“Υπάρχω” hits Greek cinemas this week in a biopic of the legendary singer Stelios Kazantzidis, with Christos Mastoras taking on the lead role. After months of teasing fans of Kazantzidis and Mastoras with some rather frankly epic trailors, we are excited about the release. We are hoping it will be released soon outside mainland Greek territories to the Diaspora Greek communities worldwide.
The soulful Greek singer resonated with the common man and lamented himself as the voice of the working class. His songs wrestled with heartache, melancholy and angst which touted the real struggles and upheavals of the everyday Greek. In the post-World War II climate, his music defined what it was to be a working Greek man or woman at the time.
The Stelios Kazantzakis story is a real rag to “riches” story of a pontus refugee and his upbringing in Nea Ionia’s refugee camps to his rise as a popular musical artist.
Directed by renowned filmmaker Giorgos Tseperopoulos and written by Katerina Bei, it charts the real rise of the folk icon with a great depth of sensitivity from well-researched and reliable sources of his closest inner circles.
“Yparxo” (I exist) is the 1971 iconic song and film title, rekindling memories when the original London Greek Radio of the 1980s was synonymous with playing Kazantzidis’ songs, such as “Yparcho”.
The music connected the immigrant community and for Cypriot Greeks who had settled in London felt like a connection to home. Listening to a Stelio song was like a safety blanket, a cultural blanket, while evolving identities of living in new place.
The iconic artist is continuing to define Greek identity today with a resurgence of Laika songs on Greek radio. These songs spoke to the soul of a Greek who wrestled with persistent struggles and turbulent upheavals, with a nod to the Diaspora as always.
The long back-catalogue of hits that are still speaking to eager audiences today. Songs like “Το Αγριολούλουδο”, “Γυάλινος Κόσμος”, “Άπονη Ζωή”, “Μάνα Μου” “Εγώ Ποτέ Δεν Αγαπώ”, “Μαντουμπάλα”, “Φεύγω Με Πίκρα Στα Ξένα”, “Ζιγκουάλα”, “Ο Κυρ Αντώνης”, “Το Τραίνο Γερμανίας Αθηνών”.
Mr Mastoras the front man of Melisses looks the decent lead actor with his narration of this enigmatic personality, capturing relationships, and industry disputes.
Watching the trailer, the film looks expensive and epic in equal measure with impressive costumes. Not astonishing really since it was lavished with a budget heralded as the “biggest Greek production” of the year from the same filmmakers of “Eftychia”, a biopic about composer Eftychia Papagiannopoulou.
The supporting cast includes Klelia Renesi, Asimenia Voulioti, Agoritsa Oikonomou, Dimitris Kapouranis, Anna Symeonidou, and many others, with Giorgos Karamichos, Nikos Psarras, Giorgos Giannopoulos, and Yiannis Englezos among the ensemble.
Like any heroic folk singer, the Kazantzidis story is not without its intriguing twists and turns. The likes of which are tragic, artistic disputes, confronting and upsetting industry norms and challenging censorship during his early career.
A singer of Stelios Kazantzidis’ stature will continue to live long in the annals of history and relevant for ages to come with young people and long-time fans alike.
