Greek Summer's Coming
(and a New Film too!)
Dear Friends of Kythera,
It looks like it will be a great Summer on Kythera this year (if the wind turbines aren't approved). For a change, it (almost) rained enough in Winter, so another severe Summer drought is unlikely, and the island is a rich dark green. International travel is opening up again after two years of Covid, so the many Americans and Australians who have missed their ancestral island can finally return. And I can finally continue with my attempts to combine creative filmmaking and the documentation of the island with a new film that I'll be shooting in October this year. This time in the iconic Kytherian villages of Mylopotamos and Pitsinathes. Let's not forget that my last film, An Island named Desire, still hasn't had a proper premiere yet thanks to Covid restrictions, so while I am editing the new film at the end of the year, I hope to be able to premiere the old film in the renowned Centres of Kytherian Culture in the Diaspora – Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and anywhere else a decent gathering of Kytherians can be arranged.
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Although my last film, An Island named Desire, couldn't be premiered, it was possible to enter it in various film festivals with some success. It is the story of an adopted young woman of Kytherian descent who comes to Kythera to find her real parents. Meanwhile, the inimitable Georgos and Poppy Koroneos, stars of the first film Kythera mon Amour, are also back on the island after mysteriously acquiring great wealth during their stay in Australia, where you might remember they migrated to at the end of the first film. Georgos wants to live the high-life now, while his sister longs for her old routines on the land and with their sheep. Their nephew, the hapless Georgy, played by talented and now famous Giorgos Papageorgiou, is back on Kythera, tail between his legs, after failing in his own migration plans on all fronts. The film is a light comedy, in the same strain as the first film, so those of you who found my "middle film" Winter on Kythera too dark, will hopefully find it in your hearts to allow me to redeem myself with the latest film.
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NEW FILM:
Once Upon a Time on Kythera
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Starring in the new film: Louie Betton and Penny Boukouvala
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My next film project, Once Upon a Time on Kythera, also a fun comedy, will begin filming in October and we have a star studded line-up of A-List Greek actors as well as my son Louie, who has been performing on German television since the age of nine. Before you accuse me of flagrant nepotism, check out his showreel. He will star opposite the delightful and zany young Penny Boukouvala, and while the two protagonists discover the island, they are mysteriously trapped in a seemingly unoccupied but otherwise perfect little Kytherian village. Which frustratingly has no exit. No matter which way our young protagonists head out through the labyrinth which is Pitsinathes, they always land back at the same village house where a blind taxi driver deserted them at film's beginning
If you'd like to support the film physically or financially – physically by helping with the catering and/or taking the actors on a tour of the island in their free time, financially by becoming an executive producer – please don't hesitate to contact me.
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HELP MAKE KYTHERA
Carbon Neutral!
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If you have a house on the island (or have friends or family who do), this is the time to get solar on the roof. It is relatively cheap – from €5250 including permit and installation – and, considering the soaring energy costs, it makes economic sense. And there are professionals on the island who can handle it all for you!
There are three basic scenarios:
1. You are on the electricity grid and you want to add solar panels so that you lower your electricity bill (and be an environmentally responsible citizen)
2. As above but you would also like batteries connected to fully utilise all the sun power you collect during the day.
3. You want to be completely grid independent, with enough batteries to keep you running day and night.
If you are on the grid you can use it as a type of battery: when you produce more electricity than you use it goes into the grid and you get credits for it. When you need more than you are producing (e.g. at night) the grid provides what you need. There is still a connection fee from DEH (the national electricity company) of between €200 and €400 yearly depending upon your power usage.
Haralambos (Babis) Kalligeros and his team at Euronics in Livathi have been installing solar systems on the island for at least 10 years and were kind enough to put a few "packages" together for me as examples of what the systems can cost. They are just a guide, because it depends on how many solar panels you want to install and how many, if any, batteries. (By the way, these setups are possible anywhere in the world, so you can install them no matter where you call home. If you don't believe me send me over your address and I'll find a company who can do it for you).
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Setup One: GRID TIED. (€5 250):
3.28 kW of panels
1 set galvanised metal support base (25º) for flat roof. Annual output: 4.92 kWh (south orientation)
€5 250 incl. VAT incl. network approval and installation *
Setup Two: GRID TIED & BATTERIES (€12 350 ):
4.92 kW of panels, 5.1.kWh Battery
1 set galvanised metal support base (25º) for flat roof. Annual output: 7.4 kWh (south orientation)
Batteries: BYD HVS 5.1 kWh
€12 350 incl. VAT incl. Batteries, network approval and installation *
Setup Three: OFF-GRID (€19 800 ) :
7.38 kW of panels, 11 kWh Battery
1 set galvanised metal support base (25º) for flat roof. Annual output: 10 kWh (south orientation)
Batteries: BYD HVS 11 kWh
€19 800 incl. VAT incl. network approval and installation *
The batteries are obviously the expensive part of the equation. If you want to live frugally, you can of course survive with a minimum of batteries and mainly use the power-hungry appliances when the sun is shining.
If you are interested in any of the offers just call Haralambos Kalligeros or send him an email.
kalligeros@euronics.gr
+30 2736 039080
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Stopping the Wind-Turbines
The fight continues. So that the island isn't plastered with 140 mammoth wind turbines to supply the Peloponnese with electricity (read more here), a legal campaign is underway to challenge the permit process. Within a few days of my last newsletter readers donated over €2 500 to the legal fight. There are still a few stages of the permit process which court decisions can block, and every one of them will be utilised to prevent the unnecessary desecration of Kythera, which itself would only need 2 turbines to more than cover its energy needs (can could be easily achieved with solar panels and batteries in any case).
It isn't too late to help: donating has been made simple on KIPA's English website, and if you have a credit card, it only takes a minute. Please be generous, lest our island be forever scarred by rows of rotating monsters.
CREDIT CARD DONATIONS:
https://kipa-foundation.org/en/legal-expenses-for-wind-farms/
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If you prefer to transfer directly to their Greek bank account, here are the KIPA account details:
KIPA, Kato Livadi
80100 Kythira, Greece
ΙΒΑΝ: GR2301103800000038000241984
BIC/Swift: ETHNGRAA
Thanks in advance for your support!
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Just click on the Kythera-family.net articles which are in this mail to take you to the site and the full entries.
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KYTHERIAN INTERVIEWS
Our interviews have been put on hold thanks to the epidemic, but we are preparing some new ones. If you haven't seen them yet or would like to watch them again...
Here are links to all the interviews so far:
Panayiotis "Maneas" Gerakitis
Joanna and Kostas Karides
George Kapanis and Granddaughter 1
George Kapanis and Granddaughter 2
Chlentzos Family
Tassia Petroxeilou
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Clockwise from top left: George and Amfissa Kapsanis , Panayiotis "Maneas" Gerakitis, Kostas and Joanna Karides, and Tassia Petroxeilou.
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More Spring on Kythera in 2022
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