GRACELAND (in development)
Co-produced by ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Company).
Supported by EKKOMED (Greek Film Center), Torino Film Lab and the Mediterranean Film Institute.
Thanos is a failed musician who describes his songs as “Greek country”—a label that usually earns him nothing but sarcasm from those around him. He lives alone in a small apartment in the heart of Athens and works part-time at an old neighborhood record store, his only stable yet meager source of income. He spends most of his time alone at home, writing songs and making DYI copies of his demo. His only glimmer of hope is his old friend and unofficial agent, Antonis, who plans to use his industry connections to pitch Thanos’ demo to Miramar—one of the biggest record labels in the country.
Things go downhill fast for Thanos, as life bombards him with one blow after another. Antonis delivers yet another rejection from Miramar and all but abandons him, dismissing his dreams of “Greek country” as delusional nonsense. His boss at the record store announces the shop’s closure, unable to keep it afloat any longer. His landlord, fed up with the overdue rent, issues a firm ultimatum. His aging mother is still nagging him about giving her grandchildren. And to top it all off, a flock of pigeons completely annihilates his car.
The only thing Thanos has left is a small gig in Komotini, arranged by Antonis—a studentrock bar performance that hardly seems like a breakthrough. Even making it there feels like an uphill battle, given the sorry state of his beat-up car. Right from the start, the trip goes
off the rails. Roadwork on the National Highway forces him onto the old backroads, where—unsurprisingly—his car betrays him, breaking down in the middle of nowhere. That’s when he crosses paths with Kyr-Giannis, a perpetually grumpy old local who claims he “knows a thing or two about cars.” He gives Thanos a rough estimate: two to three days to fix it. But Thanos doesn’t have that kind of time—his gig in Komotini is in two days.
Just when Thanos thinks he’s hit rock bottom, things get even worse. A nasty brawl at a truck stop leaves him not only beaten to a pulp, but also completely carless. But as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. The incident leads him to Vivi, a tough-as-nails
truck driver who offers him a ride. Almost at the same time, an unexpected call comes in from a producer at Miramar, asking to meet with him. Now, it’s a race against time—he and Vivi need to make it to both the meeting in Athens and the gig in Komotini within two days.
To top it all off, Kyr-Giannis somehow ends up tagging along, much to his own dismay. Strangely enough, Vivi and Kyr-Giannis seem to have a past connection that Thanos never would have guessed. And so, this unlikely trio embarks on a cross-country road trip— chaotic, full of mishaps, and unexpectedly life-changing. Along the way, what starts as a desperate journey turns into something more: a path toward self-discovery, acceptance, and reconciliation for each of them.
