The book “Amalthia – The Girl with Horns” by Alexandros Hatzipanagiotis, is presented tomorrow in Chania, as part of the 3rd Chania Book Festival.
The presentation will take place at Neorio Moro on Thursday, June 27 at 19:00, with the author, director and screenwriter talking to the journalist Nadia Aivatoglou.
What connects Erotokritos with the Drosulites? Vicenzo Cornaro with a Beethoven sonata and a rogue antiquarian in the Minotaur?
Who defines the line that separates myth from reality? Using as a canvas the rich tradition of folklore and mythology of Crete, the writer, director, screenwriter and musician Alexandros Hatzipanagiotis, in the novel “Amalthia – The Girl with Horns”, which was recently released by “Mitos” publications, tells an interesting story that takes the reader to Crete in the 60s.
A story that “marries” legends with history and reality with myth.
“Amalthia” is a novel with many folklore, historical and mythological elements about Crete, while the story takes place in the 60s. At the same time, the story is an adventure, with elements of love, romance, betrayal and … antiquarianism”, explained Mr. Chatzipanagiotis, speaking to “Xn”, before the presentation of the book in Chania , in the context of 3rd Chania Book Festivalwhich happens in Thursday 27 June at 19:00, at the Maritime Museum of Crete (Neorio Moro) and at the time when the author speaks to the reporter Nadia Aivatoglou.
For him, as he continues to line up, Crete is a constant point of reference and inspiration for his work: “I was born and raised in Germany and came here in old age. After I finished my military service, I decided to stay in Crete because I am excited about everything I have always encountered on the island: wherever I go I know something, there is a story, a legend. I also face it as a scriptwriter and documentary director, but also when I made a musical for “Erotokritos”. All these, stories, legends, I have collected since then and they are the raw material for the novel of “Amalthea” by combining them with real facts after all, Crete is a place I chose to live in and didn’t happen to live. It’s a life choice I wouldn’t change for anything».
When we asked how a person in the image chooses to deal with writing, Mr. Hatzipanagiotis described that there are no creative barriers: “First of all I am a reader. I read many books since my For me this is my break. So my contention comes from reading. I’m not only excited about the story, but also a professional been a musician for over 35 years and it put me in the process of finding music around Crete. I don’t think there are any seals between them all. One feeds the other. And I will say one more thing: when they ask me what work did you do for all this, I will answer that I will tell a story. I just say them in a different place each time. Sometimes writing, sometimes playing music, sometimes directing.”
However, the unique thing in the case of “Amalthea” is that it follows the opposite course from what usually happens in these cases: that is, before it was written, a script was created. We started filming in October 2019, but with the outbreak of the pandemic, they stopped. Then a subsidy we received also disappeared. So I decided to make this book. This might be the first movie made into a book!»
What’s next from here on out? “I have two other books in the drawer. However, what people with experience in these things advise is that something new comes out after a year has passed since the previous one. So we’ll let “Amalthia” go around”.