Next Step 2022

Greece, France, The Netherlands

Feature Film

A dystopian drama set in an oil refinery in the uber-industrialized Greek heartland, Cora tells the story of two working-class women, Maria and Eleni, fighting for their freedom and identity. In a devastated landscape, where all the men patrol through town day and night, armed, the Greek goddess and contemporary witch Maria, with her free-flowing sensuality, proves increasingly threatening. 

Much like in On Xerxes’ Throne, the ever-present scorching sun calls to mind the exhaustion of the working class and allows the camera to film these bodies up close. Keeping the oil refinery and the dusty, devastated landscape in the backdrop, the film will use some of the conventions of western movies - such as static wide angle shots - to convey inertia and isolation. In this somewhat post-apocalyptic dystopia inspired by Mad Max: Fury Road, the two rebellious female leads push back the threat of patriarchal tyranny in the hope to free themselves from oppression and frustration. Evi’s films provide these vital tools in a bitter fight against this coercive feeling.