CHAIRMAN GEORGE

US Premiere

George Sapounidis has a distinctive talent: he is a Greek-Canadian who sings in perfect Mandarin Chinese. Driven by loftier ambitions than those his day job as a statistician can gratify, George sets out on a journey across China with his sights aimed high-performing at the Olympics. Having learned that the Olympic flag is to be passed to Beijing at the end of the 2004 Games in Athens, he is convinced that this symbolic gesture mirrors his own artistic schism, and that he above all others, a Greek singing Mandarin, would be the perfect conduit between the two cultures. The only trouble is, can he get others to agree?

George sets off through China making his way towards Beijing, where he hopes to convince the Olympic organizers of his talent and necessity. Stopping in many small villages along the way, he enchants all the locals he meets by revealing himself to be that rare Westerner who has taken the time to learn and perform their traditional songs with emotion and sincerity.

With an increasing sense of purpose and esteem, George eventually arrives in Beijing, only to wonder if he'll ever realize his Olympic-size goals-or if perhaps they have already been realized.

Chairman George in person.

-Sky Sitney

DIRECTOR BIOS
Daniel Cross teaches film production at Concordia University. He founded EyeSteelFilm in 2001 with the philosophy that film is a medium for affecting social and political change. He first made his mark with the award-winning, feature-length documentaries THE STREET: A FILM WITH THE HOMELESS (HotDocs Audience Choice Award) and S.P.I.T.:SQUEEGEE PUNKS IN TRAFFIC.

Mila Aung-Thwin is co-founder of EyeSteelFilm in Montreal. After a multi-disciplinary education in arts, journalism, and photography, he was fortunate enough to meet documentary maverick Daniel Cross in 1998, serving as cinematographer/ producer on SPIT. He has recently produced ROACHTRIP as a follow-up to SPIT and directed MUSIC FOR A BLUE TRAIN for the NFB.

Print Source:
Eyesteel Film Inc.
4475 St-Laurent #202
Montreal, QC H2W 1Z8
Canada
514.937.4893
info@eyesteelfilm.com

6/15 at 1:30 PM
6/17 at 6:15 PM

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