PRODUCTION STATEMENT

I still do not know what Winona is. I grew so close to the girls in the film that I do not want to imagine their lives, I do not want to imagine them, as something one-dimensional. I know that when they were young, they were the girls in Adrian Lyne's ‘Foxes’ and that they would have fallen in love with the boys in Rob Reiner's ‘Stand by Me’.

I know that when they become a a little older, their favorite movies will be the autobiographical nightmares of Victor Erice and Terence Davies. I know they cried a lot in June 2012 when Nora Ephron died, and that they texted each other all night long with Meg Ryan’s lines from ‘When Harry Met Sally’. These four girls have now grown up.

‘Winona’ takes place on one sad Thursday, even though this is never mentioned in the film. If someone were looking at us from the house on the hill, who would they think we are? Has the car in the background been following us all morning? Who are we?

The girls ask these questions all the time, they play games, they lie incessantly and sing ‘The Castle’ by Miss Trichromi. But whatever they do, no matter how hard they try to fool time, this perfect day must end, and they must return.

And return where? To their lives. They must step out of the dream. Outside of the script I wrote. Outside of the film we made that May. Maybe they are in another film that has not been written yet, living another, but happier, May; maybe they are already there, creating a protective, caring world, and maybe one day they will call me and show me how beautiful it is there, and we will order pizza margarita and remember the good old days, when we made ‘Winona’ and hid our secrets in the sand. And maybe then an idea will be born for us to make a film together again, a new film, in this new world that they will show me.

SYNOPSIS

It appears as if it is an ordinary outing to a remote beach. Four young women and their sheepdog Froso enjoy the warmth of the sun and and chill of the sea. They play and dance and sing. The day gives way to silly games and girlish banter. The house on the hill looms over them, and they often escape to it, and ponder about its occupants. Laughter is punctuated by tears. The tears are washed away by make believe. Until the day comes to a close and they begin to pack their things to leave. Unassumingly mysterious and deeply nostalgic, Winona holds on to its bitter sweet secret till the very end.

DIRECTOR

Alexandros Voulgaris (also known as The Boy) was born in Athens, Greece in 1981. He has written and directed 5 feature films, theatrical plays, music video clips, and has also acted in many films of his fellow directors. His first feature Klais (Crying?) premiered at Toronto, whilst his second feature Roz (Pink) attracted wide critical acclaim and won the Grand Jury Prize at !f Istanbul International Independent Film Festival, followed by many screenings at European and American festivals. He is also widely known for his music, and performs across Europe, having released a number of solo albums, and composing original music scores for feature films. Recently, he received a teaching secondment to the National Theatre of Greece, an acknowledgment of his innate ability to elicit astonishing performances from actors.