For the young Italian grey actress Fotinì Peluso, wearing the lead role in the high-end television series The Great Chimera was a great way to “come in contact with my hometown.”
One of the highlights of Beta Film’s upcoming MIPCOM slate, the 1930s six-episode set show stars Peruso as the marina. Italian beauty falls in love with the captain of the enchanting Greek seas played by Andreas Constantineu (“Milky Way”, “Crowded Day”). She decides to join him and begin a new life on Siros, an idyllic island. There, enchanted by her surroundings, Marina is fascinated by her husband’s erudite younger brother, played by Dimitris Quitos (“Beach”). This leads to her descent into the vicious vortex told in the Greek tragedy ratios.
Based on the novel named after M. karagatsis, “The Great Chimera” is directed by Vardis Marinakis (“Silent Road”, “Zizotek”), written by Panagiotis iosifelis (“The Beach”), and produced by beta film and Athens-based Foss Productions.
Ahead of the show’s Mipcom launch, Peluso talks about the diversity of how “The Great Chimera” was able to connect with its Greek roots and why the show’s sex scene was important “on an arts level.”
What attracted you to playing the Marina? Have you read a book before?
I’m a greek from Italy. My mother is Greek and my father is Italian. This book is a must-read in modern Greek literature. Perhaps because of the position women had in the world, I was really drawn to this woman’s appearance (the 1930s). I was very interested in her constant exploring freedom. She searches for freedom throughout the story, but perhaps because of the restrictions imposed by society, or even voluntary restrictions. So, what interests me was definitely the complexity of this character. He is presented not as all peaches or cream, but as a character with a very dark and toxic aspect of her personality. But there is also the fact that there are so many themes that I want to be outdated today, but that’s not the case. Specifically, the way women today must fight in today’s society and for their own freedom.
For you, growing up in Italy, how important was it to acquire this lead role in a Greek classic?
I used to work in Greece, but I was not a purely Greek production. I worked on Cedric Krapisch’s television series “Greek Salad” which I filmed in Athens but not a Greek production. All the actors were French and I couldn’t speak Greek. So, for me, it was very important to me to contact my hometown at this point in my career. Greece is more than just a secondary country for me. My childhood is linked to Greece. So it was very important to me to somehow maintain these roots and work with the superintendents and crew who have a Greek mentality. This professional and human side really interests me. And obviously, I think Greek films have some unique talent, especially among young people, despite having less funding and perhaps less developed than Italian films. And with the exception of Yorgos Lantimos, there are directors who are clearly exciting and are erupting on the festival circuit. So I always want to make use of this world.
Return to the Marina, a bold woman embarking on a non-engraved journey in the 1930s. What is related to her today?
She clearly agrees that she is a woman doing extraordinary things for her time and her mentality. At the same time, I want to see her as a normal woman. I think it’s important not to separate her from the women you may encounter with every other woman. Let me explain: It’s clear that she had a unique life and that she rebelled against society. And this was rarer than women behaved at the time. Women do this more today. But that doesn’t mean that some of these issues have changed. I think what has changed is that Marina’s hunger for freedom has become a need and desire for ordinary women. In this sense, I was very impressed with how scandalous it was that she was looking for her sexuality and didn’t understand it. Or what she wanted to show off her body. Or that she wanted to celebrate herself in some way.
Tell us more about her sexuality, which plays a key role in the story.
Unfortunately, this aspect always tears her apart in the sense that a woman’s naked body is still perceived by the audience as being distinguished for some absurd reasons. I hope this is old fashioned, but it’s not. So I think the show has been a generational transcendence, so I think it’s very interesting that the character is presented in her complexity. In other words, it is not sugar coating. What I mean is that she thinks she is ugly, dark, and sometimes scary. You also struggle to embrace certain aspects of yourself being swept under the carpet, deep, perhaps. This is universal and I think the breasts are evergreen.
Courtesy Beta
Was it a challenge to do sex scenes? Did you have an intimate coordinator on the set?
I think it’s very interesting that this began as a Greek public television television series, but the horizon spread with many other negotiations underway hosts. What was always important to me was that Marina’s sexuality was a central theme in her life. This is written in the book exactly the same way that it appears on the screen. For me, it was important that this aspect never diminished or hidden. If I had to do things along the way, it would have bothered me a lot. That being said, does the sex scene really stand out? I don’t know. Probably not. I don’t know. But I know how we worked.
I know it’s a fully protected environment and a lot of attention has been paid to this. There was an intimate coordinator. At first, I was pretty ignorant about all of this. “Okay, if I’m at peace with myself and talking things with the director and the actor, I really don’t need a mediator.” In fact, that’s very important. Not because of your physical appearance, but because someone might do something you don’t like. But simply because there are times when you need a mediator who sets restrictions and rules between what you can and the artistic aspects. And strangely enough, these actions of setting restrictions or rules make you feel much more free. In other words, once boundaries are set, you are free to express yourself as you wish within those boundaries. Especially when it comes to having (physical) contact with other people because it’s not that simple. After all, we are talking about bodies, humans, people. So I felt this was very important. We worked on that a lot. There are lots of (sex) scenes, I remember them. I haven’t seen it yet. I really don’t know. But I think we did what we wanted to do. It was important to me on an art level.
This interview was compiled and condensed for clarity.
