Christina Kallas

Last updated
Christina Kallas
Born
Thessaloniki, Greece
Education Free University of Berlin (BA), (MA), (PhD)
Occupation(s)Film director, writer, producer
Years active1998–present

Christina Kallas is a Greek-American film director, screenwriter, and producer whose films include 42 Seconds of Happiness, The Rainbow Experiment , and Paris is in Harlem . [1]

Contents

Life and career

Kallas was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. She received a B.A., M.A, and PhD in Communication and Media Studies from Free University of Berlin. [2] She began her career in Germany, as a co-producer on the feature films White King, Red Queen (1993), directed by Sergei Bodrov and ID (1995), directed by Phil Davis; and as a producer on Love Lies (1997) and The Commissioner (1998). She co-wrote the latter film, which was directed by George Sluizer and starred John Hurt. This led to further work as a screenwriter. Kallas wrote on several series for German television, including Edel & Starck (2001-2003) and Danni Lowinski (2010-2013). She produced the feature film Mothers (2010), written and directed by Milcho Manchevski. [1]

During this time, Kallas spent eight years as president of the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe (FSE). [3] In 2007, under her aegis, the FSE released the European Screenwriters Manifesto, which asserted that “The screenwriter is an author of the film, a primary creator of the audiovisual work; the indiscriminate use of the possessory credit is unacceptable; and the moral rights of the screenwriter, especially the right to maintain the integrity of a work and to protect it from any distortion or misuse, should be inalienable and should be fully honored in practice.” As Kallas told the Los Angeles Times , “What we tried to do by naming it the ‘manifesto’ is to challenge the international film community and to start a discussion about what has gone wrong and how we could set it right.” [4]

Relocating to New York City, Kallas began teaching at a number of universities and colleges, including Barnard College, Columbia University, The New School, [2] and Brooklyn College. [5] During this time, she also wrote two books: Creative Screenwriting: Understanding Emotional Structure, published by Red Globe Press in 2010; [6] and Inside The Writers' Room: Conversations with American TV Writers, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2013,. [2]

Directorial career

Kallas made her directorial debut with the feature film 42 Seconds of Happiness (2016). Writing in Eye For Film, critic Jennie Kermode called it “a film possessed of a rare emotional intelligence. It doesn't wrap everything up neatly but finds hope in the acceptance of loose ends. It's a brave piece of work, skilfully crafted and brimming over with talent, a fantastic calling card for all involved.” [7]

Her next feature was The Rainbow Experiment (2018), about the chain of events after a teenager dies in a high school chemistry experiment gone awry. The film premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival. [8] Wrote Bill Arcineau in Film Threat , “The number of storylines conveyed and then ultimately converge is quite impressive to witness, with a weight that would crush any unprepared filmmaker. Director Christina Kallas is completely capable of guiding with a strong editorial hand, the improv-heavy cast to its emotionally resonant and truly tense moments. Editing and transitions are also something to behold, splitting the screen and testing our collective attention spans to complicate perspective importance and even time itself … Kallas is someone to watch. She ought to be on everyone’s radar.”

In 2022, Kallas released Paris is in Harlem , set on the day in 2017 when the notorious New York City Cabaret Law was finally repealed. As Lisa Nystrom wrote in FilmInk, “Kallas weaves together a captivating narrative using a complex spiderweb of different viewpoints, the camera seamlessly switching focus as background characters become protagonists, stepping forward when the time comes for their story to be told … The film brings together a diverse cacophony of voices touched by racism, sexism, and oppression, finding a harmony through shared experience.” [9]

All of Kallas' feature films to date have been developed through a specific method, not unlike the one used by UK director Mike Leigh. Kallas wrote in Filmmaker in 2017 that her approach “aims at merging the character with the actor … I workshop a screenplay as one would a play for the theater — only I walk the actors through the characters’ past, future and possible lives in weekly rehearsals. This allows me to shoot in fewer days and with smaller budgets, while at the same time delivering the emotional authenticity that people mention in relation to my films. In these 15 months I orchestrate the experience of each character in such a way that the tension rises constantly and continuously. When the characters are about to explode, I start shooting.” [10]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducer
1993White King, Red Queen (co-producer)NoNoYes
1995 I.D. (co-producer)NoNoYes
1997Love LiesNoNoYes
1998 The Commissioner NoYesYes
2010 Mothers NoNoYes
201642 Seconds of Happiness (also Executive Producer)YesYesYes
2018 The Rainbow Experiment YesYesYes
2022 Paris is in Harlem YesYesYes

Television

YearTitleNotes
1999Männer sind wie Schokolade (TV movie)Co-writer
2002-2003 Edel & Starck Two episodes
2005Honey and the Pig (TV movie)Co-writer
2010 Danni Lowinski Three episodes

Accolades

YearFilmAwardCategoryResultRef.
201642 Seconds of HappinessWomen Texas Film FestivalBest Feature Film AwardWon [11]
201742 Seconds of Happiness Jaipur International Film Festival Best Film From American ContinentWon [12]
2018 The Rainbow Experiment Harlem International Film Festival Audience AwardWon [13]
2022Paris is in HarlemMystic Film FestivalBest Ensemble CastWon [14]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Christina Kallas". IMDb. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Kallas, Christina (2013). Inside The Writers' Room: Conversations with American TV Writers. Palgrave Macmillan. p. viii. ISBN   9781137338129.
  3. ↑ Yossman, K.J. (December 20, 2022). "'The Second Attack' Director Christina Kallas Signs With Activist Artists Management (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  4. ↑ Fernandez, Jay A. (February 21, 2007). "Publicists get ink for screenwriters". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Christina Kallas". Brooklyn College Film Faculty. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  6. ↑ Kallas, Christina (2010). Creative Screenwriting: Understanding Emotional Structure. Red Globe Press. ISBN   978-0230221406.
  7. ↑ Kermode, Jennie (May 30, 2019). "42 Seconds of Happiness". Eye For Film.
  8. ↑ Erbland, Kate (January 18, 2018). "'The Rainbow Experiment' Trailer: A High School Reels From A Terrible Accident in Unnerving Slamdance Drama". IndieWire. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  9. ↑ Nystrom, Lisa (22 June 2022). "Paris is in Harlem". FilmInk. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  10. ↑ Kallas, Christina (October 30, 2017). "How the Numbers Add Up: The Director of 42 Seconds of Happiness and The Rainbow Experiment Explores the Numerology of Filmmaking". Filmmaker. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  11. ↑ Burkes, Dawn M. (August 25, 2016). "Women Texas Film Festival announces inaugural award winners". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Winners of the Jaipur International Film Festival 2017". Asian Film Festivals. February 10, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  13. ↑ "2018 Awards". Harlem International Film Festival. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  14. ↑ "2022 Festival". Mystic Film Festival. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
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