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Joy and Sorrow of the Body
C
ypriot
fi
lm director Andreas Pantzis followed
up his award-winning contribution to the
world of cinema with his movie
Joy and Sorrow of
the Body
, which premiered on 8 November 2013 in
all towns of Cyprus.
The movie, which also stars acclaimed Greek ac-
tor Georges Corraface, is a co-production of Cy-
prus, Greece and Bulgaria, with the participation of
Eurimages.
Andreas Pantzis, who won 21 international awards
with his
fi
lms
The Rape of Aphrodite, Slaughter
of the Cock
and
Evagora’s Vow (To Tama),
returns
with a contemporary social drama, a
fi
lm noir,
which focuses on the timeless issue of betrayal and
friendship. The movie revolves around Evagoras,
who is released from jail after serving
fi
ve years
for counterfeiting dollars, and his love interest Dita.
The two try to get together and start a new life, but
they are not among the privileged of this world and
they are doomed to fail…
Synopsis
Evagoras was sentenced to
fi
ve years in prison
for counterfeiting dollars in collaboration with his
Bulgarian friend Milen. After being released from
prison he travels to Varna, Bulgaria, to
fi
nd Milen.
Socrates who lives there offers to help Evagoras.
He introduces Evagoras to Dita, a beautiful and
kind-hearted hooker.
Evagoras falls in love with her but their love is
platonic. In the meantime John, an Interpol of
fi
cer
fromCyprus in charge of the Evagoras-Milen case,
arrives in Varna. He has been following Evagoras
hoping he would lead him to Milen to arrest him.
John meets Dita. She sleeps with him following in-
tense pressure from Socrates.
John wants to use Dita to
fi
nd out Milen’s where-
abouts. At last, Milen appears and gives Evagoras
a suitcase
fi
lled with dollars - it is his reward for
not turningMilen in. But Evagoras was looking for
something more; a friend. Milen informs Evagoras
that Dita is a hooker, which only serves to intensify
Evagoras’ devastation.
Meanwhile, John wants to sleep with Dita again
but she refuses as she is in love with Evagoras.
Socrates pressures her to meet John again, but with
no success. So he tells Dita that Evagoras, who has
disappeared after his meeting with Milen, is wait-
ing for her in his apartment. When she arrives there
she
fi
nds John instead, who tries to rape her.
Evagoras arrives, sees the two together, and the re-
sults are tragic…
Director’s Point of View
Joy and Sorrow of the Body
is a
fi
lm about lone-
liness and communication; about friendship and
treason.
People are not able to communicate due to the
amount of obstacles raised between them prevent-
A film by Andreas Pantzis
