkiness. The Ermou shopping strip has a certain buzz, especially 8pmish with twilight hitting. And then Dimitriados St at night is truly gorgeous, with the stores' neon lights lit up.

Volos - Fytoko

Volos has its amazing ocean (a gulf actually), but also its mountains/hills. Just a 10-minute drive from the city is the suburb of Fytoko, which is on one of those hills, and where my Uncle and Aunt have a second, holiday home. There is more of a traditional, folky feel up here, as evidenced by the night shots of the carnival. Last year I witnessed a wedding (actually a pre-wedding) celebration where the bride's brothers blazed their rifles into the air.

Volos - Promenade

The promenade in Volos is one of its main features. An extraordinary section of the city, it is pretty impossible to photograph. So what I've done here is broken it down into various components, to give a sense of its size and feel. During Summer, thousands of people are on it, either sitting at a cafe/ouzeri, or strolling along. Concerts, demonstrations, shows happen here - though, most of the time, not much happens, just people chilling out and having a drink or three.

Volos - The Other Side

Essentially, Volos is a quiet, conservative city, with not much of an arts scene, and not much political unrest. The big anarchist house in the middle of town is just one of those sights that has to be seen to be believed - but it's almost like a token gesture in a way. The anarchist/punk band that played one night though - I was in raptures, they were truly amazing. The rest of the time it's just Summer Breeze, Summer Light and lots of shopping and siestas ... not exactly an angsty city.

Greece - Dogs and Kids

There are thousands of stray dogs throughout Greece - they don't round them up, they just let them stay on the street ... until they die. They are tame for the most part, or maybe just lifeless, hopeless. They break your heart. Kids on the other hand gladden the heart. Maybe I'm just projecting an innocence onto these kids, but ... Greek kids seem more alive than their Australian counterparts. They remind me of my childhood. And the girls, growing up, seem so pure, especially in Volos. Who knows ...

Xanthi

The city of Xanthi is in Northern Greece, and east - i.e. near Bulgaria on one side and Turkey on the other. There is a huge Turkish population in town, who speak Greek and aren't allowed to word their stores in Turkish. There seems little tension in the town however, but there seems to be a rough, angry youth, judging by the grafitti around. The "Old Town" section is quite wonderful, with distinctive old buildings, but many needing repair. Certainly an interesting place to visit.

Thessaloniki

I passed through Thessaloniki, Greece's 2nd largest city, quite quickly one afternoon, spending just several hours there. In a way, it's like a hybrid of Volos and Athens - somewhere in the middle. It has a reputation for being more cutting-edge and arty than Athens, and I sensed that, walking through (a bit like Melbourne and Sydney). The spots I found myself in (see the photos) were very colorful and vibrant, a mix of old and new, hip and traditional. There was a pleasant buzz to it all.

Athens - Piraeus

Piraeus is in fact a district away from Athens, a 30-minute drive away. It is the port area, where ships/ferries go off to the islands and elsewhere. So there's a touristy vibe, well, as the tourists come and go - because otherwise Piraeus itself is just a really bustling, clogged area, without many attractions. The streets are narrow and run-down, and the people clearly harried. One day I'll capture that with my photography, but for now, some photos mainly of the port/train station area.

Athens - Omonia

In the heart of the city, a turn this way can yield interesting results - a bit more than the average tourist bargained for! Clearly home to many refugees, many illegal ones at that, from Albania, Bulgaria, Russia, China, Africa ... the side-streets are ghettoes, no doubt, but even out in the open, in Omonia Square, next to the Metro station, I've seen people shooting up, fighting with each other, drunk, angry, etc. My camera here captures the square during the day, when things are quite mild.

Athens - Monastiraki

One of the tourist hubs, leading to Plaka's plethora of restaurants, and one can also approach the Acropolis from here if one chooses. For this photo shoot (well, over several days), I stuck primarily to the area immediately outside the Metro station, because it was buzzing with people and life. I found myself wandering through and sitting here for hours, there's plenty of movement and color always. It is especially beguiling at night, a hazy warmth enveloping everything.

Athens - Syntagma

In a way the most modern and pleasant part of the city, with Syntagma square being quite user-friendly, and with government buildings and parks on one side, and a modern shopping strip on the other. A good introduction to Athens I'd say, before seeing any of the rougher sides. Note that the areas I canvass here (Syntagma, Omonia, Monastiraki) are all within easy walking distance of each other, something I didn't realise until some days into my stay in Athens last year.

Athens - Misc.

Hopping on the Metro, there are some other stations in the central city part of Athens, such as Panepistimiou, and also Thissio, Larissis, etc. These are just some snapshots of the sights I found there, that interested me. Athens is a dense but still large city, with many different areas worth exploring. I'd love to photograph people's faces (because life is tough in Athens), but ... what can you do? I can't stick my camera right in their face - that's why I make films I guess.