Magnetic Fields (film)
| Magnetic Fields | |
|---|---|
| Μαγνητικά πεδία | |
| Directed by | Yorgos Goussis |
| Written by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Yorgos Koutsaliaris |
| Edited by | Dimitris Polyzos |
| Music by | Lefteris Volanis |
Production companies |
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Release date |
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Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | Greece |
| Language | Greek |
Magnetic Fields (Greek: Μαγνητικά πεδία, Magnitika Pedia) is a 2021 Greek road-movie drama, the feature directorial debut of comic-book artist and filmmaker Yorgos Goussis. Written by Goussis together with its two leads, Elena Topalidou and Antonis Tsiotsiopoulos, the film was shot in a fifteen-day guerrilla-style production on the island of Kefalonia over the 2020–2021 New Year period.[1][2][3] It premiered in the Film Forward section of the 62nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival in November 2021, where it won the newly-founded Golden Alexander — Film Forward Award, the FIPRESCI Prize, and the Greek Association of Film Critics Award, among others.[4][5] It subsequently won five awards at the 2022 Hellenic Film Academy Awards, and was selected as the Greek entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.[5][3]
Plot
Elena, a solo traveller who impulsively changes course, boards a ferry to a Greek island. There she encounters Antonis, who is travelling to an island cemetery to bury a box containing his aunt's bones. When his car breaks down, she offers him a ride, and the two spend a series of days wandering together across the island in search of a suitable place for the burial.[2][1]
Cast
- Elena Topalidou as Elena
- Antonis Tsiotsiopoulos as Antonis
- Nikos Spanidis
- Dimitris Smaelis
- Dimitris Bouzos
- Froso Tzanetatou
Production
Goussis, previously known primarily as an award-winning comic-book artist, made his directorial debut in 2019 with the short documentary The Arm Wrestler, which won Best Greek Short Documentary at the Hellenic Film Academy Awards.[2][4] He developed Magnetic Fields in close collaboration with the two leads, who share first names with their characters; the screenplay was constructed from a story outline and shot largely through improvisation.[1][3] The production, of eight people in total, filmed for fifteen days on Kefalonia between 23 December 2020 and 1 January 2021, using a MiniDV camcorder — a format associated with the Dogme 95 movement of the late 1990s.[1][3] The film was produced by miniFILMS and Naked Eye Productions, with Heretic joining as executive producers, in co-production with the Greek Film Centre.[2][5]
Release and reception
Magnetic Fields had its world premiere in the Film Forward section of the 62nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival in November 2021.[2][4]
Reviewing the film for Cineuropa, David Katz described Goussis's work as an odd, committed observation of romantic attraction in miniature, noting the chosen MiniDV format and the film's improvised, collaborative construction.[1] Cinema Without Borders, reporting the film's selection as Greece's Oscar submission, called it a "tender, humorous road movie" shaped by the tight constraints of its low-budget production.[3] Variety covered Heretic's acquisition of the film ahead of the festival premiere, quoting the producer's description of it as a work "that speaks to the heart in a very special way."[2]
Awards
Thessaloniki International Film Festival (2021)
Hellenic Film Academy Awards (2022)
Other festivals
- San Francisco Greek Film Festival — Jury Award, Best Narrative Feature[5]
Academy Awards
The film was selected as the Greek entry for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Katz, David (November 17, 2021). "Review: Magnetic Fields". Cineuropa. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Keslassy, Elsa (November 3, 2021). "Heretic Boards Debut Director Yorgos Goussis' Thessaloniki Premiere 'Magnetic Fields' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "MAGNETIC FIELDS — Greece's Oscar entry". Cinema Without Borders. December 7, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Filming Greece — Yorgos Goussis explores the power of togetherness in 'Magnetic Fields'". Greek News Agenda. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Magnetic Fields". Heretic. Retrieved July 21, 2026.