(Text from here).

KERAMIDI was filmed in April 2022, inside and outside of the Yfanet squat, as an attempt to trace through a fictional story the labyrinthine paths of a memory lost. A few months before, the Yfanet assembly had proceeded to issue a brochure titled “Short stories for the preservation of memory”, which discussed the state management of monuments from the beginnings of the Greek state, the Yfanet building as a monument of industrial culture, the defense of the squat as part of our own anti-memory, as well as the republishing of old interviews with workers from the period of the factory’s operation. At the same time, and for about 11 months, intensive maintenance work was carried out on the building aiming at both the safety and the functionality of the spaces that we use, as well as the protection of the factory as a material remnant of this memory. Finally, at approximately the same time that the filming was organized, the Community of the Yfanet squat held a festival in defense of the squat against the “castles of the industry” conference and the development plans. The festival peaked with the first street parade in several years, which was followed by the publication “A laugh will bury them”. This publication attempted to look back at both previous street parades/ reclaim the streets in Greece and abroad and at various movement moments throughout the years, where politics and play have been inseparable. In short, we’d say that 2022 was a year when the issue of memory was a big concern of the people around the squat.

At this point, one could wonder “what’s your obsession with memory, anyway?” or “what exactly is the use of these historical flashbacks?”. After all, it is common for the issue of memory to often be confused with the incessant longing for the past and the pervasive sense of nostalgia which overwhelm various aspects of our daily lives. But the memory we are talking about is something more than that, it’s the way in which we provoke the future. In other words, it’s not just about the past and what has already happened, but it is a dynamic process of transformation through which the present is perceived and the foundation for planning for the future is laid. The mnemonic process is a process in which persons conduct individual and collective identities in order to be able to place themselves in the course of history. Therefore, during a time when movements struggle to regroup, the issue of memory must be of concern to all those committed to the cause of social liberation, all those who wish to stand on the right side of history.

Of course, we know that the issue of memory is not only a concern for the movements, but for capitalism itself. In periods of crisis and instability, like the one we’re currently going through, there’s often a social tendency which seeks stability and comfort in the tradition, the familiar and the nostalgia, against the commands of contemporary daily life for acceleration and constant innovation. Through this prism we can understand the revival of the interest around folklore, archaeology and ethnology, the appeal of vintage and ethnic objects and aesthetics, the interest in museums and monuments and the tendency in theatre and cinema to engage with memory and history. Thus, capitalism attempts to commercialize this social tendency and turn it into another profitable field. It will try to turn history into a postcard, it will objectify memory in order to showcase it in museums, it will silence what doesn’t fit into the official national narrative and it will build a whole industry of tourism and culture just to exploit the pervasive sense of nostalgia. This memory, however, is not alive, it is not the one we are fighting for. It is a dead memory, which looks alive because it is driven by money.

This is the reason why we chose to make the movie in self-organized and anti-commercial terms; without patrons and sponsors, without expectations for financial gain, through relations of equality and knowledge sharing. The Keramidi project was conceived by the Cine Yfanet group, then opened up to the Community of the squat and it was eventually enriched by the participation of dozens of new and old friends. At this point, it’s worth mentioning that a lot of us are not just cinephiles or amateurs (in the literal sense of the word), but we are already part of the cultural industry. As the recent, dynamic “artists’ movement” (December ’22 – March ’23) thundered, the people in this industry are not hobbyists but regular workers. Like all work, the work in the field of the arts alienates us. We are tired of constantly having to promote ourselves and our social skills to get a job, of constantly having to make connections and acquaintances to promote our shows, of being forced to adapt to the trends around the “artistic taste” of every period, of being caught between cliques and strong egos, of begging and being looked down upon. In the world of cinema, we have seen this decay starting with the volunteerism of the Film Department at the local festival, passing through the experience of “Hollywood in Thessaloniki” and ending up in commercials for banks and yogurts, so that we know very well by now what it is like to have lost all interest in what you’re creating.

So, if one aspect of our struggle is to stand with anyone who demands better working conditions and more creative freedom in this industry, the other aspect is to create beyond and against this industry without the blackmail of the logic of profit. That’s not easy to do. The film industry has systematized the knowledge around how a film is made and broken it down into roles with a strict hierarchy.

On our part, we used some of these conventions of a film production which we found useful and we tried to challenge some that we found unnecessary. We certainly didn’t turn the world upside down; it’s hard to make a movie without consecutive deadlines and the concern of bringing down costs, and it’s even harder for four people to direct a scene or edit on three different computers. Nonetheless, we did the best we could in our effort to explore the possibilities of a more collaborative cinema.

Memory, history, movements, capitalism, entertainment industry, work, self-organization. Reading this text, one could assume that what we wanted to create was a militant movie. And yet, we were quite far from this term, at least as it is usually understood today (wooden language, propaganda, didacticism). Undoubtedly, we knew that we were making a political film. Because anyone who says that their movie has no politics in it, is just lying to themselves. But mostly what we wanted was to find a language for all the things that don’t fit. Because for better or worse, we cannot fit all of our anxieties into one brochure. Because there are feelings that cannot be captured in a poster. Because there are fears that cannot unfold in an assembly. Some things simply have to become films, songs, plays etc. In other words, if we are interested in the development of a “multifaceted” movement, we have to ensure the liberation of all these forms of communication and wealth of expression, which seem to be handed over to capitalism.

KERAMIDI is a small contribution towards that direction.

Fim Crew of the Community of the Yfanet Squat – Spring 2023