“Love in the Making: A Journey Through 6000 Centuries of Greek Jewelry”
Less than a year ago, the Greek jewelry professionals, represented by their federation, entrusted us with a unique challenge — creating a short film to enhance the global visibility of Greek jewelry. The task at hand was daunting: How do you encapsulate 6000 centuries of jewelry history in just 10 minutes? The decision-making process involved choosing the right medium — should it be a fictional narrative, a documentary, or an editorial approach?
In the early stages of our discussions, a central theme emerged — the idea that jewelry is a form of communication, each piece carrying with it a multitude of emotions and memories.. For our ancestors, jewelry possessed magical properties, symbolizing social status, economic power, and serving as tokens of emotions, religious beliefs, and superstitions. The jeweler, in essence, acts as both an alchemist and a storyteller.
Our vision was ambitious — to delve into the genealogy, mythology, and semiotics of jewelry, while also exploring the craftsmanship, tradition, and timelessness of the materials. We aimed for inclusivity and modernity, even embracing a touch of the cheesy, and to our delight, the federation representatives were equally open to this approach.
The challenge was to create a film that was impressive yet human, intellectually stimulating yet emotionally engaging, extroverted yet intimate. Our goal was to unveil jewelry for what it truly is — a small world that fits in the palm of our hand, a work of art in miniature.
The concept that emerged as the foundation for our film was “Love in the Making.” Woven around this theme was a short love story between a foreign visitor to Athens and a young jeweler. A lost earring, featuring an ancient Minoan design depicting two insects kissing, discovered in the archaeological site of the ancient Temple of Hephaestus (the god of metallurgy), becomes the catalyst for bringing them together. This lost earring serves as the starting point for a captivating journey through the world of Greek jewelry.
The tone of the film embraces adventure and fantasy film undertones, designed not only to educate but also to entertain. By employing humor and fantasy, we aim to bring a smile to the audience’s face as they discover the intricacies of an ancient craft that continues to thrive in the modern world.
Cast
Katerina Hill
Pantelis Kontogiannis
Directed by Eirini Steirou
Director of Photography Anthony Katrakazis
Editor Stavros Symeonidis
Production Designer Athena Drakoularakou
Full crew
Camera Operator Damian Aronidis
Assistant Director Marios Hannas
Location sound recordists Manolis Makridakis, Aris Pavlidis
Assistant camera Kostas Nielsen
Hair & Make up Sotiria Malatesta
Assistants make-up Elena Karatsoki, Venia Samara
Production assistant Alexandros Gounaris
Color Correction Anthony Katrakazis
Sound mix Stavros Symeonidis
Title design Dimitrios Kanellopoulos, Marina Tzatzo
Voice over Katerina Hill
Voice over recording Yotis Paraskevaidis
Commissioned by POVAKO
Produced by PostScriptum
Project Coordinator
Vassilis Zaires
Production manager
Eva Gkoletsou
Executive Producers
Kostas Konstantinidis from PostScriptum
Triantafyllos Papathanasiou from POVAKO
Scientific curation by Aikaterini Polymerou Kamilaki
Written by Mary Linda McNeely, Marios Hannas and Eirini Steirou
Greek Subtitles by Manos Gaitanos
The film was shot on location in
The National Archaeological Museum of Athens,
the Ancient Agora of Athens,
Neso Studio
Red Light Studio (jewelry close-ups)
Yampouras, Damaskos and Axarlian workshops
Featuring archival film and photography material from Manaki brothers.
Thankful to exceptional jewelers for their contribution
Vasilis Giampouras, Yiannis Syrmakesis, Giorgos Damaskos, Efi Damaskou, Marialena Leontaraki, Eirini Leontaraki, Antonis Kouzoupis, Zoe Xemantilotou, Sofia Gerochristou, Dolly Boukogianni, Stefano Montzelli, Polina Sapouna Ellis, Margarita Meitani, Dimitris Armaos,Sergios Axarlian, Antria Prasinou
Special thanks to the
Management and staff of the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Athens
Management and staff of the archaeological site of the Ancient Agora
Management and staff of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens and especially
Anna Vasiliki Κarapanagiotou, Dr Archaeologist, Director General of the National Archaeological Museum
Evangelos Vivliodetis, Dr Archaeologist
Konstantinos Nikolentzos, Dr Archaeologist
Maria Terzoudi, Archaeologist- Msc Cultural Management
Many thanks to the
Curatorial Department of the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum for the courtesy of exhibits from the museum’s permanent collection.
To Yorgos Arvanitis and Christos Tsoumagas for donating traditional jewels from their own collections.
To Looking Good optics and Rent Photo Video
The director wishes to thank especially Aggeliki Demertzi, Ioanna Papazoglou, Katerina Pimenidou, Byron Vafeiadis and Konstantina Geralea
