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THE FILM
KLEOS (Greek κλέος)- n. Renown. Glory.
KLEOS
a film by Elisabeth Gray
I do love nothing in the world so well as you, is not that strange?
--William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing
At an eerily isolated Cretan resort, a Hollywood writing couple on the brink of divorce discover “The End” of both their screenplay and their marriage…and maybe even their lives.
SHOOT LOCATION:
Marmara, Greece (near Loutro, Crete)
SHOOT DATES:
October 06 - October 29th
SHORT SYNOPOSIS:
Divorce isn’t easy. Neither is writing a screenplay. Wesley Banks and Julia Stride-Banks are attempting both. At the same time. In an effort to create neutral territory to rewrite their thriller screenplay that has just been sold to the big boys of Hollywood (After years as poor artists, their first sale ever!) and also to negotiate their divorce settlement, Wesley and Julia travel to the island of Crete for a writing retreat in the middle of nowhere. Wesley has moved on, and unbeknownst to Julia, has a pregnant girlfriend and plenty of reasons to legally end the marriage as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Julia is pumped up on fertility treatments and angling for a pregnancy. The isolated taverna where they are staying provides plenty of fodder for their writing—abandoned water caves, mysterious gorges and caves, thrilling cliffs—and before they know it, they’ve resolved most of the problems with their script through the inspiration of their environment. But life starts imitating art when the scenarios they dream up for in their thriller screenplay start unfolding before them in real life— until it becomes apparent that only one of them will depart this marriage and this island alive. Misery meets Adaptation in this dark comedy thriller about the dangers of declaring “till death do us part”…especially when it’s time to walk away.
a film by Elisabeth Gray
I do love nothing in the world so well as you, is not that strange?
--William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing
At an eerily isolated Cretan resort, a Hollywood writing couple on the brink of divorce discover “The End” of both their screenplay and their marriage…and maybe even their lives.
SHOOT LOCATION:
Marmara, Greece (near Loutro, Crete)
SHOOT DATES:
October 06 - October 29th
SHORT SYNOPOSIS:
Divorce isn’t easy. Neither is writing a screenplay. Wesley Banks and Julia Stride-Banks are attempting both. At the same time. In an effort to create neutral territory to rewrite their thriller screenplay that has just been sold to the big boys of Hollywood (After years as poor artists, their first sale ever!) and also to negotiate their divorce settlement, Wesley and Julia travel to the island of Crete for a writing retreat in the middle of nowhere. Wesley has moved on, and unbeknownst to Julia, has a pregnant girlfriend and plenty of reasons to legally end the marriage as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Julia is pumped up on fertility treatments and angling for a pregnancy. The isolated taverna where they are staying provides plenty of fodder for their writing—abandoned water caves, mysterious gorges and caves, thrilling cliffs—and before they know it, they’ve resolved most of the problems with their script through the inspiration of their environment. But life starts imitating art when the scenarios they dream up for in their thriller screenplay start unfolding before them in real life— until it becomes apparent that only one of them will depart this marriage and this island alive. Misery meets Adaptation in this dark comedy thriller about the dangers of declaring “till death do us part”…especially when it’s time to walk away.
THE TEAM
ELISABETH GRAY (Writer/Director) is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and director. This year, she directed three Southern gothic shorts starring Amy Sedaris, Lee Tergesen, and Elizabeth Ashley. Last year, her mockumentary series Understudies, starring Richard Kind, David Rasche and Alison Fraser was optioned as a pilot (www.UnderstudiesTheShow.com). Her play Wish I Had a Sylvia Plath, a dark comedy about suicide, won the Fringe First Award for Innovative and Outstanding New Writing, an award shared with Tracy Letts. The play has gone on to have productions Off-Broadway in NYC, with Rogue Machine in LA, and has been translated into various languages for productions around the globe. Her tragicomic short film Socks and Bonds was a festival favorite in 2013, winning audience awards and jury prizes at festivals around the world. She was a 2014 IFP Emerging Storyteller at Lincoln Center and is the 2015-16 William Steeple Davis Artist in Residence.
ZINA ANAPLIOTI (Producer) is originally from Thessaloniki, Greece; she moved to New York to attend NYU where she earned her BFA in acting through Tisch. Since then she got an acting certificate from the Neighborhood Playhouse Theater and later danced with Alvin Ailey for a year. Since then she has worked extensively in the New York stage with companies like the International Wow company under the Academy award nominated director Josh Fox, East Coast Artists, the Wooster group, Partly Cloudy People and many more. On film and TV she has appeared on The Blacklist, the mini series Madoff on ABC and most recently on Showtime’s Billions where she plays Damien Lewis' assistant. She also worked on the movie The Bleeder alongside Elizabeth Moss and Liev Schreiber coming out this fall. She brings her extensive camera experience back home to Greece to activate local communities to participate in independent cinema.
