THE TRIP TO GREECE
In early summer 2019 Michael Winterbottom, the world-renowned and multi award-winning British film director, comes back to Greece to shoot the Sky One TV series The Trip to Greece choosing Greece as a filming destination for the second time within a year after he shot here his latest feature film titled Greed in autumn 2018.It isthe fourth part of the critically acclaimed TV series (The Trip, The Trip to Italy, The Trip to Spain) that gained worldwide recognition on the BBC (The Trip & The Trip to Italy) & Sky Atlantic (The Trip to Spain). The Trip series are also popular feature films in the US, Australia, and many other worldwide territories and have premiered in various international film festivals including Toronto Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival.
It stars two of the most recognizable actors in the UK: Steve Coogan (BAFTA nominated for his portrayal of Stan Laurel in Stan & Ollie)and Rob Brydon (BAFTA nominated Actor & Comedian known for UK Productions such as Gavin & Stacey, Would I lie to you, Marion & Geoff).
The Trip to Greece takes as its inspiration Homer’s Odyssey and Odysseus’ journey back home to his family in Ithaca. The actors play fictionalized versions of themselves as they go on a six-day trip around the beautiful country of Greece. Being a culinary and cultural road trip, the aim of The Trip to Greeceis to show the actors enjoying some of the best that Greece has to offer in terms of culture, food and hospitality.
The project includes a lot of shooting in archaeological sites such as the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, the Ancient Agora of Athens, the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, the unique island of Hydra, the Caves of Diros, Nestor’s Palace, Niokastro Fortress in Pylos, and Ancient Stagira, as well as a lot of shooting in restaurants and hotels in Athens, Hydra, Lesvos, Chalkidiki, Pelion, Kavala, and at the Peloponnese.
In each site issues such as the history of Athens and the development of Acropolis, Democracy and the idea of the Polis and the city-state in Greece, as well as the history and origin of Drama, Tragedy and Comedy will be discussed.
What Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon have to say about the comedies of Aristophanes and the great tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides along their way? About the Temple of Apollo, the functioning of the Oracle and the importance of The Pythia over the course of 1000 years of Greek history? About Democracy vs Tyranny? About Plato’s account of the death of Socrates? About the Athenian and the Peloponnese war?
The Trip to Greece is a Sky original andwill be shown on Sky One in the UK and will be released as a feature film worldwide in 2020. Produced by Melissa Parmenter & Josh Hyams, the production companies are Revolution films, Baby Cow and SmallMan Productions. International sales of the film are handled by Tristan Whalley at Goalpost. Distribution in Greece will be through Filmtrade.
The Location Manager for The Trip to Greece is Eleni Fanariotou (her company is Fixer in Greece). The crew consists of 5 core Greek crew members and 15 crew members from the UK.
The Hellenic Film Commission of the Greek Film Centre attended the shoot at the Ancient Agora of Athens, and had the chance to get interesting quotes about the experience of filming in Greece.
“We discussed where we would go after Spain and Italy and Greece came up because of the obvious very rich Greek mythology and philosophy. But, also because of modern politics there’s another dynamic now. Some people in the UK find something inspiring in this challenge in the status quo, challenging the way things have always been. Rob and I play with the idea of who we are. We will be talking about each other and self-indulgent stuff like who we fancy etc. It’s a vehicle for Rob and I to explore ourselves as middle-aged men in middle life crisis and also the culture and mood of another country. And in Greece we want to look at Democracy, Greek mythology, Greek philosophy, the politics of modern Greece -which is interesting in regards to Europe -, and also Britain’s relationship to Europe. We ask big questions, but also the simple questions in life in relation to the big questions. And we eat real food in the restaurants, from very high-end menu to simple restaurants; it’s an exploration of the culinary side of Greece”, Steve Coogan starring The Trip to Greece commented to Venia Vergou, Director of the Hellenic Film Commission.
“Spending a month in Greece was the most magical experience and we saw so much of it! The beauty and variety of the landscape, the food, the incredible cultural heritage and the wonderful crystal clear seas. I’ll never forget my time there”, Rob Brydon starring The Trip to Greece stated to Hellenic Film Commission.
“Venia and the whole team at the Hellenic Film Commission have worked tirelessly alongside our wonderful Location Manager Eleni Fanariotou of Fixer In Greece, and the Ministry of Culture and Sports and Ministry of Digital Policy, to help us secure all our permits for such incredible archaeological sites here in Greece – we are very grateful and thrilled to have had such wonderful support”, notes Melissa Parmenter, PRODUCER
The Hellenic Film Commission of the Greek Film Centre supported The Trip to Greece by providing guidance to the production company and by facilitating the filming permits for the archaeological sites requested for filming by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports.
