Madam Rêve
We spoke with artist Nikolas Kasinos about his latest documentary entitled “Rêve,” and how Cyprus might be an underrated destination for film.
June 2023 - No. 10
Nikolas Kasinos is a director, producer, and multidisciplinary artist who was born Cyprus and is currently based in Berlin. He recently premiered his film, Rêve, which means “dream” in French, at the In Short Europe: Awakening short film festival in Leeds, England. This documentary is centered on Kasinos’ grandmother Chrystalla – who was a polarizing figure in his life – and shows the effects that time has on both personal and societal progression.
In this film, Kasinos grants his grandmother a platform to tell her life story the way she wanted to, giving her a level of control she didn’t always have. As she reveals details about the memories she lives with everyday, the audience is reminded of the nostalgic passage of time and its material and emotional manifestations. Kasinos embarked on this creative journey to try to understand his grandmother better, but may have left with more questions than answers.
Rêve won 2nd Prize for best Cypriot Short Film at the 12th International Short Film Festival of Cyprus in 2022. This film is entirely in Cypriot with English subtitles.
Artist Nikolas Kasinos.
Can you please describe your grandmother Chrystalla in three words?
It’s hard to describe Lalla in three words, but I would say she was cheeky, intricate, and volatile. “Lalla” is one of my grandmother’s nicknames. We also sometimes called her “Lalloui” and “Lallouita.” Very Cypriot.
What qualities do you admire most about your grandmother? Do you see any elements of her character within yourself?
I really admired her humor. She was always very silly and sharp, but also had a dark, ridiculous quality. She did tend to flip between these extremes. Even in more volatile moments, she did somehow remain charming and endearing.
I can definitely see some qualities that were transferred down from my grandmother to my mother, and then to me. We all have the same humor, and there’s a twinge of melancholy within each of us.
A clip from Rêve where Chrystalla talks about the perfumery, of the same name, that she owned and operated.
Time and its transient qualities are a consistent theme in your work. How does this theme present itself in Rêve?
My work in and outside of film has a lot to do with identity and how that changes over time. This idea of progression is evident in Rêve: the audience witnesses my grandmother sharing her memories and perceptions of herself while being completely surrounded by those memories in her home.
Her house is somewhat familiar to the homes of other elderly, especially those who are widowed, who live in Cyprus – there is clutter everywhere. The more someone experiences life, the more physical items they accumulate. This is certainly true of my grandmother. Not only do viewers experience the passage of time through her stories, they witness physical manifestations of it, where, after spending so much time alone at home surrounded by those memories, reality can become distorted.
How did your grandmother react to this documentary experience?
My grandma loved it! She was excited by every element of this process and carried the documentary with her charm. She really wanted to tell her story and just talk to us. I didn’t have to do any convincing to get her on board.
Did anything unexpected happen during production?
Growing up, Lalla always had this Grey Gardens quality and was absolutely dressed up everywhere she went. She was always meticulous and put together, and had such a fun and joyful demeanor. When I showed up to set, she was in a casual outfit and had a much softer temperament than I was used to. I had to shift my expectations of the film to match this energy. I thought she would bring more drama, but instead she showed a more lonely and reflective side.
Can you describe the editing process for this film?
The editing process took me a few years. I was at first slightly disappointed with the footage as it didn’t meet my initial expectations. Once I realized that my grandmother was telling the story she wanted to tell, I removed myself and my expectations from the film, and started to appreciate her narrative. I had to cut many stories that she mentioned during filming, such as the war and occupation in Cyprus, to keep it focused on her as well.
Viewers might notice that we move from room to room in the course of one sentence. I had to edit the film in this way to accurately thread together my grandmother’s stories. In one moment during filming, she would start singing, stop to talk about a traumatic event, then go back to singing. This volatility was part of her charm. It came in waves on set, and I got to capture that. The contrast between those moments is precious.
Your grandmother passed away before you finished editing this documentary. Does this affect your perception or emotion toward this film?
Part of me wished my grandmother saw the entire film, but another part of me felt that it wasn’t important for her to see it. There’s a bit of beauty in the fact that she shared her story the way she wanted to be remembered, without having to witness it and reflect upon it. Watching some of the heavier moments of the film might have also triggered difficult emotions for her.
What was your experience filming in Cyprus?
It’s a bit funny because I escaped Cyprus at the first chance I found, and over a decade later, I’m so fascinated by the Cypriot reality. There’s so much talent here as well as movement in the broader creative scene, so filming here is electrifying. Shooting here is also a bit of a guerilla experience because there are so many classic, raw, and sunkissed locations and landscapes to choose from.
The film scene might be similar to Greece in that there is some, but very little, funding for local productions. International films are most likely favored by the government or active organizations. It’s also not easy to receive creative grants or funding in Cyprus. The film industry was stagnant when I left, but it’s starting to pick up now. While I’m not fully ingrained in this scene, I hear updates from friends who confirm that change is happening.
Are you working on any other productions?
I work in the film industry everyday as a producer in Berlin. I also collaborate with my partner to direct music videos and create multi-disciplinary art installations. In addition to this, I’ve been working on a script for a few years, and I finally started to make some progress. The story is a contemporary depiction of Cypriot society, with a focus on the interpersonal relationships between families. Since I live in Berlin, I experience Cyprus from afar through anecdotes that my family and friends share with me about their lives. This gives me an abstract peek into their world, and I’m enthralled by the lifestyle. I want to share these perspectives in my work, and ultimately connect more with my roots.
There’s a lot of positive movement in the arts in Cyprus, and I plan to shoot this new film there. It’s going to be so authentically Cypriot.
Keep up with Nikolas Kasinos on his Instagram @nikolaskasinos.
You can discover his other creative work here.
