"Although these days that I will be in London and get to see the authentic, yet sadly stolen, eastern pediments of the Parthenon sculptures up close, I will not be able to take the liberty and pleasure of being lost in the presence of the fragmented sculptures" writes Renos Haralambidis on his facebook page.
Athens Midnight Radio, with the Night Presenter, Renos Haralambidis, is a film that will resonate with many.
"I always appreciate Athens as a city where you can be in the arms of eternity as trains go by and also amongst the crowds, which come and go, as if indifferent to these surroundings. And it is in the underground of the city's metro, at the Acropolis metro station where the exhibit of the replicas of the statues of the eastern gable end of the Parthenon, that I discovered the stars for my new film "Athens Midnight Radio".
There are nights that I go to the underground stop shortly before it closes and lay with the sculptures.
Renos Haralambidis reclines against the goddesses Demeter and Persephone, with a naked Dionysos in earnest observation. Photo taken at the Acropolis metro station located near the escalator leading to the Acropolis Museum, posted on Renos Haralambidis' facebook page. The original statue is in the British Museum and is the only pediment sculpture to survive with its head intact.
"As I lay with the sculptures, I'm becoming part of the display. As I close my eyes, I dream of those who wrote the script for that inspired the creation of the statues before they carved them out of marble. Who decided on the design of the sculpted statues that would to fit the triangle of the eastern gable end of the Parthenon? How could they have imagined then, that they were writing scenes for my new movie?
And then it's as if I'm listening to Phidias' chisel sculpting the marble to reveal the forms of these sublime statues.
From the gentle paintings of the famous and unjust painters of the time. These master painters will spend centuries over the statues, as both the rains and winds discolour them.
And then it's as if an explosion from the barbarians cannon fire will cause the greatest destruction to Phidias' creations.
And the injured statues discreetly whisper to me: they speak of evolving religions, when they were stripped of their divine qualities. Where they remained in situ, honoured by the admiration of other religions for over a thousand years, then enduring Morosini's cannon, only to experience untold damage to their marble soul.
Adding insult to injury, there's also the the steel saws of the Lord's workmen and the forced removal that took place, transporting these sculptures onto uncharted lands.
I do however wonder what the statues think of me? Maybe I alienate them since I am the only one, that dares rest here late at night, lying amongst them. I also become a part of their narrative, directing the eastern front at the Acropolis underground metro station.
With their originals still in Bloomsbury, their continued division is immoral and yet even the statues listen to my instructions, almost like devoted actors. It's like they're dancing impatiently on camera. And they become light with a human weight. With their broken limbs, in their alien form, they wandered after midnight in the deserted subway." Concludes Renos Haralambidis on his facebook page.
The film is about a veteran late-night radio presenter that confronts his 50th birthday with the weight of time as he reflects on unfulfilled dreams and lost love. Amidst the midnight calls, he embarks on a heartfelt journey to reclaim his youth and find that lost love.
Throughout his career, Renos Haralambidis has represented a new generation of Greek filmmakers who have been making playful contemporary films which blur the boundaries between real life and fiction, and which are made, for almost no money at all.
We are looking forward to watching Renos Haralambidis' fifth and latest film, and appreciate that Renos has connected with the plight of the Parthenon Marbles still divided between Athens and London. Here's to the day when we can collective celebrate the reunification of this surviving, peerless collection of sculptures in the Parthenon Gallery of the Acropolis Museum.