CLEM MCINTOSH (Producer) is a Canadian/American with over ten years of film and new media production experience. Most recently, Clem produced Ghost Team, a much anticipated comedy feature starring Jon Heder, Justin Long, Amy Sedaris and David Krumholtz under the LA-based distribution company The Orchard. His work with TIME magazine has led him to shoot a wide array of cultural icons. When not producing or shooting, he is also co-founder of Leroy Street Theater in Toronto.
JACK SCHURMAN (Director of Photography) is an Emmy Award winning director and cinematographer from Brunswick, Maine. He directed the Emmy Award winning short documentary A Boy Helps A Town Heal as well as nine episodes of the Emmy nominated, Eppy Award and Luce Award winning documentary series Underdogs. Jack also won a Webby Award for his work as cinematographer on the short documentary Young, Gifted, and Homeless. His debut feature film Wild Home had its world premiere in September 2014 at the Camden International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award; 'Wild Home' has been featured in People Magazine, Huffington Post, TIME Magazine, and Buzzfeed. In the last three months, he and Elisabeth Gray have collaborated on a trilogy of tragicomic short films, establishing a shorthand and shared vision for KLEOS.
IOANNIS SOCHORAKIS (Production Design) is a production designer with architectural background, who earned his Master of Design for Stage and Film at Tisch School of the Arts in New York City. He started working on sets with the George Tsypin Opera Factory designing for the Metropolitan Opera, The Netherlands Opera, The Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Olympics Opening Ceremony in Sochi. With Christine Jones, he worked on Rigoletto for the Metropolitan Opera and their latest collaboration is the interactive show Queen of the Night by Sleep No More producers Punchdrunk in Paramount’s Diamond Horse Shoe. He worked in the Art Department on Alejandro G. Iñarritu’s 4 Oscar-winning film Birdman, Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight and on further American television network and independent productions. For Palace Living he won Best Production Design in Tribeca’s Visionfest 2013. Additionally, he has directed shorts, MTV spots, and music videos.
ZINA ANAPLIOTI (Producer) is originally from Thessaloniki, Greece; she moved to New York to attend NYU where she earned her BFA in acting through Tisch. Since then she got an acting certificate from the Neighborhood Playhouse Theater and later danced with Alvin Ailey for a year. Since then she has worked extensively in the New York stage with companies like the International Wow company under the Academy award nominated director Josh Fox, East Coast Artists, the Wooster group, Partly Cloudy People and many more. On film and TV she has appeared on The Blacklist, the mini series Madoff on ABC and most recently on Showtime’s Billions where she plays Damien Lewis' assistant. She also worked on the movie The Bleeder alongside Elizabeth Moss and Liev Schreiber coming out this fall. She brings her extensive camera experience back home to Greece to activate local communities to participate in independent cinema.
CLEM MCINTOSH (Producer) is a Canadian/American with over ten years of film and new media production experience. Most recently, Clem produced Ghost Team, a much anticipated comedy feature starring Jon Heder, Justin Long, Amy Sedaris and David Krumholtz under the LA-based distribution company The Orchard. His work with TIME magazine has led him to shoot a wide array of cultural icons. When not producing or shooting, he is also co-founder of Leroy Street Theater in Toronto.
JACK SCHURMAN (Director of Photography) is an Emmy Award winning director and cinematographer from Brunswick, Maine. He directed the Emmy Award winning short documentary A Boy Helps A Town Heal as well as nine episodes of the Emmy nominated, Eppy Award and Luce Award winning documentary series Underdogs. Jack also won a Webby Award for his work as cinematographer on the short documentary Young, Gifted, and Homeless. His debut feature film Wild Home had its world premiere in September 2014 at the Camden International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award; 'Wild Home' has been featured in People Magazine, Huffington Post, TIME Magazine, and Buzzfeed. In the last three months, he and Elisabeth Gray have collaborated on a trilogy of tragicomic short films, establishing a shorthand and shared vision for KLEOS.
IOANNIS SOCHORAKIS (Production Design) is a production designer with architectural background, who earned his Master of Design for Stage and Film at Tisch School of the Arts in New York City. He started working on sets with the George Tsypin Opera Factory designing for the Metropolitan Opera, The Netherlands Opera, The Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Olympics Opening Ceremony in Sochi. With Christine Jones, he worked on Rigoletto for the Metropolitan Opera and their latest collaboration is the interactive show Queen of the Night by Sleep No More producers Punchdrunk in Paramount’s Diamond Horse Shoe. He worked in the Art Department on Alejandro G. Iñarritu’s 4 Oscar-winning film Birdman, Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight and on further American television network and independent productions. For Palace Living he won Best Production Design in Tribeca’s Visionfest 2013. Additionally, he has directed shorts, MTV spots, and music videos.
