Yannis Smaragdis – His new film “Kapodistrias” is preparing for its world premiere in New York
“Give me the homeland I long for!”
“Give me the homeland I long for!” The last words of Ioannis Kapodistrias echo like a prayer — and now, almost two centuries later, they will be heard across the globe through the lens of Yannis Smaragdis.
The renowned Greek filmmaker belongs to those rare creators who don’t simply tell stories — they resurrect figures. From El Greco, Ioannis Varvakis and Nikos Kazantzakis to Ioannis Kapodistrias, his filmography forms a vivid mural of Greeks who illuminated the world — portrayed not merely as historical personalities, but as vessels of soul, ethos, and spiritual grandeur. Now, the acclaimed director returns powerfully with “Kapodistrias” — a work that shoulders the responsibility of reminding us of what selflessness, compassion, and self-sacrifice for one’s homeland truly mean.
The light of Greece will travel to New York this November for the film’s world premiere — a symbolic meeting of the Greek ideal with the heart of the international stage. Just before the curtain rises, Yannis Smaragdis speaks about the battle he fought to complete this project, and his hope that Kapodistrias’ story will touch the souls of audiences around the world.
You have narrated the lives of historic figures, great Greeks. Do you feel this film is a kind of culmination — or the beginning of something new?
Indeed.
My main cinematic work consists of biographies — or rather, I would call them hagiographies — of great Greeks who are pillars of the Greek spirit. For this latest film, “Kapodistrias”, I had said I wished it would be my last. But as soon as I finished it, I felt the need to return to the artistic arena once more, waiting for the next subject to be “given” to me, as the previous ones were, and with God’s blessing to enter artistic creation again.
Why “Ioannis Kapodistrias” now? Was there a spark that made you say, “This story must be told today”?
I belong to those who believe that the subjects or figures of our films are given to us, gifted to us — we do not choose them ourselves. But for that to happen, you must “open” yourself, so that the light of these figures can meet your soul. And of course, you must somehow ask their permission to tell their story. And once it happens, you must tend to it with care — put your own sensitivity, your own soul into it, so that what has been gifted to you — the truth of the person — is not distorted. Because these figures, like all human beings, are the breath of God. And you must treat them as such, shaping their story so it can touch the souls of future viewers.
Do you believe “Kapodistrias” carries lessons for today’s leaders? If so, what are they?
Ioannis Kapodistrias, by the way he lived and by how he defended the highest values — the values of Hellenism: compassion, love for one’s fellow man, faith in God, and devotion to the homeland — considered these values supreme.
After his assassination, do current politics still serve these values?
When you began your research on Ioannis Kapodistrias, did you discover something you didn’t know that surprised you?
Many things surprised me about his life. But what broke my heart was that he lived in absolute frugality; he refused any salary as Governor of Greece, saying: “As long as there is even one Greek who cannot survive, I cannot be paid by the Greek state.” And as proof of this, when he was assassinated, they searched his humble room for another garment to bury him in — because his clothes were soaked with blood — and found none. Do today’s politicians live this way?
The production of a film like this must have had its difficulties. Was there a moment you thought, “This is impossible” — and how did you overcome it?
Not only did it face difficulties, but — unfortunately — a constant war from dark forces in Greece trying to prevent its completion. Yet I never believed it wouldn’t be made. Perhaps that faith was the reason good Greeks, in Greece and abroad, came together to fund this work of national importance.
The world premiere in New York this November feels symbolic — the story of a Greek leader presented in one of the most international cities in the world. What does this mean to you personally?
We chose New York for the premiere for two reasons.
First, because our previous film, “Kazantzakis”, received an overwhelmingly warm reception there. The festival director even wrote to us that it might have been the best screening of a Greek film ever held in the city. Second, because good Greeks in America organized a crowdfunding effort, raising money to complete the film. In honor of this gesture, we will hold the premiere in New York. At this premiere, those who helped significantly — who contributed considerable funds — will be honored with the “International Kapodistrias Award” of the Hellenic Academy of Arts Awards. And I must say: if it weren’t for Evangelos Stassinopoulos and his KIKPE Foundation, this film would NEVER have been made.
When viewers leave the theater at the end of your film, what do you hope they feel in their hearts?
I hope they will feel that Greece has offered universal values to the Western world for centuries—and that with people like Kapodistrias, it continues to give birth to great figures who can defend the humanistic values of the Greeks— values useful not only to us, but to all humanity.
Now that you are finishing the film, how do you personally “part” with the character you’ve lived with for so long? A phrase of his?
Ioannis Kapodistrias, just before his last breath, said to God: “Give me the homeland I long for.” I say the same today.
Thank you very much!
