Mount Athos, the Monk's Republic France
2009, 52min.
2009, France, 52 min.
Prod.: Philippe Aubert, Marie - Christine Fontaine, Script: Eddy Vicken, Yvon Bertorello, Dir.: Eddy Vicken, Dir. of Phot.: Eddy Vicken, Grégoire Ozan, Compos.: Hamid Thierry Malet, Sound: Michaսl Gureghian, Edit.: Hélène Plemmiannikov.
Mount Athos is an autonomous theocratic republic, situated in the north of Greece, which has its own institutions such as government, police, parliament, customs… Founded by a Byzantine Emperor in 963, this unique enclave, with a thousand-year-old history, has been forbidden to women and cameras. Over the last few years, numerous trips were necessary to obtain an authorization to make a documentary. In the breathtaking landscapes live thousands of monks in many monasteries, conceived like real fortresses. The monasteries possess the second largest library of Christianity. This is a holy land, rich of sacred treasure and precious manuscripts. For the first time ever, this forbidden territory opens its doors to cameras.
Production Company
Les films de l’Effronté
80, rue de l'Université
75007 Paris
E-mail: filmseffronte@hotmail.com
| Vicken, Eddy Eddy Vicken (born 1976, Paris)
He was an assistant director, an editor and a cameraman before becoming an author and a director of documentary films. To date, he has directed 7 documentaries. He began as an author and a director of a series entitled Ces messieurs de la famille, dedicated to the French movie makers of the Golden Age of Cinema. During the shooting of these portraits, he collaborated with such living legends as Jane Fonda, Claudia Cardinale and Brigitte Bardot. While still working on the series, together with his co-author, Yvon Bertorello he initiated the film on the ancient monastic republic, called Mount Athos. It took 6 years, hundreds of letters and several trips to get partial authorizations in order to film inside the Monk’s Republic.Vicken’s motivation stems from the rarity of the subject.
Filmography
Christian-Jacque, the Man Who Loved Women (2003), Henri-Georges Clouzot, a Singular Tyran (2004), Marcel Carnռ, the Living Camera (2005), Roger Vadim, a Billionaire of Happiness (2006), Watchers in the Night (2007), Mount Athos, the Monks’ Republic (2008).
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