World premiere:
25th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival
Film Forward Competition 2023
Avaton is a film about the strict prohibition of every female presence in the monastic community of Mount Athos, in Northern Greece. An independent, hand drawn animated film, based on interviews with women of different ages and religious beliefs who reflect on this extraordinary case of gender discrimination.
Twin Automat is a female filmmaking duo, based in Athens and Paris. The work of Twin Automat (Sandrine Cheyrol and Irini Karayannopoulou) explores and interconnects art film, documentary, hand drawn animation and sound. The duo’s films, video installations and site specific projects can be viewed in selected film festivals, private institutions, contemporary art galleries and museums. For further information please visit twinautomat.com
“Incredibly beautiful animations alive with color or quiet, in black and white mode, watercolors and collages dress the film in synergy. The focus is on women……For the first time, a female voice is being heard on Mount Athos.”
Leda Galanou, flix.gr
“An imaginative use of drawings, both moving and still, in a film that attempts to describe Mount Athos through the perspective of non-eye witnesses, and more specifically women, whose access is famously prohibited. The hows, the whens and the whys of this exclusion are addressed without fanaticism. In Avaton, the trap of an obvious accompanying representation and imagery as well as the banality of talking heads are masterfully avoided.”
Christos Mitsis, Athinorama
“The narration of the film and the inspiration behind its images are not only educational but also enjoyable, tumultuous and provocative. Tragic yet fun. During the sixty minutes of its duration, Avaton avoids repetition – nerve and intensity remain intact. And so does the thrill. And the mocking laughter towards patriarchy, in one of its most extreme, institutionalized forms.”
Leda Galanou, flix.gr