On Sunday evening, after the screening of A Blast in CD’s Kosovel Hall a Q&A session took place with the director, Syllas Tzoumerkas. In assuming an individual’s intimate perspective, A Blast indirectly spotlights the Greek economic recession and rise of fascism that led to social disintegration. It is all but indispensible for a film to be highly confrontational when featuring a character who confronts disillusion as actively and uncompromisingly as the principal heroine Maria (Aggeliki Papoulia). To moderator Jedrt Jež Furlan the director explained that Maria’s story was an allusion to global radicalisation of relationships. The similarities shared between Tzoumerkas’ debut feature, Homeland, a socially critical account of the Greek society after the coup d’état, and A Blast is the blend of the past and the present that frames the protagonist’s portrayal. When asked whether the present-day crisis could be artistically represented with a dose of humour like in the 1960s, the director replied, “I understand what you’re aiming at – but no, it isn’t possible.” The post-war era was different, and today’s politicians show a greater measure of disdain towards people, treating citizens as children. In this respect Tzoumerkas shows the rise of fascism from an interesting angle, deciding not to feature a typical TV fascist, “There are perhaps 300 of those – most active fascists are quite normal middle-class people who vote fascist parties.” Tzoumerkas described Maria as an articulated heroine with an “anarchic potential” who surpasses the realities of social dynamic.

Written by Andraž Jež

Photo Iztok Dimc

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