You migrated from Greece to Copenhagen when the financial crisis begun. Was this your motive for making this film?
I moved from Athens to Copenhagen in 2012 because of the economic crisis in Southern Europe. Then I realized that I was not the only one and that actually more and more young people from Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal were moving to Northern Europe. I could see that my personal story was part of a bigger story, my whole generation’s story. That was my motivation to make “RE:UNION”.
When did you decide to make this documentary?
I got the idea of “RE:UNION” few days before I left Greece. In Denmark it was one of my first priorities and my main proposal to the producers as my next film.
How long did it take you?
The process of financing the film took too long. The financiers were very skeptical about this film. It was difficult to convince them that there is a massive movement of highly qualified youth from Southern to Northern Europe. Of course at the same time we continued our research and we achieved to explore other parameters of this issue and relate it with the European history but also with the future of Europe. At the end we worked for two years on it.
How would you describe from your perspective the situation for young people in Europe?
Nowadays we probably have the best educated young generation in Europe and at the same time the most international as many societies in many big cities are a mix of multiple ethnicities. So the situation for the young people in Europe should be one of the best in the history. Paradoxically it’s not! Most of the people say that it’s the consequence of the crisis. I’m not sure about it. In any case this is temporary in my opinion. The youth moves on and they find their own solutions. Common problems bring common reactions and this way a common way of thinking. They are not afraid anymore to move to other big cities in other countries and contribute to a creation of new societies based on new values which are definitely not only national anymore.
What are your hopes and aspirations for this film?
My wish is this film to be watched by as many people as possible. It’s a film for my generation which is definitely not lost. It’s a film for the previous generation where they can see that the societies are moving on to new values because of the movement of the young people. It’s a film about the new face of Europe which is an old continent with a long history but also a place where new ideas can be born. I hope that the film will be able to open a dialogue for a brighter European future: young and strong!
The interview was conducted by Julia Brilling in June 2014
About Gabriel Tsavka
Born on 19th April 1986. Inducted in the Film School of the Aristotle University in 2004 where he completed his studies with MA in Film Directing. In 2007 he cooperated with the National Theatre of Northern Greece for the theatrical show "Νeda". In 2008 he participated in the Media's (European Union) educational program “Four Corners”. In 2010 he was selected from Berlinale Film Festival to participate at Berlinale Talent Campus. In 2011 his film “Champions: a comic tale” was selected by the 13th Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival and it was distributed in cinemas of Athens and Thessaloniki. In 2012 he was selected from Sarajevo Film Festival to present his film project "RE:Union" ("Greek Nomads") at Pack & Pitch section. In 2013 he got supported from BBC and DR (Danish Television) to develop his documentary "Days of Black" while MEDIA approved the developement of "RE:UNION" as well. He has been awarded up to 17 times for his films and he has participated in more than 30 film festivals in Greece and abroad. Since 2013 he is a member of Super16 #8.
