| Director: | Zacharías Mavroidís |
| Screenplay: | Zacharías Mavroidís Xenofón Chalátsis |
| Starring: | Yorgos Tsiantoulas |
| Music: | Ted Regklis |
| Cinematography: | Theódoros Michópoulos |
| Editing: | Lívia Neroutsopoúlou |
| Producer: | Ioánna Bolomýti Lína Yannopoúlou |
| Language: | Greek |
The Summer with Carmen is a 2023 Greek comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Zacharías Mavroidís. It premiered at the 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival.
Demosthenes is enjoying a beautiful day at the queer beach in Athens. He is helping his friend and aspiring filmmaker Nikitas come up with an idea for his first feature film, inspired by the adventures of a dog named Karmen. Two summers ago, Demosthenes had to stop in Athens because of his father's health problems. An excuse to meet his ex, Panos, who, in turn, took in his dog Karmen, a decision he soon regretted. Just like Demosthenes, who seems to regret breaking up with Panos. Or maybe he does? Committed to transforming real events into the "hero's journey", the two friends begin to question the main rule of screenplay theory - the hero changes - and in the process give a twist to their enduring friendship.
Mavroidís co-wrote the film with his best friend Xenofondas Chalatsis.[1] He described it as "a comedy about the futility of knowing thyself", and mentioned Charlie Kaufman as an inspiration for the film's structure. The film was shot between Athens and the nudist beach of Limanákia in Vouliagméni.[2]
The film premiered at the 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival, in the Giornate degli Autori (Venice Days) sidebar.[3] [4] It was later screened at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, where it won the Mermaid Award, the Youth Jury Best Film Award and the Fischer Audience Award for a Greek film.[5]