COLLABORATION PROJECT
ECHO OF NARCISSUS: SHORT FILM
The Story
The ancient Greek myth manifests as a derelict sacred place where the cursed by gods nymph Echo lives. Narcissus has never seen her/himself before according to Tiresias prophecy and Echo is able only to repeat what s/he hears. The game of seduction starts, Echo initially resists but they both are craving each other. Echo surrenders to Narcissus but when that happens Narcissus sees her/himself for the very first time through Echo. Her/his reflection makes her/him eventually surrender to an im-possible self-love. Yellow and white, Echo’s tears go back to earth and Narcissus prefers to transform into the flower, the new Narcissus. Echo’s body shrivels and loses its moisture from the tears s/he is offering to earth so Narcissus can be reborn. Echo is turning into stone and s/he keeps holding the flower. The one s/he couldn’t hold before.
Echo of Narcissus
Echo of Narcissus is a short experimental art house film in an attempt to revisit an influential myth and give a new, different interpretation, avoiding gender and old fashioned stereotypes. Narcissism is beyond gender or sexual identity, race or ethnicity.
It’s about the lack of mirroring, the trauma and the personality’s development. The film is a contemporary approach of the myth in an abstract, ritualistic context and emphasises the more profound and complex issue of transformation and rebirth for both of the characters. Narcissus and Echo seek their own catharsis and resolution but their way of doing it is different.
Combining Jungian theories, cinematic techniques, performance art, dance, visuals and music, we do not intend to idolise, judge or take the side of the victim or the perpetrator. We are aiming to explore through art how narcissistic behaviour works, hopefully give voice to every Echo and accept our healthy narcissism, the one, which is important for self-protection and not for self-destruction.
Director’s note
Looking at the famous painting of Salvador Dali “The metamorphosis of Narcissus” I started asking myself how the artist approached one of the most influential myths in the history of humanity. Observing the colours and lighting, I noticed that the part after the metamorphosis looks brighter, more vivid whereas the part before, has darker shades. In addition to that and going back to the myth, I was wondering why Narcissus is transformed into a flower and not into something else. A flower means the beginning of spring, re-birth and in current times, Narcissus is offered up on important occasions as a symbol of good fortune and new beginnings. That’s when I started thinking differently about the myth and its influence in our daily lives. What if the meaning is slightly different than the one we have know for thousands of years? What if the roles of victim and perpetrator are not as obvious and concrete as we think they are? Why does Narcissus initially seduces Echo and in the end why does he deny her love and prefer to fall for a reflection? Is Echo obsessed with her own sound reflection? Why does she keep being in pain for Narcissus, someone who hurt her feelings without mercy?
I am not in a position to give answers, but through this film I am trying to understand more about a phenomenon, which is an “epidemic” and it affects the lives of many people like me, like you.
If you are interested in sharing your own experience or to learn more about the project do not hesitate to drop us an email at echoofnarcissusfilm@gmail.com.
More info about the project and a way to support us can be found by clicking here:
Who we are:
NARCISSUS: Akti M. Konstantinou
Born and raised in the Greek north countryside. Trained in Ballet with her teacher during her childhood and teenage years. In 2011 she moved to Athens and started her BA in psychology at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, whilst continuing her training in Ballet and Contemporary dance. In 2013 she auditioned for National School of Dance where she was offered a foundation year for the contemporary dance training. One year later she auditioned for Trinity Laban conservatoire of Music and Dance for the BA Contemporary Dance, where she will be graduating from in July 2018. During these years in London she has been working with lots of film makers, directors, producers mainly for short films and Video-dance including projects with Met film, CSM, Ealing studios, Royal college of Art. Akti is also developing in choreography, on stage and in video dance as she presented her last independent project at Bonnie Bird theatre with dancers from Laban and collaborators from Trinity Laban music department and Goldsmiths. Another field that she is working on, is fashion and modelling as she has a contract with Bookings Models Agency with an active year of shootings and editorials including Noctis magazine and Chanel.
ECHO: Michael Wilk
Michael was born in Krakow and he is currently studying contemporary dance at Trinity and Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Ba (Hons). He is trained in techniques such as ballet, release, Cunningham, Graham and contact improvisation. Previously he studied at Krakow's Dance theatre and Art colour ballet studio in Poland. Michael has participated in plenty of workshops and he has performed fot he Royal College of Arts, Laban theatre and Krakow's night of Poetry. He is interested in acting, theatre, psychology, literature and visual arts.
Katerina Konstantopoulou, Director, Writer, Producer
Katerina was born in 1989 in Athens. After her BA in Film and TV studies, she moved to London and she is currently a postgraduate student at Goldsmiths University in the producing pathway. Since she started her studies, she has written, directed and produced two awarded short films, “Vault of Ideas”(a story about an eerie stranger who wants an idea for an irrational death) and “Pessoa-s”, a film dedicated to the loving memory of the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa. She has also worked as assistant director at the theatre, video editor and photographer. Her problem is that she is stupidly romantic and suffers from need for escapism, so that's why she wants to make films, which don't depict the reality. Through art, she likes to explore themes such as obsession, trauma, anxiety, absurdism and metamorphosis.
KATERINA KONSTANTOPOULOU
INTRODUCES ECHO OF NARCISSUS
PROMO VIDEO
ECHO OF NARCISSUS
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