Nomads of Agrafa (working title)
Project Description
An ethnographic documentary on the resilient Sarakatsani people, one of the oldest nomadic populations in Europe, who lived around the Balkans.
Deliverables:
A. Feature creative documentary
100 – 130 minutes
B. Short Series – 10 episodes x 20minutes each
C. Online Ethnographic Database with original videos, photos, songs, and testimonials.
D. XR content and exhibition.
The film will be filmed in 6k format.
Post production will include archive photographs, paintings, maps, engravings, 35mm film footage and animation.
Original score will be composed based or inspired by the unique Sarakatsani folk songs and music.
-10
Filming locations
Agrafa Mountains: Epiniana, Kamaria, Karditsa
Larissa, Volos, Viotia Plains, Aliartos
Macedonia, Serres
Athens, Thessaloniki,
UK: Cambridge & Oxford University
Germany: Munich University
Bulgaria: Stara Planina
Romania: Constanza
Fact Sheet
Production Plan
Phase One:
Development / Field Research
Additionally to the five initial trips of 2007-2012, we are planning two trips to the mountains of Agrafa for scouting locations, characters and recording the stories that reflect the way of life of the Sarakatsani.
Digitising and organising archival footage (35mm film, colour and B&W photographs).
Phase Two:
Writing the narrative.
Some images: People, animals, mountains, rivers, snowy sceneries, embroidery, lakes, festivals, wolves, horses, storms.
A selection of the relevant stories
Capturing both the diverse landscapes and the stories of people living along this nomadic life.
Phase Three:
Production
Filming with 6K definition video for the big screen, allowing us to reframe and animate parts of the image. There will be four stages of filming, one for each season. Throughout the seasons we’ll capture the elements of the story, on the mountain tops of Agrafa, the plains of Viotia, on route to the summer camps, the winter settlements and the cities where the Sarakatsani now live.
Phase Four:
Post Production
Editing will also include:
Animating fairytales using iconography illustrations
Recording an original score inspired by some of the traditional Sarakatsani songs combined with classical orchestration
Using rare archival footage and photographs.
Development & Production Plan 2020 – 2024
+ Virtual Reality Content
In addition to the film, we will also create a virtual reality experience.
We are partnering with producers from London UK and Bern CH to create a virtual reality representation of the life on the mountains.
We will be organising a series of exhibitions, where the viewers can virtually visit the villages, “participate” in the making of cheese or sit by the campfire to hear stories directly from the characters.
These will be multi-sensory events that provide a unique access to the lost world of the nomads.
+ Video Archive
In addition to the XR exhibitions we are creating an ethnographic Media Archive with the research and filming video assets, songs, interviews and tales. The Archive will be available online and accessible to the public or to researchers for any use and will be donated to the Sarakatsanoi museum in Serres or the Greek National Historical Museum.
TO SUPPORT US OR SEND US YOUR STORY: production@suhi.co.uk