Set over four days of unrelenting wind and rain in a remote village high up in the Nafpaktia Mountains in the west of Greece, the film follows the lives of two shepherd families struggling to live. The village, now forgotten and near deserted, has had its best days. Paxnis, the old white haired shepherd, who had foreseen the trouble this land would face has already given into despair. Giorgos unable to sell his goats and with debts mounting up, drinks to forget. Combining documentary and fiction with an all local cast 'To the Wolf ' is both the reality and an unsettling allegory for today's Greece.
DIRECTORS STATEMENT
To the Wolf was not conceived as a response to the Greek crisis. Our initial intention was to present a study of everyday life in a remote Greek village. However, as filming began, the impact of the deepening financial problems was magnified by widespread media coverage and our focus began to shift. We started zooming in on the effect of this new political poverty on an already marginalised section of society, while still maintaining our intention to present an intimate portrait of rural life. In Greece, people frequently talk about returning to the villages their ancestors once abandoned for a brighter future. Making this film, it occurred to us that perhaps rather than documenting a past way of life, we were now witnessing a vision of the future. |
